Description:
300 QQYY class double-slot wagons were ordered from China in 2021 for Bulk containerised traffic, based on the AQIY design. The first two arrived in Australia in February 2022 for testing, followed by a shipment of 138 in July. An order was then placed for 200 more, for delivery in 2023. The second shipment of 160 arrived in September 2022, followed by shipments of 100 and 98 in June 2023. These wagons number 57676 to 58175.
The wagons were first used in revenue traffic on 4/8/22 on the Hermidale ore train. In mid-September the first of the class were dispatched to Broken Hill to take over Tronox operations from the QQSY class and other types. However, a shutdown of this traffic from mid-October due to flooding delayed their first use until early December. 206 were being used by the end of the month, with another 48 in Hermidale traffic. Ride testing of the two prototypes took place on ARTC track south of Narromine at the end of November 2022. This enabled their maximum operating speed to be raised from 110 to 115km/h. 12 QQYY wagons were moved from Newcastle to Perth in March 2023 to join the Bulk WA fleet. Registration was achieved for these to run to Fremantle in PTA territory. The 2023 shipments went into storage for a couple of months before the first were allocated for use in the new Containerised Freight (CF) business. Aurizon announced on 20/2/23 that it would be re-entering the Intermodal business to provide linehaul services for a small number of customers, Toll Global Express (TGE) being the first. 70 QQYY were allocated for service 3, from Melbourne to Brisbane, with another 53 for service 4 from Melbourne to Perth. These commenced in late September and mid October. An additional 10 were allocated to Bulk West at the same time, as well as three from the Tronox haul for fuel tender use on CF services. Service 5 from Sydney to Perth commenced in early November with 33 more. Another 29 were obtained from the stored pool in mid-February 2024 for the start of service 6 from Sydney to Perth, while 18 others were brought into service earlier that month to replace QQGY and QQTY wagons in Hermidale traffic, allowing their transfer to CF. Another 10 QQYY were added to the CF fleet in April. By the end of April, just after service 7 commenced from Melbourne to Brisbane, the breakdown of the class was 201 in CF (including 3 as fuel tenders), 2 in Bulk Central as fuel tenders, 196 in Tronox, 62 in Hermidale, 23 in Bulk WA and 16 stored at East Greta. In May another 8 were removed from East Greta for Hermidale use. 6 of the remaining 8 there departed in July for local tutor train use. In early September these wagons were transferred to CF. Additional QQYY were converted to fuel tenders at Dry Creek during 2024 and are the subject of a separate datasheet. At the end of 2024 the allocation of the class was 206 in CF (with 4 as fuel tenders), 4 in Bulk Central as fuel tenders, 196 in Tronox, 69 in Hermidale, 23 in Bulk WA and 2 stored at East Greta. The class is currently limited to 84 tonnes gross weight in Transport for NSW territory.
Credits:
Credit to Aurizon for the prototype information.
Credit to Matte Orange for the prototype image.
300 QQYY class double-slot wagons were ordered from China in 2021 for Bulk containerised traffic, based on the AQIY design. The first two arrived in Australia in February 2022 for testing, followed by a shipment of 138 in July. An order was then placed for 200 more, for delivery in 2023. The second shipment of 160 arrived in September 2022, followed by shipments of 100 and 98 in June 2023. These wagons number 57676 to 58175.
The wagons were first used in revenue traffic on 4/8/22 on the Hermidale ore train. In mid-September the first of the class were dispatched to Broken Hill to take over Tronox operations from the QQSY class and other types. However, a shutdown of this traffic from mid-October due to flooding delayed their first use until early December. 206 were being used by the end of the month, with another 48 in Hermidale traffic. Ride testing of the two prototypes took place on ARTC track south of Narromine at the end of November 2022. This enabled their maximum operating speed to be raised from 110 to 115km/h. 12 QQYY wagons were moved from Newcastle to Perth in March 2023 to join the Bulk WA fleet. Registration was achieved for these to run to Fremantle in PTA territory. The 2023 shipments went into storage for a couple of months before the first were allocated for use in the new Containerised Freight (CF) business. Aurizon announced on 20/2/23 that it would be re-entering the Intermodal business to provide linehaul services for a small number of customers, Toll Global Express (TGE) being the first. 70 QQYY were allocated for service 3, from Melbourne to Brisbane, with another 53 for service 4 from Melbourne to Perth. These commenced in late September and mid October. An additional 10 were allocated to Bulk West at the same time, as well as three from the Tronox haul for fuel tender use on CF services. Service 5 from Sydney to Perth commenced in early November with 33 more. Another 29 were obtained from the stored pool in mid-February 2024 for the start of service 6 from Sydney to Perth, while 18 others were brought into service earlier that month to replace QQGY and QQTY wagons in Hermidale traffic, allowing their transfer to CF. Another 10 QQYY were added to the CF fleet in April. By the end of April, just after service 7 commenced from Melbourne to Brisbane, the breakdown of the class was 201 in CF (including 3 as fuel tenders), 2 in Bulk Central as fuel tenders, 196 in Tronox, 62 in Hermidale, 23 in Bulk WA and 16 stored at East Greta. In May another 8 were removed from East Greta for Hermidale use. 6 of the remaining 8 there departed in July for local tutor train use. In early September these wagons were transferred to CF. Additional QQYY were converted to fuel tenders at Dry Creek during 2024 and are the subject of a separate datasheet. At the end of 2024 the allocation of the class was 206 in CF (with 4 as fuel tenders), 4 in Bulk Central as fuel tenders, 196 in Tronox, 69 in Hermidale, 23 in Bulk WA and 2 stored at East Greta. The class is currently limited to 84 tonnes gross weight in Transport for NSW territory.
Credits:
Credit to Aurizon for the prototype information.
Credit to Matte Orange for the prototype image.
