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Sydney must beef up east-west box links, says study

<p>A new report commissioned by the Sea Freight Council of New South Wales says that Sydney will have to strengthen its east-west transport corridors to handle a three-fold increase in container moves to and from the outer western suburbs by 2025&#4726.</p> <p>The new study, which was carried out by consultants Strategic design + Development, appears just as the official Freight Infrastructure Advisory Board hands in its own report on port-related transport to the NSW Government. </p> <p>The council study said that with port container traffic of 3.2m teu to 4.3m teu in Sydney by 2025, there will be between 900,000 teu and 1.3m teu moving to the outer west, with traffic through the inner west climbing as high as 1.6m teu. </p> <p>This will also create truck traffic closer to the port of 3,400 to 4,600 trucks a day, or up to twice current levels.</p> <p>The report says Sydney’s east-west road network is not up to this task, with freight flows along the M4 and the new connection between Strathfield and Port Botany becoming critical in the short term.</p> <p>It says the M5 to the southwest is already near capacity, negating other investments such as the new M7 Orbital further west. </p> <p>The report also recommends a study to maximise the benefits of the Botany-Enfield&#47Chullora rail upgrade and the new southwest freight-only line. </p> <p>A land bank of up to 150 ha should be kept for intermodal terminal development, including more empty container storage in western Sydney to help reduce demand on road and rail capacity.</p> <br />