Progress on Somerton’s new mammoth intermodal terminal facility in Melbourne’s north. The 6 track facility will handle port shuttle and interstate freight trains when it opens this year.
Intermodal Terminal Company (ITC), an investment platform owned by Aware Super, is developing the Somerton Intermodal Terminal 26 kilometres north of the Port of Melbourne at the Austrak Business Park. The proposed facility will be owned and operated by ITC.
The terminal will integrate with the Port Rail Shuttle Network and will be able to accommodate double-stacked trains upon completion of the Inland Rail Freight Corridor.
Important to note double stack trains will be able to access the terminal only from the north and not from the south. During the terminal build the Goods Yard at Somerton is being rebuilt for both Broad and Standard Gauges.
The terminal has been a long time coming and is one of 2 being built in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The terminal now most required outside of the northern suburbs is that in the Truganina area where the bulk of Melbourne’s freight is domiciled. There has been much debate about this new terminal and the need to get this project started but the government of Victoria have not committed the funds desperately needed for the development.
There is also the new intermodal terminal being built in Dandenong South where 100’s of warehouse developments have been taking shape.
I have my doubts on containers running from the terminal into the Port of Melbourne. Let’s wait and see too many trucking friends to upset.
Also keen to understand what is the new traffic for the Port of Geelong.
Will Somerton Yard be large enough to handle trains that are being made up added to those arriving and departing? I can see some congestion issues as the yard volume grows.
Considering the other large yard to the north owned by the Australia Government, is there sufficient track capacity to handle trip trains between yards and the port?