Karara rail Bill passed by State Parliament

Transport Minister Simon O'Brien said construction of the Karara iron ore railway in Western Australia's Mid-West was a major step closer with the passing by State Parliament of the Railway (Tilley to Karara) Bill 2010.

Transport Minister Simon O’Brien said construction of the Karara iron ore railway in Western Australia’s Mid-West was a major step closer with the passing by State Parliament of the Railway (Tilley to Karara) Bill 2010.

Once proclaimed, the Railway (Tilley to Karara) Act 2010 will establish the legislative authority to build a new freight rail line from Karara, 300km north-east of Perth in WA’s Mid-West region, to Tilley, just north of Morawa.

Mr O’Brien said the Karara railway would help link up the iron ore resources of the Mid-West.

“At Tilley, the Karara railway line will connect to the existing State-owned, WestNet-managed freight line, providing the emerging Karara mine with immediate rail access to Geraldton port,” he said.

Karara Mining Ltd (KML) is developing the Karara Project on behalf of Gindalbie Metals and China’s Ansteel. KML’s current program anticipates the start of iron ore exports from Geraldton from mid-2011, with a transition to Oakajee when the port and railway are operating.

“The new railway will support the development of the proposed deep sea port, associated rail infrastructure and a purpose-built, world-class industrial estate at Oakajee, about 22km north of Geraldton,” the Minister said.

Mr O’Brien said the new railway line would be designed, built, commissioned and operated by KML under the supervision of the Public Transport Authority (PTA) on behalf of the State Government.

The resulting rail infrastructure will be Government-owned and therefore also available for use by other operators.