One Rail Australia

One Rail Australia is an Australian rail freight operator company. Founded by Genesee & Wyoming in 1997 as Australian Southern Railroad, and later renamed Genesee & Wyoming Australia, it was renamed One Rail Australia in February 2020. It is owned by PGGM (51%) and Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets (49%).

One Rail Australia
IndustryRailway operator
PredecessorAustralian National
Founded1 November 1997 (as Australian Southern Railroad)
FounderOne Rail Australia
Headquarters
Area served
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
ParentPGGM (51%)
Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets (49%)
Website1rail.com.au

History

700 class leading a Penrice Stone Train through Birkenhead in June 2005
CL class leads a GM class and two 22 class locomotives near Geelong in July 2007

On 1 November 1997, Genesee & Wyoming acquired the South Australian rail freight assets of Australian National from the Australian Government including a 50-year lease on the network from the Government of South Australia.[1][2][3][4] Operations commenced in November 1997 with the operation branded Australian Southern Railroad (ASR).[5][6]

In 1999, ASR commenced operating services from Adelaide to Melbourne for Patrick Corporation.[7] On 1 December 1999, the company took over operation of the BHP Whyalla Tramway network.[8]

In December 2000, Australian Railroad Group (ARG), a 50-50 joint venture between Genesee & Wyoming and Wesfarmers took over the Westrail freight business in Western Australia with the operation rebranded Australian Western Railroad (AWR).[9][10] As part of the joint venture agreement, ownership of ASR passed to the ARG.[11] In 2002 both ASR and AWR were brought together under the ARG brand.[12][13]

In May 2001, ARG commenced operating services from Adelaide to Sydney via Broken Hill and Cootamundra.[14][15] In December 2003, it commenced operating services within New South Wales when it commenced a five-year contract to haul flour, grain and starch for the Manildra Group.[16]

On 1 June 2006, ARG sold its Western Australian operations to Queensland Rail and WestNet Rail.[17] Simultaneously, Wesfarmers sold its 50% interest in the remainder of ARG to Genesee & Wyoming with the operation rebranded Genesee & Wyoming Australia (GWA).[18]

In 2008 GWA signed a five-year deal with ABB Grain to haul grain trains in Victoria.[19]

In June 2010 GWA purchased the assets of FreightLink from its receivers leading to GWA taking over operation of freight trains on the Tarcoola-Darwin railway line.[20][21][22] After this transaction, GWA became the largest of the 11 Genesee & Wyoming operating regions around the world.[5]

With parent company Genesee & Wyoming's purchase of Freightliner in March 2015, Freightliner's Australian operations were integrated with those of GWA.[23] In December 2016, GWA, in conjunction with Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets, acquired Glencore's Hunter Valley business with GWI concurrently acquiring a 49% equity stake in GWA.[24][25]

GWA already operated the Glencore rail assets with fellow Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary Freightliner under a 20-year contract, annually hauling some 40 million tonnes of coal to the Port of Newcastle.[26]

When GWA's parent company was sold to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and GIC Private Limited in 2019, GWA was not included.[27][28] Because Brookfield already has other rail assets in Australia that would likely lead to objections from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, G&W's 51% shareholding in GWA was sold separately to PGGM.[29][30] It was rebranded as One Rail Australia.[31][32]

In February 2020, One Rail commenced operating a contract to haul coal in Queensland with five GWN class locomotives transferred from the BHP Whyalla Tramway.[33][34]

Operations

One Rail operates trains on narrow 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) and standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) gauge lines throughout South Australia and the Northern Territory, and in New South Wales and Victoria.[35][26] Major traffic flows include intermodal, grain, gypsum, iron ore, manganese, copper and other minerals over a 5,000-kilometre (3,100 mi) network.[36]

When One Rail operates over track networks owned by others, including networks owned by the Australian Government and state governments, the owners of the network rather than the operators are responsible for scheduling the use of the tracks as well as for determining the amount and timing of the expenditures necessary to maintain the network in satisfactory condition. Therefore, in areas where One Rail operates over tracks owned by others, it is subject to train scheduling set by the owners as well as the risk that the network will not be adequately maintained.

