Pacific National

NR103 at Somerton in August 2005
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	FreightCorp National Rail
Founded	February 2002
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia
Area served	Mainland Australia
Services	Bulk Services, Intermodal, Network and Operation Services
Revenue	$2.378 billion (June 2013)
Total assets	596 locomotives and 12,875 wagons (June 2012)
Number of employees	over 4,000
Parent	Australian Logistics Acquisition Investments Pty Limited
Website	www.pacificnational.com.au

Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. Formed in February 2002 as a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings, which formed the holding company Asciano Limited. It is now a subsidiary of Australian Logistics Acquisition Investments Pty Limited.

History

NR16 hauling The Overland at North Shore in November 2008

In February 2002 National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Federal, New South Wales and Victorian Governments) were combined with FreightCorp (owned by the New South Wales Government)^[1] and sold to a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings as Pacific National.^[2]

In February 2004 Pacific National purchased Australian Transport Network, operator of ATN Access and AN Tasrail.^[3][4] In August 2004 Pacific National purchased Freight Australia, giving Pacific National control of the Victorian non-urban rail track, excluding the interstate network which is controlled by the Australian Rail Track Corporation.^[5]

Pacific National trains departing from Bathurst, February 2009

As part of the sale conditions the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission attached special conditions to the sale to ensure competition in the rail freight industry.^[6] The company was required to provide a 'starter pack' of locomotives, wagons, train paths, and freight terminals for a third party rail operator on the east-west route across the Nullarbor Plain. To fulfill this Pacific National sold nine refurbished G class locomotives to competitor SCT Logistics to allow it to operate its own services^[7]

In March 2005 Pacific National Queensland became the first non-Queensland Rail narrow gauge commercial rail operation in Queensland, with the commencement of container services between Brisbane and Cairns.^[8][9]

In November 2006 Pacific National entered into an agreement to sell the remainder of its Victorian rail lease of the network back to the Victorian Government.^[10] The sale was completed in May 2007, with the government owned V/Line taking over management of the track.^[11]

In 2005 Toll Holdings launched a hostile takeover bid for its joint venture partner Patrick Corporation which was successful giving Toll Holdings 100% ownership of Pacific National.^[12] In 2007 Toll Holdings was restructured into two separately ASX listed companies: Toll Holdings and Asciano Limited. As part of this restructure, Pacific National became a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited.^[13]

In 2009 Pacific National Queensland further expanded their narrow gauge operations, entering the export coal market dominated by incumbent Queensland Rail.^[14]

In 2016, Asciano agreed to sell Pacific National to Australian Logistics Acquisition Investments Pty Limited, a consortium of Global Infrastructure Partners, CPP Investment Board, China Investment Corporation, GIC Private Limited and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.^[15] The transfer was completed on 19 August 2016.^[16]

Controversy

Tasmania 2005

In September 2005 Pacific National angered the Tasmanian State and Australian Federal Governments when it threatened to withdraw all services unless the governments paid a $100 million subsidy.^[17] Initially the governments refused to act on the issue claiming they would not be "held to mercy" by Pacific National, owned by Toll and Patrick Corporation, "which are extremely profitable multi-national companies". However, state infrastructure minister Bryan Green and federal counterpart transport minister Warren Truss announced a $120 million rescue package.^[18]

In May 2007 the Tasmanian Government, the Federal Government and Pacific National came to an agreement regarding the funding, ownership and operation of the Tasmanian railway network; with the Tasmanian Government acquiring the railway infrastructure previously leased to Pacific National, who would continue to provide above rail services on the network.^[19] In September 2009 the Tasmanian Government purchased the Tasmanian rail business, with rail infrastructure and railway operations to be maintained, managed and owned by a new TasRail.^[20]

Rural services 2007

In December 2007 Pacific National announced plans to sell or close its grain transport and Portlink rural container business operations in Victoria, selling or closing Patrick's intermodal freight business in Tasmania, and downsizing to a bare minimum Pacific National's grain operations across New South Wales.^[21] The decision was criticised as it forced grain growers to use higher cost road transport to transport the annual grain harvest from rural silos to the ports.^[22] The decision has seen many commentators accuse Pacific National of acquiring the operations of Freight Australia in 2004 only for the purposes of asset stripping and eliminating competition in rail freight.^[23]

The company has told competitors wanting to acquire unwanted rolling stock from the company, that it would rather scrap wagons or export them to Saudi Arabia before they would be made available domestically.^[24]

The container freight service to Horsham, Victoria was almost cancelled in April 2008 but was given a three-month reprieve by the company.^[25][26] In July 2008 the service was taken over by QR National.^[27]

Operations

Pacific National operates in all mainland states and territories. As at June 2012 the company operates 596 locomotives and 12,875 wagons.^[28][29] Services include bulk freight (coal, grain, steel, ores), intermodal containers (domestic and export), and specialised services such as 'hook and pull' for long-distance passenger trains.

