AS RIVERINA councils jostle to be included in the route for a proposed inland rail line between Melbourne and Brisbane, the company in charge of recommending the best route said yesterday economics, not lobbying, would be the deciding factor.The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is conducting a $15 million track alignment study for the Federal Government.Cities and towns are stepping up their lobbying to be chosen for the route south of Junee, with Wagga teaming up with Albury for the main southern line, while Narrandera has joined forces with Jerilderie, Tocumwal and Shepparton to fight for a more westerly line.The prize is being part of a $3 billion to $4 billion rail infrastructure project and being on one of the busiest rail freight lines in Australia.The man in charge of the study for ARTC, Dale Budd, was one of five speakers at a rail forum in Wagga yesterday organised by international services company, GHD.“A very important part of the study will be economic and financial analysis, which will enable the Commonwealth to determine whether it wants to go ahead with it straight away or wait for some time,” Mr Budd told The Daily Advertiser before addressing the public forum.“The economics is more important than the engineering.”Mr Budd said ARTC was committed to listening to interested groups, but indicated local politics would take a back seat to number crunching.“We are aware of people pressing for one route or another, and we are committed to consulting widely with everybody,” he said.The study is expected to be completed in August next year.Meanwhile, the ARTC’s north-south infrastructure manager, Richard Crooks, said the investment in new concrete sleepers, passing lanes and loops between Sydney and Albury would reduce train travelling time between Melbourne and Sydney from 13.5 hours to 10.7 hours. He said the aim of the improvements was to lift rail’s share of the north-south long-haul freight market from 11 per cent to 17 per cent.