The CBH Group has opened a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for its above-rail operations, inviting rail companies to submit a proposal for operation, service and maintenance services.
The current 10-year agreement with incumbent rail operator Watco Australia will expire on 30 April 2022.
Under the current agreement, Watco is responsible for rail logistics planning services including train planning and scheduling, tracking, maintenance, inventory control and crew management.
CBH wholly owns a rail fleet consisting of 28 locomotives and 574 wagons that generally transport grain from upcountry sites to three of our four port terminals (Geraldton, Kwinana and Albany).
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Around 60 per cent of CBH’s tonnes are transported by rail to port. Between 2016 and 2020, an average 2884 trains have arrived at all CBH ports and terminals each year, delivering on average 7.6 million tonnes of grain per year.
CBH said in a statement that it is committed to managing efficient and effective above-rail operations and working with the State Government and Arc Infrastructure to improve the performance of the below-rail network, to provide growers a low-cost pathway to port while catering for a growing crop size and changing pace of the export program.
The group anticipates the RFP process will be completed in the second half of 2021, with the new contract to take effect on 1 May 2022.