Rail fight threatens coal giants' Australian exports

Melbourne

AUSTRALIA'S top coal hauler, Aurizon Holdings Ltd, is on course for a showdown with the world's biggest coal exporters after a regulator capped the revenue it can charge at A$1 billion (S$1.04 billion) less than the company sought.

BHP Billiton, Glencore, Anglo American, Peabody Energy and others face cuts of nearly a tenth of their coal export volumes from Queensland state, the country's biggest coal exporter, after Aurizon said the tough revenue cap would cut throughput on its network.