Australian global steel giant BHP Billiton is planning to build a new railway line between some of its inland Australian coal mines and the coast in a move that could threaten the dominance of major domestic coal haulage firm QR National, according to Reuters.
40 percent of the delivery business of QR National in Queensland is currently dependent on BHP Billiton. The miner has already applied for official permission for the project.
BHP Billiton's plan is to build a rail line from Queensland's Bowen Basin, source for most of Australia's exports of steel making coal, to a port at Abbot Point where BHP Billiton was preferred developer for a new coal export terminal.