Grain rail network set for $102m upgrade

WA’s grain freight network is in for a $102 million upgrade expected to dramatically boost how quickly CBH can get grain to customers during the “crucial” first half of the year. One of WA Labor’s biggest promises to agriculture ahead of the election was a $22 million pledge to upgrade rail sidings at Moora, Brookton, Cranbrook and Broomehill. The announcement marked the biggest State Government investment in grain on rail since 2010, when Colin Barnett announced $187.9 million to upgrade 1200km of rail. CBH and its 3900 grower members will tip in $80 million to build rail-loading infrastructure at the four sites to speed up how fast grain can be loaded into trains. The upgrades are expected to slash the time it takes to shunt and load a train at Moora from 11 hours to just over four hours and allow it to service 66 wagons up from 52. At Broomehill, rail loading is expected to be reduced from 10 hours to just over four hours and wagon capacity will increase from 30 to 60. Similar efficiencies are expected at the Brookton and Cranbrook sites. WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan — who hoped to hold onto her position in a cabinet reshuffle this week — on Monday confirmed the promise would be kept. She said the cash would be included in the State Budget and would flow to CBH, which would co-ordinate the tender and contract the work. CBH hopes to break ground on both the rail sidings and rail loading infrastructure upgrades in October and finish the projects within two years. A big focus of the upgrades will be on increasing how quickly grain can get to port during the WA grain industry’s busy shipping period in the first half of the calendar year. CBH chief marketing and trading officer Jason Craig said there was a “window of opportunity” for southern hemisphere grain producing countries — like Australia — to export grain for the best prices before the northern hemisphere crop was harvested in July. “We tend to see better prices in that period of time and as a result, the more grain operationally we can load, the better,” he said. “There is a window of opportunity for the southern hemisphere for grain to go out in the first half of the year. “Because the northern hemisphere crops are harvested in July, they tend to be quite aggressive sellers in the second half of the year. “We are more competitive in the first half of the year.” The rail announcement was made as part of a $72.7m investment pledge for agriculture and aquaculture expected to create up to 4000 jobs. About 60 per cent of WA’s annual harvest is moved to port by rail each year, while the rest is moved by road. The announcement followed last year’s release of the Revitalising Agricultural Region Freight Strategy. The strategy outlined priority and “shovel ready” projects in WA. CBH chief executive Jimmy Wilson said much of the rail network was old and not built to accommodate a harvest that had grown 200 per cent over the past 30 years. He said the State Government and CBH-funded upgrades would help growers get more tonnes to port during the “crucial first half of the year” before countries in the Black Sea region — Australia’s biggest grain-producing competitors — harvest the annual crop, giving WA growers the “highest possible price for their grain”. “Investment by the State Government in these four rail siding projects will allow longer trains to be loaded at our key receival sites, avoiding costly inefficiencies in our supply chain,” he said. “It means growers will be able to get more tonnes to port in the crucial first half of the year, before the Black Sea crop is harvested, and attract the highest price possible for their grain. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Government on progressing the regional freight strategy to achieve even more efficiencies for the supply chain and support the grain growers of WA.”