Freight in the fast lane

The Wagga Wagga hub will be the only current intermodal terminal on the north-south corridor capable of loading and unloading trains at the maximum length of 1.8 kilometres - a feature which should allow operators to load and unload 10 containers of in bound and 10 out bound containers in under half an hour.

The project, covering 95 hectares, is estimated to be able to handle 40,000, 6.1-metre (20-foot) containers per year, a figure Wagga Wagga City Council claimed should drive down supply chain costs.

"Up to 30 per cent of production costs for a regional producer or manufacturer is getting it to port," said strategic manager James Bolton, Wagga Wagga City Council.

"Depending on what the product is, it now costs between $800 to $1200 to get a box to port.

"We're hoping to significantly reduce this cost."

Mr Bolton said the RIFL hub aimed to pull back the price by 10 or 15pc, and given the efficiency and volume of the freight this would create competition between ports.

"If we can drag down supply chain costs, it'll make the Wagga region more competitive on the export markets," Mr Bolton said.

"It's giving the product owner more options and control of the supply chain, as the terminal business model is open access supported by common user facilities, which at the moment is not the norm in the logistics industry.

"The terminal model provides efficient infrastructure and facilities to support the freight owners while allowing multiple transport operators and modes to access the site.

"The beauty of Wagga is its location between Sydney and Melbourne; the further you travel by rail the more efficient rail transport options become, and Wagga sits in a sweet spot."

Long term, the hub would include inland port facilities, grain and oil seed terminals, minimum B-double access and direct access to the Olympic Highway, Bomen Industrial Centre and the Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre.

In July last year, Australian company Traxion came on board as key stakeholders of the project.

Director of commercial and economic development Peter Adams, Wagga City Council, said the federal government had contributed $14.5 million to roads and rail infrastructure and the council was talking with the state government about funding of enabling road infrastructure.

Wagga City Council had committed in excess of $20 million in the budget for the project, but the final cost was yet to be determined, Dr Adams said.

He said the facility would stimulate existing businesses and open up new opportunities for regional freight owners and ports.

"The more you're handling something the more it costs you," he said.

"It's more appealing to use this stop when you don't have to break up the train and have access to 900m long intermodal terminal hardstand.

"Trains that are coming past at 95pc capacity can pick up more slots on their way past very quickly, and this is supported by an empty container park on site that will enable smaller players to use rail more efficiently - it lessens the cost of a box from A to B.

"The proposed inland rail route connecting Melbourne and Brisbane via regional NSW and Queensland would complement RIFL by allowing for direct access to Port of Brisbane, double stacked containers trains north-south and east-west via Parkes."

The federal government is calling on tenders for the further development work on the inland rail route which will see increased port access options, double stacked intermodal trains, heavier axle loads, increased train lengths and faster train services connection regional freight owners to the national rail network.