Logistics Magazine Mercury Awards winner QR will partner with Stockland and Kaplan Funds Management (KFM) to create a new intermodal facility at Stockland’s Department of Defence National Storage and Distribution Centre at Moorebank.
Part of the company’s plans to build a national freight business, QR has taken a 10% interest in the joint venture, with Stockland holding a 60% interest and two entities managed by logistics experts KFM each having taken a 15% interest.
Stockland assumed control of the 83 hectare site at Moorebank on December 18 last year.
QR’s head of freight Steve Cantwell says QR was delighted to gain a foothold in this exciting new venture.
“This partnership with Stockland and KFM will enable QR to play a key role, from the ground up, in building a brand-new intermodal rail terminal catering for increasing containerised freight servicing the port, intrastate and interstate rail line haul markets,”he says.
“QR is looking forward to working with these two parties to unlock the potential of the Moorebank site, given its strategic location and the congestion impacting rail logistics sites elsewhere in Sydney.”
“The Moorebank site is strategically located near major motorways and in close proximity to the main north-south rail line,” he says.
“The new terminal will allow QR to access additional terminal capacity in NSW to service increasing customer demand for containerised freight.”
Cantwell said QR is seeking to grow its intermodal containerised freight business, a market which was expected to double in the next 20 years.
“QR’s long-term intermodal strategy recognises the need for new inland terminal capacity and new rail connections to truly capitalise on this expected growth,” he says.
“This is a sound investment in that future capacity and QR’s continued national expansion.”
“Customers are clearly looking for QR and industry to develop new facilities and growth opportunities for rail-based transport and warehousing,” Cantwell says.
“This move builds on QR’s recent launch of a new full container service from Cairns to Perth, which gives customers a third and highly-competitive carrier across the Nullarbor, one of Australia’s most important transport corridors.”
“We will continue to explore new opportunities for terminals nationally and will examine opportunities on their merits.”
Mr Cantwell says QR supports industry calls to progressively shift freight volumes from road to rail through the use of strategically located inland terminals.
“We will be working with the NSW Government and the Federal Government to encourage the building of critical rail infrastructure to support the growth of future terminals such as Moorebank, as part of a national freight network,” he says.
Planning for the development of the Moorebank terminal and adjacent warehousing will commence shortly.”
“It is considered such a terminal will be operational in the next three to five years, depending on requisite approvals and freight demand,” Cantwell says.