Inland rail tipped to play a critical part

The Australian Logistics Council has welcomed two key developments this week which indicate the Federal Government is strengthening its commitment to construct the critical Inland Rail project, which will establish a port-to-port rail link from Melbourne to Brisbane. "This week has witnessed two positive steps ... with the opening of an information centre for the project in Toowoomba, as well as the declaration of the Gowrie to Helidon and Helidon to Calvert sections in Queensland as coordinated projects," says Michael Kilgariff, ALC Managing Director. "This declaration will permit the preparation of an environmental impact statement for these sections, and is a further sign that this much-needed piece of transport infrastructure is at last becoming a reality," he adds. Kilgariff says ALC has long advocated for the Inland Rail project to be built. It will feature prominently in the Inquiry into National Freight and Supply Chain Priorities, which is now under way, and from which the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy will be developed. "ALC considers that a port-to-port rail freight link from Melbourne to Brisbane should form the backbone of this strategy," he stresses. Kilgariff also points out that inland rail "will play a critical part in ... allowing more efficient movement of freight, and also reducing congestion on our key road transport corridors".