Truck industry wants Adelaide-Darwin rail to remain healthy

Opinions are divided on the effect the sale of FreightLink will have on volumes on the Adelaide-Darwin rail line.

The Institute of Public Affairs said freight volumes would likely drop once the long-haul operator changed hands.

The institute's deregistration unit director, Alan Moran, told the ABC that FreightLink was not an attractive acquisition.

Mr Moran said selling the Adelaide-Darwin operator would not be as easy as some believed.

Continued government subsidies were needed for FreightLink to continue.

"Whether the [Northern Territory] government will allow the whole thing to close down is probably unlikely but it does seem to be a relatively sick project and one that was, in retrospect, hopelessly ambitious,” Mr Moran was quoted as telling the ABC.

He warned of the problems associated with “high risk entrepreneurial” infrastructure development.

But the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) said, regardless of the rail operator's ownership, it was an essential player in the NT's freight task.

ATA NT executive officer Peter Goed said the trucking sector was looking to work with rail rather than against it.

A viable rail service was needed to complement road transport.

Meanwhile, Territory Resources – which uses the line to haul about 1.5m tonnes of iron ore each year – flagged its desire to buy some of the rolling stock to ensure its product continues to get to port of Darwin.

FreightLink earlier said it would be business as usual during the sale process.

The iron ore miner has opened itself up to the possibility of becoming part of a consortium of interested parties that could buy part of the FreightLink business.