Infrastructure minister Warren Truss has told a port and rail forum the deal between the government’s Moorebank Intermodal Company and the Sydney Intermodal Terminal Alliance would ease congestion and remove bottlenecks.
Speaking at the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) Port and Rail Forum in Brisbane on Friday, Mr Truss said the deal also meant the government’s share of the construction costs would be lower as a result of the deal between MIC and SIMTA.
“The deal directly addresses two of the key issues identified in the Infrastructure Audit—easing congestion and removing bottlenecks,’’ Mr Truss said.
“At full development the Moorebank precinct will have an import-export terminal with a handling capacity of up to just over a million containers a year, an interstate terminal with capacity for up to 500,000 containers a year, extensive warehousing facilities, and most importantly, a direct rail link to Port Botany.
“The combined precinct will facilitate more containers to be unpacked onsite, which has the potential to boost national productivity and reduce costs for business and consumers.
“By leveraging private sector investment, this significant rail infrastructure development will be at a much lower cost to the taxpayer than originally anticipated,’’ Mr Truss said.
Residents of Moorebank and surrounding suburbs are vigorously opposed to any plans for an intermodal, which is still going through the normal process of approval.
The public release of an Environmental Impact Statement is the next anticipated stage of this process and it does not look like a final decision either way will be made before the end of this year.
The minister told the conference that once the precinct is fully developed, over a 30-year period it will generate close to $9 billion in economic benefits to NSWs, create 1,300 jobs during the construction phase and up to 7,700 jobs mainly in south west Sydney.
“In addition, Stage 3 of the Port Botany Rail Line is under way to alleviate constraints in transporting freight to and from Port Botany,’’ Mr Truss said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“Work includes investigating capacity enhancements to the Southern Sydney Freight Line and Metropolitan Freight Network, which will further support the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal precinct and other cross metropolitan freight shuttle services.[/social_quote]
“Once the Port Botany Rail is completed, freight rail customers will see increased service reliability, efficiency and productivity.’’
Mr Truss said that a focal point for Australia’s freight growth pressures will be its ports.
A key finding in the transport sector shows that container movements through Australia’s ports are projected to grow by 165 per cent between 2011 and 2031, while non-containerised trade is projected to grow by 138 per cent over the same period, he said.
“The Coalition Government wants to see more freight carried by rail by ensuring it is as competitive as it can be and it achieves its full potential,’’ Mr Truss said.
“This means governments and industry need to work together to address some of the constraints that are preventing freight rail from exploiting its many advantages.
“Intermodal connectivity is a big part of this. Improvements that make it easier, cheaper or faster for freight to get from market or port to a rail hub will only enhance the case for using rail.’’
Research has shown statements made to be completely false John Anderson
with all due respect Mr Truss is never sighted in Moorebank and is unaware of what the Moorebank Intermodal will destroy he has been led on by people who have misguided agendas John anderson
so exactly how will 10K extra truck movements on the M5/M7 EASE traffic congestion Wazza ?
Mr Truss is right, he’ll remove the bottleneck and introduce a complete stop to traffic surrounding the “proposed” Intermodals.
As for rail becoming “affordable” and “reliable” on this short haul shuttle service, nothing can be further from the reality.
Intermodals become economically viable only when they’re at least 300Km apart, the size of the Sydney basin, where 85 % of the containers end up, makes rail costly and a time waster.
Which customer is happy with having to wait at least 2 more days if not more with delivery of their goods via the detour through Port Moorebank, where same day delivery by road from the Port Botany is possible???