Infrastructure & Accessibility

By Air

Featuring the third longest runway in Queensland and the ninth largest in Australia, the Rockhampton Airport prides itself on being able to handle freight of any size or shape. The proven experience of the Airport has contributed to its involvement in international and domestic military operations.

The newly redeveloped Rockhampton Airport is exceptionally well serviced with multiple flights to and from Brisbane daily, direct flights from Mackay, Gladstone, Townsville, Sydney and Melbourne and connections on to other ports around Australia and internationally. Airlines that fly into Rockhampton include Qantaslink, Virgin Blue and Tiger Airways. It is also the welcoming destination for 750,000 domestic passengers every year.

By Sea

Port Alma, located 60km south of Rockhampton is a tailored port that handles ships up to 180m in length. Major cargoes include salt, tallow, petroleum products, explosives, ammonium nitrate and general shipping.

Fitzroy Terminal, a proposed coal export terminal with anticipated commissioning in 2015, is located adjacent to Raglan Creek, 50km South of Rockhampton.  The proposed $1.2 billion project will have the capacity to export up to 22 million tonnes per annum. The terminal’s proximity to existing rail networks, Port Alma and surrounding waterways support the proposed transhipping model.

Located 100km south of Rockhampton is the internationally recognised Port of Gladstone, one of the largest ports on Australia’s east coast and responsible for handling billions of dollars worth of cargo each year, including 67 million tonnes of coal, with expansions having increased its handling facilities, which when complete will have a through port capacity of 70 million tonnes.

The proposed Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal, once completed, in conjunction with the RG Tanna Coal terminal would grow coal export to 150+ million tonnes  annually. In addition there are projected trade trends to 2015 with new markets of LNG and Aluminium industries to affect the port.

By Coach and Bus

Greyhound Australia operates from the central bus terminal in Rockhampton with multiple services connecting Rockhampton with Brisbane, and Cairns daily. Services are also available to Emerald and Longreach. Youngs, Sunbus, Rothery’s Coaches and Dowies are the major providers of bus services and tours across the region. Kynoch Coaches provide services from Rockhampton to Toowoomba via Mount Morgan and Biloela.

By Rail

Rockhampton is a major Queensland Rail centre with the ability to handle close to 200 million tonnes of rail freight each year.

Queensland Rail’s Traveltrain operates train services daily to Rockhampton from Brisbane and Cairns and extend west to Longreach. High speed ‘tilt-train’ services run four times per week between Brisbane and Cairns. ‘The Sunlander’ and ‘Spirit of the Outback’ trains also run via Rockhampton to the Tropical North and Outback, offering an experience that is more than just a train journey. For more information on the Central Queensland Intermodal Logistics Hub Initiative, Click Here.

By Road

The Rockhampton Region is the base for several large trucking companies, focused on moving products to market areas. Rockhampton is located at the junction of the Bruce, Capricorn, Burnett, Dawson and Leichhardt Highways and the city streets have been designed to provide smooth flow-through to truck, commercial and passenger traffic.

The Rockhampton Region transport businesses are frequently involved in logistical planning for unusual items of machinery and plant required at the neighbouring mines. The expertise is there to help you move anything you need to, in or out of the region.

Major highways link the region with all parts of Queensland and the Southern States, these include:

-  Great Inland Way (A7)                   – Leichhardt Highway (A5)

-  Australia’s Country Way                – Capricorn Highway (A4)

-  Pacific Coast Touring Route (Bruce Highway, A1)

For more information on the Central Queensland Intermodal Logistics Hub Initiative, Click Here.

Road and Rail Network Development

Due to the continuing growth and development of the Rockhampton Region, greater demand is being placed on the Region’s transport networks. To sustain the enormous growth predicted, improved road capacity and flood immunity are crucial, not only for the Rockhampton Region, but for long haul and regional transport across Queensland.

Current Initiatives

Motivation

Flooding of the Bruce Highway and North Coast Railway at Rockhampton can cut critical supply routes to and from central and north Queensland for two to three weeks at a time, effectively isolating over 700,000 Queenslanders. Projected climate change impacts could increase the frequency and severity of this flooding.

Rockhampton’s existing Fitzroy River bridges, constructed in 1952 and 1980, are fast approaching capacity and currently funnel all traffic into a small area of the city. Construction of an appropriately located flood-free third bridge to reduce growing traffic congestion and redistribute through- traffic away from the busy city centre is now a near term priority.

Relocation of the existing North Coast Railway from Denison Street in the city centre is also a high priority as train length and frequency increase, and as the conflict between the rail and state and local road networks increases. Load limits on the existing Alexandra Street rail bridge and slow transit times through Rockhampton also impact on the efficiency of rail operations.

A western realignment of the Bruce Highway and third bridge will link Rockhampton’s growth areas at Parkhurst and Gracemere as well as providing connectivity with the CBD, Base Hospital and Airport. This link will also provide improved access from the Australian Defence Forces Western Street facilities to the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area and further north.

Improving the flood immunity of the Rockhampton Airport is also critical and levee and combined levee-road options are being investigated in conjunction with the proposed western alignment of the Bruce Highway.

Benefits

The dominant activity associated with these proposals would be construction. Based on the construction industry’s multiplier effects within the Rockhampton Region alone – above and beyond the direct benefits of the infrastructure to improve the productivity of the state and national economy, the preliminary estimations of the initial effects of the construction activity include:

• Jobs: 8646 Full Time Equivalent Jobs
• Value Added: $606.3 Million
• Gross Output: $1.7 Billion

While additional economic benefits would occur within the state and national economy above and beyond these benefits to the Rockhampton Region’s economy, Rockhampton Regional Council has not added them within these figures. Thus, this represents a conservative example of the stimulus this proposal could inject for economic growth.