AURIZON SIGNS MAJOR AGREEMENT WITH INTERMODAL TERMINAL COMPANY

Aurizon has signed an agreement with Intermodal Terminal Company for the utilisation of the Melbourne Intermodal Terminal (MIT) for up to nine years.  

The services agreement will allow Aurizon, Australia's largest rail freight operator, to use the new facility for the handling of containerised freight.  

The Intermodal Terminal Company (ITC), backed by Aware Super, is investing $400 million to deliver the state-of-the-art intermodal terminal and IMEX facility in Somerton, in the heart of Melbourne's northern industrial zone.

Construction of the 45-hectare MIT is currently 90 per cent complete, with the 15-hectare Inner Terminal due to commence operations in October 2025. 

Intermodal Terminal Company CEO Mishkel Maharaj said: "The services agreement relating to the $400 million Melbourne Intermodal Terminal (MIT) will provide Aurizon and its customers with interstate freight train services from Melbourne's north via the largest and arguably the most state-of-the-art intermodal terminal in Victoria. 

"Aurizon's supply chain customers will benefit from the intermodal terminal incorporating the latest technologies in safety and operational efficiency as well as being large enough to accommodate Aurizon's interstate growth plans. 

"Aurizon and its customers also have the added benefit of the terminal being centrally located in Melbourne's fast growing northern industrial and logistics precinct with efficient access to other major industrial zones in the greater metropolitan area."  

Aurizon Bulk & Containerised Freight Group Executive George Lippiatt said the new MIT has opened up new opportunities for Aurizon as it continues to grow national container volumes and enhance service offerings for customers. 

"Intermodal terminals are critical to the growth of freight supply chains in Australia and ensuring rail can do the heavy lifting for interstate rail linehaul services across the nation," he said. 

"This terminal is strategically located and provides efficient connections to the national rail network and the Port of Melbourne creating opportunities for rail to support new markets across Australia.   

"I have seen first-hand the investment being made in the MIT to create a high-capacity efficient terminal for both interstate and import-export rail services.  Aurizon welcomes the opportunity to utilise MIT which provides an alternative to the current footprint of Melbourne for rail freight." 

The Melbourne Intermodal Terminal (MIT) is a central component to a broader development being undertaken by Aware Real Estate and global asset management firm Barings to establish a major integrated industrial and logistics precinct at Somerton called the Melbourne Intermodal & Industrial Exchange (MIIX). 

The total investment in these terminal and precinct developments is $1.6 billion, representing the largest privately funded enhancement to the Victorian freight and logistics sector in a generation. 

The MIT is located where the freight is – within a seven-kilometre radius of the MIT is currently three million square metres of warehousing, and the investment into MIIX will grow this further.  

The total combined 31-hectare inner and outer terminal hardstand areas of the future MIT will be equivalent to approximately 14 MCG AFL fields. 

Maharaj said connecting and integrating rail networks, terminals and services to existing precincts of concentrated freight demand and consolidation is fundamental in helping to stimulate customers in the supply chain to better utilise the economic, environmental and social benefits of hauling large volumes of freight by rail. 

"MIT customers will benefit from co-located warehousing from the surrounding MIIX, while end customers in the supply chain like supermarket chains and big box retailers will have the added bonus of using rail in their transport operations to help reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions."