West Australia commits A$29 million for grain rail lines
The Western Australian government unveiled a A$29-million package to help renew the state's grain rail freight network but farmers say a lot more funding is required for it to operate efficiently.
State transport minister Simon O'Brien said the package, which was announced late Monday (Jan 18) and is mostly targeted at upgrading track, is designed to bring greater security and certainty to the network.
"This significant financial package will increase the volume and efficiency of this strategically important asset and will provide certainty to grain growers and the freight logistics sector," he said in a statement.
President of lobby group Western Australian Farmers' Federation, Mike Norton, said the funding commitment is a step towards keeping grain on rail rather than seeing its haulage migrate to the road system.
But the package sounds better than it is and "considerably more funding is needed to ensure the state's A$4-billion (US$370-million) grains industry continues to operate efficiently and in the best interests of the community," he said in a statement.
Given the rail network is state-owned, it is up to the government to ensure grain on rail is competitive with road, Norton said.
Australian Railroad Group, a unit of QR Freight, said the government package is an investment in the long-term future of grain transport in the state. ARG is Western Australia's largest rail haulier outside the Pilbara iron ore province.
ARG general manager Ken Potts said the state's funding decision secured the future of the parts of the viable and sustainable narrow-gauge grain rail network in the state.
"This decision on the first stage of the upgrade to the narrow gauge network will enable ARG to plan for investment in infrastructure, such as locomotives," he said in a statement.
The decision to make strategic closures of some narrow gauge lines and the investment to keep other, viable lines open is important for the long-term future of grain transport, Potts said.
