Andrew Mathieson
AT LEAST 1500 additional trucks will deliver grain to Geelong’s port this year, putting a question mark on whether the city’s road network can hold up to the strain.
Victorian Farmers Federation estimates a 60-tonne B-double truck would pull into a Victorian port every two minutes to unload grain after the state’s rail freight carrier, Pacific National, last year pulled out of delivering this year’s harvest.
VFF president Simon Ramsay said the move would have far-reaching ramifications on the transport industry.
“What it will do is put more trucks on the roads, which will provide a whole lot of problems for infrastructure, not to mention the environmental issues associated with more freight on the one network,” he said.
The VFF is in discussion with State Government over the position it will take over upgrading the rail freight lines and keeping them open, Mr Ramsay said.
“Pacific National was the main carrier, so it’s going to be difficult to find a company that is willing to haul that amount of freight on the line to substitute their business,” he said.
But Vicroads believes the extra traffic won’t be an issue for Geelong’s roads.
A Vicroads spokesperson said the arterial road network is “designed to cater for this type of freight traffic”.
“Vicroads, however, plans to monitor the roads for any impact and respond to issues accordingly,” the spokesperson said.