The Airly mine requires 170 megalitres of water per annum to continue full coal production. However, the dam at Airly is expected to run out of water in September, indicating the severity of the current drought in Australia, Centennial’s closed Charbon mine, which is currently being rehabilitated, has a licence to draw 336 megalitres of water per year from a local dam. Planning and environmental approvals have been granted to transfer 170 megalitres per annum by rail from Charbon to the Airly mine, a distance of around 50km. Southern Shorthaul Railroad (SSR), which manages coal haulage services from Centennial’s mines, last week commenced operating a daily ‘water train’ to ensure the dam level at Airly is replenished and maintained. The balloon loop serving the Airly mine is located 5km north of Capertee on the Wallerawang - Rylstone (formerly Mudgee) line. The line north beyond Airly has largely been disused, apart from the occasional passenger charter train. The water train comprises 15 flat wagons each carrying two 24,000 litre ISO tanks. The train will carry approximately 0.7 megalitres (720,000 litres) of water per service. The tanks have been fitted with external pipes to allow safe side loading and unloading by train crews at dedicated loading pads at each location. The total number of trains per year will not exceed 230 per annum due to water limits. An ABC News report suggests that rail could be used to transport more water to other drought-affected businesses and communities. A senior NSW government official told ABC the prospect of transporting water by train to areas in the west of the state, such as Cobar, was in the “advanced planning” stage.
