Alltrack Rail continues to make global waves in the quality-used railway equipment procurement business.
Alltrack Rail may be an Australian-based company, but its clientele stretches out across the ends of the Earth.
Based in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales and owned and managed by rail industry veteran Robert (Bob) Taylor, Alltrack is a leading purveyor of railway locomotives, rolling stock and associated rail maintenance parts and plant.
It also sources new and used railway perway materials such as rails, sleepers, turnout components and fastenings.
In fact, Bob prides himself and Alltrack Rail on being able to acquire any type of used locomotive or specialised rail plant from almost anywhere in the world, at an acceptable price.
The company boasts an impressive list of clients around the globe, including major maintenance providers, rail track operators, large construction firms, contracting businesses and key individuals in the railway industry.
“We have more than 45 years’ experience in the rail sector working both in Australia and overseas. Our wealth of knowledge and industry specific experience is almost unsurpassed,” Bob said.
“We have an exceptional list of contacts within the worldwide railway construction and maintenance industry, and we have a reputation for spotting the opportunity and closing the best possible deal for our customers.”
AllTrack Rail had been established more than 25 years ago to help clients secure new and used railway maintenance plant, used locomotives and pre-used railway materials.
“We saw a real need for rail company executives and plant managers in the rail sector to have a reliable, reputable, affordable option when it comes to sourcing goods, especially from Asia, Europe and North and South
America,” he said. “Simply put, we are a conduit for sourcing selected used locomotives, rolling stock and maintenance plant equipment.”
Not only does the company assist in the location and procurement of used locomotives from across a wide variety of locations, but
it facilitates the sale of these items to large markets that are always seeking value-added delivery options (such as gauge conversions to suit buyers’ respective requirements).
“We also assist with land transport and shipping from the Australian end of the operation,” Bob said.
“We source and sell used railway maintenance plant from resurfacing equipment to basic railway plant used in the maintenance.”
FROM ASIA TO AFRICA
Alltrack Rail also has access to a large group of manufacturers across the world and enjoys close relationships with all key suppliers.
As an example of how well the company is regarded across the continents, Bob was engaged by a Japanese corporation late last year to find a new home for a series of diesel multiple units (DMUs) from Hokkaido in Japan.
Bob met with his Japanese partners and team members from the country’s leading rail company, Japanese Railways (JR), to review the condition of the units that were to be released.
Considering the excellent condition of the trains, it was apparent that given certain conditions, they would be suitable for cape gauge operations – a track gauge of 3ft 6in (1067 mm) – used predominantly in Africa.
“It was a priority of the JR system team to see these units repurposed to a suitable new home,” Bob said.
“A plan was then devised to seek out opportunities using my network of contacts and see who ultimately would have been interested in all or a specific number of the 26 units being made available.
“Several parties then started to show interest in what could assist in providing sustainable transport option in particular African countries.
“Eventually a prominent rail entity decided these could possibly work for them, and after an onsite inspection of the units in full operation, it was clear they would look to pursue a package of units for their initial needs.”
Alltrack Rail has assisted in the coordinating of the movements of the units to the port, where they now await shipment to their new home in Sierra Leone.
Bob assisted in the provision of maintenance manuals and a select group of spares, so
the operators could be confident that the maintenance required could be undertaken and supported by a discreet package of extra units to keep the availability high while in service.
He also aligned with a group of specialists for these sorts of DMUs to help train and transfer maintenance knowledge to local ground crews in Sierra Leone.