RAIL freight upgrades at the Moora and Cranbrook CBH Group grain receival sites are helping get Western Australia’s record grain harvest to ports faster.
The upgrades enable the grain to reach export markets sooner, ensuring more of the bumper crop is moved to port during the peak export pricing window.
The $200 million upgrades were completed last year with money from the state and federal governments and CBH Group.
The 2025–26 CBH Group grain harvest sets a new record for WA, exceeding 24 million tonnes, worth about $10 billion to the state economy.
As the harvest enters the out-loading stage, the upgrades are building efficiency and capacity into the supply chain,
A state government media release said at Moora, inland north of Perth, a new loading facility and extended rail siding with a new passing loop means more wagon trains can be loaded in much less time than before.
“At Cranbrook, in WA’s inland far southwest, an upgraded and realigned rail siding and new fixed rail loading facility will cut the loading time of a 60 wagon train from about seven to four hours,” the release stated.
Rail siding upgrades at 11 CBH sites are included in the program to deliver supply chain efficiencies via targeted rail freight infrastructure upgrades.
Cranbrook and Moora join Brookton, Broomehill and Konnongorring as complete, with upgrades at Ballidu and Perenjori to progress in 2026.
Another Agricultural Supply Chain Improvements project to upgrade the Midland Line between Carnamah to Mingenew has entered the design and procurement stage.
When complete, the project is set to allow 25% more grain per wagon to be transported on the line to the Port of Geraldton for export.
Federal agriculture minister Julie Collins said the upgrades at Moora and Cranbrook made it quicker, easier and safer to load more grain onto rail, strengthening the agricultural supply chain and improving the performance of WA’s freight network.
WA agriculture minister Jackie Jarvis said the international grain market was highly competitive and for WA to maintain and grow market share, the efficient movement of grain was essential.
“These latest projects showcase how ASCI infrastructure is reducing bottlenecks in our supply chain and ensuring more grain gets to port during the early season export demand and price peak," Ms Jarvis said.
“WA grain growers, regional communities and the WA economy will all benefit from better returns on our premium grain product, thanks to the improvements delivered through this program."