<p>Silverton Rail will compete with Pacific National using the very rollingstock it has just purchased from the giant freight operator, according to Silverton Rail’s managing director, Graham Clements.</p> <p>Mr Clements told <em>Rail Express</em> that it had purchased 99 locomotives from Pacific National, with conditional contracts for another two plus 339 wagons, with a conditional contracts to grow that to 372 wagons.</p> <p>This represents the lion’s share of the 105 locomotives and the 372 wagons that Pacific National was required to dispose of under the FreightCorp and National Rail sale agreement.</p> <p>The disposal sparked a storm of protest from other operators, who believed the sale should have gone to open tender, and believe the rolling stock won’t stimulate more competition.</p> <p>But Mr Clements said Silverton’s pursuit of rollingstock has a long history and is geared to the company’s plans for expansion in the freight market. </p> <p>"It’s the end of a long, drawn-out process," Mr Clements said. "We have been talking to them (Pacific National) for some time about buying rollingstock </p> <p>"In fact, we had been pursuing the sale with FreightCorp and National Rail, but that was put on hold while they were sold off."</p> <br />
