Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael McCormack, made a world wind tour of Toowoomba to visit the the city’s infrastructure developments on Thursday.
Mr McCormack joined with federal member for Groom Dr John McVeigh for a tour which included the Second Range Crossing project and a site tour of Interlink SQ’s global logistics hub at Charlton.
“Toowoomba is a city on the move,” Mr McCormack said.
“The historic investment in nation building infrastructure that centres on this community sets Toowoomba up for an exciting future as on of Australia’s key intermodal transport and logistics hubs.”
Mr McCormack, described InterLinkSQ’s intermodal hub as an exciting project for the region and Queensland on when visiting the development at Charlton.
“We only had short notice that the Acting Prime Minister was coming to the region and we are thrilled that he chose to visit out site,” said Blair Batts, General Manager of InterLinkSQ.
“It was an honour to host the visit and to learn that the Acting Prime Minister has a clear understanding of what we are doing and what it means to the region.
“To have him say that it was an exciting project is a real boost to us with so much else going on as we prepare for the completion of the tunnel-lowering between Toowoomba and Brisbane.”
The InterLinkSQ links closely with the recent announcement of funding by the Federal Government of a $1.5 million study that will examine ways to enhance freight rail connections to the Port of Brisbane.
There has already been multi-million-dollar investment in NSW and Victoria to provide the early development of port shuttles and we look forward to similar investments in Queensland by both the Commonwealth and State governments.
“Clearly rail has to play its part in the future of freight transport on the Eastern Seaboard, working closely with road transport to facilitate the path of lease resistance in the freight supply chain,” Mr Batts.
“As well as reducing heavy freight traffic on our roads, InterLinkSQ will help create new jobs and industry in the region.”