Queensland transport at standstill, state declared disaster area

AUSTRALIAN ports, railways and roads were closed last week across large swathes of Queensland as the worst floods for 50 years continued to cause transport chaos.

Around 75 per cent of Queensland - an area larger than France and Germany combined - has been declared a disaster zone after a month of extreme rainfall, London's International Freighting Weekly reported. One shipping source said that transport across most of Queensland was at a standstill.

"Trucks for Darwin ex-Queensland are moving round the bottom of Australia and coming north via Adelaide, but with the north of New South Wales also likely to be flooded I'm not sure how much longer that will continue," he said.

Queensland provides a large bulk of Australia's fresh fruit and vegetables so prices are expected to rise as produce disappears from shelves.

Llew Russell, CEO of Shipping Australia, said some container traffic would be diverted to Sydney and Melbourne.

Brisbane Airport, located on higher ground, was open, but cargo shipments are subject to delays.

Rail operator Asciano said large parts of its industrial network in Queensland were closed and restrictions were also in place in the neighbouring state of New South Wales. Queensland's North Coast Line was closed between Brisbane and Cairns.

The port of Brisbane reopened on January 17 after a six-day closure because of flooding, but operations will not return to normal for some days. Shipping channels in the Fisherman Island sector of the port have re-opened, but other parts of the river and port first had to be surveyed and cleared, a port official said.
(Source:www.schednet.com)