A COMMITMENT to inland rail will “turbocharge" Wagga’s biggest investment in decades, the Bomen freight hub.
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The government stumped up $594 million on Tuesday night to purchase the land for a 1700 kilometre freight line from Brisbane to Melbourne, stopping at Wagga.
The route encompasses the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RIFL) Hub, which according to Wagga Business Chamber president Tim Rose was further proof of the project’s importance to the city’s economic future.
“It will turbocharge the RIFL hub, making it even faster and cheaper to get goods to port,” he said.
“We’ve always been the crossroads between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide but we can now add Brisbane to that list, meaning goods can come straight off a ship from any of those ports, on a train to Wagga and be distributed from here.
“We can build a port facility inland where land and labor is expensive and it’s not a hassle to get to.”
The inland rail has been tipped to rival road transit times.
Riverina MP Michael McCormack said the inland rail project was “vital” for the region, as it would allow farmers to capitalise on new free trade agreements.
“Essentially this will provide a very important rail network from Brisbane to Melbourne that will take produce from the Riverina to the ports,” Mr McCormack said.
“This taps into the RIFL Hub, aligning the confidence government has shown, the announcement the state (government) will provide its funding and the work council has done.”
Asked when the government would actually build the project expected to cost $10 billion, he said the initial funding was “real action” and “without this money it would still be pie in the sky”.
Committee 4 Wagga CEO Chris Fitzpatrick said the inland rail solved the “missing link” in the local supply chain.
“Bigger, longer trains are the way of the future and this is recognition of that,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“We can get bulk commodities like grain on boats for export in a quicker and more economically viable way.
“It’s a great announcement and just another reason why the RIFL Hub is so important.”
Mr Fitzpatrick also talked up the importance of the smaller ports the inland rail opens access to, such as Newcastle.
