The Western Australian Government has approved a 570 kilometre railway corridor that will connect the state’s Mid-West iron ore projects to the proposed deepwater port at Oakajee.

 

The proposal was submitted by Oakajee Port and Rail Pty Ltd under the project’s State Development Agreement and was accepted after a consultation process with local government, potential users and affected landholders.

 

State Minister for Transport Troy Buswell said the corridor will accommodate a standard gauge heavy freight railways, similar to those operating in the Pilbara.

 

“The corridor consists of nine sections varying in width to provide flexibility in dealing with geographical features, heritage sites, environmental issues, areas of mineral prospectivity and landowner requirements,” Mr Buswell said.

 

The rail corridor departs from the proposed Oakajee port site and heads east through the Moresby Range to a junction north-west of Mullewa that enables a link to the State freight rail network.  From there it heads north-east past the Tallering Peak project to Weld Range, and then north to Jack Hills.


Mr Buswell said that while approval for the corridor would enable more detailed development of the proposal, specific legislation would be required before a railway could be built.

 

More information can be found here