This rural rail investment is a private sector affair, WA Minister says
Western Australian Transport Minister Dean Nalder has set about undermining the notion that certain rail investments will mean fewer trucks on the state’s country roads.
And Nalder wants cauterise expectations of State Government intervention in any fix for tier three rail lines, which he counts as 4 per cent of the grain transport task.
With tier three lines owned by the State Government but leased to Brookfield Rail for 50 years and Brookfield grain handler CBH the only entity using many of them, Nalder is keen for a private sector solution to the issue.
“The tier three solution is fundamentally between Brookfield Rail and CBH. It needs to be worked out by the two parties,” Nalder has told ABC radio.
On the trucking aspect, he points to changes in the farming industry towards cropping leading to bigger farms whose transport needs involve shifting grain to bins and backhauling farming inputs such as fertiliser.
Despite that, he reiterated his Government’s desire to reduce truck movements “where it’s feasible”.