AusRAIL, Market Sectors

AusBulk loader wins industry award

<p>A rail loader developed by AusBulk has won the Rabobank Australian Institute of Agriculture Science and Technology Innovation Award.</p> <p>The AusRailLoader has significantly increased the rate at which grain can be loaded onto freight trains.</p> <p>AusBulk’s executive manager of supply chain strategy, John Hill, said the company has developed the concept of using fast rail-loaders mounted on semi-trailers that can be moved around the countryside to service specially modified concrete silos. </p> <p>"These units dramatically boost loading rates, moving grain at up to 1,000 tonnes an hour and allowing a full train of 50 wagons to be filled in about a quarter of the usual time, offering considerable freight savings," Mr Hill said.</p> <p>Minor modifications made to concrete grain silos enable the mobile units to lock on to storage cells, Mr Hill said. Grain is then gravity-fed onto a semi-trailer-mounted, diesel-hydraulic-driven conveyor belt that delivers the grain into railway wagons. </p> <p>Traditionally fast rail-loading has required the construction of special over-rail mounted bins that cost several million dollars to construct. </p> <p>"The development of the AusRailLoader means that AusBulk can now achieve similar efficiency rates to the more expensive installations at about 2% of the capital cost," Mr Hill said. </p> <br />