The Bowen Rail Company has announced its purchase of "state of the art" locomotives and rollingstock for rail operations focussed on the Port of Abbot Point. The privately held company is based in Bowen and its website says it "combines world-leading technology with clever solutions to transport Queensland's high quality resources to the world."

"Our next-generation locomotives are the most technologically advanced rail fleet in Australia, meaning our local workforce is able to work more efficiently, safely, and with a smaller environmental footprint."

Recruitment of around 50 staff is underway and the first four new locomotives are due to arrive in 2021.

Head of Project Delivery, David Wassell told local media yesterday, "The benefit of our fleet is that it can be operated by anyone once they have had the right training, regardless of their physical size, age or experience, which means we can open up operator-type roles to a much broader workforce and to people who haven't necessarily worked in the rail sector. Our goal is to ensure approximately half of our workforce is comprised of new-to-rail employees."

The recruitment process is expected to take the next six to nine months.

https://www.i-q.net.au/main/new-rail-company-recruiting-for-bowen-haulage-business#





https://www.bowenrail.com.au/

The Bowen Rail Company has announced its purchase of "state of the art" locomotives and rollingstock for rail operations focussed on the Port of Abbot Point.

 "The benefit of our fleet is that it can be operated by anyone once they have had the right training, regardless of their physical size, age or experience, which means we can open up operator-type roles to a much broader workforce and to people who haven't necessarily worked in the rail sector. Our goal is to ensure approximately half of our workforce is comprised of new-to-rail employees."

And watch half-to-two thirds of those "new-to-rail" employees leave within the first year or two because they don't like the shiftwork...

He's right though, for the most part, modern loco's don't require any significant skill in the driving of them. But trying to change a knuckle at 2am in the middle of woop-woop with the only other person within coo-ee beside you holding a torch or trying to twist the MU cable to line up the lug with that on the socket when it's over 5' off the ground is another story...

I wish them well, I really do. Any new operator is a good thing so long as they don't attempt to drive down employee conditions to turn a profit while undercutting the incumbent companies.

Some info I read on https://www.bowenrail.com.au/ mostly marketing but I will bookmark and see what news comes. No contract info or what they will be hauling or who they will be carrying for assume the business is around.

Is there a base yard they will use in Bowen?

The Bowen Rail Company has announced its purchase of "state of the art" locomotives and rollingstock for rail operations focussed on the Port of Abbot Point.

 "The benefit of our fleet is that it can be operated by anyone once they have had the right training, regardless of their physical size, age or experience, which means we can open up operator-type roles to a much broader workforce and to people who haven't necessarily worked in the rail sector. Our goal is to ensure approximately half of our workforce is comprised of new-to-rail employees."

And watch half-to-two thirds of those "new-to-rail" employees leave within the first year or two because they don't like the shiftwork...

He's right though, for the most part, modern loco's don't require any significant skill in the driving of them. But trying to change a knuckle at 2am in the middle of woop-woop with the only other person within coo-ee beside you holding a torch or trying to twist the MU cable to line up the lug with that on the socket when it's over 5' off the ground is another story...

I wish them well, I really do. Any new operator is a good thing so long as they don't attempt to drive down employee conditions to turn a profit while undercutting the incumbent companies.

Has there been any new operator that hasn't attempted to drive down employee conditions, to offer a  competitive service. They certainly can't point to a long standing history of customer service or a large asset base to maintain a service when the poo goes sky-ward. I'm wondering if there is any Indian money involved in this venture.

Is this the rail arm of Adani?

Adani are the customer needing transport in the indicated timescale...

I look forward to seeing who builds the locomotives and where...

The alternatives to the GT42CU Ace haven't been a great success so far...

Peter

Is this the rail arm of Adani?

Adani are the customer needing transport in the indicated timescale...

I look forward to seeing who builds the locomotives and where...

The alternatives to the GT42CU Ace haven't been a great success so far...

Peter

Yeah I recall seeing that BRC is owned by one of Adani's many companies.

If so, where do people think Adani will be sourcing the locos and wagons from?

Do you think that Adani will be able to reach an agreement with Aurizon to access their part of the line? Recent news says it's still a sticking point: https://inqld.com.au/business/2020/08/04/adani-steels-itself-for-progress-but-still-to-finalise-aurizon-rail-deal/

Aurizon is required by law to reach an access agreement with Adani...where the law gets complicated is who has to pay for the additional capacity requirements.

Newlands Junction to Collinsville will need RCS (CTC) and additional crossing loops, Collinsville to Pring may need additional crossing loops or additional duplication.

Daily train counts are quite high already for the existing infrastructure.

One would assume Aurizon have capital budgets for investing in network upgrades the return is the increased access fees for use of the enhanced infrastructure.

Aurizon has an annual capex of around $600-million, but it would probably have to borrow additional cash to build in the 40-million tonnes of capacity Adani is designing its line to handle. Start up tonnages of 10-million from the line will probably need some initial capacity improvements.

Do Aurizon do their own upgrades and maintenance or is this work contracted out and how is the capex budget relevative to the revenue per annum they receive in access charges?

Aurizon does a lot of its maintenance and upgrades in house, although it has recently sold its track grinding business to Loram. Major earthworks, signalling and electrification are usually done by contractors.

Network Division earned $1.188-billion in revenue last financial year with an EBIT of $468.9-million.

Aurizon usually has a much larger annual capex than the ARTC.

The ABC has joined the dots and worked out Bowen Rail is owned by Adani...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/adani-coal-mine-abbot-point-terminal-rail-line-protests/12644432?fbclid=IwAR2bTroQ1JBJQGJFH4Okom2W5oJh3CnSChTJt6fBIm_ZuNpu7Y80TpTJfoE

The ABC has joined the dots and worked out Bowen Rail is owned by Adani...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/adani-coal-mine-abbot-point-terminal-rail-line-protests/12644432?fbclid=IwAR2bTroQ1JBJQGJFH4Okom2W5oJh3CnSChTJt6fBIm_ZuNpu7Y80TpTJfoE

Four locos arriving next year. Would that be enough to haul the 10mtpa of coal they estimate for the first phase?

Will be interesting to see where Aurizon lands in covering the cost of upgrades...

No mention of "Carmichael" or "Adani" on their website makes me think they might be setting up to sell off...

The ABC has joined the dots and worked out Bowen Rail is owned by Adani...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/adani-coal-mine-abbot-point-terminal-rail-line-protests/12644432?fbclid=IwAR2bTroQ1JBJQGJFH4Okom2W5oJh3CnSChTJt6fBIm_ZuNpu7Y80TpTJfoE

Four locos arriving next year. Would that be enough to haul the 10mtpa of coal they estimate for the first phase?

Will be interesting to see where Aurizon lands in covering the cost of upgrades...

No mention of "Carmichael" or "Adani" on their website makes me think they might be setting up to sell off...

By my back of the envelope estimations, Bowen Rail will most likely need three 126-wagon sets for its start up operations, however if it ran similar 84-wagon consists to Aurizon, then it may need four 84-wagon sets. Depending on the locomotive model Bowen Rail is purchasing, it will need three GT46CU-ACe equivalents or four GT42CU-ACe equivalents per 126-wagon set. Aurizon uses three GT42CU-AC/ACes on its 84-wagon sets.  

There a couple of reasons for Bowen Rail's corporate distancing from the Adani brand - firstly, anything with Adani written on it these days will have protestors chained to it, the kind of attention a rail company would not be wanting. Secondly, Adani wants its Carmichael railway to serve a number of other miners - the latter would probably prefer their product being hauled by something other than a locomotive bearing the corporate identity of Adani.

Adani is a thoroughly vertically integrated company with a preference for keeping its operations in-house, an aspect of operations Bowen Rail fulfills without having to be directly identified as an Adani company to the public.

