CBH calls for network upgrade to move grain

By Sineva Toevai

Speaking at the launch of the Grain on Rail initiative on April 24th, CBH Group chief executive Andrew Crane said rail, rather than road, was the best way to transport the annual volume of grain needed to be moved in Western Australia.
Rail is by far the most efficient and safest way to transport grain to port, particularly given the long distance hauls and the large tonnages being moved in a good season, he said.
Crane said he did not believe the existing rail network could handle the grain volume and urgent upgrades were needed to ensure that 70 per cent of Western Australia's export grain crop was moved by rail.
In the newly deregulated marketing environment, marketers are demanding a land transport system which is flexible, cost effective and reliable enough to deliver up to 2m tonnes to port in the peak period.
However, the current state of the rail network is unable to deliver this volume, putting more trucks on roads and effectively placing our $4bn export industry at risk of losing sales.
Western Australia shipped a record 1.54m tonnes of grain last month, exceeding that of all other Australian states combined.
However, in response to increased demand for shipping in the current season, Crane said that in the past two months there had been additional 5000 road train movements than previously recorded.
The safety implications of road movements of this magnitude speak for themselves, he said.
An upgraded rail system would keep additional trucks off roads and enable the grain industry to take advantage of international demand.
Source: Lloyds List Daily Commercial News www.lloydslistdcn.com.au