Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) (NYSE: GWR) today provided the following
update on the status of the restoration of the Edith River Bridge in
Australia's Northern Territory following the December 27th derailment of
a Genesee & Wyoming Australia Pty Ltd (GWA) freight train in flood
waters associated with Cyclone Grant.
GWA has undertaken significant work to restore railroad operations. The
majority of the derailed rollingstock and freight containers have been
removed from the site, and GWA's environmental remediation of the site
is ongoing.
Crews are focused on restoring the abutments to the north and south ends
of the bridge, where a detailed inspection of the bridge structure has
revealed unexpected damage that will require additional restoration
work. It is now anticipated that freight operations will resume on
February 14th. The restoration work is ongoing, and the reopening of the
rail line could be delayed by the discovery of additional damage to the
bridge girders or weather-related interruptions to the repairs.
GWA has established the town of Katherine as a freight hub to facilitate
movement of goods to Darwin, and GWA has provided additional resources
and facilities in Katherine to support the operations. Train services
are currently departing Adelaide and terminating at Katherine, where
freight is forwarded to Darwin by road.
About GWA
A wholly owned subsidiary of GWI, GWA operates nearly 5,000 km of track
in South Australia and the Northern Territory and provides intrastate
haulage of bulk commodities including grain, steel, gypsum and minerals
as well as short-haul shunting and terminal operations. An accredited
rail-service provider in six states (all but Tasmania), GWA has more
than 300 employees, 70 locomotives and 950 active freight wagons. GWA
operates between South Australia and the Port of Darwin over the 2,200
km Tarcoola to Darwin rail line, which links the Port of Darwin with the
Australian interstate rail network in South Australia.
About GWI
GWI owns and operates short line and regional freight railroads and
provides railcar switching services in the United States, Australia,
Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium. In addition, we operate the
Tarcoola to Darwin rail line, which links the Port of Darwin with the
Australian interstate rail network in South Australia. Operations
currently include 65 railroads organized in 10 regions, with more than
7,600 miles of owned and leased track and approximately 1,400 additional
miles under track access arrangements. We provide rail service at 17
ports in North America and Europe and perform contract coal loading and
railcar switching for industrial customers.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Genesee &
Wyoming's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking
statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of
such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk
Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most
recently ended fiscal year.
