Ann: Cudeco regains 100% control of Multi User Ra, page-11

re: Ann: Cudeco regains 100% control of Multi... CDU advised $50

from:Two Case Studies on Road vs. Rail Freight Costs, Productivity Commission 2006

The pure linehaul component of rail usage costs ($21.60/’000 ntk) is less than half that for road ($44.91/’000 ntk) on this corridor. When termination-related usage costs are included, rail maintains a significant cost advantage per ntk (rail=$32.04/’000 ntk,
road=$47.82/’000 ntk). Including accident and greenhouse gas externalities makes the comparison slightly more favourable to rail.

It was noted earlier that there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the estimated wear and tear cost rate for rail infrastructure. If the unit rate used here, $3.34/’000 gtk, were doubled, it would add $6.10/’000 ntk to the rail usage charge, or 26% of the difference between road and rail linehaul usage costs—a figure that is not sufficiently large to make rail haulage more expensive than road haulage in terms of their respective usage charges. Therefore the conclusion that rail haulage offers substantially lower usage costs than road haulage on this corridor is robust.

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so at least $20/ntk difference. so @ 400,000 t.pa

$8M p.a. and that is 2006 data, allowing for higher fuel costs the difference will be larger.

After tax in today's dollars $6m p.a.say.

$40m full cost to pay off...7 years -ish breakeven.

Made more sense when MIM and MMG were involved. Here it looks like a trophy project.
Imperative others use the line but my bet is that as others come on board it will be a wash iuts face and hands project..community service type altruism.

Not saying it shouldn't be done, but for goodness sake stop touting it as some big benefit. It is just a useful piece of social infrastructure. Once it is part of the community group think, it will be handed over eventually to Government to own and maintain. WM will be pushing up daisies by then, it probably won't have impacted CDU one way or other, some momentary prestige, thee is plenty of that rotting away in the bush around Mt Isa.

Just..stop..assuming..it ...is..something ...awesome!!