Road haulage of coal

As noted by the Port Kembla Coal Terminal in their Annual Environmental Management Report 2015-16, consent was given by the NSW Department of Planning to lift the limit of road haulage of coal to 10 million tonnes per annum.  This follows the 2009 consent that lifted the long standing night-time, Sunday and public holiday curfew to allow coal trucks to move 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a limit of 7.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

No public consultation was undertaken by the NSW Department of Planning in lifting the limit from 7.5 to 10 mtpa. And this at a time when the Mt Ousley Road is getting more and more congested, and funding has been denied to construct the long awaited grade separation at the foot of Mt Ousley Road.

Giant A-Double trucks are now moving some of this coal with 11 or so axles, and a maximum weight of 72 tonnes. See HERE.

Coal truck operators are seeking even heavier trucks, claiming that sub-optimal loading is costing them about $3 million per year.

A good question is how much would the road wear and tear increase each year if the heavier mass was approved by the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS)?

A further question is what are the present hidden subsidies to coal trucking? Back around 1992, based on data from the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) (now RMS), Wollongong City Council Coal Task Force reckoned it was three cents per tonne kilometre in unrecovered road system costs. 

So for each million tonnes hauled, the 40 or so km from near Appin to Port Kembla, has a hidden subsidy of $1.2 million.

With 85 % CPI applied, this is now $2.2 million for each million tonnes of road hauled coal.

More information on hidden subsidies to heavy trucks is given in a recent article.