The Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Project was the focus of discussion at Australian Logistics Council’s (ALC) recent Logistics Industry Parliamentary Function.
“Inland rail is critical to Australia’s freight future and will be a transformative project for generations to come,” said Michael Kilgariff, ALC Managing Director.
Freight volumes on Australia’s east coast are predicted to soar, doubling by 2030 and tripling by 2050. Whilst around 80 per cent of freight currently moving between the east and west coasts of Australia travels on rail, the volume plummets to 30 per cent between Melbourne and Brisbane.
“The rail freight link between Port of Melbourne and Port of Brisbane will help support improved supply chain efficiency in the movement of freight around the country.
“As Australia’s freight task is expected to increase dramatically over the years to come, rail has to make a greater contribution to the efficient movement of freight on the north – south corridor.
“The effective completion of this project will see the connection of all of our major mainland cities with a world class rail network providing the backbone for moving goods across the country, with increased safety, reliability and efficiency”, he added.
Mr Kilgariff commended the Government for the allocation of $300 million to make a start on this project, and the work being undertaken by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to develop the delivery program and to undertake detailed planning.
When completed, the 1700km route will connect Melbourne and Brisbane via Wagga, Parkes, Moree and Toowoomba.
A typical train travelling on Inland Rail will have the capacity of 108 B-Doubles and will complete the journey from Melbourne to Brisbane in less than 24 hours.