The Toll Group has reached agreement for rail operator Pacific National Rail – which is part of Asciano Limited – to take over operation of the North Queensland rail service of the Toll Intermodal business on February 1, 2014.
Toll has entered into a 13-year rail haulage agreement with PN Rail that will enable it to continue to service its North Queensland customers.
The transaction further strengthens the long-standing relationship between Toll and Asciano, and comprises a number of agreed actions between the parties.
Toll Intermodal will continue to operate its freight forwarding business at the PN Rail terminals; eliminating minimum rail volume obligations of Toll in North Queensland effective January 1, 2014.
The majority of employees currently working in roles directly related to the train operation are anticipated to transfer to PN Rail.
“This agreement is a very positive transaction for Toll and all of our North Queensland customers,” Toll Group Managing Director, Brian Kruger, said.
“The deal allows us to continue to provide Toll Intermodal’s customers’ with long-term access to quality rail infrastructure and significantly enhances the operational flexibility of our North Queensland business. It also reduces capital employed in this part of the business, which will result in an improvement in our return on invested capital,” Kruger said.
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