New Moorebank Interstate Terminal NSW now under construction

The Moorebank Interstate Terminal in New South Wales is on track to receiving its first interstate freight train early next year as construction commences on new container handling facilities. 

The new Interstate Terminal is being built as part of the Moorebank Logistics Park (MLP), Australia’s largest intermodal precinct, and it is set to become the first independent metropolitan interstate rail terminal to be constructed in more than three decades. 

“Moorebank’s new Interstate Terminal will deliver long-term value for the precinct and boost market confidence that higher volumes of rail freight can move efficiently, safely and substantialy across state borders. 

“The scale of the Moorebank precinct, together with its direct link to Port Botany and mainland capital cities, will not only increase capacity and drive freight efficiencies but will remove significant costs from the supply chain. 

“The rail freight sector has been constrained by limited infrastructure investment and market concentration. The genuinely open access facilities at Moorebank will help to ensure that efficiency savings resulting from these modern facilities are passed onto customers and end consumers helping to relieve recent significant increases in supply chain costs,” National Intermodal CEO James Baulderstone said. 

Project map (source: Moorebank Intermodal Company)

The MLP is being developed on a project site that spans 240 hectares – about the size of the Sydney CBD from Circular Quay to Central Station. 

The overall MLP project is comprised of: 

• An Import-Export (IMEX) Terminal – opened in 2019 – with a capacity to handle up to 1.05 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) a year of international containerised freight 
• An Interstate Terminal with a capacity to handle up to 500,000 TEU of interstate and regional freight per year 
• Up to 850,000 SQM of high specification warehousing where containers can be unpacked before delivery of their contents to its final destinations 
• Interconnecting road links (M5 and M7) and rail links to the Southern Sydney Freight Line 
• Substantial biodiversity offset areas protected from development, including vegetation on the east bank of the Georges River 
• Auxiliary services including retail and service offerings 

“Faster and more reliable freight transport services will be beneficial to the Australian economy. 

“It not only provides savings for businesses, but it will also lower prices for Australian families, helping alleviate cost of living pressures,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said. 

Once fully operational, the terminal will have the capacity to service 1,800-metre-long interstate trains, moving approximately 1,500 tonnes of consumer goods. It is also expected to ultimately process around 3,000 trains annually, with its efficiency resulting in lower supply chain costs as well as lower transport emissions. 

The Australian Government has committed $570 million towards the development of the Moorebank Logistics Park that is expected to support around 1,300 jobs during its construction and up to 6,800 jobs once operational. 

“The progress being made at Moorebank demonstrates our government’s commitment to supporting a more efficient, resilient and integrated transport and logistics supply chain, which is vital for many Australian businesses and the national economy. 

“This project will significantly enhance the resilience of Australia’s supply chain, while providing thousands of local jobs and reducing transport emissions. 

“It will also support more competitive freight costs, reduce traffic congestion, increase road safety and deliver better environmental outcomes,” Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said. 

Source: Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government; Moorebank Intermodal Company (1, 2); Infrastructure Magazine