Well they did the same at Newcastle and Whyalla I believe. Coal from Newcastle and IO from Whyalla. Even built ships to carry the freight. The beauty of a railway line is you have an indigenous population to own and maintain it.
What you need is a government with vision and commitment. Sadly we are lacking both. Steel for building; renewables for generating electricity. Let's face it a wind generator is just a magnet swinging in the breeze.
