The new Victorian Government adds a nail to the Hastings port coffin.
Victorian premier Dan Andrews has ruled out any plan to run double-stacked container freight trains through Melbourne city and suburbs.
The decision will reduce the relative advantages of a mooted new container port at Hastings, 72km southeast of Melbourne.
“The Andrews government would not support any proposal by the former Napthine government to run double-stacked freight trains through the heart of Melbourne,” government spokeswoman Helen McInerney tells ATN.
That Hastings Port plan had been put forward by the former Coalition-led government. It was opposed by Labor, whose alternative proposal centres on a new deep water port at Point Wilson, in Port Phillip Bay between Melbourne and Geelong.
While the newly formed Infrastructure Victoria will offer the final recommendation on any new port development (including both the Hastings proposal and the ‘Bay West’ alternative at Point Wilson), the ability to connect to rail links will be a vital consideration.
Double-stacked trains from Hastings to Melbourne would require changes to several bridges along the Dandenong to Melbourne rail corridor.