Regional shires back Tier 3 rail plan

Australian Rail, Tram, Bus and Industry Union Western Australian branch secretary Craig McKinley told Farm Weekly it was "vital" the State government took into account the social and economic benefits of upgrading the rail lines in its business case, which includes the opportunity to upskill local workers and attract people to the Wheatbelt.

"From a union perspective, we want to use the development of these lines as traineeships for local kids, so they can work on the lines and once they're finished they will have a qualification," Mr McKinley said.

"That means they can potentially stay in the Wheatbelt and be part of their care and maintenance.

"We don't want this to be a project where we import the expertise and the labour and then once it's finished they leave and the Wheatbelt is in the same depressed state it is now."

Previously used to transport grain, the Tier 3 lines were privatised in 2000 under the Liberal National government.

Now held by Arc Infrastructure, the rail lines were closed in 2014 on the grounds that they were not commercially viable.

However, late last month an engineering report by the Agonis Group provided detailed cost estimates to restore each line section of the rail network to a suitable condition for commercial operation.

The report included the potential to upgrade some sections from narrow to standard gauge and WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said, subject to further discussions with stakeholders, the first upgrade proposals for the Tier 3 rail lines currently being considered for business case preparation by the State government were:

Looking forward Mr McKinley said Narrogin, Merredin, Quairading and York were possible locations that could be used as hubs for rail construction workers.

Narrogin Shire chief executive officer Dale Stewart said the Shire would do "everything in its means" to assist and support the business case.

"We're quite hopeful that Infrastructure Australia will see the worth of investment in the business case," Mr Stewart said.

"If the Kulin-Narrogin line is one of the ones supported then it would make sense, in our view, that Narrogin is utilised for a rail hub for ongoing maintenance and initial construction gangs."

Home to about 300 Westrail rail workers in the late 1960s, Mr Stewart said Narrogin's former rail history and heritage made it a "good fit" as a possible base for rail construction workers.

"We are ready, willing and waiting for an opportunity such as this," Mr Stewart said.

"We have all the health and educational facilities of a large regional town and it would be a boom for our schools, retail outlets and our community to have many of those apprentices and workers located here.

"It would also mean the employment and upskilling of locals and those workers would possibly stay on in places like our town and the hinterlands."

With the impact of COVID-19 and international and interstate travel bans prompting people to invest and travel locally, Mr Stewart said the pandemic had also reminded people of the benefits of living regionally.

"People are now choosing to live in smaller communities because they provide a far safer environment with the risk of transmission far less," Mr Stewart said.

"That realisation, that you can have a fulfilling lifestyle in the country to bring up your family and the like, makes the potential timing of this project quite ideal."

Acknowledging that there is still "a fair bit of work to be done", Mr Stewart hopes the campaign is not a case of "electioneering" by the government.

At the time of writing, the Narrogin Shire was in the process of writing a letter to support the State government's business case for Infrastructure Australia.

Merredin Shire president Julie Flockhart said the project also presented a "fantastic opportunity" for Merredin to be a potential hub for construction workers and apprentices.

"We recently had a large solar farm built and were able to accommodate 400 workers at the time which was great for our local economy, so if this project ends up getting up as well it would be fabulous," Ms Flockhart said.

"It would definitely be our preference to procure local contracts and workers, which is something that is mirrored by the State government as well."

Ms Flockhart said Federal funding for road maintenance in regional areas hadn't been as strong in recent years, placing additional pressure on local shires to foot the bill.

"If there is a long-term solution we are definitely in favour of it and if they are spending the same sort of money over east on their rail - why not here in the Wheatbelt too?," she said.

Shire of York president Denese Smythe echoed similar sentiments, saying local governments were receiving less funding from the Federal government for regional road upkeep, despite there being an increase in heavy vehicle traffic.

"The Tier 3 lines would be very beneficial in getting some of the trucks off our roads and, in that aspect, local governments wouldn't be required to dedicate as much money to the upkeep of their roads meaning that money can go towards other projects," Ms Smythe said

She said York's local economy had already received a boost due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, with many people deciding to holiday or take day trips to the town.

"York is actually doing quite well at the moment, but many people have still lost their jobs in the region so if a project like this can bring some work and breathe even more life into our town - that would be absolutely fabulous," Ms Smythe said.

"Our Shire will definitely provide whatever support we can for the business case."

Although a preliminary submission has already gone to Infrastructure Australia, Mr McKinley said a lobby group which he is part of and has campaigned for the reinstatement of the Tier 3 lines, would continue to assist the State government in its business case by bringing in "some very clever people".

Members of the Wheatbelt Railway Retention Alliance (WRRA) members, local shire presidents and industry and rail union representatives met last week to discuss which lines have the greatest viability to be restored.

"We looked at it from a few different perspectives - the first being efficient grain to port and the basic mathematical side of it and then included other factors such as rainfall, yields, pollution, social impact, road tolls etc," Mr McKinley said.

"As a group we are very keen on the Quairading and Corrigin lines with strong consideration for the Kondinin line and also closing the gap on the northern line between Latham and Buntine.

"There is a gap there where one end has to get access from Northam and one end has to get access from Geraldton."

Mr McKinley said the group had approached Federal Liberal MPs Rick Wilson (O'Connor) and Melissa Price (Durack), who both have parts of the three Tier 3 lines to be investigated running through their electorates, to ask for their support for the project.

Speaking on ABC Radio, Mr Wilson said he believed the State government would need to have control of the rail lines to achieve Federal funding.

"I'm not sure that the Federal government would have the appetite to hand over effectively $400 million to a private asset which the State government does not control and then the owners of that asset potentially could extort money out of the sole operator using that asset that would be CBH," Mr Wilson said.

Ms Price told Farm Weekly she was anticipating the State government putting together its business case to be released by mid-2021, but provided no further comment.

"We want to get some push behind this submission for funding and, although they're Federal politicians, they are on a very powerful McGowan platform and that's obviously going to possibly affect their electoral chances in a few years' time," Mr McKinley said.

"Whether we win or not will be decided in Canberra and West Perth, it won't be decided in the paddock - that's the reality of it."