Aurizon gets bigger for rail and port expansion
But he and senior executive Clay McDonald, who runs Aurizon’s mass transit operations, will be in Adelaide on Monday to meet with the One Rail workforce. This is the first time the couple has had to tell staff about the plans since the deal was announced in October. Nine months after the rail group announced its plans to buy One Rail from Macquarie Asset Management and the Netherlands’ PGGM Infrastructure Fund, it can finally begin to incorporate mass haul operations. Some investors were confused when Aurizon announced the deal because the transaction would initially increase the company’s exposure to thermal coal (which is used to make electricity and is also the most polluting type of coal). Jewel in the crown But the jewel at the pinnacle of One Rail’s business for Aurizon is the operation of the 2,200-kilometer Tarcoola to Darwin Railway, which runs from South Australia to the Northern Territory straight to Darwin Harbour. One Rail is the only freight company that uses rail lines.