Watco Restores Cattle Train Service in Queensland

Watco’s East West rail team in Australia recently performed a task that hadn’t been done in Queensland for more than 20 years: They moved cattle by train. Watco East West, which is jointly owned by Watco Australia and East West Road & Rail, was formed in 2019 to pursue livestock and regional container rail freight opportunities in Queensland.

Watco’s Australia rail team recently delivered a 20-wagon train of cattle from western Queensland to processors in the eastern part of the state where the beef will be used for both domestic supplies and export. The team was able to move just the one train before rains halted the delivery of additional cattle.

To restore cattle train service, Watco East West purchased 45 cattle wagons in 2019 that had been used in the former cattle train service and brought them back to life at the maintenance base in Warwick.

The Queensland government contracted Watco to provide the service operating the trains and the new freight hub. The movements are encouraged by the government in part to help take trucks off the road for environmental and congestion concerns.

Watco Australia’s expertise and capability to establish and deliver cost-efficient rail freight services, combined with the local industry expertise and capability of East West Road & Rail, provide freight customers in Queensland a new alternative in the market to deliver rail freight and also terminal services.

“There had been significant interest from big pastoral companies and processors alike in taking advantage of the rejuvenated service,” said Watco East West director Chris Hood. “The hub represents a new opportunity for both producers and processors to re-look at the logistics of moving cattle not only in the southwest but also from the central and northwest regions.”