The mangoes are having to travel Brisbane to Sydney (which could...

The mangoes are having to travel Brisbane to Sydney (which could be by rail, or road, contrary to my more definitive assertion above) initially due to a lack of air freight availability from Brisbane, caused by Queen Annastacia's State border curbs.

Prior to COVID-19, 80 per cent of air freight was in the bellies of passenger-carrying aircraft, not the dedicated specialised aircraft called freighters, so the latter cannot handle the amount of air freight on offer on their own. I don't buy them in nations like Japan but from memory mangoes often sell for high prices in nations like it and South Korea. Most comes from Philippines but perhaps we fill an off-season void.

I was informed today that rail operator Pacific National has ordered 50 new locomotives so that indicates a degree of confidence in its future. Good to see, given LAU uses it. The existing locos (NR class) don't appear to often break down and are reliable, but at 23 to 25 years old are starting to become somewhat long in the tooth, and are probably not as fuel efficient as today's models.