Melbourne Intermodal Terminal rail freight operations expand

Melbourne Intermodal Terminal rail freight operations have begun, as Australia’s newest and largest intermodal terminal starts handling trains to support Victorian and national supply chains.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The $400 million Melbourne Intermodal Terminal (MIT), backed by Aware Super, commenced freight train operations in November at the Somerton logistics precinct in Melbourne’s north, as reported by DCN. Intermodal Terminal Company (ITC) designed, built and now operates the facility.

Don’t miss…Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern combination: Great Connection

MIT forms part of the broader $1.6 billion Melbourne Intermodal & Industrial Exchange (MIIX), developed by Aware Real Estate and Barings. The Port of Melbourne has selected the Melbourne Intermodal Terminal (MIT) as a central hub in an incentive scheme to shift container freight from road to rail.

Port of Melbourne rail shuttle incentives for MIT

Developed with the Victorian Government and industry, the initiative runs under the Port Rail Shuttle Network Start-up Incentive Program. It is intended to support import container volumes during the terminal’s ramp-up phase and encourage early uptake of rail services now that the Somerton intermodal terminal is operational.

Current proposals include incentives of $100 per TEU and $200 per FEU for import containers moved by rail from the Port of Melbourne to the MIT, as outlined by Port of Melbourne. ITC said the program makes rail a more cost-effective option for importers while easing pressure on congested roads and tolled motorways around inner Melbourne. The company also pointed to broader gains across the transport network, including fewer traffic accidents, reduced road damage and lower vehicle emissions.

The shift comes as transport is forecast to become Australia’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In that context, rail haulage is presented as an immediate option to support emissions reduction targets.

Early volumes on the ARTC standard-gauge network

Since construction finished in mid-November, ITC has ramped up operations. By Christmas, the terminal is expected to move more than 1,000 containers between the MIT and the port, with early volumes including 40-foot containers loaded with timber logs for export to Asia.

Those logs arrive at Somerton by truck from regional Victoria. The terminal then loads the cargo into containers and moves them by rail to the port using the ARTC standard-gauge network, avoiding inner-city congestion and toll roads.

Southern Shorthaul Railroad (SSR) operates the port shuttle services. Current trains are around 600 metres long and carry about 80 TEUs per trip, and—following strong early demand—ITC and SSR plan to increase train lengths from 2026.

Capacity plans and one-stop logistics services

ITC said rail enables heavier containers to move directly into port terminals safely and efficiently, removing the need for road transport and improving overall supply chain efficiency.

The Melbourne Intermodal Terminal (MIT) sits about 20 kilometres by rail from the Port of Melbourne. It connects directly to the Hume Freeway and both Victorian and interstate rail networks. Around 20 per cent of Victoria’s containerised freight and 3.5 million square metres of warehousing sit within close proximity.

The terminal is set up as a one-stop logistics hub, offering customs-bonded storage, empty container processing and recycling, and on-site washing, fumigation and repair facilities.

At full development, the MIT is planned to handle up to one million TEUs annually. Plans allocate around 650,000 TEUs for interstate freight and 350,000 TEUs for port shuttle services, as previously covered by Railway Supply. The facility also features fully electric, 350-tonne rail-mounted gantry cranes that can regenerate electricity back into the grid during lifting and loading operations.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed: