Re: Ropes Creek Branch.

[David & Julie Donald <dsjmd@hermes.net.au>]

All that has been stated so far is totally correct.  My understanding that
officially the "branch" is regarded as being a private siding owned by / under
the control of FreightCorp for the purpose of unloading the sandstone trains,
with the eventual situation that a large freight terminal will be built on the
site - one suggestion was that it was to augment Clyde, and that it would be
capable of handling up to 70,000 containers annually, whilst there has been talk
that a wheat storage facility might also be included.  Already Smorgon has built
a large complex on the eastern side of the line.
There has been much talk over the last few years about what to do with the line,
especially once ADI vacates the area, and it is turned into a housing area, with
some talk that a light railway might be built into the area using some of the
existing formation, but that has not really received too much press in
connection with some of the other transport proposals for the west..
One question that has to be asked is who officially still owns the line,
especially the component beyond Dunheved - one of the apparent reasons for its
closure, apart from the fact that ADI was downscaling and there was no perceived
need to run trains, was the fact that there was allegedly a dispute between
State Rail and the Commonwealth over maintenance funding.

--

Regards

David Donald
Springwood, NSW

dsjmd@hermes.net.au