Specialised Container Transport
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with facilities in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Parkes
Parkes, New South Wales
- Transport :Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The Indian Pacific also stops twice a week, as well as the Broken Hill Outback Xplorer service, run by CountryLink, which heads to Broken Hill on Mondays and Sydney on...
, and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. The company was founded in 1974.
History
In the mid 1990s, the rail operator at the time, the National Rail CorporationNational Rail Corporation
The National Rail Corporation was a rail operator in Australia. The Australian Government, New South Wales and Victoria established the National Rail Corporation in 1992...
, decided to discontinue the use of refrigerated vans, louvred vans, and boxcars on its trains. At the same time, the Hilmer Report into rail competition was released, enabling private operators the use of publicly owned railway track in Australia.
SCT had a customer base who wished to retain their use, so a number of surplus covered wagons were acquired, and a 'hook and pull' agreement was reached with V/Line Freight
Public Transport Corporation
The Public Transport Corporation was a State Government of Victoria owned corporate body formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services in Victoria, Australia....
and Australian National
Australian National Railways Commission
The Australian National Railways Commission was a government owned railway operator in Australia. ANRC was also known as Australian National Railways in its early years and was later rebranded as Australian National .-History:...
to haul the trains. As a result SCT operated the first private rail service in Australia on 13 July 1995. The initial terminals for the service were at Dynon in Melbourne; and leased facilities at Keswick, Adelaide; and Kewdale, Perth. Purpose built facilities were later built at North Laverton, Melbourne; Regency Park, Adelaide; and Forrestfield
Forrestfield, Western Australia
Forrestfield is a suburb of the Shire of Kalamunda in Western Australia. It lies 15 km to the southeast of Perth at the base of the Darling Scarp and the Southern border of the International Airport. There is authority to suggest it is named after Western Australia's first premier, John Forrest...
, Perth.
In 2000 operation of the trains from Melbourne though to Perth was taken over by Freight Australia
Freight Australia
Freight Australia was a railway company in Australia. 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 taken over by Pacific National in...
, with the use of a specially equipped fuel tanker to transfer the fuel to locomotives while the train was under way. Crew vans were also introduced, for the accommodation of train crew on the long journey across the Nullarbor Plain
Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...
. The company also owns and operates its own locomotives for shunting wagons in its terminals. In November 2006 SCT commenced running trains from a new terminal in Parkes
Parkes, New South Wales
- Transport :Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The Indian Pacific also stops twice a week, as well as the Broken Hill Outback Xplorer service, run by CountryLink, which heads to Broken Hill on Mondays and Sydney on...
in New South Wales to Perth.
Today
SCT Logistics now operate trains between Melbourne, Adelaide, Parkes, and Perth; along with road transport connections from its terminals. A site in Queensland has also been purchased for future expansion. The trains are 1.8 kilometres long and carry 8000-9000 tonnes of freight, a total of approximately 800,000 tonnes of freight a year. The company is the major competitor of Pacific NationalPacific National
Pacific National is one of Australia's largest private rail freight businesses. Originally a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings; it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited following the restructure of Toll Holdings....
, who dominate rail freight in Australia. In the 2004-05 financial year their Laverton terminal moved around 13,000 TEU
Twenty-foot equivalent unit
The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...
and almost 408,000 tonnes of non-containerised goods by rail as well as almost 9,000 TEU and 728,000 tonnes non-containerised goods by road. It now employs 530 plus casuals, and a turnover of more than $200 million.
As part of the sale conditions of SCT's haulage provider Freight Australia
Freight Australia
Freight Australia was a railway company in Australia. 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 taken over by Pacific National in...
to Pacific National, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent authority of the Australia government. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974...
(ACCC) attached special conditions to the sale to ensure competition in the rail freight industry. The company has received 9 refurbished G class diesel locomotives from Pacific National for use on SCT's trains, as well as the lease of 3 NR class
NR class
The NR class are an Australian mainline diesel electric locomotives introduced by National Rail in 1996. They were the only locomotives ordered by National Rail, thus being named the "NR" Class...
locomotives until SCT's own 11 recently-ordered locomotives
SCT class
The GT46C ACe are a model of Australian diesel electric locomotives built by Downer Rail using EMD components. The first units were built as the SCT class for freight operator SCT Logistics from 2007, with delivery and entry to service through 2008...
are operational and available for service. Pacific National is also required to continue the 'hook and pull' contract with SCT until these locomotives arrive, the first of which entered service in January 2008. 82 new in-house designed rail vans have also been purchased for general freight, as well as the "Greater Freighter" vans, the largest in Australia in terms of both height and capacity, being close to six metres high but lighter and of higher capacity than standard double-stacked shipping containers. Used between Adelaide, Parkes and Perth, 35 were initially built.
Specialised Bulk Rail
A subsidiary spin-off company, Specialised Bulk Rail Pty Ltd, was formed in September 2010 to haul iron ore for IMX Resources in South Australia.Fleet
SCT Logistics operational locomotiveLocomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
fleet includes:
- 15 SCT classSCT classThe GT46C ACe are a model of Australian diesel electric locomotives built by Downer Rail using EMD components. The first units were built as the SCT class for freight operator SCT Logistics from 2007, with delivery and entry to service through 2008...
- 3 VR T classVictorian Railways T class (diesel)The Victorian Railways T class diesel electric locomotive are a small branch line and shunting unit built by Clyde Engineering . They were the most numerous class of diesel locomotives in the state....
shunters - 3 WAGR H classWAGR H class (diesel)The H-class is a class of diesel locomotives of the Western Australian Government Railways first introduced in 1965 for use on the new standard gauge lines. Their wheel arrangement was Bo-Bo. - Details :...
shunters - 1 WAGR K classWAGR K class (diesel)The K-class is a class of diesel locomotives of the Western Australian Government Railways first introduced in the 1960s for use on the new standard gauge lines. Their wheel arrangement was Co-Co. The K class was a hood configuration, which could be driven short end leading or long end...
shunters - 2 NSWGR X200 classNew South Wales X200 class locomotiveThe X200 class were a group of rail tractors introduced in 1968 and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways of Australia. They were a development of the smaller and less numerous X100 class...
rail tractors
On order
- 6 SBR class (for Specialised Bulk Rail)
Previous Fleet
- 9 G classV/Line G classThe V/Line G class are a mainline diesel electric locomotives built by Clyde Engineering from 1984, the last of 33 locomotives entering service in December 1989...
(sold to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia, Southern Shorthaul RailroadSouthern Shorthaul RailroadSouthern Shorthaul Railroad was established in December 2003, when the remains of Great Northern Rail Services were purchased from CFCL Australia Pty Ltd. Jason Ferguson was then the Fleet Manager for CFCL Australia, and this company was facing a $1.3M write-off of a bad-debt from the previous...
and El ZorroEl Zorro (railway)El Zorro is a railway operator based in Victoria, Australia. It is a private company that was founded in 1999, based in Spotswood, and named by director Ray Evans who has a taste for things Spanish. . The company has three shareholders: director Ray Evans, business manager Geoff Tighe, and Lisa...
) - 3 NR classNR classThe NR class are an Australian mainline diesel electric locomotives introduced by National Rail in 1996. They were the only locomotives ordered by National Rail, thus being named the "NR" Class...
(on loan from Pacific NationalPacific NationalPacific National is one of Australia's largest private rail freight businesses. Originally a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings; it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited following the restructure of Toll Holdings....
pending delivery of the SCT class)