As well as assisting the company’s growth in its coal haulage business of NSW, the facility will also alleviate pressure in the Hunter Valley coal supply chain.

QR National has had a foothold in the Hunter Valley region since 2005 and has since secured about 30% of the rail coal market in the region.

The facility would consolidate ad-hoc maintenance and re-fuelling activities currently used by the company, which QR National says will reduce shunting and provisioning activities in and around Koorangang.

QR National senior vice president of service delivery for coal markets Ed McKeiver said it was working through required regulatory and environmental approvals with the state government and other stakeholders for the proposal.

“Depending on government planning approvals and consultation with stakeholders, QR National plans to have the facility operational by mid-2014,” McKeiver said.

“QR National intends to have a long-term presence in this region as a proactive and responsible local business and supply chain participant.”

The project is supported by the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator, which advocates relocating train servicing and fuelling facilities away from Kooragang Island to improve the efficiency of the coal chain.

QR National has just under 300 employees working in the Hunter Valley region.

The construction of the proposed train support facility at Hexham would create an additional 100 jobs during its construction period.

The 255 hectare project site at Hexham is a strategic parcel of industrial land that QR National has owned since 2008.

The company plans to redevelop about 30ha of the site for the facility, with the balance of the land to be set aside for an environmental reserve and future use.