Modelling conducted by Deloitte indicates Somerton has the capacity to handle the equivalent of one million 20-foot containers. [six-metre] The bridge’s capacity of 1.5 million containers when it first opens, with the potential to double that number with expansions, will be enough to handle all interstate shipping until the mid-2050s.
Maharaj said it showed the Commonwealth did not need to spend more than $1.6 billion to build another intermodal terminal 20 kilometres to the north in Beveridge.
“The capacity is there. We’re not asking taxpayers to put their hands in their pockets, because the industry pension fund does that,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re duplicating infrastructure — it’s like building two airports across the road from each other.”
The Morrison government has pledged $1.6 billion for the Beveridge interstate freight terminal and $280 million for associated road connections in the 2022-23 budget, which it hopes will help it win Marginal seat in McKeon.
The state Labor government had been pushing for a station at Truganina, in Melbourne’s west, since 2018. However, in May, The Allan government said it would postpone the plans. for the Western Interstate Freight Station “even when it is needed” and to support the development of Beveridge moving forward.
A Victorian government spokesman said the state welcomed proposals from the private sector and industry to deal with the increasing freight volumes.
“We will continue to work with the Commonwealth, local government and industry as work progresses to create intermodal terminals and provide inland rail.”
National Intermodal chief executive James Balderstone said the Somerton station would complement the facility the Commonwealth-owned company was planning to build in Beveridge, which had up to 600 hectares available for warehouse development.
“It’s a residential area, not an intermodal terminal,” he said. “And if you want rail to be cheaper than road, it’s about the last mile of pick-up and delivery. So to solve that problem… you need the customer to be in the same place.”
Boulderstone also warned that there was a risk that private station operators might capture the value provided by the inland rail project rather than pass it on to consumers in the form of cheaper products.
National Intermodal plans to open a pilot terminal at Beveridge by 2026 and a major terminal by 2028, which will have the capacity to handle half a million TEUs per year, Boulderstone said.
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Cargo volumes through the Port of Melbourne, already Australia’s busiest port, are expected to grow from around 3 million TEUs annually to 4 million by 2032 and 5 million by 2040.
Port of Melbourne’s head of intermodal transport, Charles Cornish, said the port was pleased to see the Somerton terminal progress as part of its efforts to build a network that can move cargo away from the port for processing in the city’s industrial hubs.
“We are keen to see freight shift from road to rail, bringing productivity and environmental benefits,” he added.
