WATCO moves down under
May 1, 2012 / Updated July 3, 2012
Short Line Railroads
In May, “wagon” loads of grain are expected to be brimming Down Under on trains operated by Pittsburg, KS-based Watco Companies for CBH Group of Western Australia. Trains are moving ahead of schedule and should be in full force once more equipment arrives.
CBH, a farmer-owned cooperative established in 1933, awarded Watco a 10-year grain rail contract in late 2010. Watco is providing logistics, which includes operations and scheduling, tracing, and railcar and locomotive maintenance and inventory control.
In February, 50 of 574 new wagons or cars being produced arrived in Western Australia and went into action sooner than expected.
On March 30, Watco ran the first train from Merredan to Kwinana Terminal. The train consisted of 50 wagons hauling more than 35 tons of wheat.
“Given the record harvest just gone and the need to get better performance from rail to meet our export task, we pushed hard to get on the tracks earlier than the original 1 May commencement date,” said CBH General Manager Operations Colin Tutt. “We are ready, willing and able to get out there and provide more capacity on rail.”
For more on this story, see the May/June 2012 issue of the Cowcatcher Magazine!
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