QUBE recently welcomed the first train into the company’s Interstate Rail Terminal at Moorebank.
The Qube train transported six containers through the terminal as part of a trial late last month.
Qube said the success of the trial has boosted its confidence that the company will meet the revised delivery timetable announced in August 2023.
As noted in Qube’s full year results statement for 2023, published in August, the terminal is expected to be completed in the second half of the 2024 financial year, which is “slightly later than originally contemplated”.
A spokesperson for Qube said the company looks to be on track for completion and commissioning of the new terminal in April this year.
“We’re continuing to make very pleasing progress on the delivery of the Interstate Rail Terminal at Moorebank, thanks to the delivery team including our new construction partner, John Holland,” they said.
“The interstate will be a welcome addition to the Moorebank precinct, creating significant freight efficiencies between interstate capitals and further strengthening supply linkages for customers to warehousing and other facilities and of course, to Port Botany.”
Once complete, the terminal would be capable of processing 1800-metre-long interstate trains each removing the equivalent of about 120 trucks of freight and consumer goods from the road network, according to the company.
“All up, the initial development will have capacity of 250,000 TEU and be able to process around 1000 trains per year,” they said.
The ultimate design capacity of the terminal is for 2000 trains and 500,000 TEU per annum.
“The new interstate terminal will be key to boosting rail’s share of freight which is currently is only 11 per cent across the eastern seaboard, and as little as two per cent on Australia’s busiest freight corridor between Melbourne and Sydney,” the spokesperson said.
“We know that getting freight off the road and onto rail will be key to achieving Australia’s emissions reduction targets especially given rail freight generates 16 times less carbon pollution than road.”
Qube’s Interstate Rail Terminal is part of the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct in southwest Sydney.
When the precinct is fully operational, it is expected to take an estimated 3000 truck movements off Sydney roads each day and reduce up to 110,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
