A $25 million Kenwick intermodal terminal has officially opened and is set to keep hundreds of thousands of trucks off local roads each year, as part of the government's Westport vision.
A $25 million Kenwick intermodal terminal has officially opened and is set to keep hundreds of thousands of trucks off local roads each year, as part of the government's Westport vision.
Rail freight network operator Arc Infrastructure built the terminal near Roe Highway Logistics Park, after signing lease terms with Intermodal Group earlier this year.
The federal and state governments contributed $5 million each towards the project with Arc Infrastructure funding the remaining $15 million.
Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said hundreds of thousands of shipping containers could be moved by rail through the Kenwick facility, freeing up space on state roads.
"Roe Highway does carry a lot of freight east west. It's a key road that carries freight across our suburbs, and that's why putting more containers onto rail will really reduce congestion and improve safety," she said.
The Kenwick facility is part of the Westport plan to move container trade from Fremantle to Kwinana, which has been estimated to cost billions of dollars.
Loaded containers moving between the Kenwick intermodal terminal and Fremantle port are eligible for the state goverment's $50 per 20-foot unit container rail subsidy.
"Our subsidy in the move to moving to 20 per cent of freight on rail has removed about 109,000 truck from roads around Fremantle," Ms Saffioti said.
"Not only does it support that intermodal shift for Fremantle Port, but is very much part of our plans for the new Westport too. So this project makes sense now and into the future."
The Kenwick intermodal terminal.
About 200,000 containers would move by rail between Fremantle Port, Kenwick and the proposed Westport each year, Federal Infrastructure and Transport minister Catherine King said.
Ms King said the Westport project would take 135,000 trucks off the congested Roe Highway annually.
"A single train can transport up to 96 containers, and that's the cargo equivalent of approximately 60 trucks, meaning that each and every train that comes through this terminal, that comes out of the station, will take 60 trucks off the road," she said.
"It also provides a savings of over 2 million litres of fuel and contributes to reduction over both of over 5,400 tons of CO2 emissions per annum, and that's pretty good to have all of that in one project."
Arc Infrastructure chief executive Murray Cook said the Kenwick terminal was a strategic investment between the parties and provided a significant increase in intermodal terminal capacity.
"It will see rail modal share increase from 20 per cent today to 30 per cent and then hopefully in the future, to 50 per cent," he said.
"Kenwick now is the first piece of infrastructure for the longer term Westport strategy. We look forward to working with the Westport team on future projects that will increase the rail modal share and provide a world leading port operation."
L-R: Rita Saffioti, Catherine King and Matt Keogh opening the Kwinana intermodal terminal.
Federal Member for Burt Matt Keogh said anyone who has driven along Roe Highway would have experienced congestion.
"Anything that takes trucks off that road, is a benefit for our entire community," he said.
"It means the journeys will be faster. It will remove congestion. It makes it safer for people to go about getting to work, getting to school, and being able to participate in the community, because we'll be getting trucks off the road by getting more freight onto rail."
The preferred Westport design, which included a new port in Kwinana, was released by the state government in November.
Intermodal Group opened a freight on rail terminal in Forrestfield late last year.
