FreightCorp/CRT award

As expected, the Lang Corporation/Toll Holdings joint venture, National Rail Consortium Pty Ltd, has won the bidding for Australian government-owned rail companies National Rail Corporation (NRC) and FreightCorp.

Thanks to a federal election in Australia this month, the sell-off of the National Rail Corporation and FreightCorp seems unlikely to reach its climax until 2002

After years of prevarication and recent months of intense negotiation, the Australian Commonwealth Government and the Governments of New South Wales and Victoria finally called for expressions of interest in the combined sale of National Rail Corporation (NRC) and FreightCorp at the end of last month.

As part of the inter-governmental agreement reached for the NRC/Freight Corp sale (see page 15), a comprehensive examination of management arrangements for the interstate track in New South Wales will proceed, “significantly advancing the Federal Government’s rail reform agenda towards seamless national rail services operating across state borders.”

Toll Holdings and Lang Corporation have formed a consortium to bid for NRC and FreightCorp, saying the joint company will be a long-term venture and not just a bidding vehicle.

Australasian rail ownership is on the verge of another major shake-up as government-owned National Rail (NR) and FreightCorp finally hit the market, while Wisconsin Central – now owned by Canadian National – looks for buyers for its shares in New Zealand’s Tranz Rail and Australian Transport Network (ATN).