Future Victoria: How new freight hub will transform Melbourne’s north

A massive freight terminal in Melbourne’s booming north is set to create tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and light a fire under Victoria’s economy.

An artist’s impression of the Beveridge Intermodal Precinct. Picture: Supplied

Melbourne’s north is poised to light a fire under the state economy when a new freight and logistics hub sparks jobs for up to 27,000 people this decade.

The Beveridge Intermodal Precinct, which will be the size of 46 MCGs, is set to open by 2029 and create high-skilled and high-paying positions in robotics, modern logistics, and advanced supply chain management.

A target has been set for 70 per cent of those jobs to be filled by local communities in Melbourne’s booming north, which is on track to house an extra 440,000 people by the middle of next decade.

The massive site, which is about 50km from central Melbourne, will also have 200MW of rooftop solar power capacity – about the same as a mid-size power station – and space to co-locate customer warehouses and manufacturers.

National Intermodal Corporation chief executive James Baulderstone told the Herald Sun the scale of the development was dawning on the community since the Commonwealth purchased 1100 hectares of land this year to link with the alignment of the Inland Rail project, which will eventually link Brisbane to Melbourne.

The Beveridge Intermodal Precinct will create jobs in robotics, modern logistics, and advanced supply chain management. Picture: Supplied

“It’s no longer just a concept; we’ve bought the land, we’ve got engineers designing the precinct, we’re about to go to the market for coinvestment,” he said.

The Inland Rail project plans to open a section of track between Parkes in NSW and Beveridge in Melbourne’s north by 2027, with a direct link to the freight terminal.

“This will be by far Australia’s biggest national infrastructure project for the supply chain – the supply chain is one of the most important assets the country has,” Mr Bauldestone said.

“That is what enable us to have our standard of living.”

Two major freight hubs are planned for Victoria, with a facility at Truganina in Melbourne’s west favoured by the Andrews government as the “heart of freight and logistics”.

However, it has committed to working with the Commonwealth on the Beveridge facility, which has been backed by $1.6bn in federal funding and came from work pushed by Anthony Albanese when he was infrastructure ministers, while it progresses planning for Truganina.

Mr Baulderstone said the Beveridge project was being put together in two phases, with a smaller site open in 2025, ahead of the full facility in 2029 that would cater to double-stacked containers on 1800m freight trains that can travel to Perth, via Parkes.

The Beveridge project is being put together in two phases. Picture: Supplied

He said it would be part of “a truly Australian integrated network of rail freight” that would provide 7000 direct jobs and 20,000 associated jobs.

“You are talking around 27,000 jobs in the heartland of the North, and they are high paying high skilled jobs; high skilled jobs; modern logistics, advanced Supply Chain management, robotics,” he said.

The intermodal corporation – a government-run entity – has a target of 70 per cent of those jobs going to local communities, and Mr Baulderstone said that work had started with local higher education providers to look at what courses could be provided.

Executive director at North Link, Chris James, said the facility was critical for Melbourne’s growth corridor in the north, with the combined population in Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Merri-bek, Mitchell, Nillumbik and Whittlesea set to soar from 1.04 million to 1.48m over the next 13 years.

“The rapid predicted increase to population will require local jobs and the BIFT will create a lot of direct jobs and a lot of ancillary jobs,” he said.

He said the project would complement recent investments by Amazon in Craigieburn, as well as the north’s manufacturing base.

Opposition ports and freight spokeswoman Roma Britnell said the Allan government should “stop taking Melbourne’s north and west for granted” and get on with Beveridge and Truganina projects.

“The Liberals and Nationals support, in principle, long term freight hubs in Truganina and Beveridge to take pressure off crowded hubs around Melbourne Airport and waterfront locations,” she said.