COMMENT: Melbourne’s lack of rail shuttle services from the port is a critical infrastructure and national supply chain issue that needs to be thoroughly examined within the context of the Port of Melbourne privatisation, Freight & Trade Alliance’s Travis Brooks-Garrett writes.
Last week Phillip Hopkins of The Age suggested that Melbourne’s lack of rail will contribute to Botany overtaking Melbourne in container volumes. That may be true, but the issue is far bigger than elbow-your-mate tribalism.
In 2007 the Victorian Government announced the Metropolitan Freight Terminal Network (MFTN) concept. That same year funds were allocated to the project, originally $100M. The project was later rebranded by the coalition as the Port Rail Shuttle (PRS) project but the Government’s enthusiasm was unabated, industry was supportive and research fully endorsed it’s viability including reports produced by Deloitte, the Victorian Freight & Logistics Council (VFLC) and the Port of Melbourne Corporation.
So what happened?
In 2014, the Department of Planning, Transport and Local Infrastructure (DPTLI) released an Expression of Interest for the building of the inland port network but the process was abandoned due to the Port of Melbourne sale with no stated way forward.
From a Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) perspective they are not separate issues. We cannot talk about port privatisation without demanding consideration to landside integration.
Currently our sources have predicted that there are over 5,500 trucks entering the port per day. At 3.5% growth year-on-year this will equal more than 30,000 trucks per day by the end of the initial lease term.
With the Port of Hastings proposal stuck in political suspended animation, how can we assure industry that the Port of Melbourne will be developed to cater for the growth in volumes?
The Port Management Act 1995 requires a Port Development Strategy to be produced every four years. The last Port Development Strategy was produced in 2009.
With the Port of Melbourne Transaction Bill Inquiry currently accepting submissions and the legislative requirement for a Port Development Strategy overdue, industry would like to see attention from Government. No, industry would like to see some action from Government.
In many respects Melbourne is lucky. Most containers are distributed into the three industrial hubs in Melbourne’s north, Melbourne’s west and according to some reports almost 30% of containers have an origin or destination in the South East/Dandenong corridor. The shelved $6.8 billion East-West Link will not be the congestion-buster it was supposed to be, but a modal shift might do the job.
Practically, we understand that Webb Dock will not have rail access, so our attention is firmly on stevedores Patrick (which has an off-dock rail facility at Appleton Park Rail Terminal) and DP World. There are talks of Coode Road, the public road that bisects the DP World terminal, finally being closed to the public. Time will tell but many in industry would applaud that development and it could pave the way for rail development opportunities.
Partial funding has already been allocated to upgrade the Port’s intermodal network in the 2015/2016 budget, but it still needs concerted political pressure to happen. Industry is rallying behind rail so you never know, maybe Melbourne can maintain its status as the #1 Port by volume in Australia.
If you have thoughts on this issue or would like to contribute to the (Port of Melbourne Lease Transaction) 2015 Bill Inquiry please let us know at tbrooks-garrett@ftalliance.com.au.
Travis Brooks-Garrett is an advocate for the Australian freight & trade sectors. The Freight & Trade Alliance is an advocacy group representing freight logistics and trade entities.
This piece originally appeared in Rail Express affiliate Lloyd’s List Australia. Read the original here.
