Arc Infrastructure reaffirms commitment to the West Toodyay to Miling rail line after reopening

Arc Infrastructure has promised to stand by the West Toodyay to Miling railway line, and the farmers who benefit from being able to use it to transport grain, after repairing and reopening the embattled line for the first time in eight months.

The 145km line has been closed as a “precautionary safety measure” since May 19 after a bridge crossing the Avon River at West Toodyay was damaged by “once in a decade” floods in early March.

An Arc Infrastructure spokeswoman confirmed the line had reopened last month, after 10 weeks of repairs.

She said Arc remained “committed to the Miling line and supporting local farmers”.

“A final inspection was completed on the West Toodyay Bridge after repair works took place to replace timber piers and bed logs within the bridge structure,” the spokeswoman said.

The line is used exclusively to cart grain from CBH’s upcountry bins to West Toodyay, where it joins with the Eastern Goldfields Railway to take grain to Kwinana Port, but has been plagued by derailments, damage and closures in recent years.

It had operated with little incident for 16 months until it was closed in May, sparking concern from farmers whose freight rates paid to CBH could potentially increase if the grain handler was forced to truck all of their grain to port.

Arc’s remediation plans included replacing “failed elements” of the bridge and constructing a temporary causeway on the riverbed to bring plant equipment to site but the works fell under the Aboriginal Heritage Act’s controversial Section 18 process.

Under the section — the same approvals process that allowed Rio Tinto to destroy 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in 2020 — “impact to a (cultural) site is unavoidable” and it must go through rigorous checks and balances.

Arc applied to the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage on July 21 for permission to carry out repairs but approvals to fix the bridge were in limbo until early November when they were approved by the Aboriginal Cultural Materials Committee and WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson.

A final inspection was completed on the West Toodyay Bridge after repair works took place to replace timber piers and bed logs within the bridge structure.

CBH had been forking out thousands of dollars to truck grain from the six bins along the line to port ahead of, and during, WA’s record harvest, with the co-operative’s acting operations manager Mick Daw telling growers in November that the impact would be felt “at the back end of harvest”.

Mr Daw this week welcomed the reopening of the line but declined to reveal how much it had cost CBH to truck grain, or whether CBH was pursuing financial reimbursement from Arc Infrastructure.

“Rail plays a key role in getting tonnes to port and delivering value to WA growers, and CBH prioritises moving grain on rail where it is economically viable to do so,” he said.

“Throughout harvest, we remained focus on receiving the record crop and ensuring there was minimal impact to deliveries.

“With the Miling line now open, we are in the planning stage of incorporating the rail line into our outloading program.”

One of the worst incidents along the West Toodyay to Miling line was when a CBH locomotive hauling 30 wagons overturned in June 2019.