IndustrialWed 10 Jun 26
Work Finally Under Way on Ballarat’s $55m Rail Freight Hub
Work is finally under way on a long-planned $55-million rail freight hub at Ballarat.
The Ballarat Intermodal Freight Hub next to the Ballarat Airport in the city’s north-west is forecast to move about 15,000 shipping containers a year to the Port of Melbourne.
It will also handle about 300,000 tonnes of grain annually for George Weston Foods’ soon-to-be-completed flour mill.
Taylor Rail Australia has been selected to deliver the rail line and civil works package, including 3km of new track, drainage works and the decommissioning of the Ring Road level crossing.
The hub, which is expected to be completed later this year, will support Victoria’s freight sector, which is forecasted to double from 440 million tonnes handled in 2020-21 to 900 million tonnes moved annually by 2051.
The project has been delayed by two years after prolonged planning, procurement and approval processes despite funding being secured earlier.
The site is within the Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ), a joint industrial development between the local and state governments on 438ha of surplus Crown land.
The Victorian Government has invested more than $45 million to unlock commercial land at the BWEZ, building on a $30-million partnership with the City of Ballarat established in 2015.
The hub is jointly funded by the Victorian and Australian governments with each government contributing $27.75 million. It is expected to complete in later this year.
Victorian ports and freight minister Melissa Horne said that moving more freight by rail meant fewer trucks on the state’s roads, “improving safety, cutting emissions and reducing wear and tear across our network”.
Two lots in the freight hub have been sold, opening access to the broad-gauge Ballarat-Ararat rail line for tenants George Weston Foods and CHS Broadbent.
Meanwhile, a 2ha site on Liberator Drive has come to market.
Federal infrastructure and transport minister Catherine King said the development would “future-proof BWEZ by providing road, rail and future air connectivity all in one precinct”.
“It will be a drawcard for businesses wanting to locate here and for future investment in our city,” King said.
Victoria’s freight and logistics sector contributes $36 billion to the state economy—about 6 per cent of the state’s GDP, according to the Victorian Freight Plan 2025-30—and employs almost a quarter-million Victorians.
The government expects construction of the site to support about 100 jobs.
The freight hub is next to the Ballarat-Ararat train line at Mitchell Park, a five-minute drive from Ballarat Airport and the Western Freeway, on Wadawurrung Country.
