<p>Stevedoring company Patrick will take over the Warrnambool-Melbourne rail freight services from Melbourne company El Zorro after rail freight terminal operator Westvic Container Handling dumped the service provider last week.</p> <p>El Zorro business manager Geoff Tighe told <em>Lloyd’s List DCN</em> that the company had been given about two weeks’ notice and would carry its last load this Friday.</p> <p>Patrick has direct rail access into Melbourne dock.</p> <p>Mr Tighe said that Westvic Container Handling managing director Warrick Loft had not only complained about El Zorro’s services but was critical of everyone involved in the logistics operation.</p> <p> “It’s included problems with Connex and V/Line when they have been doing maintenance work and line upgrades, and that has caused late running trains,” he said.</p> <p> “Our train had a very tight turning time – it only had about two and a half hours for the people at P&O in the North Dynon rail yard to reload the train and get it running with empty container boxes back to Warrnambool.”</p> <p>Mr Tighe said his company had “bent over backwards” to provide Mr Loft with the best service possible.</p> <p>“Every time there has been a problem we have put trucks in place to carry his boxes from Warrnambool to Melbourne,” he said.</p> <p>“We have even run trains on the weekend, which was not in the original deal.”</p> <p><em>Lloyd’s List DCN</em> has been trying to contact Mr Loft for two days.</p> <p>Mr Tighe said that the loss of the service was a blow to the company, but it would free up broad gauge equipment to allow it to take up business that it had been unable to handle.</p> <p>El Zorro runs about five trains a fortnight for mineral sands company Iluka Resources and country maintenance trains for V/Line and John Holland.</p> <p>“People have been knocking on our doors and we haven’t been able to help them for lack of equipment so we can now go back and talk to the,” he said.</p> <br />
