Transcontinental intermodal rail capability boosted

Rail-based transport business Aurizon has made a multi-million dollar investment in new wagons to service the east-west corridor.

Aurizon will be adding 175 new wagons, valued at approximately $37 million, into its national intermodal business over the next two months. The investment forms part of Aurizon’s capital program.

The new flatbed wagons allow greater operational flexibility to load a range of container sizes and additional capacity for 48 foot containers to meet the forecast market move by customers to these types of containers.

Executive vice president commercial & marketing Mauro Neves said enhancing the intermodal fleet with new wagons signalled Aurizon’s intent to build its long-term presence in one of Australia’s most important rail transport corridors.

“Aurizon is meeting the growing demand for our freight services, whilst also lifting the efficiency and productivity of our service offering to customers on the east-west corridor,” he said.

“These new wagons allow us to use our existing assets more productively, which is fundamental to the broader transformation program underway across Aurizon’s operations.”

Mr Neves said Aurizon held ambitions to incrementally expand its intermodal business over time by increasing market share and leveraging strategic growth opportunities.

“We have established a strong national footprint over the past decade and are continually improving our customer service offering in the north-south (Melbourne to Brisbane) and east-west corridors (Sydney and Melbourne to Perth). We are now poised for the next phase of growth.”

Australia’s domestic freight task is expected to triple from its current size by 2050. There is a concerted industry push to increase rail’s share of the growing freight transport task through productivity and customer focussed initiatives.

Mr Neves said to meet the predicted increase in the land-based freight task, rail will have to take on a larger role.

“Aurizon aims to capture a slice of this growth by delivering exceptional customer service and continually improving our operational productivity, innovation, flexibility, efficiency and responsiveness.

“We know that rail has the ability to genuinely do the heavy-lifting when it comes to moving large volumes of freight safely and efficiently. An average freight train for example can take 110 trucks off the road. Rail is more fuel efficient and has a far smaller carbon footprint than road transport.”

The specifications of Aurizon’s new intermodal wagons include standard gauge with ability to convert to narrow gauge if required, flat-top, a mix of 5 pack articulated, triple-slot, well wagons allowing double stacking and more efficient twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) utilisation per service.

Aurizon moves around 700,000 tonnes of freight across Australia each day across its product lines, including resources, bulk freight and agricultural produce.

The ‘east-west’ services are part of Aurizon’s national general freight network which provides 25 return weekly customer containerised services on the eastern seaboard between Cairns and Brisbane, daily services (6 days per week) from Melbourne to Brisbane and 4 services per week from Melbourne to Adelaide / Perth.

Source: http://www.tandlnews.com.au/