Premier Peter Beattie said the Government was satisfied the proposed 207km railway linking Wandoan and Banana met public-private partnership value for money criteria.

The consortium comprises the Australian Transport and Energy Corridor, Dawson Valley Railway, Industry Funds Management, Queensland Rail and miners Xstrata Coal and Anglo Coal.

Besides the 207km of new rail, the project will also involve upgrades to the existing rail infrastructure from Toowoomba to Wandoan and Banana to Gladstone.

“This will open up the production and export of thermal coal from the currently under-utilised but coal-rich Surat Basin," Transport Minister Paul Lucas said.

The preliminary engineering and environmental consultancies will be awarded by the end of this month, with finalisation of a preferred route announced by November 2007.

An environmental impact statement will be submitted by December 2008, a business case completed by September 2009 and achievement of financial close by June 2010.

The Government also confirmed today that Queensland Rail will retain ownership of the rail infrastructure from Wandoan to Toowoomba and from Banana to Gladstone and that the state will retain ownership of the new rail corridor between Wandoan and Banana.

“Once constructed, the railway will be an open access line with sufficient capacity to meet demand from coal and other freight users well into the future," Lucas said.

The project is the single biggest economic injection ever for the Darling Downs and the southwest.