THE State Government is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) for the use of the Barossa rail corridor, after making the announcement on Friday.

The corridor, which runs from Gawler Central station to Penrice Quarry near Angaston, has laid dormant since 2014 when Penrice Soda Products’ regular freight service from the Penrice quarry to its factory at Osborne ceased.

Transport and infrastructure minister Stephan Knoll said “the primary objective is to find the best use of the rail corridor in the longterm interest of the state and local economy”.

“We’ve had a line that has been sitting dormant, the lessee company Genesee Wyoming Australia are prepared to hand back the line,” he said.

“We’ve also got upgrades that are happening to Kroemer’s (Crossing) and also the Altona Bridge, which are impacted by the rail line.

“We’re putting out an expression of interest to flush out ideas to come and use the line.”

Genesee Wyoming Australia has indicated that should a suitable alternative use be identified through the EOI process, it would be prepared to surrender the ground lease prior to its scheduled expiration in 2047.

“There are opportunities for rail operators to come and say they want to use it, but there are also opportunities (for other operators) if they want to do something else with the corridor,” Mr Knoll said.

“Otherwise, the line is going to sit there, it’ll continue to deteriorate, and we want to see this thing used.”

In stage one of the EOI process, proponents will be asked to submit an initial proposal including proposed future use, capacity to deliver the proposal, funding source, requirements of the State Government, and benefits to the community.

Submissions will close on September 10, and it is expected stage one will be completed by the end of October.

Should proposals demonstrate merit, a short-listing process will be undertaken to identify proponents to undergo further, more rigorous assessment in stage two.

The process will allow for more than one initiative to be progressed on different sections of the corridor to best utilise the resource, subject to Ministerial approval.

As a result of submissions received and the subsequent assessment of those, further negotiation or procurement strategies may be required.

If no suitable alternative use is identified, the process will be abandoned.

It is expected the final outcome will be identified by March 2020.