<p>Pacific National will spend another $60m to bring its Hunter Valley coal haulage operations up to new port and rail capacity improvements from the middle of next year. </p> <p>The move will give the rail operator capacity to haul another 10m tonnes of coal each year as the Hunter’s coal network expands to provide up to 102m tonnes of capacity by the end of 2007.</p> <p>The port of Newcastle exported 80.3m tonnes of coal in 2005ቢ, but this figure is expected to rise as the new capacity comes on line.</p> <p>The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is due to open its new $67m Sandgate flyover in the next two weeks as Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) aims to have its own upgrades completed by the middle of next year.</p> <p>Pacific National said the new investment was in addition to $50m already spent in the last two years to add another 7m tonnes of capacity.</p> <p>Pacific National said it would redeploy rolling stock from its grain operations to meet peak haulage requirements in the Hunter.</p> <p>QR National, which claims a 13% share of coal rail haulage in the Hunter, said it was also looking to expand its haulage volumes along the network.</p> <br />