El Zorro (railway)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
El Zorro is a railway operator based in Victoria, Australia. It is a private company that was founded in 1999, based in Spotswood, and named by director Ray Evans who has a taste for things Spanish.[1] (El Zorro is Spanish for "the fox"). The company has three shareholders: director Ray Evans, business manager Geoff Tighe, and Lisa Trezise.[2]
In 2004 the company won a multimillion-dollar contract with Queensland Rail subsidiary Interrail, crewing their Brisbane-to-Melbourne rail service on the southern leg from Junee to Melbourne.[2] Today the company is an accredited rail operator the the state of Victoria on both standard and broad gauges, and operates infrastructure trains (sometimes referred as plant trains or work trains), electric multiple unit transfer trains, and regular freight trains on both the Connex Melbourne metropolitan network and the Victorian regional network.[3] The company also provides train crews to other rail operators such as Pacific National.[1]
The company also has contracts with AWB Limited to operate two grain trains on the east coast [4], and with the Port of Melbourne Authority to operate container trains between Melbourne's Swanson Dock and an intermodal freight terminal at Somerton. [5] The first El Zorro grain train was operated on the standard gauge on December 11 2007, and the first broad gauge grain train on January 18, 2008.[6]
In March 2008 it was announced that El Zorro would be taking over the Warrnambool - Melbourne container service from Pacific National,[7] the first train running on April 1st.[8] Currently El Zorro has 45 employees and owns five small-to-medium locomotives, along with some wagons.[2] Other locomotives and rolling stock are leased from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia, as hired from various Victorian railway preservation groups.
In May 2008 Y145 was the first locomotive to be painted into the new El Zorro grey, orange and yellow livery.[9][10]
[edit] Services
 El Zorro locomotives W241, W244 and Y168 on works trains in Melbourne |
 A mix of hired and El Zorro locomotives on a broad gauge grain service |
 Standard gauge grain service |
 El Zorro locomotive S302 leading the Warrnambool - Melbourne container service |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Max Berry (December 5, 2006). Rail freight competition unmasked - Business - Business - theage.com.au. www.theage.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ a b c Philip Hopkins (April 14, 2008). El Zorro aims to make grain long-running cereal. theage.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
- ^ El Zorro's SUBMISSION TO THE ESSENTIAL SERVICES COMMISSION - PROPOSED RAIL ACCESS ARRANGEMENTS - VICTORIAN RAIL ACCESS REGIME - MAY 2006
- ^ AWB Limited - AWB GrainFlow and El Zorro Rail Freight Agreement. www.awb.com.au (August 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Philip Hopkins (January 5, 2007). Corrigan back on wharves for P&O, competing against Patrick - Business. www.smh.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Western Victorian Railfan Guide (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
- ^ Rail freight deal New operator avoids closure - Local - General - The Warrnambool Standard. warrnambool.yourguide.com.au (March 7, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Warrnambool line freight - Railpage Australia™ Forums (Victoria). www.railpage.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Y145_in_El_Zorro_livery.JPG :: Latest additions :: Fotopic.Net. downbythetracks.fotopic.net. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
- ^ (Victorian) Y class - where are they now? - Railpage Australia™ Forums (Locomotives and Rolling Stock). www.railpage.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
[edit] External links
- http://www.elzorro.com.au/ official site (offline)
- Vicsig.net: El Zorro Locomotive Fleet
