Ауризон: крупнейшая австралийская железнодорожная транспортная компания

Australian rail freight company

Aurizon Holdings Limited (/ə/'/r//aɪ//z//ən/ əRYzən) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National Limited and branded QR National. In 2015, it was the world's largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government owned company, it was privatised and floated on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in November 2010. The company was originally established in 200405 when the coal, bulk, and container transport divisions from Queensland Rail were brought under one banner as QR National. In 2019, the company operated in five Australian states; on an average day it moved more than of coal, iron ore, other minerals, agricultural products and general freight – equating to more than 250 million tonnes annually. Aurizon also managed the Central Queensland coal network that links mines to coal ports at Bowen, Gladstone and Mackay; it was the largest haulier of iron ore outside the Pilbara. In 2021, a major corporate change was foreshadowed when Aurizon sought to acquire rail operator One Rail Australia. The corporate regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, approved the sale subject to One Rail Australia's coal haulage business in New South Wales and Queensland being divested. Aurizon's purchase of One Rail Australia's assets not subject to divestiture occurred in July 2022. Divestiture of the remaining assets occurred on sale to Magnetic Rail Group on 17 February 2023. The company in 2023 was Australia's largest rail based transport business, transporting more than 250 million tonnes (246 million long tons) of commodities per year.

The QR National brand was established in the 2004–05 financial year when Queensland Rail's coal, bulk and containerised business units were brought under one banner. The company's major traffic at the time was coal, both for export and domestic power generation, in Queensland. In 2005, QR National started to operate export coal services in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. By 2008, its operations extended across the entire mainland other than the Northern Territory when their first Melbourne–Perth intermodal container service started. In August 2008, QR National took over the operation of Melbourne–Horsham container service for Wimmera Container Line, after Pacific National withdrew its service.

Following a vote by its shareholders, in 2012 QR National was rebranded as Aurizon. The CEO at the time, Lance Hockridge, said the new name derived from the words Australia and horizon. Marketers opined that the name was "a nearly perfect example of all that can go wrong with a rebranding" and that it was "a classic case of people making a weird hybrid name to try and make it unique and interesting so that people will remember it. This is not true: people don’t remember made up words."

In 2005, QR National incorporated a subsidiary, Interail, which had been acquired in 2002 and operated in New South Wales. In the same year, QR National acquired logistics company CRT Group, for which it already provided line haulage. In 2006, QR National acquired Australian Railroad Group (ARG), which operated in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. ARG remained a separate subsidiary operation until it was rebranded as QR National in 2011. In 2007, the company acquired the Golden Bros Group. In 2019, after a Federal Court judgement, Aurizon's intermodal and trucking business was acquired by Linfox for A$7.3 million.

In October 2021, Aurizon agreed terms to purchase One Rail Australia. The transaction was approved in July 2022 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after the commission accepted Aurizon's court enforceable undertaking to dispose of the seller's Hunter Valley coal haulage and Queensland coal haulage business to maintain competition levels. The ACCC Chair, Gina Cass Gottlieb, said: "We are also satisfied that the divestment of One Rail’s east coast business would preserve it as a potential competitor to Aurizon for the supply of non coal bulk rail haulage in the future, and Aurizon would continue to be constrained by a number of existing bulk rail haulage competitors.” The sale was completed on 29 July 2022, and Aurizon took over One Rail Australia's South Australian, Northern Territory and interstate operations the following day under the brand, "Aurizon Bulk Central". In December 2022, Aurizon agreed to an offer by Magnetic Rail Group Pty Ltd to purchase the divested assets. The buyer was to pay about $A425 million ($US284.3 million) – the equity value of the east coast business – and assume existing debt facilities, which originally totalled $A500 million. Proceeds$, A125 million of which was to be deferred for 12 months, would be used initially to reduce Aurizon's debt and would form part of Aurizon's available capital. After the ACCC gave regulatory approval, the sale was completed on 17 February 2023.

As Aurizon's infrastructure was a monopoly, it was subject in 2018 to regulation by government organisations including the Queensland Competition Authority. Aurizon disputed the price that it should be allowed to charge its clients – for example when the Authority used a lower weighted average cost of capital that did not account for the risk that clean energy poses to fossil fuel.

