SCT Logistics and Westgate Ports expected to take advantage of improvements to the Altona intermodal precinct near Melbourne
March 5, 2012
SCT Logistics and Westgate Ports are expected to take advantage of improvements to the Altona intermodal precinct near Melbourne.
The $40 million upgrade to the facility was completed late last week, and is seen as a key cog in meeting a growing freight task and shifting more freight on to rail.
Victorian Transport Minister Terry Mulder says it will improve standard gauge rail access for intermodal terminal operations in the area. SCT Logistics and Westgate Ports will use the rail access once further works to connect their terminal sidings to the new rail points are completed.
“The project involved construction of an extension to the existing standard gauge passing loop to accommodate 1800-metre long freight trains, new points providing access from terminals to the mainline and associated signalling and track works along this section of the Melbourne to Adelaide standard gauge line,” Mulder says.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese says the project is an important step to getting more freight on rail and creating seamless connections between land, sea and air transport.
“That’s why the federal Labor government is investing more than $400 million in a series of intermodal terminals across the country to improve transport productivity for our regional industries and exporters,” Albanese says.
Mulder says the expected doubling of freight volumes in the next two decades means there is a need to develop a statewide network of intermodal terminals to enhance terminal capacity and better handle the expected rise in container movements.