Pacific National CEO Paul Scurrah has said both companies were uniquely placed to realise the benefits of the future ARTC – Inland Rail, currently Australia’s largest infrastructure project.

Once operational, the Wellcamp Logistics Hub would have about 2.7 kilometres of frontage to the future Inland Rail, potentially allowing 1800-metre-long freight trains to operate at the site with the ability to process up to 350,000 shipping containers by 2030 and 500,000 by 2040.

It follows deals with Boeing to be a foundation tenant of an aerospace park and the State Government’s deal to use Wellcamp as a quarantine hub.

Scurrah said Wagner Corporation had a superb track record and proven expertise in delivering critical transport and freight infrastructure in Queensland.

He said PN planned to significantly increase containerised volumes in its intermodal business in the coming years, with the Darling Downs offering both an origin and destination for large quantities of goods and commodities.

“Under the agreement, Wagner Corporation will construct the intermodal terminal while Pacific National will operate daily rail freight services under a long-term lease arrangement,” Scurrah said.

The estimated investment by Wagner Corporation to build the intermodal terminal for Pacific National, construct initial associated connective services and associated warehousing, is $110m with up to 245 jobs generated during construction.

Once operational, the 23ha intermodal terminal would support up to 400 skilled jobs, including train drivers, terminal staff and associated warehousing staff – many recruited from the region.

Wagner Corporation chairman John Wagner said the Federal Government’s construction of Inland Rail and confirmation by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce that the route was settled had given companies added confidence to invest in major freight hubs along the future rail corridor between Melbourne and Brisbane.

“When Wagner Corporation attended the October 2019 opening of Pacific National’s logistics terminal in Parkes – also located on the Inland Rail alignment – it gave us an exciting picture of what could be achieved with rail freight services at Wellcamp,” he said.

“The future Inland Rail will facilitate operation of double-stacked 1800-metre-long interstate freight trains between major terminals across the country – these trains need to be broken down into smaller units to help efficiently tranship containers between trains and trucks,” he said.

Scurrah said intermodal freight hubs offered governments and communities the added safety and environmental benefits of shifting more freight volumes from trucks to trains.

“Integrated with Inland Rail, the Wellcamp Logistics Hub will help reduce road accidents and fatalities, traffic congestion, vehicle emissions, and road ‘wear and tear’.

He said at a minimum, an 1800-metre-long freight train hauling shipping containers was equivalent to removing 140 B-double return truck trips from our roads.