Brisbane Port’s $15bn Future Faces One Big Obstacle

There are big plans for the port of Australia’s fast-growing northern capital, but one major factor is threatening to stymie them. A lack of rail connection. The Queensland capital’s port handled more than 1.56 million 20ft shipping containers, worth about $65 billion, across 2023. The PortBris Vision 2060 plan outlines the need to increase that capacity to cope with the region’s surging population, the impact of the 2032 Olympic Games and an expected increase in Australian goods production. And under that plan, the port will be greener and more automated. But all of the plans hinge on an important factor: improving the landside transportation of freight. Port of Brisbane chief executive Neil Stephens says a dedicated freight corridor to the port is vital. “Currently, less than 1 per cent of containerised freight in and out of the port is moved by rail and quite simply, that needs to increase,” Stephens says. “We understand careful planning will be essential to ensure Queensland maximises the benefits of trade growth while managing the impacts associated with increased transport demand on the broader community and environment. “As south-east Queensland’s population continues to grow, so too will the freight task—trade volumes and how that freight is transported around our region and beyond.” ▲ Just 2 per cent of containerised freight travels by rail in Australia compared with 25 to 30 per cent in other countries. The rail line to the port is shared with passenger services so freight trains are restricted to running in off-peak periods. There are moves to improve things, however. To date, the federal and state governments have each contributed $20 million to connect the Port of Brisbane to Yeerongpilly, and the Inland Rail project at Ebenezer. A report released last year prompted by that commitment found the Port of Brisbane supply chain is expected to grow from $8 billion to more than $15 billion by 2050, and freight handled by the facility will increase by 4.8 per cent each year. It said peak freight rail demand would be in 2036. That’s little more than a decade away, and much must be done before work on a dedicated corridor gets under way, let alone come online. The Department of Transport and Main Roads report says rail share for containerised freight has declined from 12 per cent in 2006 to less than 2 per cent. “This means over 98 per cent of the region’s containerised freight task travels on road via heavy vehicles,” the Port of Brisbane Further Planning Summary Report says. “This is in contrast to domestic and global ports ... targeting and achieving rail modal shares of more than 20 to 30 per cent.” ▲ The report envisions a more automated, green and connected port. Stephens says the productivity of the port affects not only south-east Queensland but the broader economy. “From the goods we buy to the cars we drive and componentry for renewable energy projects, the imports through the port are propelling the region’s growth,” Stephens says. “This is complemented by the demand for Queensland’s world-class agricultural produce, resources and products which are connected through the port to global markets. “As we look to the future, as our city and regional population continues to grow, the port will continue to be a key enabler of that growth.” The Vision 2060 also looks at the potential for an automated road network between the port and Gateway Motorway. It reveals 5 million truck movements to and from the port each year, and predicts that will grow to 15 million by 2060 unless at least a 30 per cent moves to rail. ARUP urban design market leader Shy Tay says there are many drivers for change in this logistics ecosystem but the capacity bottleneck was moving containers out of the port by land. ARUP was one of the project partners to work on the Vision 2060 project. “Moving goods and the urban mobility from the port to other parts of the broader region is important, and that affects efficiency and volume,” Tay says. “So, if the port can handle more containers, and we can import or export more things, then the bottleneck is probably on how quickly we can move things around. “But the inland rail is not an easy project, it is a massive undertaking. “We are also already seeing how wharves ... and grocers and food producers are using automation within their setup .... so it would not be hard to imagine that the port needs to start to look in that direction too.” ▲ The cruise terminal and Fisherman Islands on the Brisbane River. The vision comes 15 years after a $2.3-billion deal to lease the port for 99-years to the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd consortium. It is made up of QIC Private Capital, IFM Investors, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Platinum Tawreed Investments A 2010 RSC Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority). The port has acquired the land around the cruise terminal on the other side of the Brisbane River, which is surrounded by hectares of undeveloped land “That’s also an area where they are developing and broadening their appearance, where it’s not just around import and export, but they also are working in the tourism sector as well,” Tay says. “But the port does not have a lot of land in the Pinkenba leading to the cruise terminal. “That area connects to the back of the Brisbane airport. So, between the airport, the cruise terminal ... one would imagine that some of the land development around the area will also have opportunities for better sophistication. “Rather than lower grade industrial land ... some of the users there are storing cranes, dumping construction gear .... you would hope that over time, the land will become quite valuable industrial land as well as other uses of higher value.”

Infrastructure
Renee McKeown
Fri 11 Jul 25

Brisbane Port’s $15bn Future Faces One Big Obstacle

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