Posts Tagged ‘Rail transport’

ASX Company News: Downer EDI Secures $300 million Rail Contract

Friday, October 15th, 2010

Downer EDI Limited (DOW)  announced approximately A$300 million in rail contract wins and extensions. Downer Managing Director and CEO, Grant Fenn, said these recent wins were particularly pleasing as the Group continues to deliver for its clients and builds its forward order book in a challenging market.

Pacific National has placed an order for 13 new standard gauge diesel electric locomotives to support their coal haulage services in New South Wales. Downer Rail will progressively deliver the new fleet beginning in 2011 with the last delivery by mid 2012. The rail infrastructure business within Downer’s Works division has been contracted by Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to undertake rail upgrade work. The works are part of the Federal Government’s Nation Building Rail Investment and will be carried out over two years. The works include track duplication projects across NSW and Victoria; re-railing of track on the north-south corridor between Albury and Geelong; signaling separation work between Enfield and Port Botany, NSW; and upgrade of rail lines at Geelong Port and Altona, Victoria. In addition, the rail infrastructure business has also been awarded an 18 month extension of the V1 Alliance with ARTC for rail track maintenance and infrastructure work in Victoria and southern New South Wales, which continues an alliance relationship spanning more than 10 years.

“The new contract for thirteen locomotives for Pacific National again highlights Downer’s leading position in design, technology and maintenance capability in the locomotive market,” Mr Fenn said. “We also continue to grow our below rail infrastructure business by delivering value and quality to our clients.”  Our competitive, service oriented approach and our commitment to safety continue to be recognised and are a key point of differentiation for our clients,” Mr Fenn said.

Downer EDI Limited is an Australian top-100 company that provides comprehensive engineering and infrastructure management services to the public and private transport, energy, infrastructure, communications and resources sectors, across Australia, New Zealand, the Asia Pacific region and the United Kingdom. In the rail sector, Downer EDI is a leading provider and maintainer of passenger and freight rolling stock in Australia and a key service provider in rail infrastructure maintenance and construction.

www.downergroup.com

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ASX Company News: Gindalbie Metals Awards Rail Contract To Macmahon

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Gindalbie Metals Limited (GBG) is pleased to announce the award of another key construction contract for the Karara Iron Ore Project in Western Australia.  Karara Mining Limited, the Joint Venture company, has awarded the contract for rail earthworks and track laying for the 85km spur line servicing the project to Macmahon a leading ASX-listed contracting group (MAH).

The contract, with an approximate value of $86 million, is for construction of the spur line connecting Karara to Tilley Siding, near Morawa, where it connects with the existing railway line running from Morawa to Geraldton.  The track itself will be supplied by Gindalbie’s Karara Project partner Ansteel, which is the biggest producer of rail in China and a world-leader in the efficient production of high-quality rail products.

Gindalbie’s Managing Director Mr Garret Dixon said Macmahon had been selected because of its strong project knowledge and extensive experience in constructing remote location iron ore railways, having undertaken work on both Rio Tinto’s and BHP Billiton’s rail lines in the Pilbara region.  “Macmahon has played a leading role in the redevelopment and construction of some of the busiest rail networks throughout urban and rural Australia and was a logical choice for us,” Mr Dixon said. “We are also pleased to be working with another West Australian-based company to deliver an additional major contract at Karara.”

Macmahon Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Nick Bowen said the award reinforced Macmahon’s depth of experience in rail construction and its strong presence in Western Australia’s resources market.  “This is an excellent win for our Construction Business. We have delivered numerous infrastructure contracts in Western Australia’s resources sector over many years and are very pleased with the opportunity to establish a new relationship with Gindalbie and Ansteel on the world-class Karara Project,” he said.

www.gindalbie.com.au

www.macmahon.com.au

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Asciano Executes $775 million Coal Haulage Contract

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Asciano (AIO) announces today that it has executed a long term, take or pay contract with Anglo American Metallurgical Coal Pty Ltd for the movement of a total of 16.5 million tonnes per annum of coal in Queensland commencing 1 January 2012. The signing of this 10 year agreement will generate additional revenue of over $775 million. This new contract will see Asciano hauling 10.9 million tonnes per annum from Anglo American’s German Creek facility which is currently serviced by QRNational. The new contract also encompasses the existing 5.75 million tonnes that Pacific National currently hauls from Anglo American’s Moranbah North mine.

