WA Labor pledges $22m for rail siding extensions to get grain to port

A re-elected WA Labor Government would spend $22 million extending rail sidings at CBH’s Moora, Brookton, Cranbrook and Broomehill receival sites to allow more wagons to fill with grain before heading to ports. CBH and its 3900 grower members would also tip in $80 million to build rapid rail loading infrastructure at the four sites to dramatically speed up how fast grain can be loaded into trains. The combined upgrades are expected to slash the time it takes to shunt and load a train at Moora from 11 hours to just over four, with similar improvements expected at the other three sites. WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the works would create 750 jobs during construction and deliver $3 million a year in export revenue. Ms Saffioti met with CBH to confirm the announcement at Kwinana Grain Terminal yesterday, saying the investment would be made straight after the March 13 State Election if WA Labor retained power. She said the funding would be allocated to CBH as a grant and the grain handler would be responsible for co-ordinating, tendering and contracting the work. “A re-elected McGowan Government will immediately invest in WA’s freight rail network to support local farmers and take trucks of regional roads, and work with the Federal Government to win more investment into regional rail in the future,” Ms Saffioti said. About 60 per cent of WA’s annual harvest is moved to port by rail each year, while the rest is moved by road. Today’s announcement follows last year’s release of the Revitalising Agricultural Region Freight Strategy, which outlines priority and “shovel ready” projects for agricultural freight infrastructure in WA. Ms Saffioti said the strategy followed extensive consultation with both CBH and rail operator Arc Infrastructure to identify “shovel ready” projects. CBH chief executive Jimmy Wilson said a large part of the rail network was old and not built to accommodate a harvest that has grown 200 per cent in size during the past 30 years. He said the improvements would allow growers to get more tonnes to port during the “crucial first half of the year” before the Black Sea — Australia’s biggest grain producing competitor — harvested its annual crop, giving WA growers the “highest possible price for their grain”. “WA is home to the best growers in the world, but we are seeing increasing competition from low-cost, Black Sea producers,” he said. “Investment by the State Government in these four rail siding projects will allow longer trails to be loaded at our key receival sites, avoiding costly inefficiencies in our supply chain. “CBH intends to co-invest in rail loading infrastructure at those four sites to leverage the efficiency gains provided by the government-funded siding extensions.” All four of the projects are a mixture of new or upgrading existing infrastructure with more details expected to be released in coming months. “CBH therefore commends Minister Saffioti and the McGowan Labor Government on developing the Revitalising Agricultural Region Freight strategy so we have a plan for investment in road, rail and port infrastructure over the long term,” Mr Wilson said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the State Government on progressing the Revitalising Agricultural Region Freight Strategy to achieve even more efficiencies for the supply chain and support the grain growers of WA.” WA Labor is currently preparing a business case to submit to Infrastructure Australia to potentially reopen three of the State’s mothballed Tier 3 lines. Ms Saffioti said there was strong sentiment from grain growers and community stakeholders for reinstating some of WA’s Tier 3 grain lines. The State Government hopes to attract funding from the Federal Government, through Infrastructure Australia, to reopen three of the lines in coming years. “The Federal Government has committed to invest many billions in the Eastern seaboard’s Inland Rail project,” Ms Saffioti said. “The aim of our business case will be to build the foundation for a funding partnership so that the Federal Government will immediately invest in WA’s freight rail network to support local farmers and take trucks off regional roads, and will work with the Federal Government to win more investment into regional rail in the future.”