In South Australia, if demand for services on a line ceases and no new demand eventuates, the rail track is classified as discontinued and put into a dormant state on care and maintenance for a period of five years. During this period One Rail are responsible for ongoing care, security and maintenance that includes maintaining the working order of all equipment, i.e. level crossings, signals, controls and switches so that a train can operate within 24 hours notice and will reinstate at its own cost if an access seeker negotiates to return a train to operation. The discontinued track is transferred back to the South Australian Government after five years if services do not return.[37]

Lines

Multi-state

One Rail operates on interstate Australian Rail Track Corporation standard gauge lines.

A 50-year lease on the Tarcoola–Darwin line was acquired with the purchase of FreightLink in 2011. One Rail provides train control functions for the line, which is owned by the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium.[note 1]

New South Wales

One Rail Australia operates coal haulage services through the Hunter Valley coal corridor along the Main Northern line.[38]

South Australia

One Rail and its predecessors have operated the BHP Whyalla Tramway since 2000 under contract from the owners of the line (currently Liberty House Group).

Under a 50-year contract that expires in 2047, One Rail leases the following lines from the Government of South Australia:[39]

Broad gauge

Narrow gauge

  • Port Lincoln to Wudinnaseasonal grain trains ceased 31 May 2019,[43] now limited use (e.g. transiting locomotives for servicing in Port Lincoln, ballast trains)
  • Wudinna to Penong Junction at Cedunaseasonal grain trains ceased 2005,[44] now limited use (e.g. transiting locomotives for servicing in Port Lincoln, ballast trains)
  • Cummins to Kimbaseasonal grain trains ceased 31 May 2019[43]
  • Kimba to Buckleboonon-operational
  • Yeelanna to Kapinnie – non-operational: final train movement October 2002[44]
  • Kevin to Thevenarddaily gypsum trains

Standard gauge

Locomotive fleet

As at October 2019, One Rail Australia's locomotive fleet comprised.[46]

Class Image No.
in
use
No.
stored
Gauge Max.
speed
(km/h)
Year
built
Notes
500 1 Standard 80 1964 ex Australian National, ex South Australian Railways
700 5 Broad, standard 115 1971 ex Australian National, ex South Australian Railways
830 8 Broad,
standard,
narrow
115 1960–1966 ex Australian National, ex South Australian Railways
900 4 4 Standard,
narrow
115 1960–
1966
rebuilt from 830 and 48 class locomotives
1200 2 Narrow 1960–
1967
ex Australian Railroad Group, ex Westrail, ex Western Australian Government Railways A class
1300 4 Narrow 1956–
1961
ex BHP Whyalla DE class
1600 3 Narrow 1971 ex Australian National, ex Commonwealth Railways NJ class
1900 1 Narrow 1972 ex Australian Railroad Group, ex Westrail, ex Western Australian Government Railways D class
2200 5 Standard 115 1969–
1970
ex FreightCorp, ex State Rail Authority, ex Public Transport Commission 422 class
ALF 7 Standard 115 1976–
1977
ex Australian National, ex Commonwealth Railways
CK 4 Narrow 100 1967–
1968
ex V/Line, ex Victorian Railways T class
CLF 1 1 Standard 115 1970–
1972
ex Australian National, ex Commonwealth Railways
CLP 3 1 Standard 115 1970–
1972
ex Australian National, ex Commonwealth Railways
FJ 2 Standard 115 1966 ex FreightLink ex Western Australian Government Railways J class
FQ 4 Standard 115 2003 ex FreightLink
G 2 Standard 1988 ex Freightliner, ex SCT Logistics, ex Pacific National, ex Freight Australia ex V/Line
GM 1 8 Standard 115 1965–
1967
ex Australian National, ex Commonwealth Railways
GWA & GWB 13 Standard 115 2011–
2019
GWN 5 Narrow 100 2012 Transferred from BHP Whyalla Tramway to Central Queensland 2019
XRN & GWU 41 Standard 115 2010-present Owned by Glencore, built for Xstrata
2250 5 Narrow 115 1971 Repatriated from South Africa, ex Aurizon, ex Queensland Railways 2250 class

Notes

  1. Train control is from Northgate block point, 6 km (3.7 mi) from Tarcoola, where the line diverges from the Trans-Australian Railway. It ends at Berrimah passenger terminal at Darwin. Northgate block point is 731 km (454 mi) from the Adelaide datum at Adelaide Parklands Terminal, near the Adelaide suburb of Keswick. Berrimah passenger terminal is 2,974 km (1,848 mi) from the Adelaide datum.

