A protester has disrupted train movements into Australia’s Newcastle port, the world’s largest coal export terminal, the national rail network operator said on Monday. Environmental group Front Line Action on Coal released a statement claiming a 27-year-old man had chained himself to the railway leading into the main Kooragang Island coal handling facility to halt trains feeding the coal port. The action is one of six the group said it was holding to protest tree clearing in eastern Australia’s Gunnedah coal basin by Whitehaven Coal Ltd. Australian Rail Track Corp. Ltd (ARTC), a transport network coordinating train movements nationally, said the move was disrupting operations at Newcastle port. “ARTC can confirm a protestor is impacting rail operations at Kooragang and police are attending the scene,” a spokesman said. A number of coal miners ship millions of tonnes of coal through the port annually, including Glencore, BHP Billiton BLT.L> and Rio Tinto . Front Line Action on Coal is calling for the government to halt work at Whitehaven’s Maules Creek mine bordering the Leard State Forest and audit its approval process. A Whitehaven Coal spokesman denied claims by green activist group Leard Forest Alliance that protesters had closed six mines owned in the area by the company, including Maules Creek.