(Photo: Brad Harkup)

THREE locomotives this week hauled 120 wagons containing around 9000 tonnes of wheat into Kwinana Grain Terminal in a grain movement which has broken West Australian bulk handler CBH Group’s previous rail record by almost 40 per cent.

“The record train movement broke our previous grain industry record of 88 wagons in July 2016, which contained 6500 tonnes of wheat,” CBH general manager operations, David Capper, said.

Mr Capper said CBH was eight years into its partnership with rail operator, Watco, and was focused on driving efficiencies in grain transport services.

“We were able to reduce freight rates by 7 per cent in the first year, and rates now are around 20pc lower than 2010-11,” he said.

Since setting the previous train record in 2016, CBH has continued to utilise the 88-wagon train as part of a suite of efficient rail transport options.

Train trials around the 120-wagon movement will enable CBH to drive further efficiencies and provide more options to utilise wagons more effectively.

“While operating longer and larger trains creates economies of scale, we have to balance these efficiencies against other logistics considerations, including the allocation of our rolling stock resources throughout the rest of network,” Mr Capper said.

“We learnt a lot when running the previous 88 wagon-train in 2016, and through this trial, we’ll build on those learnings to make sure we get growers’ grain to market in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.

“It’s certainly not about setting a record, but it is nice to see Western Australia out in front.”

Source: CBH Group

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