Rail line for Queensland’s Gailee Basin mooted, with feasibility study underway

Mining railway lines bring big construction employment and housing requirements with them.

Queensland’s Gailee Basin is one step closer to securing a mining rail line, with Indian mining group Adani and coal carrier QR National undertaking a feasibility study for its rail corridor.

Adani’s mine is expected to begin digging operations in July 2013 at an expected cost of around $4 billion.

Rail lines are said to be the main hurdle for development in the relatively untapped Galilee Basin. Five mines in the area could produce more than 200 million tonnes of coal a year if it can be transported.

By 2016 the $6 billion line would connect Adani's Carmichael coal mine to the Abbot Point Coal Terminal and possibly the future Dudgeon Point Coal Terminal.

The line would handle 60 million to 80 million tonnes of coal per year from Adani’s $10 billion mining project.

Last month the state government approved work on two lines in the area – one direct to the port at Abbot Point, touted by Indian coal miner GVK, and Adani’s proposal for a smaller track to connect with QR National's existing railway network in the Bowen Basin.

After the approval the ABC reported land owners were concerned about the projects.

Land owners in the path of the proposed lines could face compulsory acquisition.

Coal from the mine is destined for power stations in India.

The study is expected to be completed by March 2013.

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