 | |
 | |
| Industry | Railway operator |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Defunct | 30 June 2011 |
| Headquarters | |
| Parent | QR National |
| Website | www.interail.com.au |
Interail was an Australian rail freight operator owned by QR National. In June 2011 it ceased trading as a separate brand, and became part of QR National (now known as Aurizon).
Northern Rivers Railroad was established in 1990 with the intention of running tourist trains on the Casino to Murwillumbah line in northern New South Wales. Four 421 class locomotives were purchased in 1990 [1] and along with some former South Australian Railways steel and State Rail Authority carriages were restored to operational condition at Junee Locomotive Depot before moving to Casino in October 1996. [2] [3]
On 22 September 1997, Northern Rivers Railroad commenced operating cement and flyash trains from Grafton to Casino and Murwillumbah under sub-contract to FreightCorp. [3] [4] [5] A 49 class locomotive was hired from FreightCorp for a few months in 1998. [6]
In May 1999, a tourist service started operating the Ritz Rail tourist train between Murwillumbah and Lismore. [7] It also ran to other destinations including Brisbane. [8] In 1999, two 422 class locomotives were purchased from FreightCorp. [9] In 2000 Northern Rivers Railroad operated some infrastructure trains in the Hunter Valley. [10]
In March 2002, Northern Rivers Railroad was purchased by Queensland Rail and rebranded Interail, fulfilling a long held ambition of to expand beyond its state borders. [3] [11] [12] The tourist train was not included.
The first contract won by Interail was hauling infrastructure trains on the North Coast line of New South Wales for Rail Infrastructure Corporation. It was followed by a coal haulage contract from Duralie Colliery to Stratford Mine from March 2003, [3] then haulage of containers between Casino and Brisbane from May 2003. Another coal contract in the Hunter Valley was won in late 2003 for the haulage of coal from Newstan Colliery, Fassifern to Vales Point Power Station. [3] [13]
In 2004. Interail began running Brisbane to Melbourne and Sydney to Melbourne intermodal services, in part due to the linehaul needs of CRT Group. [13] [14]
To operate these extra services two Queensland Railways 1502 class were rebuilt in 2002 as 423s using standard gauge bogies recovered from 49 class locomotives. A further four followed in 2004/05. [15] Two former Westrail L class locomotives were acquired from Rail Technical Support Group in 2004. To operate the intermodal services two X class and two G class locomotives were transferred from Freight Australia as part of a deal requiring CRT Group to receive 10,000 hp (7,500 kW) of locomotive power should Freight Australia be sold to a competitor of CRT, which it was when sold to Pacific National. [14] Locomotives were also often hired from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia. [13]
Following the formation of QR National in 2004/05, all new business was done under this brand. The ex Freight Australia locomotives carried QR National branding from 2005 as did the last two 423s. In June 2011 it ceased trading as a separate brand, and became part of QR National. [16]
CountryLink was an Australian passenger rail and road service brand operating in regional New South Wales, Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit of the State Rail Authority of New South Wales, it later became a subsidiary of RailCorp, a Government of New South Wales entity. CountryLink operated rail services using XPT and Xplorer rolling stock, with connecting coach services operated under contract by private operators.
Australian Railroad Group (ARG) was an Australian rail freight operator. It began operations in Western Australia on 17 December 2000 following its purchase of the Westrail freight business. It was purchased by QR National in June 2006. The main commodities hauled by ARG included grain, mineral sands, alumina, bauxite, coal, woodchips, quartz, nickel and iron ore around Western Australia. In June 2011 it ceased trading as a separate brand, and became part of QR National.
The North Coast Line is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales, Australia, and forms a major part of the Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor.
Aurizon, formerly QR National, is a freight rail transport company in Australia, and the largest of its kind in the nation. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated on the ASX in November 2010. The company was originally established in 2004–05 when the coal, bulk, and container transport divisions from Queensland Rail were brought under one banner, as QR National.
Freight Australia was an Australian railway company that purchased the V/Line Freight business from the Government of Victoria in 1999. Initially known as Freight Victoria, it operated rail freight services and controlled non-urban rail track in the state of Victoria, later expanding into freight haulage in other states. Freight Australia was sold to Pacific National in August 2004.
The rail network in Queensland, Australia, was the first in the world to adopt 1,067 mm narrow gauge for a main line, and now the second largest narrow gauge network in the world, consists of:
The 422 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Department of Railways New South Wales in 1969/70.
The 421 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Department of Railways New South Wales in 1965/66. These mainline locomotives were a follow on from the 42 class. The 421s retained the classic bulldog nose as with the other Clyde built GM and S locomotives at one end, but featured a flat-cab at the other end. In this respect, they are unique amongst bulldog nose locomotives in the world.
The 49 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the New South Wales Government Railways between 1960 and 1964.
The Murwillumbah railway line is a mostly disused railway line in far north-eastern Northern Rivers New South Wales, Australia. The line ran from Casino to Lismore, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby and Murwillumbah, opening in 1894. It is one of only two branches off the North Coast line,. Train services to the region ceased in May 2004. The line from Casino to Bentley and Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek was formally closed on 23 September 2020 to facilitate the construction of a rail trail.
The New South Wales XPT is the main long-distance passenger train operated by NSW TrainLink on regional railway services in New South Wales, Australia from Sydney to Dubbo, Grafton and Casino as well as interstate destinations, Brisbane, and Melbourne. The XPT is based on the British Rail designed High Speed Train and entered service in April 1982.
The G Class are a class of diesel locomotive built by Clyde Engineering, Rosewater and Somerton for V/Line between 1984 and 1989.
CRT Group is an intermodal transport company in Australia. It was founded in 1954 as Colin Rees Transport, a taxi truck company in Sydney. In 1981 it became known as the CRT Group, and by the time of its acquisition by QR National in June 2005, was in the top 10 logistics companies in Australia with a turnover of $80 million, and moving over 600,000 tonnes of freight a year. The company specialised in the movement of food products, polymers, and plastics.
One Rail Australia is an Australian rail freight operator company. Founded by Genesee & Wyoming in 1997 as Australian Southern Railroad, and later renamed Genesee & Wyoming Australia, it was renamed One Rail Australia in February 2020. It is owned by PGGM (51%) and Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets (49%).
Independent Rail of Australia was an accredited railway freight operator in New South Wales, Australia.
The C44aci is a model of Australian heavy duty diesel electric locomotive designed by UGL Rail and built at the Broadmeadow factory. It is operated by a number of rail freight operators. The design is based on the National Rail NR class but with some modifications and upgraded features.
The 830 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by AE Goodwin, Auburn for the South Australian Railways between 1959 and 1966. The New South Wales 48 class and Silverton Rail 48s class are of a very similar design.
Watco Australia is a rail haulage operator that was formed in 2010 to haul grain for the CBH Group in Western Australia. In 2019 it will commence operating in Queensland under a contract with GrainCorp. It is a subsidiary of Watco Companies.
The Queensland Railways 2170 class is an Australian diesel-electric locomotive.
The Southern Cross Express was a luxury train operator in Australia. It was launched in June 1985 as Steam Age operating out of Melbourne on the Victorian Railways broad gauge network. Services were operated by steam locomotive R766 and six South Australian Railways carriages.