The Fortescue railway, owned and operated by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), is a private rail network in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

built to carry iron ore. It opened in 2008.Port and Rail Infrastructure
Fortescue Metals Group When it was completed, it was the heaviest haul railway in the world, designed for 40 tonne axle loads, 2.5 to 5 tonnes heavier than the other Pilbara iron ore rail systems. On 4 November 2014, FMG Rail commenced trialling 42-tonne axle loads. In addition to the FMG line, a number of other networks operate in the region. Rio Tinto operate the Hamersley & Robe River railway, BHP operates the Goldsworthy and Mount Newman railways and Hancock Prospecting the

Roy Hill railway The Roy Hill railway, officially the Roy Hill Infrastructure railway, owned and operated by Hancock Prospecting, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. In addition to the Hancock Prospec ...

History

FMG originally planned to use the existing railway lines, owned and operated by BHP and Rio Tinto, to develop its Cloud Break mine deposit. Lengthy legal battles however forced the company to spend A$2.5 billion to construct its own line.Fortescue opens the world's heaviest haul railway
''

Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport ...

'' published: 14 July 2008 accessed: 6 November 2010 Construction on the line from the Cloud Break mine to the Herb Elliott Port at

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

commenced in November 2006. The current network consists of of track. The line was scheduled to be fully operational within 18 months, but a cyclone in March 2007 killed two workers at the project and led to delays. The first train from the mine to the port ran on 5 April 2008. In December 2012, the line was extended to the new Solomon Mine. The journey from mine to port takes approximately five hours, and on average fourteen trains are operated per day. The line is open-access, meaning Fortescue is willing to allow other mining companies to use it for their operations.

BHP & Rio Tinto railway use

Before deciding to construct its own line, in June 2004 FMG lodged an application with the National Competition Council of Australia to use part of the Goldsworthy and Mount Newman railways. In June 2010, the Australian Competition Tribunal ruled that FMG be granted access to Rio Tinto's Robe River line and BHP's Billiton's Goldsworthy line but not to the busier Hamersley and Mount Newman lines. Treasurer

Wayne Swan Wayne Maxwell Swan (born 30 June 1954), often colloquially referred to as Swanny, is an Australian politician who is National President of the Labor Party. He was previously the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Deputy Leader of the Labor ...

suggested that several advantages would accrue from access to the rail lines by third parties. It would increase competition, reduce duplication of infrastructure, and reduce environmental damage. Access to the rail networks by third parties is governed by the State Agreements Act. In November 2010, BC Iron became the first mining company to access a Pilbara network via a third party agreement.

Rolling stock

To operate construction trains, four ex-Hamersley & Robe River railway C-636Rs were leased from Coote Industrial after overhaul in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, and a former Kowloon-Canton Railway

EMD G12 The EMD G12 is a class of export locomotive built by GM-EMD, and its Canadian affiliate General Motors Diesel. In addition, Australian licensee Clyde Engineering built ten locomotives for New Zealand in 1957, five for Hong Kong, 23 for Queensl ...

locomotive leased from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia. As at February 2015, FMG operated 45 locomotives and 3,244 iron ore wagons. As at October 2014, the locomotive fleet comprises 21

Electro-Motive Diesel Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its s ...

SD70ACess 15 GE Dash 9-44CWs and nine former

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

Electro Motive Diesel SD90s that were converted to SD70ACes. Seven rebuilt Union Pacific Railroad EMD SD90MAC-Hs Phase IIs were in transit from the United States."Motive Power Roundup" ''Motive Power'' issue 96 November 2014 page 74

References

External links

FMG websitePilbara Railways
– rail enthusiast website {{coord missing, Western Australia Fortescue Metals Group Iron ore railways Mining railways in Western Australia Railway lines in the Pilbara Railway lines opened in 2008 Standard gauge railways in Australia 2008 establishments in Australia