Freight Australia/RailAmerica news

[Mark Bau <markbau@altavista.com>]

RailAmerica's Freight Australia Railroad Signs Multi-Year Contract For
Transcontinental Rail Service

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- RailAmerica, Inc. (Nasdaq: RAIL),
the world's largest short line and regional railroad operator, today
announced that its Australian-based railroad, Freight Australia, has signed
a 
new 5-year, exclusive agreement to provide transcontinental "hook- and-pull"
rail service for one of the nation's leading freight forwarders, Specialized
Container Transport (SCT), valued at approximately AUS $60 million over the
term of the contract.  The service, which commences this October, elevates
Freight Australia to transcontinental status, and comes against the
background of its sister RailAmerica company, Freight WA, being selected as
a 
short-list bidder in the privatization process for western Australia's
government-owned Westrail freight business.

Under the agreement, Freight Australia will provide comprehensive management
of train services for SCT's Melbourne-Perth-Melbourne trains, which carry
thousands of tons of freight each week on this vital east-west corridor. For
this "hook-and-pull" service, Freight Australia will deploy up to ten of its
3,000-horsepower G-class locomotives and supply crews, rail cars, fueling
services and train operations.

Gary O. Marino, Chairman, President and CEO of RailAmerica, said, "Since its
inception in April 1999, Freight Australia has been successful in expanding
into new rail haulage markets and established services beyond traditional
state boundaries, and this contract is another example of that success."

Freight Australia's Chief Executive, Marinus van Onselen, added, "We have
been supplying hook-and-pull service to SCT between Melbourne and Adelaide
for several years, but this deal extends our relationship to the far more
demanding long-distance rail corridor across central Australia.  In
addition, 
we are proud to partner with SCT, a leading-edge company that pioneered
Australia's private freight train business in 1995."

RailAmerica, Inc. (www.railamerica.com), the world's largest short line and
regional railroad operator, owns or has equity interests in 47 short line
and 
regional railroads operating more than 12,100 route miles in the United
States, Canada, Australia and the Republic of Chile.  The Company also owns
Kalyn/Siebert, L.P. and Kalyn/Siebert, Canada, Inc., specialty truck trailer
manufacturers with production facilities in Gatesville, Texas, and Trois-
Rivieres, Quebec, Canada.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future
events and the performance of RailAmerica that involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially,
including, but not limited to, failure to achieve expected synergies,
failure 
to successfully integrate acquisitions, failure to service debt, failure to
sell non-core properties, economic conditions, customer demand, increased
competition in the relevant market, and others.  The Company refers you to
the documents that RailAmerica files from time to time with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, such as the Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K,
which 
contain additional important factors that could cause its actual results to
differ from its current expectations and from the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release.

SOURCE  RailAmerica, Inc.

CO:  RailAmerica, Inc.; Specialized Container Transport; Freight WA

ST:  Florida, Australia