Port Kembla industry bears 'significant cost' of rail closure

The Moss Vale-Unanderra line, a privately owned rail line used by industry at Port Kembla, is out of action for as long as six months due to land slippage.

The closure had affected most of the industries based at Port Kembla, including BlueScope, Cement Australia and GrainCorp's grain terminal.

As a result, freight has been moved onto the already congested South Coast line, which Ms Calfas said was far from ideal given the Moss Vale line took more than 200 freight services a month.

"The South Coast line is a busy passenger line with limited space for freight, but it is difficult to shift some products from rail to road at these volumes," Ms Calfas said.

"Transport for NSW is working with rail operators to provide additional space where possible.

"However, we are still seeing significant disruptions, delays and costs, because it is a much longer route."

The line is owned by Australian Rail Track Corporation.

"The Moss Vale-Unanderra Line was deemed unsafe for the passage of trains due to landslips and significant movement of the embankment following heavy rain," a spokesman said.

"Due to the need for extensive geo-tech investigations 20 weeks were allocated for restoration works to be undertaken."

Ms Calfas said the closure had resulted in freight having to be redirected or delayed "at a significant cost to producers".

She said it "highlighted the vulnerability of existing rail connections to Port Kembla".

"We need a plan now to build the region's resilience against such extreme weather events, which are projected to occur more regularly in the future," the NSW Ports CEO said.

"We also have an opportunity to harness the potential of the Illawarra region by strengthening its connections with the growth areas of west and south-west Sydney."