Toll Holdings and Patrick Corporation
Patrick Corporation (once known as Lang Corporation, until 2002) is an Australian Logistics company, which operates (among other ventures) port services, distribution centers as well as interests in freight transport by air, rail, road and sea.
Patrick Corporation is now owned under the banner of Toll Holdings (specifically, Asciano Limited, the same company that owns Pacific National under Toll Holdings). Beginning in 2005, Toll Holdings launched an extensive hostile takeover bid to absorb Patrick Corporation into their transport company (Toll Holdings is currently the largest transport company in Australia). Toll Holdings finally succeeded in their takeover bid in 2006.
Patrick PortLink
Patrick PortLink is a division of Patrick Corporation, which deals with the movement of shipping containers from port to distribution centre, reducing the need to outsource this service to other transport companies. While Patrick PortLink only own a few of their own locomotives, they make use of a number of hired locomotives from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia (CFCLA).
Services operated by Patrick PortLink in New South Wales are centered around Port Botany, the major intermodal shipping port in Sydney, however other services are run to Melbourne and Adelaide in Victoria and South Australia respectively.
A number of train services are provided between Port Botany and Distribution Centers around New South Wales, with destinations including Moree, Narrabri, Dubbo and Bathurst. Local services are also provided between Yennora Distribution Center and Sandown Metropolitan Terminal. Until recently, PPL also held a contract to rail containers between Sandgate (Newcastle) and Port Botany. This contact was recently taken over by South Spur Rail Services, under Coote Industrial.
Motive Power
As stated above, Patrick PortLink doesn’t own a large fleet of locomotives, instead, preferring to lease locomotives from CFCLA. Patrick PortLink maintain their NSW-based locomotive fleet in Lithgow, over The Blue Mountains.
49 Class – 4903 and 4906. These two units have been modified, with the long hood being shortened to improve visibility. While for a while they operated various trains around the state, they are currently running the shuttle between Sandown and Port Botany, normally seen back to back at the head of the train. The two units are painted in the bright red corporate colour scheme with yellow edging.
45 Class – 4503 and 4514. These two units are not painted in the corporate colour scheme, indeed 4514 is still wearing Indian Red! 4514 is sometimes seen running in the shafts of various trains outside of the Metropolitan Area, running with GL/EL Class locomotives.
73 Class – 7307 and 7321. Painted similarly to the 49 Class, these two units are used for shunting at Port Botany.
CFCLA provide a number of locomotives for Patrick PortLink services. GM22/27 (wearing Southern Shorthaul Railway colours, as these units were once on long term lease to SSR) are often seen working the Yennora to Port Botany service. When regular rostered units (GM’s 22/27 and 49’s 03 and 06) are in Lithgow for maintenance, other CFCLA motive power is leased to replace them, usually a 44, 422 or 442 class locomotive.
The Future
With Patrick PortLink having ceased operating out of Yennora as of June, 2008 (The terminal at Yennora is owned by CRT Group, who are in turn owned by QRNational, who are currently providing their own Yennora to Botany service), and Patrick PortLink having lost their accreditation, it is unknown what the future will hold. With PPL owned by the same company that owns Pacific National, perhaps the existing contacts will pass to Pacific National. At this stage, there is a lot of speculation about how much longer we will continue to see the bright red Patrick colour scheme on the rails of NSW.
Related Articles:
The Final Run of (Patricks) T176/7 – 28/6/08
