CONSTRUCTION has officially started on the container-handling facilities of the new Moorebank Interstate Terminal, a vital piece of Australia’s largest intermodal logistics precinct – the Moorebank Logistics Park.

A statement from minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government Catherine King said the terminal remains on schedule and will be operational early next year.

The terminal will have the capacity to service 1800-metre-long interstate trains, each moving approximately 1500 tonnes of consumer goods.

The minister’s statement said this would replace more than 100 B-double trucks per train trip, reducing congestion on our roads while facilitating the expected increase in future Australian freight volumes.

The additional supply chain capacity is to support the challenge of meeting the forecast 35% increase in freight volumes across Australia and help drive modal shift to rail.

With a site area of more than 240 hectares the entire MLP will include:

  • the already operational dedicated rail link to Port Botany;
  • the now underway interstate terminal, which will link Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane;
  • over 850,000 square metres of warehousing; and
  • links to key roads, including the M5 and M7.

The Australian Government has committed $570 million in funding towards the MLP.

Ms King said the project would significantly enhance the resilience of Australia’s supply chain, while providing thousands of local jobs and reducing transport emissions.

“It will also support more competitive freight costs, reduce traffic congestion, increase road safety and deliver better environmental outcomes,” she said.

Finance minister Katy Gallagher said faster and more reliable freight transport services would be beneficial to the Australian economy.

“It not only provides savings for businesses, but it will also lower prices for Australian families, helping alleviate cost of living pressures,” she said.

National Intermodal CEO James Baulderstone said the new Interstate Terminal would deliver long-term value for the precinct and boost market confidence that higher volumes of rail freight can move efficiently, safely and sustainably across state borders.

“The progress being made at the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct is a great example of how industry and Government entities can work successfully together to develop innovative, modern infrastructure of the future,” he said.

“The scale of the Moorebank precinct, together with its direct link to Port Botany and mainland capital cities, will not only increase capacity and drive freight efficiencies but will remove significant costs from the supply chain.”

Mr Baulderstone said the rail freight sector has been constrained by limited infrastructure investment and market concentration.

“The genuinely open access facilities at Moorebank will help to ensure that efficiency savings resulting from these modern facilities are passed onto customers and end consumers helping to relieve recent significant increases in supply-chain costs,” he said.