For the past nine years, a small company (Australian Transport Energy Corridor Ltd) formed by private investors who are committed to the economic and social development of regional Australia, has been the proponent of a rail project known as the Australian Inland Rail Expressway. 

 

Their long term plan is to build an Inland Railway which will link Melbourne and Darwin via NSW and Queensland. The proposed first stage is the Dawson Valley Railway which will create a direct rail link to the Port of Gladstone for the export of Surat Basin coal. The aim of the project is to create a significant freight corridor between Gladstone and Toowoomba where the largest freight centre in south east Queensland is currently being established by ATEC at Charlton. See the ATEC website (opens in new window) for details.