Qube Logistics signs a contract with Australian Paper to assist Gippsland businesses transport goods to port
August 21, 2012
Qube Logistics has signed a contract with Australian Paper to develop a rail freight terminal in the Latrobe Valley.
Qube Logistics has already begun seeking proposals from third parties interested in implementing the plan, which aims to assist Gippsland businesses transport goods to port.
Qube says the development will allow local businesses to truck
products to the proposed terminal where
they will be loaded on to 40 foot shipping containers, making it easier for the goods to then be loaded on to container ships.
“The upgrade will take the burden off the region’s roads,” says Australian Paper Chief Executive Officer Jim Hennebury.
He adds the deal has the potential to replace more than 200 truck movements per month between Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley.
Australian Paper freights less than half of its 600,000 tonne per annum output to Melbourne via rail but hopes to be able to increase volumes by up to 40 percent when the new terminal rolls out.
Qube Chief Alliance Officer Charles Stott says
an upgraded 50-carriage ‘consist’, comprising
rolling stock exclusive of the locomotive, will provide a different pathway to port for local manufacturers.
“There is a lot of volume going up and down in trucks, which ultimately ends up on ships. This will skip that step,” says Stott.
Stott says the terminal will
also allow the company to increase the service’s load capacity, while allowing for the addition of third party carriages.
Local lobbyists have been arguing for improved rail freight logistics in Gippsland for a long time, believing it plays a crucial role for agri-businesses and potential brown coal export industries.