$40 million will be invested by the NSW government to increase the axle load limit of the South Coast rail line to 25 tonnes, allowing heavier, faster trains to transport goods from the region to the Port of Botany.
Melinda Pavey, Minister for Roads, Maritime, and Freight, said the overall program Fixing Country Rail program – of which this upgrade is the latest part – was aiming at removing more than 10,000 trucks from the roads each year by boosting the efficiency of rail freight in the state.
“Regional NSW produces an estimated 210 million tonnes of freight a year and this is expected to increase by 25 per cent in the next 40 years,” Pavey said.
“The removal of speed restrictions and the increased capacity on the South Coast Line will lead to a more efficient movement of higher volumes of freight to Port Botany.”
Dean Dalla Valle, Pacific National CEO and chair of the Freight on Rail Group (FORG), welcomed the investment, and said running heavier trains on the line to ports would deliver a productivity boost to the region’s rail network, thereby providing a reduction in transport costs for local producers and exporters.
“Australian businesses and exporters like Manildra Group operate in fiercely competitive global markets – our rail freight networks must be efficient so the price of our products and commodities appeal to buyers and consumers around the world,” Dalla Valle said.
“Moving bulk freight by rail is safer, more efficient and cleaner than road – a typical freight train hauling containers takes up to 65 B-doubles off the road, while rail freight produces 16 times less carbon pollution per tonne kilometre than road.”
Manildra spokesman Mark Owens told the South Coast Register that the rail upgrade would be integral to the company’s expansion.
“The demand for Australian-grown and made produce is huge, so we need efficiencies to move that produce,” he told the local paper.
“We move starch, gluten, glucose, food and industrial-grade ethanol so this will allow us to grow our volumes through the port [of Botany].
“We’re fairly tied in today with what we’ve got, so this will free us up a bit.”
Hi All,
Moving Up to 25 Tonnes T A L Should prove very Interesting in Itself. Making it a Requirement Nation Wide will Lead to better Use of Rail Transport on the Overall. Also means more Trucks off the Roads,
If It means MORE Co – operation between States – something they refuse to do all the better. MORE
Standardization of the Freight System Would GO a long way as well. Pity No One Gets It,