Under the new long-term coal haulage contract, QRNational Coal will transport thermal coal 120km from the mine, near Muswellbrook, to Newcastle Port.

QR will deliver the coal to the Port Waratah Coal Services terminal and to the new Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group terminal, in which BHP Billiton is a shareholder.

To support the expanded contract, QR will initially invest up to $A60 million on new locomotives and wagons.

“With this contract and two contracts recently announced with Peabody Energy and Felix Resources, we will almost double our share of the Hunter Valley market to about 30 per cent,” QR chief executive Lance Hockridge said.

QR has already earmarked capital investment of more than $290 million in new rolling stock to support the Peabody and Felix contracts.

“Our continuing success in winning new business in a market we entered only in 2005 demonstrates we are bolstering our reputation as a safe, reliable and efficient service provider against a competitor with an established position in the Hunter Valley,” Hockridge said.

“With coal volumes to the Port of Newcastle forecast to double in size over the next 10 years we are committed to further extending our position by increasing our share of the market and capturing market growth.

“These attractive fundamentals explain why the Hunter Valley is one of the key areas we have targeted for growth as we continue our national expansion and pursue our vision of being a truly great Australian company and a world leader in rail and transport.”