Miners pull out of rail offer

A consortium of resource companies has pulled out of bidding to buy central
Queensland coal rail tracks.
The Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group (QCIRG) put together the bid to counter a
plan by the Queensland government to float QR National on the stock exchange by the
end of the year.
In a statement, the consortium said it would not be lodging the offer as "QCIRG is
not able to satisfy its, or the Queensland government's, requirements for the bid".
"QCIRG appreciates the efforts made by the Queensland state government during
negotiations," the statement said.
"QCIRG reiterates that coal rail system arrangements are critical for the industry
and it will seek to work constructively with the Queensland government on
alternative arrangements to realise system efficiency and future growth."
The government is expected to announce details of the float within a week.
Treasurer Andrew Fraser, who had asked for a binding bid by Friday, told AAP he
believed the negotiations were conducted in a fair and genuine way.
"Both sides have invested a considerable amount of time and resources," he said.
"They said they weren't able to meet either their requirements or the requirements
that we put to them."
He said the QR National float would proceed as planned, but would not discuss the
timetable.
"The timetable for the IPO has been set and all of that will proceed now with a
clear run," he said.