Under the new contract, QR will operate services for
Victorian intermodal freight company, Wimmera Container Line.
National freight logistics companies QR and P&O Trans Australia have joined forces to establish new regional freight services in Victoria, moving up to 20,000 containers from Horsham to Melbourne.
QR’s group executive general manager of freight, Stephen Cantwell, said the agreement was the first intermodal freight contract signed since QR announced an investment of almost $200 million in new rolling stock and an upgrade of freight terminals by 2010.
“QR is committed to the intermodal freight market and this agreement is an exciting opportunity to bring our services to regional Victoria,” Mr Cantwell said.
“By working with P&O Trans, we can ensure certainty of delivery for our new customers from distributor to port by providing fully integrated rail transport.”
Under the new contract, QR will operate three services weekly for Victorian intermodal freight company Wimmera Container Line, with the majority of the freight hauled expected be grain containers.
“QR will haul 12,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) during the 12-months as part of this service and this could increase to 20,000, depending on seasonal demand,” he said.
P&O Trans director of operations John Digney said the new contract would strengthen its ties with QR.
“This agreement works for all parties involved,” Mr Digney said.
“We bring our expertise in port logistics, QR brings its experience in providing competitive rail transport and together we can provide our customers with the best services available.”
Mr Cantwell said the outlook for the rail sector would remain strong in the long term, with non-bulk freight volumes between mainland cites projected to double in size by 2020.
“We expect rail to take an increasing share of the market from road due to rail’s lower carbon emissions, track upgrades and increasing costs for road transport.
“QR aims to capture a slice of this growth and keep building its share of this highly competitive market by demonstrating the quality, competitiveness and reliability of our service,” he said.