Engineering, Freight Rail, Safety, Standards & Regulation

Wagga appoints preferred proponent for Riverina hub

Wooden railway sleepers. Photo: Creative Commons / LooiNL

The City of Wagga Wagga Council has announced the preferred proponent for stage two of the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RiFL) Hub, designed to improve rail access to the export market.

Genesee & Wyoming Australia has been selected as the preferred proponent for stage two of the hub, which will include rail infrastructure and intermodal freight terminals.

Stage two of the RiFL Hub project is to run concurrently with stage one.

“Essentially, the road infrastructure is proposed to be stage one of the RiFL Hub Program,” Wagga Wagga mayor Rod Kendall said, “and we are hopeful of securing NSW Government support towards this critical infrastructure.

“Stage Two will happen concurrently and involves Genesee & Wyoming Australia.

“The RiFL Hub has always been about Council partnering with all levels of government and the private sector to provide regional business access to a competitive freight solution that will open up commercial opportunities to the nation and the world.”

With the Council selecting G&WA at a meeting on Monday night, the terms of an exclusivity agreement will now be negotiated with the rail business.

G&WA managing director Greg Pauline was pleased with the news.

“Genesee & Wyoming was pleased to be announced as the preferred proponent and welcomed the opportunity to partner with the Council to finalise the investment case for such a key regional transport project,” Pauline said.

Both parties have proposed to enter into a period of disclosure and negotiation (on an exclusive basis) to determine whether the RiFL Hub component of the development is commercially viable.

If so, the contractual and legal terms of the contracts to deliver the RiFL Hub will form part of the negotiations and be considered further by Council in the future.

Both Stages of the RiFL Hub Program – Stage One: Bomen Enabling Roads and RiFL Hub facilitation works; and Stage Two: Rail infrastructure and Terminals – will be considered further before construction commences, the Council said.

“This is a key economic opportunity for the Riverina and we look forward to working closely in partnership with the Council to build a robust case to bring its intermodal objectives to fruition,” Pauline continued.

“Importantly, Wagga Wagga has been included as part of the strategic route for the now federal and state government-backed Inland Rail project and this will further assist the business case for the RiFL Hub.”