El Zorro

Anyone else heard any rumours in the past couple of days regarding El Zorro, more specifically regarding their on going future?

None have done the rounds of South Dynon in the last week or so.

Get ready for a major annoucement here!

Hearing rumors from a couple of sources that a major contract is to be announced in the next few days.

If it is true it will lead to jobs for both drivers and new trainee drivers.

Yeah, I've just received a joint media release from AWB and El Zorro announcing they are running two trains (one SG and one BG) in NSW and Victoria.

Text follows below:

Monday 27th August 2007

AWB GrainFlow and El Zorro Rail Freight Agreement

AWB GrainFlow has entered into a rail freight agreement with El Zorro, a specialist rail freight operator based in Williamstown, Victoria. "The agreement provides for El Zorro to use two trains for moving grain from the AWB GrainFlow network and other bulk handling company country grain storages, with one train available for standard gauge track and one train for broad gauge track."

The trains will operate in Victoria and New South Wales.

AWB GrainFlow general manager Grant McDougall said this new partnership would allow GrainFlow to provide its customers with an integrated storage, handling and freight service.

“Our export and domestic rail customers will see the benefits of an integrated supply chain that efficiently, reliably and cost effectively moves their grain from paddock to port in the required timeframes,” Mr McDougall said.

“We will link our fast and efficient country storage sites to well-planned and managed rail services, to meet the demands of our customers.”

El Zorro business manager Geoff Tighe said that the partnership with AWB GrainFlow offered a great opportunity for El Zorro to broaden its footprint in the rail industry. “It provides us with a platform to become the preferred rail carrier for customers seeking reliable and high-quality service,” Mr Tighe said.

“The introduction of competition into the rail freight industry will lead to operational efficiencies and should be welcomed by all stakeholders.”

AWB GrainFlow is a subsidiary company of AWB Services Ltd. GrainFlow operates a network of 22 storage centres along the east coast and into South Australia.

El Zorro is an established niche rail operator. The company has expanded operations in the past three years and now operates freight train services for Queensland Rail and Pacific National, and grain trains for Genesee & Wyoming.

Media Inquiries: Peter McBride, AWB, 03 9209 2174 or 0417 662 451 or

Geoff Tighe, El Zorro, 03 9397 8288

AWB Limited ABN 14 081 890 413

380 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000 Australia

Telephone 03 9209 2000 Facsimile 03 9670 2782 www.awb.com.au

I look forward to this...

Dbl-headed Back-to-Back Y's plowing along on a Vic BG grainny...

Triple headed W's chugging away on the Mainline... Blowing smoke like a steamer of the VR in the 1950's...

The true return of the Rent-A-Wrecks to the Vic BG Network  ---

Well all I can say is well done to El Zorro, looks like they have won the old ATN contract plus expanded it into BG territory. PN has tried to cut them off at the knees and its backfired big time. All I can say to PN management is f*ck you you deserve it you bunch of morons! Their attitude to customers in the last few years has been nothing short of disgraceful and has been to the detriment of the rail industry as a whole.

Nutbag - the reason for PN's attitude is that their primary role is to ensure the continued expansion of their parents shipping and road freight empire (aka Toll)

Cheers

Positions for Locomotive drivers advertised in The Age 1/9/2007.

http://mycareer.com.au/5386619

This thread is a duplicate of

http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11333836.htm

All information needed, including the annoucement of the advertising of positions, is in that thread.

So why did they spend nearly $300million to buy Freight Australia then?

Maybe I am too cynical but one way of gaining a monopoly control is by taking over your oppostion. For a cashed up operation like Toll (now Asciano)  FA was small change.

Also I believe Toll don't want to invest in rail infrastructure (remember Tasmania, Mildura etc) because if you look at the 2005/2006 financial results, PN represent less than 30% of the groups revenue earnings.

They want to invest in the main game which is unfortunately road and shipping.

Cheers

No you a correct I was being sarcastic about PN. It just hurts to see a big company come in a buy a business with no intention to improve it- just own it so no one else can. Then they set about slowly destroying the business buy driving customers away and then saying "oh we have to shut this line down because we have no more customers and we can't compete with road". The situation in Wodonga is a good example "we don't need the yard at Bandiana we'll build a new one south of Wodonga miles from town" I mean whats the point the customers are just going to say stuff rail "keep on driving to Melb truck driver". I was told that the log traffic is going to disappear too because its too much of a risk "as the logs might fall off". This is the sort of attitude to customers the rail industry can honestly do without.

Nutbag you are talking crap.  No company is going to purchase an asset and then destroy it. What is happening is that small operators are picking up the business a big operator like PN is not interested in.  Whats wrong with that?

Cheers

Rod Gayford

No what PN has done to Vic & the former FA Vic Operations is Asset stripped it, this it's now TFK'd

Right so what is PN doing in victoria then? They certainly aren't improving the assets or infrastructure are they. I'm quite sure many people on here could write lists of traffic PN has lost fuel, logs, containers, grain, etc. So where are the small operators picking up the traffic in vic? SSR is gone El Z is the only one having a go at it. Give it another couple of years and victoria will have bugger all regional freight because PN don't give a rats @rse. They are destroying the business so the can use the assets locos, wagons etc elsewhere on the interstate corridors.

has Southern shorthaul gone or have they joined forces with someone else? Also hasnt  South spur some how connected to CFCLA which is connected to Southern shorthaul?  

bluebird252 wrote:

has Southern shorthaul gone or have they joined forces with someone else? Also hasnt  South spur some how connected to CFCLA which is connected to Southern shorthaul?  

Southern Shorthaul are still around, indeed they are currently running ballast trains on the Eastern line at the moment.

T411 wrote:

bluebird252 wrote:

has Southern shorthaul gone or have they joined forces with someone else? Also hasnt  South spur some how connected to CFCLA which is connected to Southern shorthaul?  

Southern Shorthaul are still around, indeed they are currently running ballast trains on the Eastern line at the moment.

Sorry, I stand corrected I was told that SSR had pulled up stumps and El Z was doing all the work trains.

ssr have pulled up stumps now in vic

I am hearing that things are starting to get that busy at El Zorro that they are starting to knock back work.

They are trying to get more drivers on board and may run another class of trainees on top of the five they already have in training.

Has anyone heard any more on this??

Hi NR26 here,

With El Zorro, it actually operated a grain train with AWB with locos GM42-T386-GM36. Don't know where it went.

Regards NR26

The Grainy ran from Dimboola to Appleton Dock with GM42 - T386 - GM36

Sorry to bring up a old thread but is there a web page for El Zorro I have used google and can not find it

As one bloke said..

"The only thing google is good for, is looking up smeg..."

I do not feel any need to "google" whatsoever thankfully.

Unless it is a Chinese or Korean hornbag where I live..

Then...."I must google, I need to google, I have to google"

Oops look like the censor got me..

So, instead of smeg, I shall use the term...

"Roolly hot women taking their clothes off, for lots of money, so blokes can get their jollies by purveying their wonderful nakedness appearance, in grubby men's magazines."