FREIGHTLINK, operator of the Adelaide - Darwin route in Australia, celebrated its first anniversary of hauling traffic to Darwin on January 15.
Traffic in the first year amounted to around 600000 tonnes. 'We hoped to carry about 380000 tonnes in our first 12 months, so we are delighted with our performance', said FreightLink Chief Executive Officer John Fullerton.
The figure includes 16000 tonnes carried to Darwin for export and about 2500 tonnes imported from Asia. Fullerton said the railway had played its role as a catalyst for development in the region, citing as evidence the opening of the Bootu Creek manganese mine that plans to ship 600000 tonnes of ore through Darwin this year.
January also saw WMC resources launch a three-month trial using the line to Darwin to shift uranium from its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia for export. The railway is carrying a variety of cargo for offshore oil and gas developments and Darwin's LNG plant, said Fullerton. FreightLink has now added to its fleet a further 25 articulated five-pack intermodal wagons built by EDI at Port Augusta in South Australia, plus 55 two-pack wagons imported from Canada.
- On December 16 Australian Rail Track Corp released figures showing record traffic on its interstate network in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria in September, October and November. A high of 3195 million gross tonne-km for October was up nearly 15% on October 2003.
