One of the more bizarre discoveries we made when we came to Government three years ago was; no one had decided where in Victoria Inland Rail would end.
The previous Government had started building a new rail line without proper planning and sensible costings, and there was literally no end in sight.
We put in the work. Our review of Inland Rail recommended a new intermodal Terminal at Beveridge, where freight can go from trains to trucks or nearby warehouses.
Today, we turned the first sod on that future Beveridge Intermodal Terminal – it will eventually be Australia’s largest and most advanced logistics hub.
It’s the last piece of the puzzle and will mean freight trains can travel from Melbourne to Perth, via Parkes in western NSW from 2027.
It’s a big moment, and while you may never visit Beveridge, chances are your groceries and online purchases might on their way to your door.
Where the development of this terminal at Beveridge has been welcome by the government and some users, rail operators have been calling for an urgent solution to a much needed terminal in Melbourne’s western suburbs at Truganina where a larger amount of freight is trucked by road to the epicentre of warehousing in Melbourne.
Recently a plan to connect the Beveridge and the proposed Truganina terminals by rail was rejected meaning there will be increased trucks on the highways between Truganina and Beveridge when this traffic could be placed on rail for safety and economic benefit.