On 20 February 2023, Aurizon announced it had re entered the interstate intermodal market on being awarded a  billion 11 year contract with Team Global Express (formerly Toll Global Express) – the largest non coal contract in the history of the company. The company stated that services would begin in April 2023 and that by April 2024, five weekly services would run east–west (Melbourne–Sydney–Adelaide–Perth); two would run north–south (Brisbane–Sydney–Melbourne). The first revenue service of this contract departed Melbourne for Perth on 8 April. In March 2023, Aurizon and Viterra proposed that the Australian federal government supply A$220 million in funding to repair and upgrade the Eyre Peninsula Railway lines. The proposal included re opening the Port Lincoln–Wudinna and Cummins Kimba lines and upgrading the outloading facilities at Viterra's Lock, Wudinna, Cummins, Kimba and Rudall sites. An annual target of at least 1.3 million tonnes of grain haulage was estimated. Aurizon and Viterra planned to have the network reopened within 12 months if funding were approved.

In February 2023, Aurizon inaugurated two Melbourne–Perth containerised freight services and in September 2023 a weekly return container service on the Melbourne Sydney Brisbane corridor in collaboration with its customer, Team Global Express.

ClassImageTypeTop speed(km/h)BuiltNumberBusiness unitUse and area of operationNotes1435mm Standard gauge fleet5000Diesel electric802005–200712AurizonHunter Valley coal5020Diesel electric802010–201425AurizonHunter Valley coalImproved version of 5000 class6000Diesel electric115200912AurizonHunter Valley coalEx QR National.6020Diesel electric11520129AurizonHunter Valley coal6022, 6023 & 6025 allocated to Bulk Central/Intermodal6040Diesel electric1152017–20185AurizonHunter valley coalCFDiesel electric1152012–20132AurizonHunter Valley coalEx CFCL Australia422Diesel electric1151969–19707Aurizon Bulk Central/WestSouth Australia/Northern Territory/Western Australia 4 Ex One Rail Australia
3 Stored at Forrestfield AurizonCLFDiesel electric11519702Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern TerritoryEx One Rail AustraliaALF/ ALZDiesel electric11519768Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern Territory1 Ex Australian Railroad Group, Scrapped. 7 Ex One Rail AustraliaCLPDiesel electric11519704Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern TerritoryEx One Rail AustraliaJDiesel electric6219663Aurizon Bulk CentralNorthern Territory Alice Springs Ex One Rail Australia 2x Former Alice Springs Shunt Locos, now stored in Dry Creek with mechanical troubles and vandalism damage from Alice SpringsACDiesel electric11520098Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupACBDiesel electric11520116Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupACCDiesel electric11520133Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaACC6032 Alocated to Bulk Centeral/IntermodalACDDiesel electric1152022 202315Aurizon Bulk CentralNSW, Interstate mineral sandsACD6041 ACD6047 & ACD6050 ACD6055 alocated to Intermodal GDiesel electric1151981 19892Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern TerritoryEx One Rail AustraliaGMDiesel electric1151965 19679Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern TerritoryEx One Rail AustraliaGWADiesel electric1152011 20129Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern TerritoryEx One Rail AustraliaGWBDiesel electric1152019 20226Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern Territory3 ex One Rail Australia, 3 delivered to Aurizon. GWUDiesel electric1152020 20214Aurizon Bulk CentralSouth Australia/Northern TerritoryEx One Rail AustraliaLDiesel electric11519671Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad Group, 1 storedLQDiesel electric11519672Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern Australia1 Ex Australian Railroad Group, 1 ex Interail, stored at Avon YardLZDiesel electric11519676Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupQDiesel electric115199723Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad Group
