Agreed port linkages identified as crucial to success of signature rail infrastructure project
Preparatory steps are underway at the Brisbane end of the Inland Rail Link, with a Deed of Cooperation signed between the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and Port of Brisbane.
The document gives Federal Government-owned ARTC access to privately owned Port of Brisbane’s pre-feasibility study into the corridor from the west of Toowoomba Ranges to the port with a view also to unlimited access there.
“This information will provide a vital building block to future planning of the Inland Rail program, and in particular the Australian Government’s commitment to investigate a 24/7 rail link to the Port of Brisbane,” ARTC CEO John Fullerton says.
“When completed, Inland Rail will be the ‘backbone’ for the national interstate freight network, providing a direct rail connection between the Queensland, NSW, Victorian, South Australia and Western Australia economies.
“Key to the program’s success will be linkages to regional and metropolitan ports, opening up businesses to new and existing domestic and export markets – and that’s why this Deed of Cooperation is so important.”
Port of Brisbane CEO Russell Smith states that the Deed of Cooperation represented significant progress in investigating a dedicated freight rail corridor to the port.
“Dedicated freight rail access to the Port of Brisbane is a critical part of future-proofing Queensland and New South Wales’ economic growth by expanding export capacity and reducing the logistics chain costs for our key east coast export industries, particularly agriculture,” Smith says.
Canberra has committed $300 million to finalise planning, engineering design, environmental assessments and to start construction of the Inland Rail program.”