Page 77 of 185 4. Freight and Commercial Travel The greatest impacts from freight growth in greater Melbourne will be in, near and between ports, inter-modal freight terminals and industrial suburbs where the largest warehouses and distribution centres have been established. The City of Melbourne will help improve the efficiency of freight and commercial travel by reducing road congestion and resolving conflicts between residential and commercial land uses and freight operations wherever possible. What we want for 2020: Our Vision of a Sustainable and Integrated Transport Network Melbourne remains the most cost effective centre for freight distribution in Australia. Future Growth of Freight Freight activity is increasing at an even greater rate than Melbourne’s population. Economics and consumer demand has seen a proliferation of different products servicing the same market need. Full range supermarkets now stock 50,000 to 60,000 lines, four to five times the number of lines than a decade ago. This requires significantly greater warehousing and transport resources. Metropolitan freight in greater Melbourne is forecast to grow at 3.52 per cent per annum from 2006 to 2020, with virtually all of this growth expected to be road-based. Urban freight movement is largely the preserve of road transport; rail carries very little of the urban freight task (see Figure 10)19. This is probably the most significant issue the City of Melbourne faces, given existing 19 BTRE (Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics), Freight measurement and modelling in Australia. 2006, report 112. Page 78 of 185 levels of congestion and the difficulty in expanding infrastructure. Likewise, interstate freight is also forecast to grow, but will have a lesser impact on the City of Melbourne because there is additional infrastructure capacity beyond the metropolitan area and expansion of infrastructure is easier. Figure 10: Victorian Freight Task: Million Tonnes per Annum (Mtpa). DoI 2004 The Port of Melbourne is Australia’s largest and busiest container and general cargo port. The freight and logistics industry in Victoria accounts for 23 per cent of the National freight task and contributes $16.7 billion annually to the Australian economy20. Overall approximately 50 per cent of Victoria’s production (by weight) originates in the Melbourne Statistical Division and nearly 70 per cent of the commodities have a destination there21 Freight movements here have a major effect on amenity for residents, although many other parts of the City of Melbourne are affected too. The Port 20 Ports and Marine Division, Department of Infrastructure, The Freight task in Victoria, 2002 21 Maunsell/NIEIR, Assessment of the Freight Task, 2002 72 Page 79 of 185 of Melbourne is located on the western fringe of the CBD, adjacent to established residential areas (such as at North/West Melbourne and Kensington) and new mixed use areas such as Docklands. Growth at the Port of Melbourne averaged 7.3 per cent per annum for the last decade, which has placed great pressure on landside transport links. However, if the channel deepening project in Port Phillip Bay and the Yarra River does not proceed, the Port of Melbourne’s share of south-eastern Australia’s international containerised trade is likely to gradually decline. The Impact of Oil on Freight The limited availability of oil-derived fuel will have a profound impact on how goods are produced, how raw materials are sourced and how finished goods are distributed. A peak in global oil production is likely to occur during 2010–2025, with oil prices predicted to double, triple and even quadruple unless alternative fuels succeed in powering a significant amount of freight and therefore reduce demand for hydrocarbon fuels. Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) seems the most promising alternative fuel at this point, based on supply resource estimates, availability and current use in diesel engines. Freight Movement by Rail Freight between Gippsland and Melbourne traverses the Dandenong – Caulfield – Flinders Street – Spencer Street – Dynon Terminal corridor, and is limited by a lack of available train paths during passenger peak hours. These freight trains are also limited to the newer concrete viaduct by the Yarra River, between Flinders and Spencer Street Stations. This limitation would have some impact on the ability for the Victorian Government to meet its target of 30 per cent of port-related freight to be carried by rail by 2010, up from 10 per cent in 1999. However, it is also noted that any significant increase in freight rail along this corridor may cause amenity issues in the City of Melbourne. Almost all other freight traffic originating in or departing the Port of Melbourne passes out of the Dynon Terminal through the Bunbury Street 73 Page 80 of 185 tunnel and along a small section of track from Footscray to Tottenham. There is significant congestion on this rail corridor, resulting in delays and lack of rail paths at some times. A lack of