Plans submitted on $400m Parkes intermodal terminal

<p>Plans for a 300 ha intermodal terminal in the New South Wales town of Parkes are now on display, the private consortium organising the development said yesterday (Thursday, June 15).</p> <p>Terminals Australia has lodged a development application with the NSW Department of Planning for the inland freight hub.</p> <p>The consortium’s chairman, Mike Almond, told Parkes’s <em>Champion Post</em> yesterday (Thursday, June 15) that the DA was a &#8220a significant milestone&#8221 in the project.</p> <p>The first stage of the 10-year project, including a rail terminal, truck facilities and warehouses, could cost up to $135m.</p> <p>Parkes has a strategic advantage as it is within 12 hours of Australia’s three largest cities, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. </p> <p>FCL Freight Service operates a double-stack service between Sydney and Perth in Parkes and SCT Logistics has a similar project in the works to start in October. </p> <p>A NSW planning department report on the project last year indicated a cost of between $150m and $350m, although the cost of the project is now estimated at $400m.</p> <p>The report outlines the allocation of 24 ha for a rail terminal, 28 ha for warehousing, 22km of rail track, 120,000 sq m of internal roads and other upgrades to external roads.</p> <p>The terminal would handle 48 trains and almost 1,800 trucks each week.</p> <p>The DA will be open for public comment until July 9.</p> <br />