Narromine to Narrabri: Looking back on 2025
We completed a bumper year of work in 2025, progressing project development along the Narromine to Narrabri section.
December 18, 2025
Here’s a recap of our key achievements in 2025 for the Narromine to Narrabri section of Inland Rail:
Our heritage team assessed seven Aboriginal cultural heritage sites and surveyed three European heritage locations to meet the project’s conditions of approval.
Ecologists also completed seasonal surveys to capture significant flora and fauna information.
Soil erosion testing was completed at 32 properties in the rail corridor. These investigations help us understand water flow speeds at different locations and data will inform the design of drainage structures.
Our geotechnical investigations contractor Macquarie Geotech completed almost 2,000 hours of investigations, mostly in the southern sections of Narromine to Narrabri. They drilled 1.65km of boreholes, dug 183 test pits, installed 10 piezometers and ran 265 lab tests. The data collected from these assessments has provided valuable insights into the soil conditions and groundwater dynamics of the project site.
More than 7,600 hours of utilities and built environment surveys were completed by our surveying contractor MinStaff Survey. Knowing the location of existing services and pipes is important as we determine sites for new Inland Rail infrastructure. MinStaff also completed floor level surveys at residences near the alignment between Narromine and Gilgandra to assist with flood modelling.
Eight local survey contractors completed over 2,000 hours of cadastral survey works. These surveys are important in capturing comprehensive measurements of land parcels and lot boundaries.
In July, we welcomed Design Services joint venture partners WSP and Mott MacDonald to our Brisbane office to further refine engineering designs of the segments south of Baradine. This work will continue in 2026.
Natasha Hamilton, our Senior First Nations Engagement Adviser, continued to engage First Nations stakeholders on the progress of investigations and ensure their feedback informed on-site activities.
Our property team also continued voluntary property acquisition conversations with impacted landowners and secured several key agreements on important corridor sites.
In autumn, we welcomed three new members to our alignment-based Stakeholder Engagement team. Gemma McClymont and Rachael Anderson joined Stakeholder Engagement Lead Samantha Lubke-Wood in Narrabri, while Daniel Hile came on board in Narromine. Their local knowledge ensured landowner meetings were respectful and productive and site investigations ran smoothly throughout the year.
As well as strengthening their relationships with impacted landowners, our engagement team, led by Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Manager Isabella Hall, attended seven local agricultural shows and events to update locals on the latest Inland Rail news.
Thank you to all our stakeholders for your cooperation and support as we build planning momentum for the Narromine to Narrabri section of Inland Rail.
We are all looking forward to a short break for the festive season before returning for another big program of work next year.
See you in January 2026!
