The short answer
Queensland Rail says its existing network can take more intermodal freight, with more than 10 non-coal paths available for contracting. Incentive eligibility and a workable freight service still need to be assessed for the proposed business.
Queensland Rail says there are no significant constraints on adding intermodal services to its existing network, as governments offer incentives to shift more freight from road to rail.
Responding to WWTG’s questions about freight capacity following the consolidation of Inland Rail, a QR spokesperson said the network had room for growth.
“Currently, there are more than 10 non-coal paths available for contracting.”
The spokesperson said facilitating more freight on rail remained a priority and that the existing network could support an increase in freight services.
A train path is the allocated opportunity to run a service on the railway. QR’s response did not specify whether the available path count represented a daily, weekly or other period, or how those paths were distributed by route. It should not be read as a promise of more than 10 additional trains a day through Toowoomba.
Queensland and Commonwealth incentives can coexist
In background information supplied with its statement, QR said the Queensland freight incentive and the Commonwealth Transport Resilience and Capacity Kickstart — TRACK — incentive were not mutually exclusive.
That opens a useful question for cargo owners considering a move to rail: which scheme can support the proposed task, and how do their individual assessment requirements apply?
QR’s response does not establish that every movement qualifies for payments under both schemes. It says the Queensland scheme requires applications to demonstrate genuine new business and has exclusions, including transferring freight from one operator to another.
Smaller customers can be consolidated
QR said a cargo owner with more than 250 TEU could apply, or a rail operator could consolidate smaller customers to reach the scheme’s 250-TEU threshold.
TEU means twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of container volume. A 40-foot container counts as two TEU.
The aggregation option matters for businesses whose individual freight volumes are below the threshold. They may be able to participate through a rail operator assembling a larger task.
QR said the Queensland scheme applied across the whole Queensland Rail network. It directed prospective applicants to its Rail Freight Container Incentive Scheme information and RFCIS@qr.com.au, with more detailed information expected later this year.
Available paths are the starting point
Capacity on the railway is one part of making a freight service work. Cargo owners still need an offer that suits their origin, destination, delivery times and volume, including the road legs between their premises and a terminal.
QR’s response gives the debate a firmer starting point: additional intermodal freight is not automatically dependent on waiting for a new corridor. The next test is converting existing capacity and eligible new business into contracted services.
WWTG’s TRACK and Queensland freight investigation examines the wider corridor and terminal questions.