POTA launches new Port Botany rail service

By Sineva Toevai

New South Wales ports minister Paul McLeay said the rail service would ease congestion on the 35 km of main roads, including the M5 Tunnel, that trucks would otherwise have to cover.
“POTA estimates the rail service will remove more than 130 truck movements per day off the M5 which will contribute towards meeting the NSW Government’s long term target of 40 per cent rail modal share to and from Port Botany,” McLeay said.
POTA managing director Paul Digney predicted that rail capacity, including all the group's metropolitan and regional rail services in New South Wales, would exceed 30 per cent of the total government’s target of 40 per cent of containers on rail.
The new service would also remove about 900,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010, Digney said.
Rail volumes to and from the Port Botany reached 353,000 teu last year, up 13.5 per cent on 2008 but still only about 20 per cent of the port's total trade.
Sydney Ports Corporation chief executive Grant Gilfillan said the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy rail team was working towards improving productivity and efficiency of the port’s supply chain.
“Greater utilisation of rail will help Port Botany enhance an efficient and consistent supply chain,” Gilfillan said.

Source: Lloyd’s List Daily Commercial News – www.lloydslistdcn.com.au