Pilbara railcar manufacturing edges closer

A heavy rail research centre has opened in Karratha ahead of the anticipated opening of a manufacturing facility in the Pilbara city by the end of the year.

CORE Innovation Hub’s rail collaboration centre will focus on training, research and development to bolster local jobs in railcar manufacturing.

The centre was announced in late 2023 and received about $1 million in funding from the state government to establish.

Minister Assisting the Minister for State and Industry Development Minister Stephen Dawson said $8 million had flowed from the local manufacturing investment fund into the fledgling Pilbara railcar industry.

“The opening of this new rail collaboration centre in the Pilbara is another major step towards building an exciting new industry specialising in the manufacture of world class iron ore railcars,” he said.

“Our resources sector relies heavily on railcars, and it makes perfect sense to invest in developing a local industry that will manufacture, test and conduct research on delivering a state-of-the-art iron ore railcar.

“The LMIF continues to boost our local companies, provide job security and support businesses to maintain a competitive edge in an evolving market.”

Training hubs are expected to be opened in Newman and Perth.

The centre will complement Gemco Rail’s manufacturing plant in Karratha which is due to open by the end of the year.

That facility will build 60 wagons for Rio Tinto over six years, and provide repair and refurbishment capacity for Pilbara miners.

Rio has flagged a $150 million spend with Gemco to undertake the work.

A further 40 railcars are under construction at Gemco’s Forrestfield depot.

Both Gemco and BHP’s local manufacturing deal with UGL revolve around flat-pack components being shipped in from China and assembled in WA.