Adani has made a big change to its Queensland rail plan to save money
Adani has ditched plans to build a new standard gauge rail line to get coal out of Queensland's Galilee Basin, opting for a cut-price solution using existing lines.
The Indian miner had planned to build a new 388 kilometre line from its controversial Carmichael mine to Abbot Point for export.
But on Thursday the company said it would "instead leverage existing rail infrastructure", along with a 200 kilometre narrow gauge rail line, to connect the mine to Abbot Point port.
The company said the new rail plan would be cheaper, in a move that followed the Queensland government's decision to veto any federal loan to support that aspect of the project.
"By connecting to the existing network we can fast-track project delivery, reduce capital expenditure and deliver coal more quickly to countries in Asia," Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow said in a statement on Thursday.
"We're 100 per cent committed to getting the Carmichael project off the ground."
The company said its Plan B solution would follow the same route, meaning existing approvals and land use agreements could be used.
During the 2017 state election campaign, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stepped in to veto any loan for the rail project from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund.
Ms Palaszczuk initially said the decision was to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest after it was revealed her then-partner, Shaun Drabsch, worked on the loan application with his employer, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
She later said it was to meet a 2015 election promise not to allow any taxpayer funds to be spent on the mine.
Adani is still trying to drum up the money it needs to fund the mine.
Australia's big four banks have refused to put up money, forcing the company to look for funding overseas.
AAP
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