Temporary reprieve for tier 3 rail lines

THE WA Farmers Federation and grain handler CBH Group have welcomed a state government decision to keep open the ‘tier 3’ rail lines in the Wheatbelt, but the farm lobby group has warned the fight to keep them open permanently is not over.

Transport Minister Troy Buswell made a surprise announcement last week to keep open the tier 3 lines, after previously resisting overtures from farmers, rural communities and CBH.

The government’s plan had been to upgrade the road network in the Wheatbelt, which it argued was more efficient.

After meeting with CBH and railway owner Brookfield Rail, Mr Buswell said the lines would remain in operation until at least October 31 next year.

“Brookfield and CBH will continue ongoing dialogue on the transport of grain by rail and, if economically viable, keep tier 3 lines operational in the future,” he said.

CBH Group general manager operations Colin Tutt said he was pleased to have more time to negotiate an outcome.

“However, this is not an ideal result as CBH is committed to running trains across the tier 3 network for the long term,” he said.

“We would like to achieve an outcome soon that provides more certainty for our growers for the long term.

“The tier 3 tracks certainly need an upgrade but CBH believes they can be managed and operated differently than the tier 1 and tier 2 tracks, as the volume of grain is generally less.”

WAFarmers transport spokesperson Bill Cowan said the 12-month extension would only help strengthen the association’s case that rail was a better option than road for the transport of grain.

“CBH has recently released rate estimates which show a 7 per cent decrease in rail rates and a 5 to 8 per cent increase in road rates, and we believe this will only improve with more investment in grain rail infrastructure,” he said.

CBH attributed the reduction in rail rates to its investment in rolling stock.

“CBH is now responsible for purchasing fuel for the locomotives, we cover the track access costs and we own the rolling stock,” Mr Tutt said. “We’ve taken out the middle man and the profit margins and this is being reflected as improved rail rates.”

Mr Tutt said the new locomotives and wagons were more efficient than those used previously, which meant more tonnes were being carted in each train trip to port.  

“Again, this allows us to pass that benefit to growers through better freight rates,” he said.

Mr Cowan said the extension would not make the tier 3 rail issue go away.

“We are in the lead up to a state election and my message for the Liberal-National government is that this rail debate will not go away,” he said.

“This is not purely an issue for agriculture and farmers; this is an issue for road users across the state. 

“Transporting grain via trucks increases traffic on our roads and we have seen over the past few months a number of traffic incidents between passenger vehicles and grain trucks.

“After that commitment, there needs to be a long-term plan so that the grain rail network is catered for years and years to come.”