The Victorian Government and Commonwealth Government will jointly invest $28 million on government owned land to connect rail to Salta’s Intermodal Terminal site boundary as part of Government’s objective to retain Victoria’s status as the number one destination for containerised freight in Australia.

Salta will concurrently invest $155 million to construct the Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal to be located on Salta’s 180-hectare Nexus Dandenong South Industrial Estate. The terminal will be equipped with the latest technology that enhances operational efficiency and supports future growth of up to 560,000 twenty-foot equivalent units per annum.

The Dandenong South connection is just one part of the broader Victorian Port Rail Shuttle Network, forecast to cut freight transport costs by up to 25 per cent while slashing truck movements on suburban roads by up to 175,000 trips each year.

Salta’s current investment to date of in excess of $200 million has been spent on land, road, and other infrastructure works on its Industrial Estate, in anticipation of the Intermodal Terminal.

Sam Tarascio Snr, Salta Properties Founding Director, said he was delighted to reach an agreement with the Victorian Government after investing millions developing the Nexus Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal Estate.

Nexus Dandenong South is home to major users of freight services including Woolworths’ $215 million Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre, Bunnings’ 40,000m2 Regional Distribution Centre, plus major logistics businesses, Mondiale VGL and Silk Contract Logistics.

Salta anticipates the value of warehouse developments at the Nexus Industrial Estate at Dandenong South will exceed $1 billion over the next three to five years. Significant capacity still exists for additional tenants, who can benefit from being located adjacent to the Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal.

Work will commence on the Intermodal Terminal in late 2021 and the project is expected to take approximately 24 months to complete, becoming Melbourne’s largest Intermodal Terminal.

On completion, the Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal will be a 24 hour a day fully automated terminal and will offer a safer working environment for users. Trucks will have dedicated lanes for loading and unloading, and the use of Automated Rail Mounted Gantry Cranes (ARMGC) will reduce noise pollution because they are powered by electricity over diesel powered reachstakers, which also allows the cranes to lift and lower containers with precision, assisting in preventing damage to containers.

Two 700 metre rail tracks will be constructed within the Intermodal Terminal, linking to an additional 800-metre spur track being built by the Victorian Government to link the facility with the main line.

Another environmental benefit of the ARMGC is the use of a specialised power feedback system that allows the crane to generate its own power when lowering a container. This power is either redirected to assist other cranes that are performing a lift or is fed back into the grid. ARMGC also produce a smaller carbon footprint when compared to diesel powered reachstakers.

During peak periods, the automated cranes will have capacity to handle both trains and trucks simultaneously. While during non-peak periods, they can perform housekeeping functions (i.e. optimising the container stack for upcoming moves).

The Intermodal Terminal will be controlled by a state-of-the-art Terminal Operating System (TOS), which is best described as the brains of the operation. It instructs the cranes on what moves to perform and optimises crane operation time to efficiently manage operations.

The TOS is integrated with the vehicle booking system (VBS), which manages truck appointments at the terminal and the Gate Operating System (GOS) that coordinates truck entry and exit.

The entry and exits have Automated Optical Character Recognition System, which provides high definition photos of containers to the terminal operator and scans the container registration number to inform the TOS.

The Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal will be a state of the art facility creating a new benchmark in terminal innovation. Salta Properties is currently in discussion with a number of major logistics operators in regard to the terminal’s operations.