AusRAIL, Market Sectors

Inland rail delivery crucial to election: ALC

<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> The Australian Logistics Council says it’s prioritising the progression of the proposed Inland Rail link, as well as a second Sydney airport, in the leadup to the federal election. </span> <p>Time to Deliver is a new report from the ALC, and calls for action on a range of projects and reforms which the ALC believes will improve supply chain efficiency in Australia.</p><p>“Time to Deliver challenges both major parties to deliver on a number of major infrastructure projects, long term freight plans and reforms to increase productivity, reduce red tape and improve safety in the freight logistics industry,” said managing director of the ALC, Michael Kilgariff.</p><p>“Headlining ALC’s election priorities for infrastructure are progressing the Inland Rail link and a second Sydney airport at Badgery’s Creek, both of which are seen by the freight logistics industry as critical to improving productivity, efficiency and safety.”</p><p>The Inland Rail link is a proposed link between Melbourne and Brisbane by rail.</p><p>Many experts and groups, including the ALC and Australasian Railway Association, have deemed the rail link a key piece of infrastructure for meeting the rising freight task along Australia’s north-south inland corridor.</p><p>“A study undertaken a few years ago found an inland rail line would in time be economically viable, and would help to free up capacity through Sydney which is often a freight bottleneck due to passenger services being granted priority,” Kilgariff said.</p><p>Specifically, the ALC wants Labor and the Coalition to commit to deliver on the rail link by commissioning a follow-up feasibility study, and preserving and protecting the preferred alignment so that land will be available for the link to be built.</p><p>The ALC listed the Inland Rail link first among its priorities for the upcoming election the development of a second Sydney airport was listed second.</p><p>“This issue simply cannot stay in the too-hard basket and ALC is calling on whichever party wins the forthcoming federal election to progress this issue in Australia’s national interest,” Kilgariff said.</p><p>Time to Deliver also calls for the role of Infrastructure Australia to be enhanced.</p><p>“Infrastructure Australia should be the ‘productivity commission’ of infrastructure and should play a greater role in the identification and prioritisation of major infrastructure projects,” Kilgariff continued.</p><p>”This includes being provided greater capacity to facilitate enhanced private sector investment in freight logistics infrastructure.”</p><p>Other critical freight logistics priorities identified by in Time to Deliver include supporting the use of high productivity vehicles, improving long term freight planning, the recycling of infrastructure assets, progressing the development of intermodal terminals and investing in rail infrastructure servicing major capital city ports.</p>