Inland Rail CEO Nick Miller and the Inland Rail Board of Directors have visited the Parkes Special Activation Precinct, with Mr Miller declaring after the visit that Parkes has established itself as the flagship city on the Inland Rail project. After visiting the Parkes Special Activation to review the freight and logistics facilities at the 4800-hectare site, Mr Miller and the Inland Rail board held an official company board meeting in Parkes, the first time the board has ever met in the town. “What we are seeing happening in Parkes with the Special Activation Precinct is just a taste of what is to come as Inland Rail gets built out further - there is no doubt that Parkes is the flagship town on the project right now," Mr Miller said, “The Parkes Special Activation Precinct is home to the National Logistics Hub which will become Australia’s largest inland freight and logistics centre." Inland Rail will connect Melbourne to Brisbane via Parkes, while the Trans-Australian Railway connects Sydney to Perth via Port Augusta in South Australia and the Nullarbor Plain, with the Parkes Special Activation Precinct, sitting on the only junction of Australia’s two rail spines. “The Parkes Special Activation Precinct and Inland Rail complement each other to provide a compelling answer to questions of sustainable growth in Australia. “Australia’s growing population and an anticipated increase in domestic freight of more than 20 per cent by 2040 emphasise the importance of Inland Rail." Inland Rail expects to be in full construction in every section between Beveridge and Parkes next year as it looks to complete the Beveridge to Parkes by sections by 2027. “Rail freight is 16 times more fuel-efficient than road freight and we will cut rail freight travel time between Melbourne and Brisbane by almost a third, from 33 hours to less than 24 hours. “These compelling aspects of Inland Rail underline why it is such an important project.” Construction began on the Stockinbingal to Parkes section of the project in March this year, with 162 local residents employed on this section. Of this number, 28 are First Nations people. The section has also employed 54 women and spent more than $9 million with 97 local business.
