The proposed A$1bn (US$995m) Surat Basin Rail project in Queensland, Australia, has received approval, following three years of detailed environmental assessment.
The project, also called the Southern Missing Link, involves the construction of a rail line between Wandoan in the state’s Surat basin and the town of Banana.
The approval of the environmental impact statement follows the state government's recent confirmation of the proposed A$3bn (US$2.9bn) Wandoan coal project, which will produce coal to be transported on the railway line to the port at Gladstone.
The state government revealed that the proposed rail line project comprises a 210km multi-user, open access rail line for the transport of coal from the Surat Basin to the Port of Gladstone for export.
The project will also see about four billion tons of coal from the Surat Basin transported along QR National's Moura Line and the proposed Moura Link rail project to the proposed Wiggins Island coal export terminal at the Port of Gladstone.
Construction of the railway and its associated facilities could commence in 2011, while the first coal exports could begin as early as 2014.
