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Benefits
The Surat Basin Rail can bring a number of benefits to business, industry and community.
- Create employment opportunities for local communities in construction, mining, rail and support industries.
- Deliver a transport solution enabling approximately four billion tonnes of coal reserves in the Surat Basin to become a viable economic resource.
- Provide an open-access railway, with sufficient capacity for other users with appropriate commercial arrangements.
- Contribute greatly to the economic development of regional Australia and support the continued growth of Australia's largest export industry - coal.
- Deliver environmentally friendlier means of transport for coal and other freight.
Planning is well underway for an open-access, multi-user rail link connecting the vast coal reserves west of Toowoomba with the Port of Gladstone ("Project").
The Surat Basin Rail Joint Venture is investigating the economic feasibility of developing the rail link with the intention of bringing the Project to financial close at the end of 2009. The Project involves planning, designing, obtaining all approvals and developing a new railway between Wandoan and Banana. It also involves collaborating with QR on the required upgrades to its existing rail line between Wandoan and Toowoomba, and Banana to Gladstone.
Work is well advanced on the feasibility stage of the Surat Basin Rail which will accommodate freight as well as coal (see latest news for more information). Over the next 12 months, the Surat Basin Rail Joint Venture will seek to bring the Surat Basin Rail to financial close by the end of 2009 with commencement of operations in 2012.
The Surat Basin Railway Joint Venture comprises the Australian Transport and Energy Corridor Pty Ltd (ATEC); Industry Funds Management (IFM); Anglo Coal; Xstrata Coal and QR.