Railways (Access) Code 2000 (WA)

Railways (Access) Code 2000 (WA)
Schedule 2 Information 

 

Geographical Description of Railway and Route Map

Note: The RHI Railway is currently regarded as a single route section under the current Costing Principles approved under the Code. 

 

Track Diagrams and Type of Track  Refer to Track Chart for full details. 
Length of Route Section  344 km 
Curves and gradients  Refer to Track Chart for full details. 
Operating gauge  Standard Gauge (1,435mm) 
Length and location of passing loops  Four passing loops, each of approximately 3.2km length, at: 

  • Chainage 75.600km (HPPL Station) 
  • Chainage 152.500km (Marubeni Station) 
  • Chainage 227.800km (Posco Station) 
  • Chainage 289.700km (CSC Taiwan Station) 
Track and formation characteristics 
  • 68kg/m rail size (136RE AREMA 2004), 10” head radius 
  • Prestressed concrete sleepers with Pandrol fastening system 
  • 205mm minimum ballast depth below sleepers 
  • Formation design with 40% California Bearing Ratio (CBR) for Sub-Ballast Capping Layer 
  • Subgrade design with 15% CBR 
Running times of existing trains  24 hour, 7 days per week “run when ready” operation methodology, with periodic maintenance shutdowns.  The railway is expected to operate 330 days per calendar year. 

As an example, departure times for the weekly reporting period commencing 5 October 2024 can be found at the following link.   
Maximum axle loads and maximum train speeds  Maximum Axle Load  42.8 tonnes 
Maximum Speed (Laden)  80 km/h 
Maximum Speed (Unladen)  90 km/h 
Permanent speed restrictions  None 
Rolling stock dimension limits  Refer to Rolling Stock Max Gauge Outline for maximum dimensions. 
Indicative maximum train lengths  2,777 metres 
Total gross tonne kilometres of freight for all trains operated  1 Jan – 31 Dec 2022  21,878,549,296 
1 Jan – 31 Dec 2023  21,824,963,040 
1 Jan – 31 Dec 2024  21,085,409,824 
Communication Systems  Tetra Radio (with voice and data) 
Available capacity

 

 Approximately 1.3 return train movements per week (excluding maintenance shutdown periods) 
Infrastructure capacity 

 

 Approximately 42 return train movements per week (excluding maintenance shutdown periods) 
Underlying assumptions to calculate available capacity and infrastructure capacity  344km mainline route, with 4 passing loops situated approximately 70km apart (i.e. 688km return journey) 

  • Up to four trains moving on the route at any given time. 
  • Average departure time of ~4 hours between trains. 
  • Maximum train length of 2,777m 
  • Maximum speed 80km/h (laden) or 90km/h (unladen), with no permanent mainline speed restrictions 
  • Due to the ruling grade, loaded trains must be “banked” out of the mine to Chainage 312km (2 x Locomotives to rear of train) 
  • Average CY2024 return cycle time of 24.2 hours  
  • RHI utilisation of up to 40.7 train movements per week for CY2024. 

 

Train Control Systems operating on the rail network 

European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2, operated as a Communication Based Signalling (CBS) system, supported by Hitachi Rail Automatic Train Protection (ATP). 

Planned improvements and capital works (1 January 2025 – 31 December 2029) 

  • Procurement of additional C3 wagon to increase rail grinding capacity 
  • Track lift tamping programme Phase 2 (subject to budget approval) 
  • Broken ground repair works (subject to budget approval) 

 

 Monthly Data 

    Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24 Nov-24 Dec-24 Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25
           
Run time for heavy haul freight axle load category        
  Minimum (hh:mm) 17:35 18:13 17:41 17:39 17:36 19:23 18:54 17:21 18:28 19:19 17:56 19:19
  Maximum (hh:mm) 44:18 41:14 35:17 99:47 30:55 39:45 61:31 45:30 86:27 60:13 42:58 62:25
  Average (hh:mm) 22:58 22:28 22:08 23:37 23:54 24:03 25:14 26:14 29:05 27:03 26:09 24:49
           
Number of trains delayed on entry to or exit from the network, caused by:                        
  An access holder 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  The railway owner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  A third party 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
         
Number of cancelled trains, caused by:                        
  An access holder 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  The railway owner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  A third party 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
                         
Number of days during which a temporary speed restriction applied 30 31 25 30 23 16 27 28 30 28 28 31
         
Criteria used to determine whether a temporary speed restriction applied Determined in accordance with Track Maintenance Specification (OP-SPC-00722). Relevant factors include track temperature, broken, cracked or corroded rail, derailment damage, fastening issues, rail wear, sleeper issues and welding defects. 
         
Average duration of all temporary speed restrictions (d:hh:mm) 1:15:21 0:05:46 0:23:07 2:07:08 0:08:45 1:23:52 4:21:36 2:02:02 0:15:47 1:02:33 4:00:26 2:11:26
                         
Average distance of track to which each temporary speed restriction applied (km) 72 122 67 79 89 99 94 119 147 177 162 156
                         
                           

Page last updated: 04 April 2025.