Australian Railroad Group
Encyclopedia
Australian Railroad Group (ARG) was one of Australia
's largest private rail operators, operating across almost 10,000 kilometres of track and began operating in Western Australia
on 17 December 2000 following its purchase of the Westrail
freight business. It was acquired by QR National
. The main commodities hauled by ARG included grain
, mineral sands, alumina
, bauxite
, coal
, woodchips
, quartz
, nickel
and iron ore around Western Australia.
The venture was formed in 2000 as a consortium of US based rail operator Genesee and Wyoming Inc and Australian rural services company Wesfarmers
, to bid for the freight operator Westrail
which was being sold by the owner, the Western Australian state government
. Genessee and Wyoming had previously had an Australian presence, with their Australian Southern Railroad operations in South Australia acquired from Australian National in November 1997.
Initially trains in Western Australia were operated under the Australian Western Railroad name, with AWR logs being applied to locomotives in the orange black and yellow of the parent organisation G&W. This was followed by the ARG's involvement with the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium
building the Adelaide-Darwin railway
, with locomotives construction the line receiving Australian Northern Railroad logos. With this expansion it was decided to rationalise the trading entities under the ARG brand and logo, which was implemented on 1 August 2002.
In February 2006 Wesfarmers announced it had reached an agreement with its joint venture partners to sell ARG for $1.3 billion. Babcock & Brown would own and run ARG's rail business in Western Australia, mainly track and infrastructure, while QR will own and run the rail haulage business and infrastructure. Queensland Rail
would pay $446 million for the rolling stock, depots and customer contracts, making them move in order to become a national player in Australian rail freight. In March 2006 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
said it would not oppose the takeover, competition would not be impacted due to existing competition between ARG and QR being limited. The takeover was completed in June 2006. The SA below rail business was retained by Genesee & Wyoming as Genesee and Wyoming Australia
.
On late 2011 QR Limited successfully completed its separation from Queensland Rail and became QR National. QR National has it services divided under various section. and as of July 2011 ARG is no longer a stand alone company but has become part of the much larger QR National Freight Bulk West division.
With the introduction of the ARG name and corporate colours, ARG began a gradual process of standardising the locomotive classification based on horsepower, with a progressive (and still incomplete) renumbering as follows:
Note: As of February 2006 new letter classes will be used in conjunction with the new horsepower based numbering system (The Z on the end of some class letters refers to locomotives fitted with ZTR) .
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's largest private rail operators, operating across almost 10,000 kilometres of track and began operating in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
on 17 December 2000 following its purchase of the Westrail
Westrail
Westrail was the name of Western Australia’s public rail service between 1975 and 2000.It had its origins in 1877 as the Department of Works and Railways. This became Western Australian Government Railways in 1890 — a name that persisted for almost a century...
freight business. It was acquired by QR National
QR National
QR National Limited is the largest rail freight company in Australia and was formerly owned by the Queensland Government. It was created as an independent company on 1 July 2010 when transport and logistics company QR Limited was split into two companies...
. The main commodities hauled by ARG included grain
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, mineral sands, alumina
Aluminium oxide
Aluminium oxide is an amphoteric oxide with the chemical formula 23. It is commonly referred to as alumina, or corundum in its crystalline form, as well as many other names, reflecting its widespread occurrence in nature and industry...
, bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, woodchips
Woodchipping
Woodchipping is the act and industry of chipping wood for pulp, processed wood products, and mulch.-Papermaking:Timber is converted to woodchips and sold, primarily, for pulp production used in paper manufacture...
, quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
and iron ore around Western Australia.
History
Wesfarmers
Wesfarmers Limited is one of Australia’s largest public companies and one of Australia's largest retailers. Its headquarters are in Perth, Western Australia....
, to bid for the freight operator Westrail
Westrail
Westrail was the name of Western Australia’s public rail service between 1975 and 2000.It had its origins in 1877 as the Department of Works and Railways. This became Western Australian Government Railways in 1890 — a name that persisted for almost a century...
which was being sold by the owner, the Western Australian state government
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
. Genessee and Wyoming had previously had an Australian presence, with their Australian Southern Railroad operations in South Australia acquired from Australian National in November 1997.
Initially trains in Western Australia were operated under the Australian Western Railroad name, with AWR logs being applied to locomotives in the orange black and yellow of the parent organisation G&W. This was followed by the ARG's involvement with the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium
Asia Pacific Transport Consortium
In 2000, the AustralAsia Rail Corporation awarded the contract to build and operate the Adelaide to Darwin railway line as a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer back project to the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium, which consists of:*Kellogg Brown & Root...
building the Adelaide-Darwin railway
Adelaide-Darwin railway
The Adelaide–Darwin railway is a north-south transcontinental railway in Australia, between the cities of Adelaide, South Australia and Darwin, Northern Territory...
, with locomotives construction the line receiving Australian Northern Railroad logos. With this expansion it was decided to rationalise the trading entities under the ARG brand and logo, which was implemented on 1 August 2002.
