Freight Australia
Encyclopedia
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...
. Initially known as Freight Victoria, it operated rail freight services and controlled non-urban rail track in the state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, later expanding into freight haulage in other states. Freight Australia was taken over by Pacific National
Pacific National
Pacific National is one of Australia's largest private rail freight businesses. Originally a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings; it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited following the restructure of Toll Holdings....
in 2004.
Background
V/LineV/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
formerly had a freight division, known as V/Line Freight. Under the Kennett
Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
Liberal government, V/Line was split up into two separate divisions on 1 July 1997: V/Line Passenger and V/Line Freight, separate companies with little relationship and separate management to each other. When V/Line was privatised in 1999, the passenger and freight divisions were privatised separately.
Inception
The company was formed in March 1999 when the Freight Victoria consortium led by RailAmericaRailAmerica
RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada....
, acquired the Victorian Government
Government of Victoria
The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
owned V/Line Freight
Public Transport Corporation
The Public Transport Corporation was a State Government of Victoria owned corporate body formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services in Victoria, Australia....
business for . The consortium also consisted of Fluor Daniel, an infrastructure maintenance and engineering firm based in San Francisco, merchant bank and financial services group Macquarie Bank, and rolling stock builder Goninan.
The sale included the purchase of 107 locomotives and more than 2,800 freight wagons, maintenance centres at South Dynon, Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
, Portland
Portland, Victoria
The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.-History:...
and Wodonga
Wodonga, Victoria
Wodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. Adjacent to Wodonga across the border is the New South Wales city of Albury. Wodonga is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA...
, as well as a 45 year lease (in renewable 15 year leases) on 4,756 km of broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
intrastate track in regional Victoria. A green and yellow livery was adopted for rolling stock. The company commenced operations on 1 May 1999.
Expansion
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
, paper products from Maryvale
Morwell, Victoria
-Transport:The main form of transport in Morwell is the automobile. The Princes Freeway now bypasses the town to the south while the old Princes Highway which once passed through east-west through its centre is now Princes Drive and Commercial Road. The highway connects Morwell with other...
, gravel trains from Kilmore East
Kilmore, Victoria
Kilmore is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Located north of Melbourne, it is contentiously claimed as Victoria's oldest inland settled town...
, as well as general freight to and from Wodonga
Wodonga, Victoria
Wodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. Adjacent to Wodonga across the border is the New South Wales city of Albury. Wodonga is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA...
, Tocumwal
Tocumwal, New South Wales
Tocumwal is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in the Berrigan Shire Local Government Area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne. The Newell Highway, part of the main road route between...
, Shepparton
Shepparton, Victoria
Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...
, Swan Hill
Swan Hill, Victoria
Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At the 2006 census, Swan Hill had a population of 9,684.-History:...
, Bendigo
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
, Boort
Boort, Victoria
Boort is a town in Victoria, Australia, located next to Lake Boort, in the Shire of Loddon. At the 2006 census, Boort had a population of 773. The town is known for its native birdlife...
, Echuca
Echuca, Victoria
Echuca is a town located on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe river in Victoria, Australia. The Border town Moama is on the northern side of the Murray river in New South Wales. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Shire of Campaspe...
, Deniliquin, Mildura
Mildura, Victoria
Mildura is a regional city in northwestern Victoria, Australia and seat of the Rural City of Mildura local government area. It is located in the Sunraysia region, and is on the banks of the Murray River. The current population is estimated at just over 30,000.Mildura is a major agricultural centre...
, Warrnambool
Warrnambool, Victoria
-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
and Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
. Grain trains also operated throughout the state as required. Freight Victoria also operated standard gauge trains inside Victoria to Wodonga and Dimboola
Dimboola, Victoria
Dimboola is located in Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of Western Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.Situated on the Wimmera River in the State of Victoria,the town of Dimboola was previously known as 'Nine Creeks'.Following a survey conducted in late 1862 by...
.
Freight Victoria soon begun gaining contracts outside Victoria, taking advantage of open competition policies set out in the National Competition Policy
National Competition Policy
The term National Competition Policy refers to a set of policies introduced in Australia in the 1990s with the aim of promoting microeconomic reform.-Origins:...
, which included third party rail access to state owned networks. On 1 March 2000 the company was renamed to Freight Australia, the following month the company commenced hauling export grain in southern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, and by the end of 2000 was hauling the Specialised Container Transport
Specialised Container Transport
SCT Logistics is an interstate transport company in Australia, with facilities in Melbourne, Adelaide, Parkes, and Perth. The company was founded in 1974.- History :...
train from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth 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....
.
Further interstate contracts followed:
- Fuel: from Sandown in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to West TamworthTamworth, New South WalesTamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
, Dubbo, and CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. - Domestic grain: to Weston Milling in Sydney from throughout NSW.
