On Friday 4 February 2022, the Australian Rail Track Corporation...

On Friday 4 February 2022, the Australian Rail Track Corporation issued a further media release regarding repairs to the badly flood-affected Trans Australia Railway that links Adelaide and the eastern states' vital standard gauge rail network with Kalgoorlie and Perth:

The relevant excerpt for LAU is (although it's not a specific date):

“...Following an extensive and detailed assessment of all track, ARTC can advise completion of the repair works is expected to occur by mid-February..."

One source suggests reopening may be on 18 February 2022, two weeks from today. I doubt it will be earlier, but time will tell.

If that date is factual, it will mean supermarket shelves in much of WA can be properly restocked from about 21 or 22 February, which must seem like an eternity for supermarket managers.

Road transport will be filling in some of the supply gaps but by no means all. For instance at the few WOW Perth outlets I checked online, Sorbent Gold toilet tissue (pack of six, $5.50, manufactured in Melbourne) was out of stock at each one, but in stock in most Melbourne WOWs. A worse position for San Remo spirals large pasta 500 grams (WOW price $1.95) that's manufactured in Adelaide as it was out of stock in 23 of the 25 Perth WOW stores' range I viewed online, but it was available in almost all Sydney WOW outlets.

Similarly, the large Sunrice Jasmine rice five kilogram bags $20, and not even on special) were unavailable at nine of 25 Perth WOW outlets but every Melbourne WOW store I checked online had it. This rice is imported from of all places, Cambodia at present, so that's a classic example of how it may come in containers rather than a bulk ship, with the shipping line only calling at Sydney, then Melbourne, then Brisbane and back to Asia, and never calling at Perth's Fremantle or smaller Adelaide.

Thankfully there's no rain forecast in the next half dozen days for the Port Augusta - Tarcoola - Oodnadatta area.

LAU is going to be very busy given it's most unlikely it's been able to transport all its booked freight by road. The flood however may have triggered a declaration of Force Majeure.