SEATS awaits response to its representations on improving freight productivity on the South Coast rail line and seeks that the NSW Government releases the long awaited Illawarra Rail Resilience Plan.

Several key freight oriented developments are happening in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven Region that rely on an expanded rail (and road) network that adds wealth to not only the state of New South Wales but the nation as a whole.

The Manildra Group has recently increased capacity at Bomaderry towards quadrupling production and currently moves in excess of 23,500 tonnes of grain each and every week from western NSW to its facility on the bank of the Shoalhaven River. An equivalent tonnage of added value product leaves the site for export through Port Botany as well as to domestic manufacturers and distributors as food and beverage ingredients, stockfeeds, industrial gases and fuel grade ethanol across the nation. The expansion of the rail capacity into Port Botany is essential as is the escarpment rail crossing between Unanderra and Moss Vale. The supportive road access across the Illawarra Escarpments is now limited to the Princes Highway, Mt Ousley Rd/Picton Rd to access the Hume highway corridor both as a primary route but also as a backup to rail capacity fluctuations.

The effective crossing of routes East-West from Nowra is a major concern to SEATS together with Manildra and other industries in Shoalhaven and Wollongong to transfer goods to/from the Hume Highway corridor during periods of closure at Mt Ousley/Picton Rd caused by weather or incidents.

The expansion of trade through Port Kembla as a result of the closing down of the Glebe Island facility adds to the need to have the freight logistics network robust with resilience and backup to ensure that industry can continue its operations with minimal disruption.

The Illawarra Rail Resilience Plan will address passenger rail issues on the Sydney Trains network. The capacity of the Unanderra-Moss Vale line should be be recommended as a freight line with the capacity recognised that freight during peak harvest times is fully committed.

SEATS does support longer freight trains on the network, increasing the train passing opportunities south of Dapto with a request that the Toolijooa passing loop be reintroduced as a project. A reconfiguration of the Bomaderry station yard to have the effect of the freight train shunting movements pose less impact on the passenger train services.

SEATS also strongly supports the introduction of “hybrid” passenger trains between Bomaderry and the electrified Sydney Trains network at Kiama.

All of the above should form essential component of the Illawarra Rail Resilience Plan which is keenly awaited release by the NSW Government for comment.