Re: Freight DMU [was Re: Latest news on Speedrail]

["Rod [comtrain]" <freight_man@hotmail.com>]

Our previous Government in Victoria [Liberal shit] removed all sidings
before they sold it off. This of course protected their mates, you know
Linfox , and large contributors to their election funds like Mobil and Shell
and the like from unfair competition from a Privatised Rail Company, that
might just go out and compete for business.
The North East, being my stomping ground, really shows the frustrations now
faced by Freight Australia management, who find all they have left is a
badly maintained BG track that is effectively a single line from Seymour to
Benalla and on to Wangaratta and Wodonga.
BG connections allow shunting at only these places.
Trucking companies shifting less than 20 containers a week from Euroa and
Rutherglen, about 50 containers from Benalla and 40 from Wangaratta are
pressuring  their clients to lift their rates by up to 40% to ensure the
viability of these Companies beyond the present Quarter.
They are steadily going broke!
New timber mills in Wangaratta and Benalla, are increasing exports rapidly.
The wine industry is expanding export options.
The cost of setting up a new siding at Euroa is about $200000 for track and
about $100000 for a Top lift loader to service the site.
Similar costs at Wahgunyah and Wangaratta would also cause problems.
9358 runs to Melbourne and returns to Wodonga every week night and shunts
Seymour, Benalla Wangaratta and Wodonga.
Capacity of train is about 1000 tonnes, and it arrives and departs Wodonga
with about 100 tonnes on average.

What stops the hungry Freight Australia from picking up all this extra
tonnage?
Buggered if I know!
But consider this :  Uncle Bens Australia has just made a Statement that if
the Railway here is diverted behind their existing Factory, and follows the
Hume Freeway to Albury, thus bypassing Wodonga, they will be able to run
about 40 flats a day in and out of new sidings, instead of the 4 wagons a
day they presently can now. Well I can tell you that a Pilot operating in
Wodonga can replace their 4 wagons in about 20 minutes, and could do this as
often as they could fill them as required. In actual fact Uncle Bens would
be lucky to fill 6 louvers a month and 6 containers as well!
Instead they have spent millions of their money creating vast areas of
Concrete hardstand and suitable access roads for Heavy trucks, up to B
triples....READ THIS.... 'at considerable cost to themselves'.
The deviation around Wodonga is not necessary, for them to create at their
own cost a suitable siding which would hold the forty wagons they want, and
a Rail Tractor could be provided to move their vehicles into position, by
themselves as they require. BUT they expect the Railways to build this Infra
structure for them [ or in the case of the Deviation, the Government would
probably do it for them] Dollar for dollar, the Rail works would cost less
than a third of what they spend to get trucks in!
Every other rail siding has the same problem...Rail Australia would spend
millions installing them, and no guarantees that they would get any return.
Well that's enough negativity!
Will high fuel prices help the Railways?
only time will tell.
Rod [comtrain]
-----------------------------------------------------

> > What can be done to make it easier to load and unload containers at
smaller
> > stations and sidings though? I've seen road trucks that have on-board
> > equipment so that they can load and unload a container with just the
driver
> > and no external equipment, but wonder if anything could be done on the
rail
> > side.
Tezza
> Freighters don't stop at smaller stations or sidings or even larger ones.
Everything's point to point now. Almost the lot go from
> one marshalling yard/internodal point to another.
>
>