With various mineral sands projects in Victoria and almost all with the ability to connect to a rail line from the mine and processing area could this be the opportunity Victoria has been looking for as a foundational customer for rail freight.
Mineral sand trains have used Victorian tracks previous with mining in the north west and processing near Hamilton.
The Donald Project is one such project located in the Mallee and has the potential to unlock much needed investment in the region. The project is being assessed through a series of hearings currently underway.
It is not clear if processing of the minerals woll take place on the location of the mine or at a different location in Victoria possibly with the re-use of Hamilton processing plant as an option.
it is my view Freight Victoria will look to deliberately prevent rail from taking this traffic and there will be a concerted effort to place this traffic on road as is always the case in Victoria. This is why our raods are destroyed from heavy vehicles.
The Donald Project could be accessed from the Standard Gauge branch line along the road easement from Minyip. This is a 30+ year project so a rail spur would be ideal for the massive amount of tonnages that will come from the mining.
A deep seated hatred for rail freight exists in Victoria which in my view stems from corruption and politican influence by big business. The only way to move mineral sands is by rail that is only logical.
Freight Victoria will find ever excuse in the book not to do it on rail.
Give me an example of a rail freight project to load more freight into rail
In Victoria?
The government has never delivered one in years. Port rail
Shuttles where are they at now?