Record grain harvests in Western Australia (WA) are prompting rail upgrade work to boost freight capacity, hasten travel times to ports and fetch higher export prices.
The most recent upgrades at the CBH Group’s grain receival sites at Moora and Cranbrook were funded by the federal and WA governments under a $200m agricultural supply chain improvements (ASCI) program.
The upgrades allowed the co-operative to export a record 2025-26 grain harvest in time; 24.2 million tonnes worth $10 billion was shipped.
The upgrades are allowing increasingly larger harvests to move to port quicker during a peak export pricing window, government and the co-op says.
At Moora, inland north of Perth, a new loading facility, longer rail siding and a new passing loop is allowing more wagon trains to be loaded quicker.
At Cranbrook, in WA’s inland far south-west, an upgraded and realigned rail siding and new fixed rail loading facility cut the loading time for a 60-wagon train from about seven hours to four hours.
Rail siding upgrades at 11 CBH Group sites were also funded under the program: work at Brookton, Broomehill, and Konnongorring sites have been completed already with upgrades at Ballidu and Perenjori continuing this year.
Another ASCI project to upgrade the Midland Line between Carnamah to Mingenew is in the design stage and will allow 25% more grain to be loaded per wagon for transport to Geraldton Port for export.
RAIL UPGRADES ARE SIGNIFICANT
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King say WA’s grain exports are nationally significant.
“The average harvest size in WA increased significantly over the past five years and the infrastructure delivered through ASCI is essential to supporting this growth,” she explains.
Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says: “The upgrades at Moora and Cranbrook make it quicker, easier, and safer to load more grain onto rail …”
WA Assistant Transport Minister Jessica Stojkovski says they are “futureproofing” the rail freight network to help grain farmers grow more.
The state’s Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis says: “We know the international grain market is highly competitive. For us to maintain and grow our market share, the efficient movement of grain to port is essential.
“These latest projects showcase how ASCI infrastructure is reducing bottlenecks in our supply chain and ensuring more grain gets to port during the early season export demand and price peak.”
Wheatbelt Minister Sabine Winton says “the Wheatbelt delivered a record-breaking grain harvest and these upgrades ensure the supply chain can keep pace with the scale and success of our growers”.
“Faster loading, longer trains, and more efficient rail movements mean more grain reaching port at the right time and better outcomes for regional communities.”
NEXT PAGE: Handling a record harvest
