AURIZON and ANL have partnered on a land-bridging initiative for container traffic through the port of Darwin.
With the new system in place, containers shipped from Asia Pacific ports can be offloaded at Darwin and transferred onto rail for a direct connection to Adelaide and other locations in southern Australia.
The integrated service is available from a range of ports, including direct connection from Singapore; and with the use of transhipment, Shanghai, Shekou and Qingdao, Port Kelang, Laem Chabang, Mundra, Busan and other Asian and Indian sub-continent ports.
Units arriving via ANL’s PAX service are discharged and cleared at Darwin Port, with the railhead located within the terminal. At the end of their rail journey, containers are available for collection at Aurizon’s railhead at Gilman, a suburb in north-western Adelaide.
The service offers an average potential time saving of ten days for freight arriving into Adelaide across the listed ports, according to ANL and Aurizon.
The PAX service calls Darwin every 10 days, with trains running six days each week.
Aurizon developed the land-bridging initiative on the back of its 2022 acquisition of the 2200-kilometre Tarcoola to Darwin railway, a large-scale rail haulage business in South Australia and the Northern Territory, and terminal and stevedoring assets at the port of Darwin.
The system has been building momentum since November 2024, Aurizon telling investors today that the focus is on building volume and delivering material time savings.
“Aurizon saw an opportunity to offer another service – an alternate supply chain for shippers and freight customers – in addition to the existing business that was already operating on this rail corridor,” Aurizon group executive containerised freight Gareth Long said.
“This leverages the existing assets of efficient track infrastructure and double-stacked container freight trains, integrated with Aurizon’s port and terminal facilities in Darwin.”
Mr Long said Aurizon “is delighted to establish a regular schedule service with global shipping line ANL into Darwin”.
Lincoln Dundas, ANL’s general manager intra Oceania trades, said the shipping company is pleased to partner with Aurizon on the new supply chain solution into Australia.
“We are committed to developing new options or routes for our customers in a mature market, in partnership with industry,” he said.
“The ocean and rail supply chain provides our customers with optionality and the potential to deliver material time savings, with a reliable and efficient, alternate supply chain.”
There are currently no genset units available for reefer transport to South Australia, but ANL and Aurizon are reviewing the opportunity to add this offering.
