AN AGREEMENT between ARC Infrastructure and the Western Australian Government will deliver upgrades to the Midland Railway between Mingenew and Carnamah as part of the Agricultural Supply Chain Improvements program.

CBH Group is the sole customer on the line which is used throughout the year to transport grain to its Geraldton export terminal.

The execution of the funding agreement finalises a $45-million commitment by the WA and Federal governments, alongside a $22M contribution from Arc Infrastructure.

The agreement enables the project to move to the delivery phase and has allowed order placements for long lead materials.

The upgrade will see concrete and steel sleepers replace timber ones along approximately 77km of track, and replacement of 96km of rail.

Upgrades will increase the line from 16 Tonne Axle Load (TAL) to 19 TAL and deliver a more productive and resilient freight rail infrastructure network for the benefit of WA growers.

Arc Infrastructure acting chief executive officer Nathan Speed said Arc’s internal team will deliver the works to achieve significant cost savings.

“Arc and CBH have agreed a construction methodology that will see large sections of the track closed for several months during construction,” Mr Speed said.

“Combined with Arc delivering the work with its internal teams, this methodology reduces the overall project cost by over $30M, enabling a more efficient spend of ASCI funding.

“Arc is also pleased to contribute $22M towards the upgrade project, in addition to making over $30M of cost savings through Arc’s internal delivery methodology.

“The parties will work together to ensure that movement of grain is optimised across the network ahead of and during construction outages.”

Construction is expected to commence in mid-2026.

Source: Arc Infrastructure