The council has also confirmed it will discontinue the shire’s memberships with Timber Towns and the Green Triangle Freight Group. 

Chief executive David Leahy said the Rail Freight Alliance was focused on transport efficiency. 

“Gaining this membership opens doors to negotiations with the grain handlers and rail managers,” he said. 

“We have a project where we would like to see an answer to the Lillimur grain handling facility. We would like to see where this group could assist us in that.” 

Mr Leahy said Rail Freight Alliance specifically focused on rail freight.

“The synergies are pretty obvious – the connection to the rail freight industry the Rail Freight Alliance can provide is probably something the other groups can’t,” he said. 

Mr Leahy said the council wanted more efficiency and less stress on roads. 

“If the site can move the commodity in greater quantity at a faster speed, it shows the efficiency which will go back to the grower,” he said. 

“Regionally speaking, the Rail Freight Alliance are strong supporters of the Dooen freight hub.

“For our entire region, I think it is important everyone plays a role in trying to have every opportunity to grow.

“From our point of view, personally, we would like to have that advice and lobbying power in respect to development on our little patch – but we also look at the broader region across the Wimmera.” 

Mr Leahy said the amount of B-double trucks transporting grain on the West Wimmera roads would also decrease when efficiency levels increased. 

“There was a grain freight logistics report done a couple of years ago,” he said. 

“If you take a certain number of B-doubles off the long hauls out of the Wimmera and convert it into a more efficient shorter haul it will have a positive result on our road networks as well.

“If you concentrate those freight movements onto specific routes, it just takes a lot of pressure off the regions road network, with the example of the Dooen freight hub.” 

Mr Leahy said the membership costed the shire about $3000.