$400 Million Upgrade to Port Botany Rail Line Announced

Early this month, the Turnbull Government announced a major funding release to ease congestion on the Port Botany Rail Line in Sydney. Putting $400 million on the table, the project is designed to duplicate the single track part of the line and will be fully funded by the government.

This financing will also help build a passing loop at Cabramatta allowing trains to pass along the line. The track duplication will increase the capacity for freight movement within Sydney's rail network. This is intended to support a considered shift from road to rail freight, easing congestion on the roads out and around Sydney Airport.

This project has been characterized as a High Priority Initiative by Infrastructure Australia and will allow local business to send and receive goods far faster and more affordably.

In announcing the project with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull predicted that this funding would allow passengers to get from Sydney Airport into the city much sooner.

"Every single additional train with containers along this rail line takes 50 trucks off the roads. The goal is to increase the rail share of this Port Botany port, this container port from just under 20 per cent to 40 per cent and we're seeing big growth in the port as well.

"Right across the country we're spending $75 billion on infrastructure over the next decade and we're allocating an extra $24 billion in this budget to go to infrastructure. But, the only reason we can do it is because our national economic plan is working and that involves lower taxes, more investment, more jobs, more economic growth," Mr Turnbull said, ahead of the national budget reveal.

The project will support more than 150 jobs and will entail new rail bridges, 2.9 kilometres of duplicated tracks and civil works.

(10th May 2018)