A PACKAGE of measures designed to bring greater security and certainty to the State’s grain freight network, including the Avon to Albany line, which includes Wagin, was announced by Transport Minister Simon O'Brien this week.
This followed the release of a report by the Minister’s Strategic Grain Network Committee (SGNC) into the narrow gauge rail network’s future viability.
Mr O’Brien said the Liberal and National parties had, when forming Government, determined to find a long term and sustainable solution to the network’s problems.
He said this significant financial package would increase the volume and efficiency of this strategically important asset and provide certainty to grain growers and the freight logistics sector.
“State Cabinet has committed to fund a 50 per cent share of the $43.5 million required to complete the re-sleepering of the Avon to Albany rail line,” he said.
“Discussions will be sought with the Federal Government to seek similar funding.
“In addition, $500,000 will be spent to start project development and pre-construction activities on the proposed Chester Pass Road upgrade, a key north-south regional road route linking Albany and the Southern Wheatbelt.
The Minister said the SGNC review considered all of the historical and contemporary issues facing Western Australia’s grain freight network.
The independent committee was chaired by Professor Fred Affleck of the Freight and Logistics Council, and included representatives from CBH, Australian Railroad Group, WestNet Rail, peak grower groups, and personnel from Federal, State and local governments, including WALGA.
“The SGNC identified that the Commonwealth’s decision to deregulate the grain market has profoundly affected the way grain is both handled and shipped to market in WA,” Mr O’Brien said.
“In the deregulated environment, farmers and grain handlers located in areas where rail cannot compete on a cost-competitive basis with road transport will always opt for the cheapest mode of transport.
“Western Australians face the very real threat that, unless immediate action is taken, then there will be many tens of thousands of additional heavy vehicle movements on roads between the Wheatbelt and the Kwinana and Albany grain terminals.”
The Minister said to address this immediate threat, State Cabinet had also approved a $6.9 million Transition Assistance Package for the current harvest to keep grain running on what, at present, are uneconomic lines.
“The State Government has seen the need to keep grain on rail on a number of uneconomic lines for a period of time until infrastructure investment in roads and upgraded grain receiving points on the rail network takes place,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said the State Government recognised that some non-economic rail lines would ultimately be needed to be put into care and maintenance if the industry opted not to use rail as the preferred mode of grain transport.
“While the Government is committed to keeping grail on rail, the real onus is on farmers and bulk handlers, who currently opt to use road transport, to put their money where their mouth is and put their grain back on rail,” he said
In contrast the Labor Party has called on the Barnett Government to reject any recommendations to close parts of the State’s grain rail network.
Shadow Minister for Regional Development Alannah MacTiernan said the recommendations by the Minister for Transport’s Strategic Grain Network Committee (SGNC) did not make sense on an economic, environmental or social basis.
“I urge the Government not to follow the recommendation of this committee,” Ms MacTiernan said.
“Closing these tracks in the heart of the State’s biggest grain growing region would be a disaster for farmers and local wheatbelt communities.”
Lines which Labor say are earmarked for imminent closure include those scattered throughout the central and southern wheatbelt.
Ms MacTiernan said the Federal Government had committed $135million to fund the upgrade of the grain rail network but the Barnett Government had failed to match this.
The SGNC’s final report recommends the closure of 736km of track in and around the central Wheatbelt and identifies the need for $320 million worth of road upgrades to cater for carting grain by road.
The report claims the Government could save $94 million on track upgrades if the lines were closed, but at the same time admits it would have to spend $96 million in urgent road upgrades as a consequence of the rail closures.
“Therefore this proposal fails even the most basic cost benefit analysis as it will cost more to close the rail than to keep it open,” Ms MacTiernan said.
“In addition, this will be an economic disaster for farmers as there will be no competition to road transport and in the long run prices will inevitably skyrocket.
“Rail is up to nine times more fuel efficient that road transport when it comes to carting grain and as fuel prices increase this will become a real cost burden.”
Ms MacTiernan there were also serious safety and amenity issues for rural and city communities.
“It takes 150,000 trucks movements to transport one million tonnes of grain,” she said.
“The rail closures could force an additional three million tonnes of grain onto country roads and that would have a major impact on road safety in the bush.
“We will see thousands of road trains rumbling through country communities and all the way through to the city’s road network as farmers deliver their grain to port.
“Wheatbelt roads would need to be widened and upgraded to cope with the volume of such heavy traffic and city residents would be forced to tolerate much more truck traffic.
“This just does not make sense.
“The taxpayer paid for this infrastructure 100 years ago and the Barnett Government should invest in keeping it operating for the benefit of all Western Australians.”
Ms MacTiernan said the National Party had broken its election commitment to maintain the grain rail network.
Email a friend