The Interstate Terminal at the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct officially opens this morning, marking an important milestone in the Albanese Government's commitment to build a resilient, efficient and sustainable national supply chain and support a future made in Australia.
It will be Australia's first major metropolitan 'independent' interstate terminal, operating under an open access arrangement and not controlled by a single existing above rail operator.
The site will be able to manage 500,000 twenty-foot containers annually, with each train that comes through the terminal able to move 1,500 tonnes of freight.
Each of the 1,800 metre trains the Interstate Terminal can accommodate has the potential to remove 100 'B Double' trucks from Australia's roads, easing congestion.
This will help the movement of rail freight between cities and regions, and help drive efficiency and competition across the national freight network which will ultimately flow onto savings for businesses and consumers.
When complete, the fully integrated industrial precinct at Moorebank will house over 850,000 square meters of modern industrial warehouses and will support more than 6,800 jobs. It is also home to Australia's largest rooftop solar installation with the capacity to generate over 100 megawatts of renewable energy.
The Moorebank Interstate Terminal is being developed as a joint venture between the Australian Government-owned National Intermodal Corporation, with Qube Holdings and LOGOS, with the Australian Government having committed $570 million towards the Intermodal Precinct.
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
"The opening of the Moorebank Interstate Terminal is a major milestone in the development of the broader precinct that will create and support Australian jobs, while improving the efficiency of supply chains.
"We want to see a future made in Australia and having the key infrastructure in place will play a huge role in supporting more good, well paying Aussie jobs.
"The new terminal will play an important role in improving travel for Sydneysiders taking more than 3,000 heavy trucks off Sydney roads daily. That means less time spent on the roads and more time with family and friends.
"The Moorebank Intermodal Precinct demonstrates how Government leadership and co-investment with industry can deliver world class infrastructure assets resulting in significant value for future generations."
Quote attributable to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King
"The new Interstate Terminal connects the Precinct to the interstate rail and road network - including the future Inland Rail project - enabling movement of vital consumer goods between Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
"The Interstate Terminal is the cornerstone of the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct, providing for the servicing of trains up to 1,800-metre-long, directly adjacent to modern warehouse facilities and last mile delivery services."
Quote attributable to the Minister for Finance, Katy Gallagher
"Together with the terminal's strategic location, with direct connections to Port Botany, the M5 and M7 motorways, it offers unrivalled logistics benefits for both industrial customers and consumers.
"Moorebank Intermodal Precinct is Australia's largest logistics hub. Located in the heart of Sydney's west, it offers economically critical direct connections to Port Botany and major road and rail networks."
Quotes attributable to National Intermodal CEO James Baulderstone
"The Interstate Terminal together with the entire Moorebank Intermodal Precinct has delivered Australia's most modern intermodal precinct, setting a benchmark for the future of our supply chain.
"The Interstate Terminal has an open access arrangement that allows multiple rail operators to use the terminal, driving competition and delivering further cost savings to end users.
"The precinct's scale also provides the platform and location for major renewable energy generation, enabling warehouse owners and last mile delivery transport companies to reach their net zero ambitions."
Quotes attributable to Qube Holdings Managing Director Paul Digney
"Qube is proud to deliver the new Interstate Rail Terminal, which complements Qube's Import and Export (IMEX) Terminal, and which will revolutionise freight efficiencies between interstate capitals and further strengthen supply linkages for customers to warehousing and Port Botany.
"This is an exciting day for Qube and for our project partners LOGOS, John Holland Group, Mainland Civil and Vaughan Civil. The delivery of this critical new asset will play a significant role in boosting rail's share of freight, which is currently is only 11 per cent across the eastern seaboard.
"Getting more freight off the road and onto rail will be key to achieving Australia's emissions reduction targets, especially given rail freight generates 16 times less carbon pollution than road, and this new Interstate Rail Terminal at Moorebank will be a key enabler in that transition."
