News In Brief - 25-31 March

VFLC makes the case for helping rail compete
By Dale Crisp

The Victorian Freight and Logistics Council (VFLC) is taking up the cudgels for the State's rail industry by preparing an advocacy paper highlighting recent and future improvements.

The Council said Victorian and Federal Government infrastructure commitments worth $1.2bn since May 2007 have been accompanied by private sector investment in rail equipment and facilities specifically to provide a choice to use rail as a transport option.

A renaissance is taking place in this mode, slowly but surely, to deliver responsive, efficient service and customer choice, chief executive Rose Elphick said.

This progress should be applauded and freight customers and the Victorian community need to understand the effort being put into repairing decades of under-investment in our rail network.

We recognise that there is a journey ahead to establish rail's contestable market share.

However, good progress has been made and we anticipate that customers, freight forwarders and transport suppliers will consider the benefits of a multi-modal approach, said Elphick.

Sampraz consultant Ray Fehlberg will collate case studies across Victoria until the end of May, talking to rail suppliers, logistics managers and government agencies to document the rail renaissance.

Source: Lloyds List Daily Commercial News - www.lloydslistdcn.com.au

Corrigan rules out managing Patrick, slams Asciano debt
By Rob McKay

Former Patrick chief executive Chris Corrigan has described the level of debt carried by the stevedore's owner, Asciano, as "insane" at the time of the Patrick takeover by Toll.

In an interview on the Business Spectator website today, Corrigan said he had been asked to be involved in a "peripheral way" in a bid for Patrick but had no interest in returning to Australia "in a management role".

He said the likely buyers for Patrick were infrastructure funds or industry players such as Hutchison or Maersk.

Corrigan pointed to workforce wage expectations as an important challenge for Australian stevedoring, saying wage claims for rises of 40 per cent had been entered.

Coal exporters failing to use available rail capacity: Transnet
By Martin Creamer

State-owned rail enterprise Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) said that it has excess and underutilised capacity on its coal line and is puzzled by claims that rail constraints are limiting exports from Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), Durban and Maputo, in South Africa.

TFR spokesperson Sandile Simelane, responding to a March 11th article in Mining Weekly Online, said that the articles assessment of rail capacity to these ports is factually incorrect, and places undue and unwarranted concerns on the various role players.

Simelane said that, while TFR is geared to handle orders of 1.45-million tons a week (Mt/w), coal exporters are ordering only 1.1 Mt/w.

We find it puzzling that anyone can claim that inadequate rail capacity is limiting exports to below-port capacity at RBCT while we sit with excess and underutilised capacity, Simelane said, adding that the enterprise intends investing additional capital in the coal line to RBCT, to align it with projected future growth.

This proposed capital investment, he said, forms part of the State-owned enterprises strategy of reducing transportation costs, reducing transit times and increasing capacity to move freight, the overarching objective being the lowering of the cost of doing business in South Africa.

On coal exports through the port of Maputo being rail constrained, Simelane said that the coal trains to Maputo have been increased from an average of 18 trains a week in January 2009, to a record high of 30 trains a week in March 2009, the rapid increase resulting from exporter demand and continuous engagement with Maputo coal-terminal owner Grinrod. More ramp-ups have also been agreed, in order to meet future export volumes.

On rail capacity to Durban also failing to meet demand, Simelane said that the line is averaging only nine trains a week, 12 short of its capacity of 21 trains a week, prompting a relocation and redeployment of idle capacity to other coal flows.

Source: Mining Weekly, South Africa - www.miningweekly.com

BBI taps Macquarie to advise on Dalrymple Bay sale
By Rob McKay

Babcock & Brown Infrastructure (BBI) has taken another step towards selling part or all of Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal ( DBCT) saying it had engaged Macquarie Capital Advisers to advise on the sale process.

BBI reiterated that offers from minority to full ownership would be considered.

As previously announced, the price discovery process for DBCT recently concluded with interest shown at both the minority and 100 per cent level.

"Macquarie's appointment follows the recent engagement of Dresdner Kleinwort and RBS (UK Office) as joint advisers for the PD Ports capital optimisation initiative," BBI managing director Jeff Kendrew said.

Derailment caused by wheel bearing failure

An investigation has found that a wheel bearing failure contributed to the derailment of a general freight train last year.

The Melbourne-Perth train derailed on March 10th near Hines Hill in Western Australia, 240 km north-west of Perth.

 The Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that one of the 11 wagons to derail had a screwed journal as a result of the wheel bearing failure.

Rail worker killed by steel spill
By Sineva Toevai

A 34-year old Sydney man was crushed to death and others were seriously injured after a 2.4 tonne load of steel rails fell on them.

The accident happened while the men were working on a rail line near the Hunter Valley town of Maitland on the night of March 24th.

It is believed that four 12-metre lengths of rail fell from a crane and onto the men, killing one of the workers.

A man lost a leg and at least two others were injured and taken to hospital.