Intermodal Terminal Company has announced imminent plans to build and operate a Somerton-based $400m intermodal terminal.
Somerton is a suburb of Melbourne, and the new terminal will be located at the Austrak Business Park, approximately 20km north of the Port of Melbourne; the park is also approximately 10km from Melbourne Airport. The Business Park is located near the intersections of Metro Routes 58 and north-south Route 55. Southbound, Route 55 joins the Melbourne Metropolitan Ring Road, northbound, it joins M31 (the Hume Highway). However, the company points out the terminal will be a key node in the Port Rail Shuttle Network. That network joins several rail lines from east, north-west, north (but not north-west or west) and south-west, all centred on the Port of Melbourne. Somerton has been designated by the State Government as a location at which sidings and rail connections will be built prior to the operational opening of the network.
ITC Founder & CEO Mishkel Maharaj said that the 45 ha terminal will be Australia’s largest intermodal terminal and the first in a network of independently-owned and operated terminals across the country.
“ITC is delighted to announce the Somerton Intermodal Terminal as the first independently constructed, maintained, and operated terminal in our portfolio… once operational, the terminal will deliver additional benefits to the people of Melbourne every single day of its operation – through reduced carbon emission and air pollution, reduced road congestion, and improved safety”.
ITC envisages that the Somerton Intermodal Terminal will handle over one million TEU and will remove 500,000 truck trips from inner-Melbourne roads. Each year, it will also save 451 million litres of fuel and reduce carbon emissions by 189,000 tonnes, the company said in a statement. The company added that the terminal will provide a “cost-effective and efficient solution to maximise the utilisation of Inland Rail – which currently has no endpoint in Melbourne and no viable terminal solution – in time for its scheduled completion in 2027/8”.
Coleman Rail has been appointed as the principal contractor to build the terminal because of its experience and track record of delivering large, complex, projects safely across Australia.
The Port of Melbourne welcomed the news, commenting that the new terminal is well-positioned to complement the Port of Melbourne’s $125m port rail transformation project, and the Victorian Government’s port rail shuttle.
“[A] mode shift from road to rail transport will be key – for sustainability reasons as well as productivity benefits. More freight moved by rail is better for the climate, it is better in terms of safety, taking trucks off local roads and reducing congestion. Moving freight by rail can move far more containers in a single trip than trucks can. For example, a 600 metre long train can carry 84 containers compared with a B-Double truck which has an average capacity of three containers,” the Port of Melbourne noted.
