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Infrastructure Projects Shaping Australian Freight

Inland Rail, WestConnex, the M12, Western Sydney Airport and the Bruce Highway upgrade — what they mean for transport and logistics jobs.

6 min readUpdated 2026
Key takeaways
  • Inland Rail Melbourne–Brisbane is reshaping the long-haul freight market.
  • Western Sydney Airport and the M12 are creating thousands of logistics jobs.
  • Bruce Highway and Pacific Highway upgrades continue to improve linehaul productivity.
  • Port-rail shuttle expansions are reducing road volumes in capital cities.

Inland Rail

The 1,700km Melbourne–Brisbane Inland Rail corridor is one of the largest freight infrastructure projects in the country. Once complete it will shift a significant share of long-haul intermodal volume off the Newell Highway, while creating new jobs in regional intermodal terminals.

Western Sydney

Western Sydney International Airport, the M12 motorway and the surrounding Aerotropolis are generating a sustained pipeline of logistics, warehousing and last-mile transport roles in the Bringelly/Badgerys Creek corridor.

Pacific and Bruce Highways

The Pacific Highway is now fully duplicated Sydney to the Queensland border. The Bruce Highway is in the middle of a multi-decade upgrade program improving safety, flood resilience and productivity north of Brisbane — directly benefiting linehaul carriers running to Townsville and Cairns.

Port-rail shuttles

Moorebank in Sydney and Truganina in Melbourne are expanding port-rail shuttle services. Each container moved by rail removes one truck movement from CBD-adjacent roads, and is creating new intermodal operator and crane operator roles.