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Railway Owners

Urban network

The urban component of the former WAGR/Westrail network is under the control of the Public Transport Authority (PTA) for the provision of urban passenger services. PTA operates this service as an integral part of the Transperth system.

Roy Hill Infrastructure

Roy Hill Infrastructure’s railway line transports iron ore from its mine in the Pilbara to Port Hedland. This railway line is subject to the WA rail access regime under the Railway (Roy Hill Infrastructure Pty Ltd) Agreement Act 2010.

Freight network

In December 2000, the Government announced that the freight business of the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR), trading as Westrail, had been sold to the Australian Railroad Group Pty Ltd (ARG).

In 2006 ARG was sold to a consortium comprising Babcock and Brown and Queensland Rail. The below rail business, trading as WestNet Rail (WNR), subsequently went to Babcock and Brown, and the above rail business to Queensland Rail.

In late 2009, Babcock and Brown Infrastructure became known as Prime Infrastructure and in mid 2011 Prime Infrastructure was delisted as a public company. Prime Infrastructure is now owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. To reflect these ownership changes, WestNet Rail was renamed Brookfield Rail in August 2011.

In July 2017, Brookfield Rail changed its name to ARC Infrastructure. Arc Infrastructure is now the lessee of the rail network under the 2000 lease agreement and, for the purposes of access arrangements under the Railways (Access) Act 1998, has management and control of the non-urban rail network.

The Pilbara Infrastructure

The Pilbara Infrastructure Pty Ltd (TPI) is the owner of a rail line linking Fortescue Metals Group’s (FMG) mines in the eastern Pilbara to its port facilities in Port Hedland.

The TPI railway was built under the Railway and Port (The Pilbara Infrastructure Pty Ltd) Agreement Act 2004, and has been included in the WA rail access regime since 1 July 2008, when Part 3 of that Agreement Act was proclaimed.

Non-urban routes in WA

The maps below show the non-urban rail routes covered by the WA rail access regime.

Non-urban routes in WA

Page last updated: 23 Jun 2021