Since the completion of the North Quay Rail terminal and rail loop in early 2006, efforts are continuing to facilitate the greater use of rail for land-based container freight movements in and out of Fremantle.
Increasing the volume of containers moved by rail to and from the port continues to be a strategic priority for Fremantle Ports.
One of the major advantages that rail offers is reduced traffic congestion on roads, assisting in reducing environmental and social impacts.
Greater fuel efficiency is another factor in rail’s favour. Road transport may consume about four times as much fuel as rail per container on a short haul, and over six times as much on the long haul across Australia.
During 2010-11, rail received a market share of 12 per cent. The volumes moved by rail reduced congestion at the wharf.
Rail continues to receive financial support from the State Government in recognition of the vital role it plays and the inherent difficulty rail has in competing with road transport over short distances. The longer term objective is for rail to become self sustaining as it becomes more established in the market place, interface problems at the wharf are overcome and volumes grow, allowing economies of scale to be realised.
The ultimate aim is for rail to achieve a 30 per cent market share. If the Inner Harbour reaches its assessed annual capacity of more than one million containers, such a market share would equate to more than a quarter of a million truck movements each year. This underlines the importance of the role that rail can play in the future of the Inner Harbour. With this in mind, work has commenced on several initiatives aimed at improving rail’s competitiveness and future capacity:
expressions of interest for development of intermodal terminal capacity in the Kewdale/Forrestfield area
assessing future requirements at the North Quay Rail Terminal
ensuring future planning of the Rous Head area complements and supports rail development through adjacent container terminal and container park development
investigating the optimum train service arrangement to meet future volume requirements.