Asciano Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Rowsthorn said, “Anglo American Coal has been extremely pleased with our performance since we began servicing their Moranbah North mine in mid-2009. “Anglo American Coal was looking for a unique and flexible rail haulage approach to its portfolio of mines in the Goonyella system. The result is a performance based contract that not only matches the cargo assembly mode of the coal chain, but also provides Anglo American with the ability to mix and match its mine and port haulage requirements. Winning this major contract reflects the fact that we continue to exceed our customers expectations despite the many challenges we have faced. The successful ramp up of our operations is a testament to our Queensland workforce and management team.

Asciano anticipates that it will have hauled 14 million tonnes of coal in Queensland when it completes its first full year operations on 30 June 2010.  Asciano will procure four new train sets to service the additional volumes for Anglo American Coal which is, as of today, Asciano’s largest contracted customer in Queensland.
www.asciano.com

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Asciano Secures $250 million Contract With Macarthur Coal

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Asciano (AIO) announces today that it has executed a long term, take or pay contract with Macarthur Coal Pty Ltd (MCC) for the movement of  7 million tonnes of coal per annum from the Coppabella and Moorvale mines in Queensland commencing on 1 November 2010. The signing of this agreement will generate total revenues of approximately $250 million for Asciano and confirms Macarthur related entities as Asciano’s largest coal haulage customer in Queensland with annualised tonnes in excess of 10 million.

Asciano Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Rowsthorn said, “Asciano’s entry into the Queensland market has immediately raised the bar on service quality and we are extremely pleased with the confidence that Macarthur Coal has shown in our performance to date. Macarthur is a dynamic organisation that is focused on delivery and performance and we look forward to continually searching for ways to contribute to their ongoing success”, Mr Rowsthorn said.

“We originally planned on securing contracts totalling 30 million tonnes by the end of 2010 and that box has well and truly been ticked and what’s more, every contract signed to date will deliver returns at or above our internal benchmarks”, Mr Rowsthorn said. “With our first ten train sets in Queensland contracted, Asciano will now proceed to purchasing further train sets to support its ongoing growth in this extremely important market”, Mr Rowsthorn said. “The coal haulage opportunities presented by the northern and southern missing link infrastructure projects, as well as the development of the Surat and Galilee basins, are clearly next on our agenda”, Mr Rowsthorn said.

www.asciano.com

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Asciano Secures $600 million Coal Haulage Contract With Whitehaven

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Asciano (AIO) and Whitehaven Coal (WHC) have signed a long term contract for the provision of coal haulage services from Whitehaven’s Narrabri, Werris Creek and Gunnedah loadpoints in the Gunnedah Basin of New South Wales.

The contract provides Whitehaven Coal with long term certainty of their coal haulage requirements going forward. The agreement includes clear performance hurdles and capacity obligations from Pacific National to ensure Whitehaven’s port and rail capacity commitments are matched by above rail obligations through Whitehaven’s growth phase over the next decade.

This long haul, take or pay contract is expected to generate at least $600 million of revenue for Asciano over the term of the agreement. The new contract includes more than a doubling of the rail haulage task for Whitehaven Coal over the next 2 years and is expected to deliver a return on capital to Asciano in line with the benchmarks achieved on recent coal haulage contracts.

The new contract requires one new train set to be ordered immediately. This additional train set is part of Asciano’s $160 million capital commitment announced in June 2009 and means all 4 trains provided for in that commitment are now ordered and underwritten by long term take or pay contracts. Whitehaven Coal has already invested in one train set itself which is expected to be operational in June 2010. Pacific National will lease and operate this train set from Whitehaven as part of this contract. Pacific National has obligations to invest in further trains as required by Whitehaven as its growth volumes come online during the contract period.

