Australia's inland rail: a long-held dream, but for whom and at what cost?

As Guardian Australia launches an interactive journey along the proposed 1,700km inland rail route between Melbourne and Brisbane, Gabrielle Chan and Natasha May look at how we got here and the sharp divides over what the line should achieveSign up for the Rural Network email newsletterJoin the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the communityThe inland rail is a political dream that winds back into pre-federation days. The first version was laid out by Henry Parkes in his Tenterfield address of 1889, as he made the case for a national government.Such a move would also need a national army and a "nationwide uniform gauge railway line". Parkes wanted to connect South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland by rail, "an immense advantage in the movement of troops". Continue reading...