Official opening of the Goonyella to Abbot Point rail link expected to increase coal exports to 50 million tonnes per year
December 20, 2011
Acting Premier Andrew Fraser this week officially opened the Goonyella to Abbot Point rail link, marking a new era for coal exports in Queensland.
The 69km stretch of rail line located north of Moranbah is expected to increase the capacity of Queensland’s exports to 50 million tonnes per year through the Port of Abbot Point.
“This project is a key component of track expansions stretching from Goonyella to Abbot Point which have created an approximately total of 800 jobs and bolstered regional economies in Central Queensland,” Fraser says.
He says QR National and its alliance partners have delivered the 20-month project, dubbed the northern ‘missing’ link, ahead of schedule and under budget.
“This project exemplifies the drive industry has to develop our resources in response to international appetite by investing in new coal export infrastructure in Queensland.”
Fraser has described Queensland as an investment magnet with tens of billions of dollars in business investment locked into the economy.
“Private sector investment in the State’s rail infrastructure is a huge vote of confidence in the long-term viability of Queensland’s resources sector,” he says.
“The government has responded to overwhelming private sector demand and is now planning a super-expansion of the Port of Abbot Point.”
With a total of nine proposed terminals, Fraser says the Port of Abbot Point is on track to becoming one of the world’s largest export hubs.