June 30, 2025 - Australian rail operator Aurizon's Central Queensland Coal Network will have facilitated about 207mn t of exports in the 2024-25 financial year to 30 June, down by around 4.6pc on the year, because of weather and safety issues.

The company's rail access contracts operate on a take-or-pay basis, where coal producers pay for unused capacity. But those provisions will only impact mines along Aurizon's Blackwater system — including global producer Glencore's Oaky Creek, Australian producer Whitehaven Coal's Blackwater, and US-Australian producer Coronado's Curragh mines — the company told investors on 27 June.

Mines along the other three systems in the network will not face take-or-pay penalties this year but may face higher payment obligations in future, Aurizon added.

Aurizon hauls coal in addition to maintaining rail networks. Its coal haulage volume across Australia fell by 6.2pc on the year in January-April because of reduced activity in central Queensland.

Producers in the state have faced safety and weather-related challenges since the start of 2025. Multiple mines in the state closed over safety issues in April. Floods also disrupted regional coal ports in February.

But Queensland's state government expects coal exports to rise by 10.5pc over the 2025-26 financial year and by 3pc over the 2026-27 financial year because of mine ramp-ups and steelmaking demand.