A decision on the future of the state's Tier 3 lines could be made as early as June, with grain handling cooperative CBH Group and network operator Brookfield Rail currently in arbitration through the Economic Regulation Authority.
The state government has stuck to its position that maintenance of leased railway infrastructure is the responsibility of the private sector, in its response to the 2014 parliamentary committee report into the management of the state's freight rail network.
Chinese-backed iron ore miner Top Iron has signed contracts with Brookfield Rail and Aurizon as it prepares to ship its first exports from Geraldton by March.
The state government must take action to amend its freight network lease, and should take action to recommission rail lines that have been put into care and maintenance, according to a report by the state parliament's Economic and Industry Standing Committee.
Brookfield Rail has won the corporate excellence and innovation award at the 2014 Australasian Rail Industry Awards, after undergoing a significant business transformation over the last three years.
A convoy of truck drivers headed by WAFarmers and the Wheatbelt Railway Retention Alliance drove through parts of Perth today to demonstrate their opposition to the closure of the Tier 3 rail lines.
LandCorp has placed a 4.55-hectare parcel of industrial land near Geraldton on the market, in an effort to meet rising demand from businesses seeking large plots of land near the Mid West city.
CBH Group says it is bringing in the state's economic watchdog to mediate the negotiation process with Brookfield Rail over access to grain rail freight lines.
Western Australia's peak farming lobby says the looming closure of two Tier 3 rail lines in the Wheatbelt will force thousands of trucks onto unsafe roads.
The private sector is playing an increasing role in port development across Western Australia, as rising demand outstrips the government's capacity to deliver.
