Re: Who is Freightlink???

[mauried@tpg.com.au (Maurie Daly)]

On Thu, 29 Mar 2001 15:19:34 +1000, David Bromage
<dbromage@fang.omni.com.au> wrote:

>Maurie Daly wrote:
>> Does this mean that the Consortium is going to run its own trains
>> between Darwin and wherever else ?
>
>Sounds like a freight forwarder.
>
>> If so , what locos and rollingstock are they going to use ?
>
>Whoever can carry containers at the lowest cost.
>
>> When are we likley to see a new order for new locos and rollingstock
>> to use the new line ?
>
>Possibly, but not much. You won't need many more container flats for 4
>trains per week.
> 

According to the Consortiums Website they are indicating 1 train per
day in each direction of 5000 tonnes .
I presume this means Monday to Fridays only.
Its 2740 km from Adelaide to Darwin ,and its flat as far as AP where
it starts to get hilly and there are 1:50 (2%) grades north of AP.
Im not sure how many .
The Ghan currently takes 18 hours from Adelaide to AP , which is an
average speed of 72 km/h .
Its unlikley that a 5000 tonne freight train could attain the same
average speed , so I have assumed 20 hours from Adelaide to AP and 
22 hours from AP to Darwin , for freight trains.
This means the total time from Adelaide to AP for a freight train is
42 hours .
This means that in any weekday there wiil be two freight trains on the
line in each direction.
If we assume locos like NRs , then to handle 5000 tonnes we need 3
locos per train , which is a total of 12 locos.
I doubt that any current operators have the equivalent of 12 spare
4000HP locos sitting around , so it would seem to me that some new
locos will be needed.
If the line is due to completed in 3 years time , we should see real
soon some orders for new locos.

MD

>> Is Freightlink going to compete with existing Rail operators.?
>
>Sort of. It's more likely to compete with Toll and SCT.
>
>Cheers
>David