Rail operator FreightLink has been sold to US rail operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc (GWI).

Rail operator FreightLink has been sold to US rail operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc (GWI).

The heavily indebted company went into voluntary receivership in November 2008 after its board was unable to obtain all the required consents for a voluntary sale of the business (Forkliftaction.com News #386).

Receiver KordaMentha announced this week that it had entered into an agreement with the New York Exchange-listed GWI for the sale of all of the assets of FreightLink. The sale is expected to take around three months to complete.

Martin Madden, receiver and manager, says the company continues to perform well operationally, despite being burdened with an inappropriate debt structure.

FreightLink, which operates six intermodal freight services a week between Adelaide and Darwin, began operating in 2004. It has since increased intermodal and bulk freight volumes from 580,000 tonnes to 3,800,000 tonnes a year.

GWI operates on over 60 railroads in the USA, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia, generating revenue of over US600 million. Its Australian subsidiary operates over 5,000 km of track, providing intrastate haulage of bulk commodities to key industries as well as short-haul shunting and terminal operations.