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Karara railway
Karara railway
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Karara Mining Limited (leased from the Public Transport Authority)
Locale	Mid West region of Western Australia
Termini	Tilley Junction, Morawa; Karara mine;
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	Aurizon
Depot(s)	Narngulu
History
Commenced	December 2010
Opened	August 2012
Technical
Line length	78 km (48 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Arc Infrastructure
	Karara Mining
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Karara railway is a 78-kilometre (48 mi) railway line in the Mid West region of Western Australia, linking the Karara iron ore mine with the Arc Infrastructure network near Morawa. The railway is leased by Karara Mining Limited and trains are operated by Aurizon between the mine and Geraldton port.

Route

The Karara railway is managed by Karara Mining Limited, a joint venture between Gindalbie Metals and Ansteel Group.^[1] Karara Mining Limited holds a 49-year lease on the rail corridor from the Public Transport Authority, which began in August 2012.^[2] It branches off the Perenjori–Mullewa railway line four kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Morawa at Tilley Junction.^[a]

It travels approximately 78 kilometres (48 mi) in an easterly direction from there. The first 18 kilometres (11 mi) is roughly parallel to the disused Koolanooka branch.^[4]

Construction

The Railway (Tilley to Karara) Bill 2010 was introduced to the Parliament of Western Australia in May 2010^[5] and passed in July 2010.^[6]

In August 2010, Karara Mining Limited awarded Macmahon Holdings the $86 million contract to build the Karara railway, including earthworks and tracklaying. The track was supplied by Karara Mining Limited owner Ansteel.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[1] Construction began in December 2010.^[10]^[11] To maintain compatibility with the Arc Infrastructure network, the Karara railway was constructed with narrow gauge tracks, although dual gauge sleepers were used to allow for easy conversion to standard gauge in the future, as the future Oakajee Port was planned to have standard gauge access.^[1]^[10] Associated with the Karara railway construction was an upgrade of the 199 kilometres (124 mi) of rail between Geraldton and Morawa. Karara Mining Limited signed a $300 million contract with Brookfield Rail (since renamed Arc Infrastructure), the lessee of Western Australia's public rail freight network, to upgrade the Geraldton to Morawa railway.^[12]^[13]

Operations

In 2011, QR National (since renamed Aurizon) was awarded a 10-year contract for operating all trains to and from the Karara mine. The contract was worth approximately $900 million and involved QR National expanding its Narngulu maintenance yard. Train frequencies were four trains per day, each with 100 wagons, and up to 10 megatonnes (9,800,000 long tons; 11,000,000 short tons) per annum was expected to be hauled.^[12]^[14]^[15] The first train load of iron ore was in August 2012.^[16]

Notes

^ Originally known as the Mullewa railway line, the Dalwallinu to Perenjori sector is not currently in use.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Karara ore railway construction contract". Railway Gazette International. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "Annual Report 2022–2023" (PDF). Public Transport Authority. p. 151. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ ARC network map
^ "Public Transport Authority: Railway System" (PDF). Public Transport Authority. April 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "Karara rail Bill tabled in State Parliament". Public Transport Authority. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "Karara rail Bill passed by State Parliament". Public Transport Authority. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "MacMahon wins $86m Gindalbie contract". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "MacMahon wins $86m Gindalbie contract". Australian Financial Review. Australian Associated Press. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "Macmahon wins $86m rail contract from Gindalbie Metals". PerthNow. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Construction commences on Karara railway". Public Transport Authority. 2 December 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ Quinn, Russell (1 December 2010). "Karara railway construction kicks off". PerthNow. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b "QR National clinches Karara iron ore deal". International Railway Journal. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "Gindalbie finalises Karara rail agreement in Western Australia". Railway Technology. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ "Gindalbie signs rail haulage deal with QR". The West Australian. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ Herbert, Carolyn (6 June 2011). "Billion dollar deal for QR National". Business News. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ Gindalbie Metals Limited (14 August 2012). "First Train-Load of Karara Iron Ore" (PDF). Australian Securities Exchange. Retrieved 27 September 2023.