Qld Govt ploughs $654 million investment into Qld Rail to buy more locomotives, wagons and track infrastructure; but new system will not be available for use until 2010-11

The Bligh government yesterday moved to ease concerns in the coal industry about Queensland Rail’s ability to meet capacity targets at its ports by announcing a $654 million investment to buy more locomotives, wagons and track infrastructure, reported Mark Ludlow in The Australian Financial Review (11/10/2007, p. 14).

Coal trains on NSW Muswellbrook to Ulan line foiled by outdated signal box; $360m in exports lost a year

Coal trains on the Muswellbrook to Ulan line had to stop five times in a 200 kilometre stretch of track to manually check a signal box, which advised them whether a train was heading in the opposition direction, wrote Adele Ferguson in The Australian (29/9/2007, p.1).

BHP Billiton likely to take battle over third-party access to its railway lines in Western Australia to High Court

According to Ben Sharples, BHP Billiton was likely to take the battle over third-party access to its railway lines in Western Australia to the High Court after a Federal Court appeal failed yesterday, reported The Daily Telegraph, (6/10/2007, p. 78).