FreightLink’s Melbourne connection up and running

<p>FreightLink has placed the first batch of containers on its newly opened Melbourne extension service for the Adelaide-Darwin railway.</p> <p>The rail operator yesterday (Monday, July 4) started the new link service, which operates under a code share agreement with the Australian Railroad Group (ARG), and it will have an initial 75 slots a week.</p> <p>Its customers now get a six-times-a-week link between Melbourne and Adelaide to connect with FreightLink’s existing five weekly train services on the Adelaide-Darwin rail line. </p> <p>ARG’s Adelaide-Melbourne service is presently dominated by P&#38O freight. </p> <p>FreightLink chief executive John Fullerton said the first freight of 12 teu moved yesterday from Adelaide to Melbourne and the return leg of the service brought eight teu for placement on the FreightLink service to Darwin.</p> <p>"We expect to fully utilise the service and get it up towards 90 teu a week," Mr Fullerton said.</p> <p>Customer demand had driven the new service and it would offer faster rail freight options between south east Australia and the Northern Territory, Mr Fullerton said.</p> <p>FreightLink encountered capacity problems in the lead-up to Christmas 2004 and customers found it difficult to feed the volumes onto the Adelaide-Darwin service.</p> <p>"There was some freight going by road to Adelaide and then up by rail to Darwin, then some going on other rail services to Adelaide and then up the railway and other freight was going all the way from Victoria to the territory on road," Mr Fullerton said.</p> <p>The new service was FreightLink’s response, he said.</p> <p>"Once we bed this down we will look at other corridors," Mr Fullerton said.</p> <p>A link to Sydney is a possibility, although no starting date has been discussed.</p> <p>Mr Fullerton said FreightLInk was prepared to use Pacific National or any other rail operator for code share agreements to provide more link services.</p> <br />