AFTER major site upgrades, loading times at the Burren Junction silo have been reduced by as much as 70 per cent, reducing freight costs by $6 a tonne indefinitely.
On Tuesday, the new site was opened by Minister for Roads and Freight Duncan Gay.
The site upgrades were funded collaboratively by GrainCorp and the government under Project Regeneration aiming to rectify inefficiencies of rail and to heighten the ability to move more grain at one time, lowering the cost of freight per tonne.
The overall target of the project is getting a more tonnes of grain back on rail which GrainCorp logistics general manager, Nigel Lotz said would improve the safety and maintenance of roads.
Said prices would also reflect the rail benefits as it’s creating a more efficient supply chain.
With Australia being one of the key players in global grain production, Mr Lotz said we had to have an efficiency to be globally competitive.
Not only will a more efficient rail system give growers more market options, Mr Lotz said it would have an effect on prices as the domestic market would have to compete more with export prices.
The Burren Junction GrainCorp site is key for the north as it’s connected to Newcastle via rail and can accept large quantities of grain.
Two loading spouts were funded under the project which can load train wagons at 1000 tonne an hour, funded by GrainCorp.
With government funding, the site’s rail sidings were changed to be able to load up to 50 wagons per train.
Now, with the rail sidings and loading spouts, a 50 wagon train can be loaded with grain in four and a half hours.
With the new infrastructure, a 50 wagon train full of grain can be sent to Newcastle and back to Burren Junction in two days instead of the previous three.
The rail rate costs have also dropped from $47 a tonne to $38/t.
Minister Gay said the lower costs in the supply chain would be good for farmers and their regional communities, which is a huge bonus for rural NSW.