additional land for development, combined with terminals that are operating at capacity due to limited rail infrastructure, means that any glitch in the system impacts on service delivery. There is little chance of making up delays. The Australian Rail Track Corporation (which manages the interstate railway tracks), VicTrack (which owns all the land and infrastructure in Victoria used for the public train system) and Pacific National, the country’s largest private rail freight business, all have upgrade plans in varying stages of development to address these congestion problems. VicTrack and the Department of Infrastructure are also developing a Master Plan for the Dynon rail yards (part of the Victorian Government’s Port@L project). A total of $40 million has been allocated for new crossing connections that will allow trains to move more freely from the Adelaide-Melbourne-Sydney mainline onto a port line at Tottenham. This will be achieved through installation of a new bi-directional rail line between Tottenham junction and the Bunbury Street tunnel at West Footscray. In addition, the Tottenham- Port of Melbourne line will be realigned, its signalling improved and heavy duty rail laid. This will enable the holding of three 1500 metre and three 900 metre freight trains on the track. This upgrade will solve short to medium needs and works within the existing road and rail corridors to improve freight throughput capacity, but in the longer term the Victorian Government’s target of 30 per cent of port- Figure 11: Dynon Road Rail Link 74 Page 81 of 185 related freight to be carried by rail by 2010 is limited by height restrictions (preventing double stack containers) and capacity issues on this corridor. The Port of Melbourne’s only rail freight access to the Dynon Terminal is via a single, dual gauge line crossing Footscray Road, which has priority for road traffic. This is being addressed by the Port Rail Link (Figure 11) development which includes grade separating this crossing by realigning and raising Footscray Road. This link will provide dedicated rail links to the port, separation from road traffic and the potential to extend rail access to Webb Dock. Policy: · Council supports the development of new and more efficient rail transport infrastructure that balances the competitive advantage of roads and ensures the continued growth of the Port, including the Port Rail Link and the development of rail terminals in outer suburbs. · Council supports reinstatement of rail access to Webb Dock but wants any associated river crossing to be sympathetic to the Docklands’ residential and commercial amenity and to minimise impact on watercraft moving to and from Victoria Harbour. · Council supports the development of shuttle and freight-only rail lines, provided that impacts on existing residents, businesses and river traffic are minimised. · Council planning policy will require acoustic attenuation measures for dwellings and businesses adjacent to major freight routes and in vicinity of the Port. · Council supports extensions and new links for freight rail access from the western suburbs to the Port, including adding capacity to the existing link though the Bunbury Street tunnel. Short Term Action: · Work with the Department of Infrastructure and the Port of Melbourne Corporation to identify actions to manage and respond to any future traffic and land use conflicts in vicinity of the Port and its rail and road freight routes. 2006-2008 75 Page 82 of 185 Freight Movement by Road Undoubtedly the largest single issue affecting freight in Melbourne is road congestion. There are really no alternatives to road transport for freight distribution around large cities such as Melbourne. Door to door services require road, even if some line haul tasks can be performed by rail. It is generally estimated that freight vehicles constitute 15 per cent of vehicles on the road. Road conditions are generally acceptable except in peak hours, but difficulties lie in east-west arterial road linkages, where both Footscray and Dynon Roads lead into residential and mixed use areas. Large trucks tend to use CityLink, but company directives and perceived time savings can sometimes mean freight vehicles travel through local areas causing problems for residents, particularly in adjacent residential areas such as Kensington and West Melbourne. Initiatives aimed at decreasing congestion on the freight rail system will improve amenity, reduce environmental impact and have a medium to high level of economic performance. Congestion and Freight If it is assumed that each freight vehicle has 2.5 times the impact on the traffic stream as each light vehicle, this gives freight vehicle contribution to road congestion as (2.5 x 15 + 85) / 130 = 30.6 per cent, with light vehicles (that is predominately cars) comprising the remaining 69.4 per cent. Hence, initiatives which reduce the number of light vehicles on the road have the greatest potential to improve the efficiency and economic performance of freight vehicles.