“From a grains industry perspective, we are concerned at the flagging of any closures at this point in time because we don’t think it bodes well for the future of the grains industry, nor for the safety of the community,” he said.

Mr Clauson said he believed the costs of maintaining the roads could eventually be passed on to road users, including farmers transporting grain.

“I think that as we close railway lines and the increased cost of road maintenance starts to emerge, the cost of road freight will increase significantly in future, and then it will be too late to resurrect the rail system,” he said.

“I think we’re not taking a long term approach at this, we’re looking at it from short term perspective and will make bad mistakes from doing that.

“The auditor general has flagged the fact that WA roads have fallen into poor conditions, and there’s some $800 million required to bring them back up to standard, which is a lot more than what seems to be available.”

Trayning Shire president Trevor Lamond said local roads were not at the required standard for handling the increased tonnage and traffic.

“Trayning and Kellerberrin shires have already spent quite a bit of money on the road between the two towns, but the road certainly isn’t designed to carry lots and lots of road trains,” he said.

“The costs for upgrading local shire roads will be passed on somehow, and unless we receive increased funding from somewhere, the shire will be faced with cutting services or raising rates to pay for the road upgrades.”

Mr Lamond, who also farms at Trayning, said he didn’t believe the rail closure would affect his farming as he found the rail and road freight costs to be similar.

Bruce Rock Shire chief executive officer Stephen O’Halloran said the roads in Bruce Rock needed significant work before they could be considered safe for the increased traffic.

“Fifty-tonne trucks on small country roads are a disaster waiting to happen,” he said.

“Since the rails are being left to fall into disrepair, we’ve already been told by CBH that most of the grain will be leaving Bruce Rock by truck this summer, which is diabolical because we already have a main roads report saying that the road is too narrow for that.

“So we find it quite unbelievable that they can make a decision that can force the grain onto a road at a stage when the roads aren’t up to standard.”

He also said there would be an increase in farmers taking their grain directly to the standard gauge rail line at Merredin.

“If the rail at Bruce Rock bin is closed, farmers west and east of Bruce Rock may not deliver to Bruce Rock anymore but will take their grain directly up to the standard gauge at Merredin via the back roads,” he said.

“That will put enormous pressure on some of our rural roads, which aren’t designed to take that much grain, and it will also put an enormous amount of pressure on the Merredin bin.

“We’re also concerned that some people won’t be satisfied with taking it up to the standard gauge, and will take it straight up to Perth to avoid double-handling and possible extra costs, which again increases the impact on the roads.”

Merredin Shire chief executive officer Frank Ludovico said the shire would have to handle up to three times the number of grain trucks delivering to Merredin.

“It’s okay for the government to save money on rail upgrades, but if they don’t provide adequate money for road upgrades, in very short order, our roads will in the same condition as rail, and there will be no transporting system left,” he said.

“Without significant government funding, Merredin Shire will be faced with the cost of upgrading the roads to handle not only local traffic, who are paying the rates for the roads, but traffic from numerous other shires as well.”

WA Pastoralists and Graziers Association grains policy director Sheldon Mumby said they believed the report, when finalised, would find the most cost effective outcomes for the region.

“The role of the SGNC is to take a look at creating the most efficient and cost effective transport system, that will encompass both road and rail, and that any closure of any lines would be dealt with by having an increase in either road funding or some new roads, or possibly boosting up another rail line, to ensure that there is not adverse affects on the community, to community roads or adverse affects from the closure.

“Any possible rail closure would be dealt dealt with over a long period of time so we can look at developing supporting infrastructure.”

The report recommends the Mukinbudin-Koorda line and the Beacon-Burakin lines, listed as tier two, should be retained.

Lines listed as tier one are those seen as essential to the ongoing viability of the network, such as the Southern Cross to Kwinana line, and the lines connecting Northam to Koorda and Kalannie.

The report has recommended $98m be invested in tier one lines over the next four years to sustain them for another 10 to 15 year cycle.

SGNC is expected to release the final report this week, and its recommendations will assist Transport Minister Simon O’Brien with network funding considerations that will ultimately require government approval.