A train derailment just outside Katherine has been blamed for empty shelves appearing in supermarkets across the NT over the long weekend.
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A train carrying manganese ore derailed just south of the town on Friday morning.
The derailment closed the Adelaide to Darwin rail line for several days but was reopened on Sunday evening.
The line’s operator, Genesee and Wyoming Australia (GWA) today said the line had re-opened and was operating normally.
GWA has been contacted but had no further information on the line damage, the extent of the derailment or possible ore spillage.
It is known several trains were banked up further south down the line waiting for the reopening.
Empty shelves in supermarkets across the NT have been blamed on the line’s closure.
Woolworth’s has been contacted for comment.
The derailment involved a Darwin-bound ore train from the Muckaty manganese mine, believed to be the Bootu Creek mine, near Tennant Creek.
The mine’s owners, Singapore-based OM Holdings, have also been contacted for further information about any ore spillage and possible cleanup from the Katherine accident.
The Bootu Creek mine is 110km north of Tennant Creek.
Ore from the mine is hauled by truck 60 kilometres west to a railway siding, then railed to Darwin for export and used in the making of steel.
The Environment Protection Authority NT has also been contacted has also been contacted about a possible investigation into the ore spillage.
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