Transport and infrastructure minister Michael McCormack will work with stakeholders over a proposed intermodal facility at Kalgoorlie, in south-central WA.
McCormack told ABC Goldfields host Ivo Da Silva on August 6 the proposal, from the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, had “crossed [his] desk,” and he looked forward to seeing a completed business case.
The council wants to build an intermodal facility at Kalgoorlie to service Australia’s main east-west rail line.
The project would require the relocation of the rail line south of the city.
“Intermodals form such an important part of our logistics network right across the nation and for the communities – regional communities such as Kalgoorlie – they’re just really important,” McCormack said.
“I’ll sit down with the stakeholders, local council and all those sorts of people today and into the future and see what we can do, how we could go about it.”
McCormack, leader of the Nationals and deputy PM, said he has already met with Bart Jones, managing director of Hampton Transport, “among others”, to discuss the plan.
“We’re rolling out $75 billion… over the next decade. It’s an investment pipeline that takes into account these sorts of intermodal projects,” McCormack said.
“I know how transformational the Inland Rail between Melbourne and Brisbane will be. And look, right up along that 1,700-kilometre corridor of commerce, there are intermodals…
“Every town wants one and it’s no different here in Kalgoorlie, where an intermodal and the re-routing of that railway, the advantages that would bring. They’re all part of the mix.”