Toll hardens rail path, Minto terminal offer to ACCC

<p>Toll Holdings has put forward only a refined version of its pre-Christmas undertakings as a final offer to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to get approval of its takeover bid for Patrick Corp.</p> <p>Toll chief executive Paul Little told media yesterday (Wednesday, January 4) that the company had now put "the final package" to the commission. </p> <p>As before, Toll’s concessions focus mainly on east-west intermodal rail, with no comment or offers on any international container port-related issues. </p> <p>This is despite the raising of vertical integration of transport logistics with international port terminals by the ACCC in its November 2005 issues paper. It is also understood that the commission has raised port issues directly with Toll as well.</p> <p>Toll’s final submission does harden its offer on rail paths on the east-west intermodal corridor, saying it would renegotiate its 2002 track access deal with the Australian Rail Track Corporation to hand rail paths directly to rival operators. This improves on an earlier offer to just vary its own rail paths, with Pacific National still able to object to conflicts. </p> <p>No details are given on what premium east-west train paths Toll might be prepared to give up. </p> <p>Toll would also return the North Dynon terminal to the Victorian Rail Track Corporation and seek no future access to its broad tracks for east-west rail services.</p> <p>Toll had in December offered to up the number of locos it was prepared to sub-lease to an east-west competitor from six to nine, and specified they would be 3,000bhp G class units. </p> <p>Nine locos could allow an extra three weekly competing Perth-Melbourne return services on the east-west route, rather than just two under its initial offer of six locos.</p> <p>The company said it would also extend its hook and pull contract with rival SCT, due to expire next October, until SCT’s newly ordered locos were available. </p> <p>In Sydney, Toll now says it would resolve the long-running dispute over access to the Minto intermodal terminal by offering operator Macarthur Intermodal Shipping Terminal a 10-year lease on the Toll and Patrick-owned rail siding leading into the terminal, extended from an earlier offer of five years.</p> <p>Toll also said in December that it would offer Patrick’s Bass Strait ships <em>Mersey</em> and <em>Tamar</em> to other operators, along with berthing rights in Burnie &#8211 though not in Devonport. </p> <p>Patrick already operates the largest part of Melbourne’s Webb Dock East, next to the Bass Strait ro-ro terminals, as a car facility. But Toll could also end up with almost all of the Webb Dock complex if it were to resume control of Webb Dock West which it is currently selling to the Patrick&#47P&#38O Ports joint venture Australian Amalgamated Terminals. </p> <p>Toll has been adamant for some time that it would get approval from the ACCC for the Patrick takeover, leading analysts to question why yet a further set of minor additions has now been offered.</p> <p>Patrick said it would not comment on the latest development, saying that it was up to Toll to conduct its negotiations with the ACCC.</p> <br />