There a couple of reasons for Bowen Rail's corporate distancing from the Adani brand - firstly, anything with Adani written on it these days will have protestors chained to it, the kind of attention a rail company would not be wanting. Secondly, Adani wants its Carmichael railway to serve a number of other miners - the latter would probably prefer their product being hauled by something other than a locomotive bearing the corporate identity of Adani.

Adani is a thoroughly vertically integrated company with a preference for keeping its operations in-house, an aspect of operations Bowen Rail fulfills without having to be directly identified as an Adani company to the public.

Are the potentially protesting public really that thick?

The anti-Adani protests try to focus on what the wider community will recognize as Adani assets - protests need media attention and they need public attention. A locomotive or rail assets plastered with Adani signage would be considered a high profile target that protestors could target outside of Adani's field of security influence, unlike the port and mine. Chaining themselves to a locomotive that says Bowen Rail wouldn't have the same wider media punch no matter how many times they say it's owned by Adani.

The anti-Adani protests try to focus on what the wider community will recognize as Adani assets - protests need media attention and they need public attention. A locomotive or rail assets plastered with Adani signage would be considered a high profile target that protestors could target outside of Adani's field of security influence, unlike the port and mine. Chaining themselves to a locomotive that says Bowen Rail wouldn't have the same wider media punch no matter how many times they say it's owned by Adani.

Whitehaven actually removed their logos from their three Hunter Valley locomotives before they entered service for this reason. As far as I know, the unmarked blue and white locomotives have never been the subject of a demonstration.

Peter

The anti-Adani protests try to focus on what the wider community will recognize as Adani assets - protests need media attention and they need public attention. A locomotive or rail assets plastered with Adani signage would be considered a high profile target that protestors could target outside of Adani's field of security influence, unlike the port and mine. Chaining themselves to a locomotive that says Bowen Rail wouldn't have the same wider media punch no matter how many times they say it's owned by Adani.

Whitehaven actually removed their logos from their three Hunter Valley locomotives before they entered service for this reason. As far as I know, the unmarked blue and white locomotives have never been the subject of a demonstration.

Peter

Hmm, "It's a train, it belongs to the railway..." What were PN & Aurizon worried about?

The ABC has joined the dots and worked out Bowen Rail is owned by Adani...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/adani-coal-mine-abbot-point-terminal-rail-line-protests/12644432?fbclid=IwAR2bTroQ1JBJQGJFH4Okom2W5oJh3CnSChTJt6fBIm_ZuNpu7Y80TpTJfoE

Four locos arriving next year. Would that be enough to haul the 10mtpa of coal they estimate for the first phase?

Will be interesting to see where Aurizon lands in covering the cost of upgrades...

No mention of "Carmichael" or "Adani" on their website makes me think they might be setting up to sell off...

By my back of the envelope estimations, Bowen Rail will most likely need three 126-wagon sets for its start up operations, however if it ran similar 84-wagon consists to Aurizon, then it may need four 84-wagon sets. Depending on the locomotive model Bowen Rail is purchasing, it will need three GT46CU-ACe equivalents or four GT42CU-ACe equivalents per 126-wagon set. Aurizon uses three GT42CU-AC/ACes on its 84-wagon sets.  

There a couple of reasons for Bowen Rail's corporate distancing from the Adani brand - firstly, anything with Adani written on it these days will have protestors chained to it, the kind of attention a rail company would not be wanting. Secondly, Adani wants its Carmichael railway to serve a number of other miners - the latter would probably prefer their product being hauled by something other than a locomotive bearing the corporate identity of Adani.

Adani is a thoroughly vertically integrated company with a preference for keeping its operations in-house, an aspect of operations Bowen Rail fulfills without having to be directly identified as an Adani company to the public.

Do you know how much they would have had to fork out for 4 such locos?

Interested to know whether they think they can recoup the cost of set up...
And if BRC intend to raise finance to cover the cost of upgrades to Aurzon's line.

