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Adani announces rail design change for accelerated delivery

13 September 2018

Adani Mining today announced a new narrow gauge railway design solution for the Carmichael Project to accelerate the delivery of the project and reduce capital costs. The company had previously planned to build a 388km standard gauge railway between the Galilee Basin and Abbot Point Port but will instead leverage existing rail infrastructure. Today at the Rockhampton Mayor’s Business Forum, CEO of Adani Mining, Lucas Dow, said the narrow gauge rail line would be approximately 200km long and will connect the mine to Abbot Point Port using the existing rail network. “By connecting to the existing network we can fast-track project delivery, reduce capital expenditure and deliver coal more quickly to countries in Asia with growing energy demand,” he said. “We’re 100% committed to getting the Carmichael Project off the ground. Delivering practical, time efficient and cost-effective solutions such as this new rail design will ensure project benefits are realised as quickly as possible, especially in regional Queensland where people are eager to secure jobs and opportunities for small business.” Construction and operation of the railway will create thousands of new jobs and will open the Galilee Basin for development. This will benefit places like Townsville, Rockhampton, Bowen and Mackay and will flow on to the rest of the State. The narrow gauge rail will follow the same route as previously contemplated and the initial design capacity of 40 million tonnes per annum, ensuring capability to manage the Carmichael mine’s 27.5 million tonne yearly production rate. The 27.5 million tonne open cut mine is significantly smaller than the 60 million tonne mine allowed under the Carmichael Project approvals, which enables the delivery of a lower capacity rail design. Mr Dow said Adani had already secured the necessary approvals and land access agreements with landholders needed to build the line. “All our existing agreements with landholders will remain in place without question. These people have been with us every step of the way and we’re determined to ensure we maintain these relationships.” Adani will now submit the necessary applications to connect the new rail line with the existing network. Adani is evaluating its options for provision and management of rolling stock to service the mine. Download PDF...