Now, the former Queensland premier and Liberal Democrat lead Senate candidate is playing the role of train conductor, calling upon voters to get onboard his plan to extend the Inland Rail to Gladstone.

While in Emerald this week he again outlined the plan, which would see the rail project extended to the Port City, instead of Brisbane.

Mr Newman spoke with Central Highlands Regional Council Mayor Kerry Hayes and local businesses and authorities.

The party’s plan would see Emerald and Toowoomba become major freight hubs.

Mr Newman and his Senate running mate Tegan Grainger said the plan would create new high value agricultural opportunities, open up new resource projects and deliver a more cost-effective pathway to port for farmers.

“Emerald is diverse as a major centre for mining, resources, beef, grain and horticulture and this plan will allow industry to grow,” he said.

“The savings from not building the line through urban Brisbane can then be used to extend Inland Rail to the Port of Gladstone.

“The economic benefits in building Inland Rail to Gladstone are massive for Queensland.

“Much larger container ships can access the Port of Gladstone compared to Brisbane, which saves steaming time to Melbourne and Sydney.”

Mr Newman said there were significant economic and social advantages of taking the Inland Rail through Moonie, Miles, Wandoan and into the southern reaches of the Central Highlands, and then onto Gladstone.

“This route gives Inland Rail the opportunity to carry significantly higher volumes of product including agriculture, gas and coal,” he said.

“More importantly, this major infrastructure will open up areas for high value agricultural production and new resource projects.”

A prefeasibility study into the extension of the Inland Rail to Gladstone conducted by AECOM for the Federal Government in 2020 found the cost of the extension did not justify its construction.

AECOM stated that their analysis undertaken for the study suggested “significant costs and marginal economic returns associated with extending the Inland Rail standard gauge network to the Port of Gladstone”.

They went on to say that “potential demand generated from either an inland route or coastal route would not justify the cost of constructing the connection”.

In September last year, the Federal Government announced $10 million would go towards a business case to investigate the viability of extending Inland Rail from Toowoomba to the Port of Gladstone.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said extending the Inland Rail from Toowoomba could deliver better rail connectivity to the Port of Gladstone, create more jobs and expand access to import and export markets for Australian businesses and industry.

The Inland Rail is the largest transport infrastructure project in the LNP’s infrastructure pipeline.

The Morrison Government have predicted more than 21,500 people will work on the project at the peak of construction.

It is also expected to deliver a boost of more than $18 billion to gross domestic product during construction and through the first 50 years of operation.