Rail
The rail system is an essential part of Rio Tinto's integrated iron ore production process and directly affects the company's capacity to blend ore to meet customer specifications.
Key Data
| Location | Depots at Tom Price, Cape Lambert, and Dampier (7 Mile) Train Control is located in Perth |
|---|---|
| Operation | Services 11 mines via a mainline system of approximately 1300 kilometres of track. |
| Working arrangements | Residential and Fly-in/Fly-out roster |
| Haul capacity | Approximately 220 million tonnes of ore per annum. |
| Train Profile | Each train is operated by a single driver, and comprises up to 234 ore cars, each ore car with a load capacity of approximately 106 tonnes. A fully loaded train weighs approximately 29,500 tonnes and is about 2.4 kilometres in length. |
| Cycle time | Average cycle time is about 28 hours; there is a train movement almost every 25 minutes along the line. |
| First year of operation | 1966 |
| Ownership | Hamersley Iron and Robe River; managed by Pilbara Iron. |
| Assets |
Locomotives: |
Latest media releases
- 05 June 2009
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton announce West Australian iron ore production joint venture - 02 June 2009
Iron ore supply contracts for 2009 settled with most major Asian customers - 26 May 2009
Rio Tinto announces 2009 iron ore price settlement