Whitehaven Coal’s Managing Director, Tony Haggarty commented, “we are extremely pleased to have entered into this partnership with Asciano for our long term coal haulage requirements. Entering into a contract with performance based hurdles is extremely important for Whitehaven as we expand our operations significantly in the Gunnedah Basin. We are aligning our port, track and above rail contracts to ensure we can deliver our long term growth objectives in the NSW coal export market,” Mr Haggarty said. Asciano Managing Director and CEO, Mark Rowsthorn commented, “this recent contract is a significant achievement for Asciano. As a result of the increased tonnes and longer haulage distances, Whitehaven is now becoming one of Asciano’s largest customers in NSW.”

www.asciano.com.au

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Asciano Secures $400 million Rail Contract

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Asciano (AIO) advised today that it has been selected as the preferred rail operator to transport magnetite from Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry Mining (EHM) operation in Queensland.

Asciano’s ports and bulk rail business has won a tender process that will see it enter into a take or pay contract with Xstrata Copper to haul a minimum of 1.2 million tonnes of magnetite commencing 1 February 2011 for 10 years. The contract will require Asciano to invest in the order of $80 million. This investment will include two narrow gauge diesel powered train sets and potentially the construction of a loading facility and associated rail infrastructure at Cloncurry in north west Queensland. The bulk rail business will utilise Pacific National’s existing intermodal maintenance facility located in Townsville to service its rolling stock. The contract will generate revenue of approximately $400 million over the 10 year period .

Asciano Managing Director and CEO, “Mark Rowsthorn commented; this is a great opportunity for our ports and bulk rail business and demonstrates our ability to leverage our successful Queensland coal operations. To be selected in a competitive tender process as the preferred operator with a proposal that sees us achieve our benchmark return on capital, long term tenure and take or pay arrangements is a clear indication that our performance based model is important to customers and is aligned to their rail haulage requirements,” Mr Rowsthorn said.

www.asciano.com.au

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Aciano Secures 12 Year Coal Haulage Contract

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Asciano has signed a long term contract with Idemitsu for the haulage of coal from its Boggabri mine in the Gunnedah Basin for the next 12 years.  The contract is expected to generate revenue of approximately $500m over the period and includes a 400% increase on their existing contracted volumes over time.

This performance based contract includes take or pay arrangements and will deliver a return on capital in line with the benchmarks achieved on recent coal haulage contracts.   The new contract will initially require one additional train set to be added to Pacific National’s Hunter Valley fleet. The additional train set is part of the $160 million capital commitment announced in June 2009 and means 3 of the 4 trains provided for in that commitment are now ordered and underwritten by long term take or pay contracts.  The contract will require further investment in train sets in the short to medium term to deliver the growth long haul coal haulage task required by Idemitsu.

Asciano Managing Director and CEO, Mark Rowsthorn commented, “this is a great outcome for the Pacific National Coal business as it delivers growth in volumes, superior returns on capital and high quality earnings for the next 12 years. At the same time, we are providing the haulage certainty required by Idemitsu and our other customers to support their long term port and track capacity contracts”

“Asciano will continue to pursue performance based partnerships with coal companies in both NSW and Queensland to meet the demands of the coal market and to grow our coal haulage business within the Group,” Mr Rowsthorn said.

Pacific National Tasmania Sale Completed

Asciano has completed the sale of its Pacific National Tasmania business in accordance with the Business Sale Agreement signed in September. From today onwards the Tasmanian Government, and its newly formed state owned corporation, will assume responsibility for all aspects of that business. The sale included the transfer of PNT employees and assets of the business.

“I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all those involved in the sales process and thank the Pacific National Tasmania employees that have continued to provide services throughout this challenging period,” Mr Rowsthorn said.

www.asciano.com.au

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