The ABC has joined the dots and worked out Bowen Rail is owned by Adani...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/adani-coal-mine-abbot-point-terminal-rail-line-protests/12644432?fbclid=IwAR2bTroQ1JBJQGJFH4Okom2W5oJh3CnSChTJt6fBIm_ZuNpu7Y80TpTJfoE

Four locos arriving next year. Would that be enough to haul the 10mtpa of coal they estimate for the first phase?

Will be interesting to see where Aurizon lands in covering the cost of upgrades...

No mention of "Carmichael" or "Adani" on their website makes me think they might be setting up to sell off...

By my back of the envelope estimations, Bowen Rail will most likely need three 126-wagon sets for its start up operations, however if it ran similar 84-wagon consists to Aurizon, then it may need four 84-wagon sets. Depending on the locomotive model Bowen Rail is purchasing, it will need three GT46CU-ACe equivalents or four GT42CU-ACe equivalents per 126-wagon set. Aurizon uses three GT42CU-AC/ACes on its 84-wagon sets.  

There a couple of reasons for Bowen Rail's corporate distancing from the Adani brand - firstly, anything with Adani written on it these days will have protestors chained to it, the kind of attention a rail company would not be wanting. Secondly, Adani wants its Carmichael railway to serve a number of other miners - the latter would probably prefer their product being hauled by something other than a locomotive bearing the corporate identity of Adani.

Adani is a thoroughly vertically integrated company with a preference for keeping its operations in-house, an aspect of operations Bowen Rail fulfills without having to be directly identified as an Adani company to the public.

Do you know how much they would have had to fork out for 4 such locos?

Interested to know whether they think they can recoup the cost of set up...
And if BRC intend to raise finance to cover the cost of upgrades to Aurzon's line.

The locos would be somewhere between $20-million and $25-million I would think.

At a guess Aurizon will pay for the upgrades and recoup the costs (or part thereof) through access fees. Newlands Junction to Collinsville really needs to be upgraded to RCS (CTC signalling) before Bowen Rail begins operations - in 2017 Aurizon indicated this section had less than 5-million tonnes of additional capacity left using the existing infracstructure.

The situation is fairly complex with the Carmichael line, as this is the first private network to connect with the Aurizon network, so there's no precedent to follow regarding the downstream costs a new connecting network may cause. The improvements also benefit other rail users, so that also has to be quantified and those efficiencies fairly divided too.

Adani have just signed a secret new deal with the Queensland Government to defer royalty payments for an unspecified period.¹ The details of this backroom deal have not been made public.

Meanwhile, an investigative report has just revealed the ‘Bowen Rail Company’ is actually owned by Adani Ports - an Adani owned company in India.² This suspiciously unbranded company is applying to haul Adani’s coal to port, after Reef lovers deterred other companies from touching their toxic coal project.

This comes after news that Adani are quietly rebranding their Abbot Point Coal Terminal to North Queensland Bulk Ports.³

Source: AMCA

Have the Martinus Rail locos arrived from NZ for construction work yet?

4444  and at least 16 flatcars are on this vessel
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:313143/mmsi:258977000/imo:9673379/vessel:HOEGH_JACKSONVILLE

Adani have just signed a secret new deal with the Queensland Government to defer royalty payments for an unspecified period.¹ The details of this backroom deal have not been made public.

Meanwhile, an investigative report has just revealed the ‘Bowen Rail Company’ is actually owned by Adani Ports - an Adani owned company in India.² This suspiciously unbranded company is applying to haul Adani’s coal to port, after Reef lovers deterred other companies from touching their toxic coal project.

This comes after news that Adani are quietly rebranding their Abbot Point Coal Terminal to North Queensland Bulk Ports.³

Source: AMCA

Sources in the USA are saying that PR have subcontracted the build of Bowen Rail's GT46AC to Bombardier India.

Bombardier India have held an EMD license covering SE Asia since 2012. The License for the Indian sub-continent is held by DLW a quango owned by Indian Railways.

https://www.railwaygazette.com/freight/bombardier-to-assemble-emd-locomotives-for-southeast-asia/37318.article

Ballast Wagons
https://this.kiji.is/682511482492585057?c=598039864057267297