The project has been fast-tracked following an agreement with the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance to provide maintenance and daily servicing for BMA’s four new train sets.

The train sets are due to arrive in the second half of 2013.

The Nebo facility allows the provisioning and maintenance of Asciano’s coal arm Pacific National Coal’s trains. This includes refuelling, routine train inspections and rolling stock maintenance work.

The expansion project will include the construction of an additional unit train maintenance road and a storage road.

Pacific National Coal hauls coal to the Dalrymple Bay coal terminal, the Port of Gladstone, and the Port of Abbot Point under contracts with customers including Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Peabody, Anglo American, Middlemount and Bowen Central Coal.

It will start hauling for BMA joint venture subsidiary BMC on January 1.

Pacific National Coal director David Irwin was understandably pleased with the long-term agreement it had struck with BMA.

“We look forward to the arrival of the first BMA train set in the second half of 2013 and to our continued collaboration with the Queensland state government, the Isaac Regional Council and the local community to ensure continued investment and job growth within the region,” he said.