Nick Miller has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the body tasked with building the Inland Rail.

Mr Miller joins Inland Rail Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Australian Rail Track Corporation, after five years as CEO of construction materials manufacturer Adbri and seven years as managing director of infrastructure company Fulton Hogan.

Announcing the appointment, Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said Mr Miller was a well-recognised and respected leader in the Australian and New Zealand construction sector.

“He brings a strong mix of governance, executive management, industry capability and construction experience to the role,” Ms King said in a statement.

Interim Inland Rail CEO Robert Rust will resume his role as Chair of the Board of Inland Rail.

Meanwhile, the government has also announced the appointment of Wayne Johnson, the former Group Executive of ARTC’s Hunter Valley Network,  as CEO  and managing director of corporation.

Ms King said the appointments address recommendations made by Dr Kerry Schott in her damning 2023 independent review of the delivery of the Inland Rail, which slammed the ARTC for poor governance and project management.

Under original plans, the 1,600km Inland Rail freight rail project was designed to connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

However in response to the Schott review of the Inland Rail released in April, which found a cost blowout from $16.4 billion to $31.4 billion, the government amended its plans to focus on finishing the Melbourne to Parkes portion by 2027 and deferring the portion from Parkes to Brisbane.