Pleasing to see how by Thursday 17 February at 1140 AEDT how...

Pleasing to see how by Thursday 17 February at 1140 AEDT how Pacific National and competitor SCT have increased their transcontinental freight trains after the huge flooding-related disruption.

Concentrating on westbounds that supply wholesalers such as COL's supermarkets in WA plus hugely important sectors such as mines and agriculture with spare parts and numerous other necessities, a Sydney-Perth PN intermodal was between Goddards and Kitchener WA, almost within 200 kilometres of Kalgoorlie WA.

The next one is a Melbourne-Perth PN train that's was between Narertha and the once important railway town of Rawlinna, so it was about 100km behind the SP one. Here's a good video featuring Rawlinna:



Approaching the border from South Australia into Western Australia and not having long ago departed the famous railway town of Cook, SA is another Sydney-Perth PN intermodal train.

Competitor SCT Transport had a train of its famous 'high cube' boxcars, plus louvre vans and containers passing through Loongana WA, 548 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie WA.

The next westbound SCT was a Melbourne-Perth train winding down to Adelaide in the eponymous famous Hills, so in a few hours it should have departed the Adelaide region and be racing towards Port Augusta, SA.

Because many SCT wagons are loaded with individual pallets - a HighCube wagon operating between Parkes NSW or Adelaide SA and Perth WA (but not Sydney or Melbourne due to tunnels/bridges) can take 72 pallets - that may explain how it's been a bit slower to have more trains on the tracks.

There is also at least one further One Rail Australia intermodal bound for Darwin.

These long intermodal trains (including some from both operators that have already reached Perth) will help COL gradually restock in WA and the NT.