“The Key Is Not To Panic.” Flooding In SA Has Impacted East-West Rail Supply Lines, Solutions On The Way
You may have noticed, or will begin to notice, that some supermarket shelves are light on at the moment, with supply chain disruptions during the pandemic starting to take effect in Western Australia.
Unfortunately this has been exacerbated in recent days as record rainfall and flooding in South Australia stopping freight trains bringing supplies in to WA from the eastern states.
According to one of WA’s largest transport and logistics companies, PEP Transport, there are some tough times ahead:
“The floods impacting the East-West rail lines have created a massive food shortage for WA,” said PEP Director Tony Florido. “We have seen many suppliers try to get their products on road haulage services however we have seen a shortage of drivers in the industry already due to COVID isolation and a skills shortage.”
Mr Florido added that there were options being looked at to overcome the interim rail disruptions: “Air support including the use of the army may need to be considered if the rail network isn’t up and running quickly.”
The air support suggestion comes as WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti told the ABC that triple road trains, usually banned for freight between SA and WA, will be employed to ease pressure and increase the capacity of trucks by around 50 per cent.
A new land bridge should be constructed in the next few days: “Over the next few days I think we’ll see some of those options starting to happen, including in particular the land bridge option, which will allow product to come over to WA in good volumes.”
Meanwhile back at home, Mr Florido insisted it was important we remain calm and work together.
“It looks like we will be going without some of our favourites for a while however the key is not to panic and find alternatives until we get through this together,” he said.
When it comes to alternatives, looking outside of the major retailers like Coles and Woolworths and into smaller, suburban markets may be an answer.
Below you’ll find a few links on our website that may be helpful in the short term and give you a for more ideas around your local area, like butchers, growers markets and more:
Delivery Grocery Services Around Perth
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Header Image: ARTC