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“This precinct was planned to be directly connected to the Port of Melbourne via the site’s existing rail siding, with projections it would eliminate 125,000 truck movements annually,” a Boral spokesperson said.
“The freight precinct would support a development projected to contribute $14.9 billion annually to Victoria’s economy.”
The Boral spokesperson said the removal of the Sunshine crossover “presents a challenge to our project”, but said the company aimed to work with the government on a solution.
However, documents seen by The Age show that the Commonwealth government-owned Australia Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) warned Victoria in 2020 that closing the Sunshine corridor would more than double the cost of moving freight on rail between the Port of Melbourne and an interstate freight terminal planned for Truganina.
An ARTC presentation prepared for Victorian transport department officials says that travelling 42 kilometres further via Werribee would push up costs from $10.50 to $25 for every 20-foot train container.
The ARTC, which owns and manages most of the country’s interstate railway network, proposed a workaround by building a new track connection just south of Sunshine station to preserve access for freight trains.
Rail Projects Victoria, a unit within the state transport department which has subsequently been shut down, developed detailed plans to implement the same solution in 2021, according to the leaked documents.
The proposals from both ARTC and Rail Projects Victoria was to build a short section of track 1.5 kilometres south-east of Sunshine station and complete a missing link between the existing freight corridors.
The 400-metre curved link would have allowed trains from the port to access tracks to Bacchus Marsh via an existing rail bridge which clears Sunshine Road and the Metro and V/Line passenger tracks.
The Allan government did not answer questions about why the proposed alternative connection was not progressed or included in the $4 billion rebuild of Sunshine station.
All freight rail from Ballarat and Geelong will have to pass through a single section of track at Newport.Credit: Joe Armao
Rail Freight Alliance chief executive Reid Mather said the local government areas his group represents were “extremely concerned” that the impending Sunshine closure would push more trucks onto roads in Melbourne’s inner west and rural roads not designed for such heavy traffic.
“In western Melbourne, this is really concerning for them that potentially they could see a dramatic increase in trucks. You can’t have a liveable city without supporting rail freight,” he said.
Mather said the closure would affect train services set to serve the mineral sands industry in Victoria’s north-west, as well as meat and dairy exports from Warrnambool.
“It takes a long time to build up a rail service, but it’s quick for a truck to come along and take it away. And once you lose it, it’s difficult to get back,” he said.
A spokesperson for Horne and Williams said rebuilding Sunshine station was the government’s first step towards electrifying trains to Melton and building the rail line to Melbourne Airport.
“We know that the removal of the Sunshine crossovers will change the way rail freight will move around the network which is why we continue to work closely with industry,” the spokesperson said.
An ARTC spokesperson said the corporation was “continuing to work collaboratively with the Victorian government on freight options around the Sunshine Superhub” to ensure it would “drive freight productivity and balance the needs of passenger services”.