Pacific National has five separate operating divisions, which operate as separate companies for accounting reasons,^[30] and often do not share locomotives with other divisions. The divisions are:^[31]

• Bulk Rail (Formerly Rural and Bulk): born out of the former FreightCorp and Freight Australia companies, major traffic include grain, fuel, agricultural products, and cement. Trains run on both standard and broad gauges.
• Intermodal: operates intermodal freight and steel trains on the interstate standard gauge network. Formed from the merger of the National Rail, Toll and Patrick Rail, FreightCorp and Freight Australia.
• Coal: transport of export coal on the New South Wales Hunter Valley Coal Chain.
• Queensland: intermodal freight and export coal on the narrow gauge network of Queensland.
• PNR, see below.

The Pacific National steel contract was renewed with BlueScope Steel and OneSteel in 2006 for $1bn, making it the largest ever freight rail contract in Australia. The deal involves haulage of about 3 million tonnes of steel over seven years.^[32] Pacific National has intermodal freight facilities at the Brisbane Freight Terminal in Queensland, the Melbourne Freight Terminal in Victoria, the Sydney Freight Terminal in New South Wales, and the Kewdale Freight Terminal in Western Australia.

In 2011 Pacific National merged the divisions of Intermodal and Bulk Rail to form the new division of Pacific National Rail. This new division, referred to as PNR, has slowly seen the combining of management and training structures. As of May 2012 each division still lists its own separate revenue and loss making figures.

Current locomotive fleet

Class	Image	Type	Gauge	Top speed (km/h)	Built	Number	Notes
Rural and Bulk Division
45		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1962	2	Ex Patrick Corporation. All stored.
48		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1959-1970	48	Ex FreightCorp. 15 stored.
80		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1979-1983	20	Ex FreightCorp. 12 stored.
81		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1982-1991	83	Ex FreightCorp
830		Diesel-electric		115	1960-1963	3	Ex Australian Transport Network. All stored.
A		Diesel-electric	Broad	115	1984	7	Ex Freight Australia. All stored.
G		Diesel-electric	Broad, Standard	115	1985-1989	20	Ex National Rail Corporation and Freight Australia. 9 sold to SCT Logistics in 2007.
H		Diesel-electric	Broad	100	1968	5	Ex Freight Australia. 4 stored.
L		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1967-1969	3	Ex Australian Transport Network. All stored.
P		Diesel-electric	Broad	100	1985	5	Ex Freight Australia. All stored.
PL		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1999-2001	7	Ex FreightCorp. 1 stored.
S		Diesel-electric	Broad, Standard	115	1957	3	Ex Freight Australia. 2 stored.
T		Diesel-electric	Broad, Standard	100	1964-1968	5
X		Diesel-electric	Broad, Standard	115	1966-1976	21	Ex Freight Australia. 4 stored.
XR		Diesel-electric	Broad, Standard	115	2002-2006	9	6 ex Freight Australia, 3 built in-house.
Y		Diesel-electric	Broad, Standard	65	1963-1968	11	Ex Freight Australia. 1 stored.
RT		Diesel mechanical	Broad, Standard	15	1957-1969	22	Ex Freight Australia. 4 stored.
Intermodal Division
93		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	2012-2013	17	3 more on order
AN		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1992-1993	10	Ex National Rail Corporation.
BL		Diesel-electric	Standard, Broad	115	1983-1984	10	Ex National Rail Corporation.
DL		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1988-1990	14	Ex National Rail Corporation. 3 stored.
NR		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1996-1999	119	Ex National Rail Corporation.
XRB		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	2005-2006	3	Built in-house.
Coal Division
82		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	1994-1995	55	Ex FreightCorp.
90		Diesel-electric	Standard	80	1994-2005	35	Ex FreightCorp.
92		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	2008-2009	15	Ex FreightCorp.
D16		Diesel-electric	Standard	35	1959-1964	5	Ex BlueScope Steel. 3 stored.
D35		Diesel-electric	Standard	50	1975	1	Ex BlueScope Steel.
PB		Diesel-electric hybrid	Standard	80	2014-	1	6 on order.
TT		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	2009-2012	37
V		Diesel-electric	Standard	115	2002	1	Ex Freight Australia.
Pacific National Queensland
71		Electric	Narrow	80	2009-2011	32
83		Diesel-electric	Narrow	100	2008-2013	46
88		Diesel-electric	Narrow	100	2014	5
PN		Diesel-electric	Narrow	100	2005	13
PH37ACmai		Diesel-electric	Narrow	100			3 on order[33]

In addition, Pacific National leases locomotives from CFCL Australia and operates three WH class locomotives on behalf of Whitehaven Coal.

Former fleet

All Pacific National Tasmania locomotives were sold to TasRail in 2009.

Photo Gallery

• Pacific National Operations
• 
  A pair of G class locomotives in Melbourne in February 2007
• 
  Freight Australia liveried X class at Grovedale, Victoria in April 2007
• 
  'Bemax' containerised ore train
  near Mannahill, South Australia
• 
  Triple-header 92 class coal train crossing the Hunter River at Singleton in April 2012
• 
  PN002 at Downer Rail, Maryborough in November 2004
• 
  PN004 at Stuart depot, Townsville in August 2006.
• 
  Freight Australia liveried A class in Melbourne in February 2007

References

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pacific National.

• Pacific National website
• Asciano website
• Railpage Organisations
• Railpage - Pacific National Locomotives