The New South Wales and Commonwealth Government have agreed to bilaterally provide a green light to Inland Rail works in NSW and have confirmed $300 million will be provided in this week’s Federal Budget towards the duplication of the freight rail line from Port Botany to Enfield.
The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) welcomed the news.
“This is much welcomed news that New South Wales is now the second state to come on board showing their commitment to the Inland Rail project, and further Commonwealth investments to the tune of $300 million are locked away in (the) Federal Budget towards the duplication of the freight rail line from Port Botany to Enfield,” ARA CEO, Danny Broad said.
“This is good for the city, good for the bush, good for supply chain efficiency and good for Australia.
“The need for a national rail freight supply chain is a vital ingredient to an efficient and well connected freight network, with strong links to our ports, which will ensure strong connectivity from our places of production to export.
“The ARA has been a vocal advocate for the Port Botany duplication, with the project featuring prominently in our NSW Freight Strategy and the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy submissions to both NSW and Commonwealth Governments.”
Mr Broad said the duplication is one of Infrastructure Australia’s ‘High Priority Initiatives’ and will help to alleviate growing road congestion, support growing intermodal operations in outer Western Sydney and position the port to meet rising freight demand.
“Investing in projects like the duplication of the Port Botany rail line will help address Sydney’s rising congestion issues and support the objective of the New South Wales Government to increase rail share to and from Port Botany,” Mr Broad said.
“Both of these announcements are great news for the rail industry, providing opportunities for action for the betterment of Australia’s rail infrastructure.”
