UGL Transport has renewed its One Rail Australia maintenance agreement for five years, with options to extend, and will keep maintaining and overhauling most of the freight operator’s locomotive fleet.

XRN013 locomotive standing at the entrance to a rail maintenance facility
The XRN013 locomotive stands at the entrance to a rail maintenance facility in Australia. Photo: One Rail Australia.

The work covers rotable components, engines and bogies across the majority of One Rail Australia’s locomotives.

One Rail Australia reported a fleet of 51 locomotives and 1,486 wagons as at 1 January 2025. Neither company has said how many of those locomotives the renewed agreement covers, and the contract value has not been disclosed.

Jobs at Hunter Valley and Broadmeadow sites

UGL says the agreement will support specialised rolling stock maintenance and manufacturing jobs at its Hunter Valley Maintenance Centre and Broadmeadow workshops in Newcastle. It did not say how many jobs are involved.

One Rail Australia XRN013 locomotive hauling a freight train through a mountain valley
A One Rail Australia XRN013 locomotive hauls a freight train through a mountain valley in Australia. Photo: UGL Transport.

Broadmeadow-built locomotives and fleet reliability

UGL Transport chief executive Ian Quarrie traced the relationship back to locomotives the company built locally.

“Our relationship began more than 15 years ago when UGL Transport delivered Australian-made locomotives built at our Broadmeadow workshops in Newcastle.”

Quarrie said the company still maintains and overhauls those locomotives.

One Rail Australia chief executive Andrew Betts pointed to the operator’s fleet reliability:

“The reliability of our fleet is fundamental to the service we provide.”

Betts added that One Rail Australia expects to keep working with UGL Transport over the five-year term.

Who now owns One Rail Australia and UGL Transport

One Rail Australia serves mainly the resources sector in the Hunter region and central Queensland, working from six depots: Mayfield West, Carrington, Muswellbrook and Mudgee in New South Wales, and Sarina and Mackay in Queensland. The operator came under new ownership in February 2023, when it passed to a joint venture of PT Asian Bulk Logistics and M Infrastructure. The supplier has also changed hands in part: in January 2026, CIMIC Group and Sojitz Corporation completed a deal giving each a 50% stake in UGL Transport, valuing the business at about A$800 million.

One Rail Australia and UGL Transport: ownership and name changes, 2007–2026
Year Development
2007 Freightliner Australia is set up.
2009 Xstrata Coal and Freightliner Australia agree to create X-Rail.
2010 The first Hunter Valley service runs under the X-Rail name.
2015 Genesee & Wyoming Australia takes a majority stake in Freightliner Australia.
2016 Genesee & Wyoming Australia buys X-Rail, later called G-Rail, from Glencore.
2017 Freightliner Australia takes the Genesee & Wyoming Australia name.
2020 The business becomes One Rail Australia and starts running trains in Queensland.
2022 Aurizon buys One Rail Australia and agrees with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to sell its East Coast Rail business, which now operates as One Rail Australia.
February 2023 Magnetic Rail Group acquires One Rail Australia. Its owners are a joint venture of PT Asian Bulk Logistics and M Infrastructure.
January 2026 CIMIC Group and Sojitz Corporation complete a deal giving each a 50% stake in UGL Transport.
August 2026 UGL Transport renews its One Rail Australia maintenance agreement for five years.

The operator UGL Transport works for has changed its name and owners several times since 2007, and the operator’s latest change of ownership took place in February 2023.

Sources: One Rail Australia, ESG Strategy 2025–2027 (company history, 2007–2023); UGL, completion of the CIMIC Group and Sojitz Corporation partnership (January 2026); UGL, renewal announcement (August 2026).