CBH Group trains back on track after Wagin derailment causes five-day shutdown of small section of rail line

WA’s grain rail network is back on track after a five-day interruption caused by a derailment just 500m from the centre of Wagin. A small section of WA’s 2500km-plus grain rail network was closed from Sunday night to Friday afternoon after six empty wagons of a CBH Group train derailed while shunting just after 6pm on June 12. It created quite a spectacle for residents, who rushed to take photographs of the accident near the corner of Tudor and Unit Streets. A spokeswoman for rail lessee Arc Infrastructure said its teams completed “required track repairs” by 3pm on Friday once the derailed wagons — which belong to CBH Group — were cleared by rail operator Aurizon. A section of track between Wagin and Woodanilling was closed to rail traffic while the repairs took place. The Arc spokeswoman said the cause of the derailment was yet to be determined and an investigation had been launched. The train was travelling at low speed within Wagin station limits, when the wagons derailed. No one was injured. WA’s 2000km-plus network of grain rail lines are owned by the State Government but leased by Arc Infrastructure, with trains owned by both CBH Group and rail operator Aurizon travelling along the network of tracks. CBH has been trying to shift grain to port as quickly as possible after receiving a record 21.3 million tonnes of grain last harvest, to make the most of high grain prices before the northern hemisphere crop comes onto the global market in a matter of weeks. Arc declined to comment on when the most recent derailment occurred on its network. The Moora to Millendon Junction section of Arc Infrastructure’s Midland railway line was closed for three weeks after a CBH train driven by a Watco driver derailed in March 2020. The derailment occurred near Noland Avenue in the Upper Swan, and 12 wagons towards the back of the CBH train were affected. Separately, the West Toodyay to Miling Line was reopened in late January after nearly nine months of closure after a bridge crossing the Avon River at West Toodyay was damaged by floods in February last year. Arc reopened the line at the tail end of WA’s record harvest in late January after 10 weeks of repairs which were stalled by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage’s lengthy approvals process.