This presentation covers operations of both QUBE (derived from the name of the holding company, Qube Holdings) and SCT (Specialised Container Transport), both of which are substantial operators on the Australian railway scene. Whilst they both gained with the withdrawal of Aurizon from all intermodal traffic, both are small along side Pacific National’s operations.
QUBE can trace its railway genes back to Lachlan Valley Rail Freight (LVRF) which started operating intermodal services in the Sydney metropolitan area in 1999 using 47 Class and some ex-South Australian Railways gondola wagons. (The presentation Lachlan Valley Rail Freight covers this in detail). Strapped for cash, it was sold to Bowport Allroads Transport and renamed Independent Railways of Australia. In 2012 Independent Rail was acquired by QUBE Logistics.
SCT (Specialised Container Transport) was founded in 1974 and coordinates freight by rail and road for many customers. When National Rail decided to discontinue the use of refrigerated vans, louver vans and boxcars, SCT saw the opportunity to specialise in such rolling stock to meet customer needs. It purchased numbers of such surplus rolling stock, added new types built to its own requirements and then engaged other operators such as VLine, Australian National and finally Freight Australia to provide ‘hook and pull’ services. In 2007 it purchased nine G Class off the latter and commenced running its own trains from Melbourne to Perth. In 2010 it added Melbourne to Brisbane utilising QR National (aurizon) services. In 2016 it started operating its own trains on the latter service.
Locomotives seen in action include BRM, C, CF, CM, CSR, G, GL, LDP, MZ, QBX, RL, SCT, VL, 11, 44, 48s, 81 and 82 Class.
Approximate run time: 104 minutes.