- Export grain: from the NSW Riverina to Port KemblaPort Kembla, New South WalesPort Kembla is a suburb of Wollongong 8 km south of the CBD and part of the Illawarra region of New South Wales. The suburb comprises a seaport, industrial complex , a small harbour foreshore nature reserve, and a small commercial sector. It is situated on the tip of Red Point, first sighted...
, or Appleton Dock Melbourne. - Friskies: grain transported to a pet food processing plant in BlayneyBlayney, New South WalesBlayney is a farming town and administrative centre with a population of 2,745 in 2006, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia...
, from the central-west of NSW. - Logs: spasmodic traffic from Canberra to Port Kembla.
- Cement: BerrimaBerrima, New South WalesBerrima is an historic village in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The village, once a major town, is located on the Old Hume Highway between Canberra and Sydney. It was previously known officially as the Town of Berrima...
to Melbourne.
Demise
Moves for the sale of Freight Australia commenced in December 2003, with the Australian Competition and Consumer CommissionAustralian 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...
(ACCC) scrutinising the sale, fearing that Pacific National would create a rail and freight monopoly if it wins control of the operator. At the time other possible buyers included 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...
, Australian Railroad Group
Australian Railroad Group
Australian Railroad Group 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...
, and merchant bank Babcock & Brown.
In late March 2004 Rail America announced the sale of Freight Australia to Pacific National
Pacific National
Pacific National is one of Australia's largest private rail freight businesses. Originally a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings; it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited following the restructure of Toll Holdings....
subject to government and regulatory approval. On 2 July 2004 the ACCC announced it would not oppose the acquisition, and on 16 August 2004 the Victorian Government approved the transfer of the Freight Australia infrastructure lease to Pacific National, who paid A$285 million for the business.
Fleet
Included in the purchase of V/Line Freight was 107 diesel locomotives and more than 2,800 freight wagons, which had been owned and operated by the Victorian RailwaysVictorian Railways
The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...
and their successors. The newest and most powerful locomotives were the 3,300 hp G class
V/Line G class
The V/Line G class are a mainline diesel electric locomotives built by Clyde Engineering from 1984, the last of 33 locomotives entering service in December 1989...
delivered from 1984, but other locomotives dated as far back as the 1950.
With traffic growing Freight Victoria decided to replace the prime movers in number of the G class, increasing the power output to 3,800 hp. The older X class
Victorian Railways X class (diesel)
The Victorian Railways X class mainline diesel electric locomotives were built by Clyde Engineering from 1966, with a further two orders being placed in 1970 and 1975...
diesels also saw a more extensive power upgrade program, being stripped to the frame and rebuilt as the XR class
Freight Australia XR class
The XR class diesel electric locomotives are a mainline hood unit design built by Freight Australia at their South Dynon workshops.The first members of the XR class were rebuilt from first and second series X class locomotives, being provided with more powerful rebuilt engines cascaded from the G...
. The company only purchased a single new locomotive, V544
Freight Australia V Class
The GT46C is a model of high-horsepower mainline diesel electric locomotive designed and built by Clyde Engineering / EDI Rail using Electro-Motive Diesel components...
which was built new in 2002 to replace two written off locomotives. Additional rollingstock was also acquired, including new 100 tonne capacity grain hoppers built by Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
at the Ballarat North Workshops
Ballarat North Workshops
Ballarat North Workshops is a railway workshop located in the provincial city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. They are located in the suburb of North Ballarat on Creswick Road, and occupy 5.5 hectares of land beside the junction of the Mildura and Serviceton railway lines.-History:The workshops...
, second hand grain hoppers from New South Wales, and the conversion of surplus vans into log and container flats.
With the acquisition of the company by Pacific National
Pacific National
Pacific National is one of Australia's largest private rail freight businesses. Originally a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings; it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited following the restructure of Toll Holdings....
so did the entire fleet, with the exception of two G class
V/Line G class
The V/Line G class are a mainline diesel electric locomotives built by Clyde Engineering from 1984, the last of 33 locomotives entering service in December 1989...
and two X class
Victorian Railways X class (diesel)
The Victorian Railways X class mainline diesel electric locomotives were built by Clyde Engineering from 1966, with a further two orders being placed in 1970 and 1975...
locomotives which were transferred to Freight Australia customer CRT Group
CRT Group
CRT Group is an intermodal transport company in Australia. Begun as Colin Rees Transport , a taxi truck company in suburban Sydney in the 1950s, it became known as the CRT Group in 1981, and by the time of its acquisition by QR Limited was in the top 10 logistics companies in Australia with a...
, who had in their contract a condition that if FA was acquired by a competitor of CRT Group, 10000 hp of locomotive power (calculated by the business CRT Group was offering FA) was to be transferred to them.