WEST TOODYAY–MILING
RAIL LINE
957. Hon STEVE MARTIN to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Transport:
I
refer to the West Toodyay–Miling rail line, which will remain closed
for Western Australia's potentially record-breaking grain
harvest.
(1) Does the
minister know how many tonnes of grain are now likely to be transferred to
Kwinana by road instead of rail because of the line closure?
(2) Is the
minister investigating the reasons behind what will be at least an eight-month
delay in reopening the line, in particular approval processes that could be
refined to expedite future repairs and upgrades on the state's rail
freight network?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) Had
the former Liberal–National government not privatised the state's
freight rail network, the state government would be responsible for the
management of the West Toodyay–Miling rail line. However, the Liberals
and Nationals did privatise the freight rail network and as a result this
responsibility now falls to Arc Infrastructure. Therefore, the member may wish
to refer these questions to Arc Infrastructure.