Pacific National boasts new UGL locomotives

Date: 11.09.2012

Pacific National receives six new 4400-horsepower C44ACi locomotives earmarked for its bulk intermodal business

September 10, 2012

Pacific National receives six new 4400-horsepower C44ACi locomotives earmarked for its bulk intermodal business.

Built at UGL's Newcastle plant, the 93 Class’ locomotives follow the fifteen ‘92 Class’ locomotives delivered in 2008 for the rail haulage provider’s Hunter Valley coal operations.

Numbered 9301 through to 9306, the C44ACi locomotives use creep control algorithms to increase adhesion performance beyond the constraints of traditional DC traction.

Newly appointed Director of Pacific National Rail Angus McKay, says the 93 Class fleet will deliver additional intermodal services enabling the company to successfully meet increasing customer demand.

"This acquisition is part of a longer term renewal strategy of our assets to further support our vision to be Australia’s leading provider of critical logistics services," McKay says.

McKay adds the NR workhorses are the backbone of Pacific National’s intermodal operations.

"The addition of the 93 Class fleet will deepen our supply chain capability across the country."

Pacific National’s Intermodal business currently operates 180 services a week across mainland Australia.

The arrival of the 93 Class locomotives is timely with additional capacity required for recently won contracts for moving bulk commodities such as grain and magnetite.

UGL Executive General Manager Freight Alan Beacham says the company wanted to ensure the locomotives would not only provide better performance outcomes but also meet with driver expectations.

"Close interaction with Pacific National allowed our engineering team to meet specific customer requirements without losing the essence of our ergonomic operator’s cab, which has earned its reputation for being the most driver friendly in standard gauge service," Beacham says.

9301 and 9302 entered revenue service from Melbourne to Sydney on Saturday the 11th of August..