References

  1. "Australia Southern Railroad" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin August 2000 pp283-284
  2. "Here & There" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 720 October 1997 page 382
  3. "AN Sale: Private Owners Go From Zero to Three" Railway Digest October 1997 page 8
  4. "Three groups take on AN remains" Railway Gazette International October 1997 page 703
  5. GWA history Genesee & Wyoming
  6. "Genesee and Wyoming Starts up with New Name" Railway Digest December 1997 page 8
  7. "ASR Rail Shuttle Takes Trucks out of Port Adelaide" Railway Digest September 1999 page 15
  8. "ASR Takes Over BHP Whyalla Steel Lines" Railway Digest January 2000 page 13
  9. "Australian Railroad Group buys Westrail freight" Railway Digest October 2000 page 23
  10. Company History Wesfarmers
  11. "Here & There" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 763 May 2001 page 195
  12. "ASR, AWR and ANR become Australian Railroad Group" Railway Digest September 2002 page 8
  13. "Intelligence" Railway Gazette International October 2002 page 612
  14. New ASR Freight Service to Sydney Catch Point issue 144 July 2001 page 5
  15. ASR Starts Adelaide - Sydney Service Railway Digest July 2001 page 5
  16. "ARG wins Manildra contract from Pacific National" Railway Digest November 2003 page 5
  17. Sale of Australian Railroad Group Wesfarmers 14 February 2006
  18. "Australian Railroad Group sold to QR" Railway Digest March 2006 page 4
  19. "ABB Grain in five-year deal with GWA" Sydney Morning Herald 17 September 2008
  20. FreightLink-owned Adelaide-Darwin railway to be sold to US company Genesee & Wyoming Adelaide Advertiser 9 June 2010
  21. Genesee & Wyoming Signs Deal to Acquire Freightlink railway-technology.com 11 June 2010
  22. "Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Signs Agreement to Acquire FreightLink". PR Newswire. 9 June 2010.
  23. G&W concludes Freightliner acquisition Railway Age 27 March 2015
  24. Genesee & Wyoming developments into Australia Railway Age 20 October 2016
  25. GW and Macquarie to buy Glencore Rail coal haulage business Railway Gazette International 20 October 2016
  26. Wiggins, Jenny (20 October 2016). "Genesee & Wyoming $1.1b GRail win opens NSW rail haulage to competition". Financial Review. Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  27. Genesee & Wyoming sold in $8.4 billion deal Trains 1 July 2019
  28. Genesee & Wyoming to be acquired in US$8·4bn deal Railway Gazette International 1 July 2019
  29. New owners confirmed for G&W Australia International Railway Journal9 August 2019
  30. Freightliner owner Genesee & Wyoming sold for $8.4billion The Railway Magazine issue 1422 September 2019 page 10
  31. Genesee & Wyoming Australia renamed One Rail Australia following acquisition International Railway Journal 17 February 2020
  32. New name for Genesee & Wyoming Australia Rail Express 19 February 2020
  33. Old for New for Whyalla Catch Point issue 253 September 2019 page 10
  34. One Rail begins operations in Queensland Railway Digest May 2020 page 15
  35. "Western Victorian Railfan Guide". Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  36. Genesee & Wyoming Australia Rail Operations Genesee & Wyoming
  37. "Freight Study and Rail Operations Investigation" Archived 16 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine "Regional Development Australia - Murraylands and Riverland Inc" 17 November 2014
  38. Map Genesee & Wyoming Australia
  39. Network map Genesee & Wyoming Australia
  40. "Penrice soda ash plant at Osborne closing" ABC News 24 June 2014
  41. "Penrice stoney and SBR iron trains cease" Railway Digest August 2014 page 19
  42. Michelle (9 April 2015). "Burra Railway Station Official Re-Opening". burrabroadcaster.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  43. Neindorf, Brooke; Graham, Narelle; Ladgrove, Petria; Culliver, Paul (27 February 2019). "Viterra to transition to road transport for movement of all grain on Eyre Peninsula". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  44. Knife, Peter. "Railfan information". Peninsula Pioneer. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  45. "Mallee rail lines to be used this season" Railway Digest October 2014 page 20
  46. Australia Wide Fleet List 2019 Motive Power issue 126 November 2019 pages 68/69
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