THE Newman Government has finally broken its silence on the future of Cross River Rail, announcing an expert panel to review the project in the hope of heading off a looming rail capacity crisis.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said that after "seven years of Labor inaction" he wanted to ensure the state's next major investment in rail was affordable, and would meet the future needs of the southeast.

In less than four years, Brisbane's only inner-city river rail crossing, the Merivale Bridge, will be operating at its 20 train paths an hour capacity.

"The former Labor government has known about the capacity of the Merivale Bridge since 2005 and delivered nothing in seven years except glossy brochures and broken promises," Mr Emerson said.

"While a solution to the city's rail network must be found, the LNP Government will be absolutely sure the numbers stack up before committing to a multibillion-dollar project."

The expert panel will include Co-ordinator General Barry Broe, specialist rail adviser Mike Scanlan and PricewaterhouseCoopers' Economics and Policy Group partner Scott Lennon.

Mr Emerson said they would have just over four weeks to analyse and confirm the problems facing the rail system, consider the options available, assess the business case prepared for the project and provide recommendations to the Newman Government.

They will be expected to deliver their report on June 13, he said.

"This project has already cost $40 million, half of that contributed by the Federal Government to develop a business case and determine feasibility," Mr Emerson said.

"I have requested this panel be brought together to ensure we come up with a solution that we can actually pay for and deliver. This review is our first step towards solving a major congestion problem."

The original cost of Cross River Rail was estimated to be $8 billion, but that was revised down to $6.4 billion by the previous government before the election.

It was granted "ready to proceed status" by Infrastructure Australia earlier this year but failed to attract any Federal Government funding in last week's Budget.

However The Courier-Mail understands Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese is prepared to consider a significant contribution for what he considers the right project.

Originally published as New panel to review Cross River Rail