The Australian: Pacific National boss rails against road lobby dominance

The Australian, Matt Chambers.

Pacific National boss Dean Dalla Valle is on a mission to boost rail’s public and policy presence, saying an industry voice has been sorely lacking in a nation facing a surge in population and associated infrastructure challenges.

The former BHP chief commercial officer and coal boss joined Pacific National, the nation’s biggest rail operator, in July last year, 11 months after a $9 billion private equity takeover led by US-based Global Investment Partners saw parent Asciano taken off the ASX and its port business spun off.

Since July, Mr Dalla Valle has not only been working on how to improve performance at the coal and freight hauler, where he says some technology feels like it comes from the era of kerosene and candles, but on how to better plug the rail industry into a transport debate dominated by the trucking industry.

He says the real competition for Pacific National is road, not the likes of rival rail operator Aurizon Holdings.

“I tip my hat to the road lobby — they have been very effective at getting productivity concessions, at getting infrastructure built,” Mr Dalla Valle tells The Australian from Pacific National’s North Sydney office.

Read the full article by Matt Chambers here.