Australian Railroad Group

Australian Railroad Group
Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Rail freight transport
Founded	December 17, 2000; 25 years ago
Founder	Genesee & Wyoming Inc, Wesfarmers
Defunct	June 2011
Fate	Acquired by QR National; merged into QR National
Headquarters	Western Australia, Australia
Area served	Western Australia
Products	Rail freight services (grain, mineral sands, alumina, bauxite, coal, woodchips, quartz, nickel, iron ore)
Parent	QR National (from 2006)

Australian Railroad Group (ARG) was a rail freight company operating in Western Australia, commencing its services on 17 December 2000 following the acquisition of the Westrail freight division. Acquired by QR National in June 2006, ARG specialized in transporting commodities including grain, mineral sands, alumina, bauxite, coal, woodchips, quartz, nickel, and iron ore throughout Western Australia. By June 2011, ARG was fully merged into QR National and ceased to exist as an independent brand.

History

ARG was established in 2000 as a 50/50 joint venture between American rail company Genesee & Wyoming Inc and Australian agribusiness firm Wesfarmers. The purpose was to acquire the freight operations of Westrail from the government of Western Australia. Genesee & Wyoming had already entered the Australian market by purchasing South Australian freight assets from the Australian National in 1997, which were rebranded as Australia Southern Railroad.

In October 2000, ARG was confirmed as the successful bidder for the Westrail freight business, beginning operations on 17 December 2000. This acquisition included a fleet of 95 locomotives, 2,500 wagons, freight terminals, and existing customer contracts. While the infrastructure remained under government ownership, it was leased to ARG for a term of 49 years.

The joint venture also took control of Genesee & Wyoming’s South Australian operation, Australian Southern Railroad. Initially, trains in Western Australia operated under the Australia Western Railroad brand, featuring Genesee & Wyoming’s distinctive orange, black, and yellow livery. After ARG's collaboration with the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium on the Alice Springs to Darwin railway—where some locomotives displayed Australia Northern Railroad insignia—all services previously run under ANR, ASR, and AWR were consolidated under the Australian Railroad Group banner starting in August 2002.

In June 2006, the partnership ended: Wesfarmers sold its half-share in South Australian operations back to Genesee & Wyoming; ARG’s above-rail operations in Western Australia were acquired by QR National; and Babcock & Brown purchased the below-rail infrastructure division, WestNet Rail.

By June 2011, ARG had been completely absorbed into QR National and no longer operated as a distinct entity.

Locomotive fleet

Under the ARG identity and corporate colours, the company began a gradual process of standardizing locomotive classifications based on horsepower ratings, accompanied by systematic renumbering. As of February 2006, new letter designations reflected this horsepower classification system (with "Z" signifying locomotives fitted with ZTR controls).

700 class (formerly SAR 700 class)
830 class (formerly SAR 830 class)
DA/900 class (formerly AN DA class)
CK/1000 class (formerly AN CK class)
A class (formerly WAGR A class)
DE/1300 class (formerly BHP DE class)
AB/1500 class (formerly WAGR AB class)
NJ/1600 class (formerly CR NJ class)
GM/1800 class (formerly CR GM class)
DA/DAZ/1900 class (formerly WAGR DA class)
DC/2200 class (formerly NSWGR 422 class)
DB/DBZ/2300 class (formerly WAGR DB class)
D/2350 class (formerly WAGR D class)
P/2500 class (formerly WAGR P class)
CL/CLZ/3000 class (formerly AN CLF/CLP classes)
L/LZ/3100 class (formerly WAGR L class)
ALF/3200 class (formerly AN ALF class)
S/3300 class (formerly Westrail S class)
Q/4000 class (formerly Westrail Q class)
AC/4300 class (newly built UGL Rail C43aci)

Western Australian Facilities

Forrestfield Yard, located in suburban Perth
Kwinana Yard, situated in Kwinana
Avon Yard, found in Northam
West Merredin Yard, positioned in Merredin
Picton Yard, based in Bunbury
West Kalgoorlie Yard, located in Kalgoorlie
Narngulu Yard, serving Geraldton
Esperance Depot, in Esperance
Wagin Depot, at Wagin
Albany Depot, situated in Albany
Collie Depot, located in Collie

References