Adani’s mining arm Bravus prepares to export first coal from Carmichael as locomotives arrive

Trains destined to haul coal from mining giant Adani’s Carmichael project have arrived in Queensland, marking the final piece of the puzzle for the resource to be exported.

Trains destined to haul coal from mining giant Adani’s Carmichael project have arrived in Queensland, marking the final piece of the puzzle for the resource to be exported.

The locomotives, ordered by Adani’s new rail arm the Bowen Rail Company, arrived at the Port of Townsville on Friday — in a milestone announcement for the company that included the rare attendance of a Queensland government minister.

Arrival of the Caterpillar manufactured machinery comes nearly three months to the day Adani’s mining arm Bravus announced it had struck first coal at the Carmichael Mine in the Galilee Basin.

The company is on track to export first coal in 2021, as promised.

The locomotives, of which there will be ten in total once all arrive, are the “most technologically advanced freight locomotives Australia has ever seen” according to Bowen Rail Company chief executive Trista Brohier.

But the company will need drivers.

“They have highly intelligent IT systems that enable us to operate the trains and track their movements from anywhere in the country and they are also more fuel efficient, using 10% less fuel than the existing diesel trains in Australia,” Ms Brohier said

“Despite the cutting-edge technology of our fleet, all our trains will have drivers. We will provide real jobs for real people.”

Bowen Rail recently announced the construction of a rail yard being delivered for the business’ future which will see more than 100 construction jobs provided through local Bowen company, Hillery Group. Completion of the yard is not required to start operation.

The Courier-Mail recently revealed BMD Constructions, one of Australia’s largest construction companies, had to undertake a global search to find someone to insure their work on Adani’s Carmichael Rail Network.

Many insurers are no longer funding underwriting new thermal coal mining projects or electricity generation and have promised to phase out exposure to the sector by as early as 2025.