The contract will generate more than $600 million in revenue on top of track access revenue, with railings due to begin in January 2012 and run through to 2022.

QR National managing director and chief executive Lance Hockridge said the performance-based contract with Jellinbah Resources reflected QR National’s improved commercial focus and its confidence in its ability to deliver.

“These new-style performance-based contracts QR National is offering its customers gives them assurance that we are prepared to share the risk and that we are prepared to back our performance,” Hockridge said.

“QR National is committed to delivering quality services in long-term partnerships with our customers in Queensland and in New South Wales, leveraged off the size, scale and expertise of our coal haulage business.”

The GAPE project includes 69 kilometres of new track known as the Northern Missing Link that will connect the Goonyella and Newlands coal systems.

QR National executive vice president and CEO coal customers and strategy Curtis Davies said the first trains are on track to run on GAPE from January 2012.

The project is part of an expansion that will double the capacity of coal that can be railed to Abbot Point for export to 50Mtpa and offer risk mitigation benefits to QR National, its customers and coal consumers, Davies said.

The Lake Vermont contract provides for haulage of up to 6Mtpa, which represents 12% of the total volume capacity for GAPE. Railings will commence at 2Mtpa in 2012 and ramp up to 6Mtpa by 2015.

“This long-term arrangement builds on QR National’s existing contract with Jellinbah Resources to haul 3.25Mtpa of coal from the Lake Vermont mine north to Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal and south to the Port of Gladstone, and reflects the growing partnership between the parties after last year’s Jellinbah East mine contract renewal," Davies said.

“Our scale and scope and our demonstrated ability to provide reliable service have given Jellinbah Resources confidence in our capability and have been instrumental in securing this partnership arrangement.”