THE McGowan government has appointed an executive from the company which shut down many of WA’s regional railway lines to plan its proposed Outer Harbour.

On Tuesday transport and planning minister Rita Saffioti announced the appointment of Tim Collins as project director for the Westport Office, saying he had 20 years’ experience in port-related strategic planning.

“Mr Collins’ wealth of knowledge and experience in port operations will be highly valuable to the Westport Taskforce’s investigations that will guide the state government’s planning and development of the Outer Harbour port facilities,” Ms Saffioti said.

Mr Collins is currently the business development principal at Arc Infrastructure, which was previously known as Brookfield Rail.

The company was engulfed in a furore when the Barnett government closed tier 3 freight railway lines in rural areas four years ago. Councils complained it put thousands more trucks onto their roads and reduced safety, while farmers complained it drove up their costs.

But there has been speculation Arc would reopen many of the lines after recent negotiations with the state’s biggest grain handler CBH.

Mr Collins has also previously worked for CBH.

by STEVE GRANT