Freight Rail

SCT leaders push for Melbourne port rail shuttles

Interstate rail services will be key to the viability of rail shuttle services in and around the Port of Melbourne, senior executives from SCT Logistics have said.

SCT managing director Geoff Smith, along with general manager commercial Pat Kerin and national development manager – port services Matt Eryurek made the case for rail as a means for handling Victoria’s burgeoning freight task at an industry breakfast this week.

Eryurek said the company was serious about ports and shuttles, noting particularly the strength in being able to link the shuttles with long-haul interstate rail services that SCT also operates.

“I say this,” Eryurek told the gathering.

“It’s not bullsh*t, it’s real. In the last five or six years, we’ve actually been doing this.

“In 2014 we started our first metro port shuttle activity.

“We can actually make it happen and this is one thing that is a point of difference – we are underpinned by our interstate business.

“Commercially port shuttles alone we don’t believe, unless someone can enlighten us, is not really commercially attractive unless you underpin it with something which is your interstate (service) and that is where we believe is our biggest point of difference.”

Eryurek noted the success of getting direct connectively into the DP World terminal at Swanson Dock going on to describe SCT as “Switzerland”, or neutral and being prepared to work with anyone.

This article originally appeared on Rail Express affiliate site Lloyd’s List Australia.