Ann: Aurizon secures major national freight contract, page-72

No surprise that it coincides with AZJ's Investor Day, but its second weekly Melbourne-Perth-Melbourne intermodal (container) train (largely but not exclusively for Team Global Express) should commence tomorrow as train 3MP1 from Victoria Dock, Melbourne, Victoria to Kwinana in southern Perth, Western Australia.

Perhaps management will inform participants of the estimate as to when more intermodals will start operating east-west.

Remember some of the eventual five weekly Nullarbor trains are to commence or terminate in Sydney,: my guess is two, as despite Daniel Andrews and Victorian Labor's ongoing 'gold medal; attempts at destroying Victoria with super high debt and taxes plus massive leftie social engineering, for historic reasons manufacturing in Victoria remains bigger than in NSW.

I'll be surprised if AZJ says much about the north-south Melbourne-Brisbane planned trains as east-west is where rail has the much greater cost allowance, a function of distance, as well as how north-south rail is hobbled by 'steam age' circuitous tracks that slow trains down. There's even weekday morning and afternoon/early evening freight train curfews through Sydney, especially troublesome between Sydney and Broadmeadow (i.e. Newcastle NSW suburb) as there's no dedicated freight line to separate from numerous suburban and interurban passenger trains and hilly terrain in part that means steep gradients.

At least on the 'Main South' Sydney-Melbourne line, intermodal trains can use the separate track for freight trains that extends south to Macarthur, just past Campbelltown.