<p>Toll Holdings would be interested in acquiring parts of a privatised Queensland Rail, managing director Paul Little said today (Friday, July 27).</p> <p>Mr Little told <em>Lloyd’s List DCN</em> he was watching QR with interest.</p> <p>“QR has a freight business. If it’s privatised, would we be interested in looking at that? Absolutely.</p> <p>“I think Toll’s got a lot of value to add to Queensland Rail, because we’re the largest mover of goods in North Queensland,” he said.</p> <p>Mr Little said Toll’s interest was squared at the logistics task undertaken by QR – not its physical assets. </p> <p>“If Queensland Rail privatises there are a whole bunch of things that they’d be privatising, one of which is a freight business that Toll would be interested in,” he said.</p> <p>“In so far as the train set – that’s probably something that’s better suited to a rail operator.”</p> <p>Queensland Rail comprises a passenger rail business, the coal business, a non-coal bulk-haulage business transporting steel and grain, a northern Queensland business and its national intermodal business.</p> <p>Linfox was reportedly also flagging its interest in cherry picking plum parts of the rail business in North Queensland.</p> <p>“All I can say is, if Linfox, now owning FCL, was allowed to buy Queensland Rail, then Toll would look at it too,” Mr Little said.</p> <p>The intra-industry interest comes in the wake of Rio Tinto’s threat to leave Queensland over infrastructure bottlenecks.</p> <p>Queensland premier Peter Beattie has flagged industry involvement in Queensland Rail in a bid to compete with growing Pacific National parent Asciano.</p> <p>Mr Beattie has ruled out a wholesale privatisation of the business.</p> <p>“Queensland Rail is a national commercial business and is always looking at opportunities,” Mr Beattie was quoted in the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> as saying after meeting Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese. </p> <p>“However, there is no plan to privatise Queensland Rail.”</p> <p>Mr Beattie said he would follow the recommendations of a Queensland Resources Council review into the state’s coal industry.</p> <p>Toll Holdings joins a list of industry suitors interested in becoming involved in the QR structural shake-up. </p> <p>SCT Logistics, Linfox and KFM Diversified Infrastructure and Logistics Fund, which has ports logistics joint ventures with DP World (run by former Patrick boss Chris Corrigan), have been named in the press as potential partners or acquirers of QR freight interests.</p> <br />