The CBH Group has announced a significant investment in expanding the co-operative’s rail fleet as part of the ‘Path to 2033’ strategy with agreements to purchase hundreds of standard-gauge and narrow grain gauge hopper wagons.

It will be the first major upgrade to CBH’s rail fleet since it entered the rolling stock space in 2011.

CBH will acquire 17 narrow-gauge locomotives from Wabtec Corporation, as well as 200 standard-gauge and 450 narrow gauge grain hopper wagons from Chinese manufacturer CRRC Meishan.

CBH chief executive Ben Macnamara said its three Request for Proposal processes which were started in 2022 had now been completed, marking a step to significantly expand the co-operative’s rail fleet.

“Our rail fleet is a key asset for the co-operative and expanding our existing train sets is a strategic priority that is critical for us to achieve CBH’s ‘Path to 2033’ strategy that aims to lift our monthly export capacity to 3 million tonnes by 2033 or sooner,” Mr Macnamara said.

“Expanding our wagon rolling stock, in conjunction with the expansion of our standard-gauge and narrow-gauge locomotive fleets, is a significant step to improve our outloading capability.

“By investing in our supply chain network, we are ensuring we can deliver tonnes to customers when needed and therefore return sustained value to Western Australian growers.”

Wabtec, a leading global provider of equipment, systems and digital solutions for the freight and transit rail sectors, will build 17 CM20ACi dual-cab, diesel-electric locomotives for CBH.

The first tranche of five locomotives will arrive in Australia in the March quarter of 2026 and will be operational soon after.

The second tranche of 12 locomotives will arrive in the June quarter of 2026.

CRRC Meishan, based in Sichuan province, is one of China’s leading manufacturers of quality rail equipment, specialising in the building and distribution of rail cars and grain hopper wagons worldwide.

Due to the size of the order, the wagons will be delivered to CBH in seven tranches, beginning in September quarter of 2024, with the last tranche expected to be supplied and accepted by the June quarter of 2025.

CBH opened three competitive Request for Proposal processes in 2022 for the purchase of standard-gauge locomotives, narrow-gauge locomotives and wagons, to expand and strengthen its current rail fleet, which consists of 25 locomotives and 572 wagons.