Victorian Ports minister Luke Donnellan has told a parliamentary inquiry a rail shuttle connection to the Port of Melbourne (PoM) would play a key role in a state-wide freight strategy, it hoped to develop by the end of the year.
Mr Donnellan told the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) hearing the government had also budgeted $58 million to entice more short-haul freight, onto rail.
“We want to see rail play a vital role in the future of the port, and that is why, as part of the lease of the port of Melbourne, we have enshrined the role that rail will play in the legislation,” Mr Donnellan said.
It was expected a rail access strategy, for the port, would be completed, within three years of the Lonsdale Consortium taking over the lease.
“One of the options set out in the first strategy must be the development of a port rail shuttle.”
“As we know, heavy vehicles do damage roads more heavily than smaller vehicles, but in terms of maintenance and the like, it is an incredible burden to the state budget continuously.”
Part of the freight strategy would involve getting short-haul rail in and out of Victoria’s ports, shuttling goods into the outer suburban industrial areas.
Mr Donnellan said the government was also upgrading key roads.
“Across the state we are improving access to the port for regional and rural businesses, with a $37.6 million upgrade of key freight routes,” he told the PAEC.
“These improvements range from intersection upgrades to shoulder widening to ensure that we can get the most efficient road transport combinations, moving regional freight from farm gate to the port.”
The program would also fund planning studies for freight improvements on the Calder Highway, between Bendigo and Maiden Gully and the north–south link for Bacchus Marsh.
“Bridge fencing is another program directly aimed at export competitiveness,” he said.
“It is a program particularly beneficial to Victoria’s primary producers, who rely on road transport for at least the first and often the entire leg of the journey to market.
“Bridges with access restrictions force road transport operators to take less direct, more roundabout routes, to service their customers, adding cost and damaging Victoria’s export competitiveness.”
He said a $40.8 million program would fund improvements to bridges across the state, to allow farmers more efficient access to their markets.
“We export more food and fibre than any other state in Australia, some $11.9 billion worth in 2015–16,” Mr Donnellan said.
“Better connections between the farm gate and the port mean more competitive prices for our exports and better returns for our farmers.
“Every dollar we invest in our road connections to the port is reflected in the price we charge for our exports.”
PoM chief executive Brendan Bourke said an industry forum would be run with the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), next month.
“It really is only going to work if we actually involvement with all the people who are involved in the various stages, across the whole supply chain,” Mr Bourke said.
“Rail is important for us, because it is an efficient mechanism to get container transport, into the port,” Mr Bourke said.
“Rail is under represented as a modal share, historically - over a number of decades, road transport has been more efficient in relation to delivering containers.”
Mr Bourke said about 10 per cent of the port’s exports were currently carried by rail but he could not put a figure on the amount the PoM would like to see.
“It would be a bit too bold to make a prediction,” he said.
“What we need to do is take stock, at the end of this process, and then understand what the opportunities are and be realistic around the opportunity, and pathways, around that.”