Australia's Queensland Rail (QR) says it will spend A$113m purchasing 510 new coal wagons as part of a rail network upgrade programme.
The move is the result of a report - jointly funded by the state government and the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) – which investigated the structure of the rail link system.
The Queensland Government announced the addition of the new coal wagons along with efforts to centrally coordinate rail, port and mining projects to help get coal out quicker.
These include a A$1bn track upgrade program that extends through to 2009 and includes duplicated track, new passing loops, additional unloading infrastructure at the ports and upgraded power and overhead systems for the electric fleet.
Coal firms and the federal government have put increasing pressure on the government to free up bottlenecks in transporting minerals to central Queensland ports.
Queensland exported 153 million tonnes of coal mainly to eastern Asia in 2006-07.
Report by staff writer