In February 2006 Wesfarmers announced it had reached an agreement with its joint venture partners to sell ARG for $1.3 billion. Babcock & Brown would own and run ARG's rail business in Western Australia, mainly track and infrastructure, while QR will own and run the rail haulage business and infrastructure. Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail, also known as QR, is a government-owned railway operator in the state of Queensland. Under the control of the Queensland Government, Queensland Rail operates the inner-city and long-distance passenger services, as well as some freight operations and gives railway access to other...
would pay $446 million for the rolling stock, depots and customer contracts, making them move in order to become a national player in Australian rail freight. In March 2006 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent authority of the Australia government. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974...
said it would not oppose the takeover, competition would not be impacted due to existing competition between ARG and QR being limited. The takeover was completed in June 2006. The SA below rail business was retained by Genesee & Wyoming as Genesee and Wyoming Australia
Genesee and Wyoming Australia
Genesee and Wyoming Australia is an Australian rail freight operator based in Adelaide, South Australia. It is a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Genesee and Wyoming Inc based in the USA, and was formed in June 2006 to run the South Australian operations of the Australian Railroad Group joint...
.
On late 2011 QR Limited successfully completed its separation from Queensland Rail and became QR National. QR National has it services divided under various section. and as of July 2011 ARG is no longer a stand alone company but has become part of the much larger QR National Freight Bulk West division.
Locomotive fleet
Note: As of February 2006 new letter classes will be used in conjunction with the new horsepower based numbering system (The Z on the end of some class letters refers to locomotives fitted with ZTR) .
- 600 class (ex SAR 600 classSouth Australian Railways 600 classThe South Australian Railways 600 class is a class of ten 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives built in 1925, designed to operate on 1600 mm gauge lines.-History:...
) - 700 class (ex SAR 700 class)
- 830 class (ex SAR 830 classSouth Australian Railways 830 classThe 830 class of diesel locomotives were a class of branchline locomotive built by A. E. Goodwin. They had a Co-Co wheelbase and were operated by the South Australian Railways. Most were passed onto Australian National but two were retained by South Australia for the STA but were later sold to...
) - DA/900 class (ex AN DA class)
- CK/1000 class (ex AN CK class)
- A class (ex WAGR A class)
- DE/1300 class (ex BHP DE class)
- AB/1500 class (ex WAGR AB class)
- NJ/1600 class (ex CR NJ class)
- GM/1800 class (ex CR GM class)
- DA/DAZ/1900 class (ex WAGR DA class)
- DC/2200 class (ex NSWGR 422 classNew South Wales 422 class locomotiveThe 422 class diesel electric locomotive was introduced into the New South Wales rail system in 1969. Clyde Engineering of Granville, New South Wales obtained the contract to build 20 of these units....
) - DB/DBZ/2300 class (ex WAGR DB class)
- D/2350 class (ex WAGR D class)
- P/2500 class (ex WAGR P class)
- CL/CLZ/3000 class (ex AN CLF/CLP classes)
- L/LZ/3100 class (ex WAGR L classWAGR L class (diesel)The L-class is a class of diesel locomotives of the Western Australian Government Railways first introduced in 1967 for heavy duty mainline use on the new standard gauge lines. Their wheel arrangement is Co-Co.- Details :...
) - ALF/3200 class (ex AN ALF class)
- S/3300 class (ex Westrail S classWAGR S class (diesel)The WAGR S Class Diesel Locomotive is a dual-cabin diesel-electric locomotive ordered in 1996 by Westrail for the intrastate railway lines in Western Australia. Nine units were ordered by Westrail from Clyde Engineering in a nine-month period and an additional two units were also ordered...
) - Q/4000 class (ex Westrail Q classDowner EDI Rail GT46CThe GT46C is a model of high-horsepower mainline diesel electric locomotive designed and built by Clyde Engineering / EDI Rail using Electro-Motive Diesel components...
) - AC/4300 class (new build UGL Rail C43aci)
West Australian facilities
- Forrestfield Yard, ForrestfieldForrestfield, Western AustraliaForrestfield is a suburb of the Shire of Kalamunda in Western Australia. It lies 15 km to the southeast of Perth at the base of the Darling Scarp and the Southern border of the International Airport. There is authority to suggest it is named after Western Australia's first premier, John Forrest...
, suburban PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... - Kwinana Yard, KwinanaKwinanaKwinana may refer to:*Town of Kwinana, a Local Government Area in Western Australia*Kwinana Beach, Western Australia, a suburb in Western Australia*Kwinana Freeway, a major road in Western Australia...
- Avon Yard, NorthamNortham, Western AustraliaNortham is a town in Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers, about north-east of Perth in the Avon Valley. At the 2006 census, Northam had a population of 6,009. Northam is the largest town in the Avon region...
- West Merredin Yard, MerredinMerredin, Western Australia-Economy:The agricultural land around Merredin produces 40% of Western Australia’s wheat quota. As a focal point for the region, Merredin’s local bulk handling co-operative receives and processes in excess of a million tonnes of grain every year...
- Picton Yard, BunburyBunbury, Western AustraliaThe port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
- West Kalgoorlie Yard, KalgoorlieKalgoorlie, Western AustraliaKalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
- Narngulu Yard, NarnguluNarngulu, Western AustraliaNarngulu is an outer suburb of the Western Australian city of Geraldton, and is for the most part an industrial area.-History:In the 1890s the town was known as Mullewa Junction as it was where the Cue railway line met the Midland railway line, and the name was gazetted in 1903...
, GeraldtonGeraldton, Western AustraliaGeraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958... - Esperance Depot, EsperanceEsperance, Western AustraliaEsperance is a large town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The shire of Esperance is home to 9,536 people as of the 2006 census, its major industries are tourism, agriculture,...
- Wagin Depot, WaginWagin, Western AustraliaWagin is a town and shire in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately 225 km south-east of Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Narrogin and Katanning. It is also on State Route 107. The main industries are wheat and sheep farming.-History:The name of the town is...
- Albany Depot, AlbanyAlbany, Western AustraliaAlbany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....