4 Ex One Rail Australia (FQ Class) 3200Diesel electric1001995–19983AurizonNew South WalesRegauged from 3ft6in gaugeQueensland 1067mm narrow gauge fleet1720Diesel electric801966–197028AurizonGeneral freight and shunting16 other units sold to South Africa in 2012, 8 stored2000Railmotor801960–19702Aurizon NetworkQueensland network track inspectionsNos. 2004 and 20322100Diesel electric801970–198453AurizonGeneral freight and minerals5 other units transferred to Western Australia as the DD class (see below), 4 other units sold to TasRail in 2011, 3 to South Africa in 2012, 2 stored for parts2300Diesel electric1001997–200251AurizonGeneral freight and minerals, 7 other units in Western Australia as DFZ class (see below)Rebuilt from 1550 class2400Diesel electric1001977–198038AurizonGeneral freight and minerals18 converted to 2300 class 1 stored2700Diesel electric1102019–present6 in serviceAurizonGeneral freight and mineralsThese locomotives are dubbed the Super Clyde. These are rebuilt from older locomotives.2800Diesel electric1001995–199846AurizonGeneral freight and minerals3 other units on standard gauge (see above), 1 other unit in Western Australia as PA class (see below)4000Diesel electric1002000–200549Aurizon CoalBlackwater and Moura coal networks4020 scrapped4100Diesel electric1002007–201256Aurizon CoalBlackwater, Moura and Newlands coal networksOriginally 75 units, 19 units transferred to Western Australia as ACN class3100/3200Electric801986–198915Aurizon CoalBowen Basin63 rebuilt as 3700 class (see below), 4 other units sold to South Africa in 2012–2013, Remaining units scrapped during May and June 20163300/3400Electric801994–199513Aurizon CoalBlackwater coal networkStored3500/3600Electric801986–198868Aurizon CoalGoonyella coal network15 stored3551Electric802003–200414Aurizon CoalBlackwater coal networkRebuilt from 3900 class3700Electric802005–200763Aurizon CoalGoonyella and Blackwater coal networksRebuilt from 3100/3200 class3800Electric802008–201045Aurizon CoalGoonyella and Blackwater coal networks3900Electric1001988 9011Aurizon CoalBlackwater coal networkStoredWestern Australia 1067mm narrow gauge fleetADiesel electric1001960 1Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad Group, 1 other unit exported to South Africa in January 2015. ABDiesel electric10019702Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad Group. 2 other units exported to South Africa in January 2015. ACNDiesel electric1002011–201219Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaOriginally part of 4100 class, transferred to Western Australia and retained their original numbersDDiesel electric10019711Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad Group, 1 other unit exported to South Africa in January 2015. DADiesel electric10019713Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupDAZDiesel electric10019711Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad Group, 5 other units exported to South Africa in January 2015. DBDiesel electric1001982 5Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupDBZDiesel electric1001982 5Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupDDDiesel electric1001970–19845Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaConverted from 2100 classDFZDiesel electric10019717Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaConverted from 2300 classPDiesel electric1001989–199113Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupPADiesel electric10019961Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaConverted from 2800 classSDiesel electric90199611Aurizon Bulk Freight WestWestern AustraliaEx Australian Railroad GroupSouth Australia 1067mm narrow gauge fleet830Diesel electric1211960 19665Aurizon Bulk CentralThevenard, South AustraliaEx One Rail Australia, all stored. Last 2 operational units placed into storage April 2023 with the arrival of two 2300 class from Queensland 900Diesel electric1211960 19667Aurizon Bulk CentralThevenard, South AustraliaEx One Rail Australia, all stored. Rebuilt from 830 and NSW 48 class locomotives. Last 3 operational units placed into storage April 2023 with the arrival of two 2300 class from Queensland1200Diesel electric1001960 19672Aurizon Bulk CentralThevenard, South AustraliaEx One Rail Australia, ex WAGR A class. Stored serviceable as backup units for the Gypsum train1300Diesel electricUnknown1956 19654Aurizon Bulk CentralWhyalla, South AustraliaEx One Rail Australia, ex BHP Whyalla DE Class1600Diesel electricUnknown19713Aurizon Bulk CentralThevenard, South AustraliaEx One Rail Australia, formerly the NJ class. 3 stored, 2 stored serviceable as backup locos for the 2300 class in Thevenard.2250Diesel electric10020045Aurizon Bulk CentralWhyalla, South AustraliaEx One Rail Australia, repatriated from South Africa in 2019 and owned by Aurizon beforehand.2300Diesel electric1001997–20022Aurizon Bulk CentralThevenard, South Australia2332 and 2364 trucked to Thevenard in March 2023. Both entered service on 13/04/2023. CKDiesel electric1001967 19684Aurizon Bulk CentralWhyalla, South AustraliaEx One Rail Australia, former Victorian Railways T class