Industry Railway operator Website www.gwrr.com Founded 2006 | Key people Greg Pauline (MD) Headquarters Adelaide, Australia Parent organization Genesee & Wyoming | |
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Area served Northern Territory
South Australia Predecessor Australian National Railways Commission | ||
Genesee & Wyoming Australia (GWA) is an Australian rail freight operator based in Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming and was formed in June 2006 to run the South Australian operations of the Australian Railroad Group.
Contents
History
The company's origins can be traced to when Australian National's intrastate South Australian freight operations were sold to Genesee & Wyoming Inc in August 1997. Operations commenced in November 1997 with the operation branded Australian Southern Railroad.
In 1999, GWA commenced operating services from Adelaide to Melbourne for Patrick Corporation. On 1 December 1999, GWA took over operation of the BHP network in Whyalla.
In October 2000, Australian Railroad Group, a 50/50 joint venture between Genesee & Wyoming and Wesfarmers, were the successful bidder for the Westrail freight business in Western Australia. As part of the joint venture agreement, ownership of Australian Southern Railroad passed to the Australian Railroad Group. This resulted in some exchanging of rolling stock between the two operations.
In June 2006, the Australian Railroad Group joint venture was broken up with the Western Australian operation sold to QR National and Wesfarmers 50% share in the South Australian operation back to Genesee & Wyoming Inc. The operation was rebranded Genesee & Wyoming Australia.
In June 2010, Genesee & Wyoming Inc purchased the assets of FreightLink from its receivers leading to Genesee & Wyoming Australia taking over operation of freight trains on the Adelaide–Darwin railway.
In October 2016, GWA entered into an agreement to purchase Glencore's Hunter Valley coal haulage business. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close on 1 December 2016 with Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets to rake a 49% shareholding in GWA. These are operated by fellow G&W subsidiary Freightliner.
Operations
Genesee & Wyoming Australia operates trains on broad 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in), narrow 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) and standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) gauge lines throughout South Australia and the Northern Territory, as well as in Victoria. Major traffic flows include intermodal, grain, gypsum, iron ore, manganese, copper and other minerals over a 5,000-kilometre (3,100 mi) network.
Lines
The following lines are leased by Genesse & Wyoming Australia from the Government of South Australia:
Broad Gauge
Narrow Gauge
Standard Gauge
Note: GWA also operates on the interstate Australian Rail Track Corporation standard gauge lines and provides train control functions for the northern Australia railway from Northgate Block Point (near Tarcoola in SA) to Berrimah freight terminal (near Darwin) which is owned by the Asia-Pacific Transport Consortium. Northgate Block Point is 510 km (320 mi) from Coonamia (Port Pirie) in SA and Berrimah freight terminal is 2,754 km (1,711 mi) from Coonamia. Add approximately 220 km (140 mi) for distances from Adelaide. The 50-year lease on the Adelaide–Darwin railway was transferred to GWA with the purchase of FreightLink in 2011.
If no services on the line, the line may be classified as discontinued, with GWA responsible for care and maintenance of the line during this period sufficient to allow a train movement within 24 hours. At the end of the five year period without service, the lines will transfer back to the South Australian Government.
In 2008 Genesee & Wyoming Australia signed a five-year deal with ABB Grain to haul grain trains in Victoria.
As at October 2014, GWA owned 102 locomotives.