Business
3 July, 2024
State government willing to discuss Mount Isa rail line with stakeholders
There is $2 million in the budget to conduct a study.
The Queensland government says it is investigating opportunities to improve rail freight on the Mount Isa rail line.
Minister for Transport and Main Roads Bart Mellish says the investigation will explore how to improve rail freight volumes on the Mount Isa rail line through targeted consultation.
In addition to maximising the use of the Mount Isa rail line, the state government has also committed $2 million to the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program 2024-25 to 2027-28 to re-examine the feasibility of the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor project.
A previous business case, completed in 2017 for the 8.3km rail freight corridor connecting the North Coast Line directly to the Port of Townsville will be refreshed to examine the economic feasibility of the project based on current freight demand.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads will commence stakeholder engagement this month to help inform possible approaches to optimising the movement of freight on the Mount Isa rail line.
The department will seek feedback from industry stakeholders about the barriers to entry, and challenges and limitations to using rail for small and medium sized critical mineral producers.
The consultation outcomes will help government to consider the best incentivisation approach for the Mount Isa rail line to encourage freight modal shift from road to rail, and support growth in rail freight volumes.
Modal shift from road to rail also offers some potential additional flow on benefits in terms of road safety, road infrastructure management and reducing carbon emissions from reduced heavy vehicle usage.
The Mount Isa rail line spans more than 1000 kilometres, and plays an important role in supporting regional communities, regional jobs and mineral freight exports in North Queensland.
“The Mount Isa rail line freight corridor is key to supporting Queensland’s critical minerals sector access export markets,” Mr Mellish said.
“We will work with industry stakeholders to inform the possible approaches to support industry in increasing freight transport on the Mount Isa rail line while supporting North Queensland regional communities.
“Moving freight from road to rail offers additional flow on benefits in terms of road safety, road infrastructure management and reducing carbon emissions from reduced heavy vehicle usage”.
Resources and Critical Minerals Minister Scott Stewart said he spoke with Mr Mellish earlier this year about the need to re-examine the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor business case.
“It’s important that we look at ways to enable our critical minerals sector to grow now and into the future is important,” he said in a statement.
“Ensuring the Mount Isa to Townsville rail line is operating efficiently for all users is important and that’s why we held a major forum with mining stakeholders in Townsville last week.”