Labor commits nearly $250m to Victoria’s regional freight
Location: Melbourne, Australia
A Rudd Labor Government will invest a further $248 million to streamline Victoria’s regional freight and export supply chains.
Shadow Minister for Transport, Roads and Tourism, Martin Ferguson said today “Australia desperately needs a national freight and logistics strategy with seamless intermodalism between land, sea and air transport.”
“That’s why Federal Labor is investing today in a series of intermodal terminals in Victoria to improve transport productivity for our regional industries and exporters.
“We will also invest in better road and rail links for Victoria’s Western District, which is not on the AusLink network but is a major dairy, forestry, manufacturing and oil and gas region.”
A Rudd Labor Government will provide the following funding:
* $110 million towards a $220 million duplication of the Princes Highway West from Waurn Ponds to Winchelsea;
* $7.5 million towards a $15 million upgrade of the Colac-Lavers Hill Road;
* $50 million to start work on a $160 million project to upgrade rail access at the Port of Geelong, upgrade sections of poor quality track
in Western Victoria and eliminate the gap in concrete sleepers between Melbourne and Adelaide;
* $600,000 towards the Warrnambool Intermodal Terminal;
* $6.5 million towards the Wimmera Intermodal Terminal at Dooen;
* $3 million to start the Shepparton Intermodal Terminal;
$50 million towards the Altona/Laverton Precinct and the Dandenong Intermodal Terminal; and
$20 million towards the Somerton Intermodal Terminal.
Duplication of the Princes Highway West from Waurn Ponds to Winchelsea will cater for high productivity freight vehicles moving produce and exports from the Western District to ports and domestic markets.
Within the next five to ten years, ten thousand vehicles a day will use this vital link for agricultural, food processing and manufacturing industries in Victoria’s Western District.
The project is part of Federal Labor’s commitment to expand the higher mass limits network to improve transport productivity for business.
Copied from: http://martinferguson.com.au/templates/ ... ageID=4090
How interesting. I wonder just how much of this has been spent and how many of these projects have actually started or have been completed?
Regards
Brian
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:23 pm
Please note all had "towards" or "start work" attached.
This is conditional funding, and the projects mentions could count for nothing if the state does not oblige.
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:30 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
This is conditional funding, and the projects mentions could count for nothing if the state does not oblige.
These projects and the funding were announced in November 2007.
Regards
Brian
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:34 pm
Cool.
Because the second half of my reply is;
"..... construction will commence..."
All I see is a re-announcement, no actual movement.
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:39 pm
Ahh yes, 2007. Wasn't that the year that all of the Victorian rail freight network north and north west of Melbourne was to have been standard gauged, as promised by the state ALP back around 2001. Also that would nearly be the year the third line from Caulfield to Dandenong was announced but not a sod of soil has been turned. l also think around about the same time cows that were going to jump over the moon had to have reflective striping fitted.
Cheers Dean.
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:07 pm
Location: hawthorn 3122
Because the second half of my reply is;
"..... construction will commence..."
All I see is a re-announcement, no actual movement.
...and most of these projects have been regurgitated by our state government in the "ready for tomorrow" caper...Warrnambool, Doeen.
Others remain in the project category (under consideration...) including Altona/Lyndhurst (to be developed by Salta) and Somerton , leased to PO
Expect increasing bulldust as both state and federal elections nears.
Salta's boss Sam Tarascio recently mentioned that the development of Lyndhurst and Altona intermodal terminals linked to Westgate Ports at Victoria docks (which he also owns) would be a billion dollar investment that would take a long time to come to reality
Edward
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:19 pm
Location: SE suburbs
Ummm, "Western Victoria" .....or the marginal Corangamite electorate? While of course there's a lot of overlap, I wonder if it's a coincidence that a lot of this re-announced funding seems to be for the benefit the latter!
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 6:13 pm
Location: hawthorn 3122
No doubt at all.
Edward
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:38 pm
The term "high productivity freight vehicles" appears to have been applied to trucks. 
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:35 am
Location: Line 1 from Porte de Vincennes bound for Bastille station
Yes. That is the new term for B-triples.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:17 am
Location: Gippsland
Yes. That is the new term for B-triples.
Ain't It the 10 axle B-doubles with 2 x 40 foot trays, slots, etc.
That you see getting around Port of Melbourne ?
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:38 pm
A B-Triple is 1 A trailer and 2 B trailers.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:25 pm
Note this is not re-announced funding.
Bevans was showing us a funding commitment from almost 3 years ago and was wondering whether any of it has come to fruition.
This item was completed:
http://www.artc.com.au/Article/Detail.a ... p=4&id=263
And if "Port of Geelong enhancements" includes Elders Passing Loop and extra tracks near Furner Avenue then that work has started.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:46 pm
...And in a report released back then (summarised in an issue of Railway Digest), it was very biased to make B-Triples sound better than they will probably ever be.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:00 pm