‘Much needed’: Long-awaited upgrades to rail line between Mingenew and Carnamah set to break ground next year

A $67 million project to revamp the rail line between Mingenew and Carnamah will break ground next year after the State Government inked an agreement with rail lessee Arc Infrastructure.

It has been four years since the project was announced by WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti in May 2022, as part of a $400m upgrade to WA’s grain on rail network funded by the Federal and State governments and farmer-owned CBH Group.

Once complete, the 77km-long stretch of track will be able to handle heavier grain trains, which a CBH Group spokesperson was “much-needed” as the company tries to boost how quickly it can get farmers’ grain to port.

It is also expected the upgrades will deliver cost savings for all farmers carting grain to bins between the two small towns.

“CBH welcomes the recent agreement between Arc Infrastructure and the State Government to upgrade the Midland Railway between Mingenew and Carnamah,” the CBH spokesperson said.

“The upgrade to the Mingenew to Carnamah line is a much-needed investment in WA’s freight rail network, which helps to ensure the long-term viability of our grain growers, the grain industry, and regional WA.”

Arc announced on June 3 that it had “executed an agreement” with the WA Government to deliver the upgrades, with the State and Federal governments tipping in $45m and Arc $22m to complete the work.

CBH Group is the sole customer of the line, which is used throughout the year to transport grain to Geraldton Port.

Arc’s acting chief executive Nathan Speed said the Arc and CBH had agreed on a “construction methodology” that would result in large sections of the track closed for several months during construction.

“Combined with Arc delivering the work with its internal teams, this methodology reduces the overall project cost by more than $30 million, enabling a more efficient spend of ASCI funding,” he said.

“The parties will work together to ensure that movement of grain is optimised across the network ahead of and during construction outages.”

The upgrade will increase the track — which is located along the Midland Line — from a 16 to 19 tonne axle loading, to allow heavier trains and a 20 per cent increase in train carrying capacity.

About 400,000 tonnes of grain is carried on the stretch between Carnamah and Mingenew each year, with the Mingenew bin itself receiving a record 646,929 tonnes during the 2022-23 harvest.

A statement posted to the Arc website said the project was now in “delivery phase” and the company had started ordering some of the materials required to complete the upgrade.

The upgrade will involve replacing timber sleepers with concrete and steel along about 77km of track, replacing 96km of rail.