Japan has warned it will buy its coal elsewhere as a stoush continues over rail operator Aurizon's plan to slash Queensland's coal haulage.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will tell senior Japanese officials in Tokyo in coming days their coal imports are secure, even though Aurizon's altered maintenance plans for the Central Queensland Coal Network are expected to slash exports by 20 million tonnes a year.
It comes after Japanese steelmakers warned Ms Palaszczuk they will look to other regions if the conflict is not resolved soon.
In a letter to Ms Palaszczuk last week, one steelmaker says the reasoning behind cuts to exports remains unclear.
Japanese buyers say they're being ignored and warn they will take their business elsewhere if the reliability of coal exports is damaged.
Aurizon expects it will be forced to change its maintenance schedule in response to a draft decision by the Queensland Competition Authority to cap its revenue for the next four years at $3.9 billion.
The cap is $1 billion less than Aurizon says it should be, and a fixed maintenance schedule would compensate it for the drop in revenue.
Ahead of a trade mission to Japan and the US on Tuesday, Ms Palaszczuk said she would reassure the Japanese government its coal exports were secure and urged an end to the dispute.
"It is very important that Aurizon and the QCA sit down and try to resolve this issue as a matter of urgency," she said.
Aurizon has lodged an application for a judicial review of the draft decision with the Supreme Court.
Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane has accused Aurizon of using thug tactics and attempting to sideline the QCA by negotiating an end to the dispute with individual coalminers.
"When they got a draft ruling they didn't like, instead of going back to the regulator and working that through, they've threatened to cut exports," Mr Macfarlane said.
He says the rail operator's plan would see coal exports drop by $4 billion a year, with flow-on effects for the state's coffers.
Aurizon has accused QRC of playing politics, and says its own actions are justified because the QCA's proposed revenue cap would be backdated.
"We have had to take action now because of the retrospective nature of the process and the very real prospect that it could cost Aurizon jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars," it said in a statement.
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