PRM awarded rail services contract with Rio Tinto in the Pilbara

• Agreement a testament to PRM and Rio Tinto’s established and working relationship across the Pilbara.
• Contract encompasses multiple rail maintenance and renewal services across Rio Tinto’s heavy-haul iron ore network.
• Agreement includes the future deployment of PRM’s P95 mechanised track renewal system, its operation set to mark the first Australian uptake of this specialised technology.
• Program in its entirety will support the continued investment in PRM’s Pilbara workforce, local capability and communities.

PRM has secured a long-term, multi-service rail contract with Rio Tinto, strengthening an established partnership supporting one of Australia’s most significant heavy-haul networks.

Agreed on an initial five-year term, the contract encompasses a suite of services, spanning ballast cleaning, rail renewals, major renewals and resleepering works.

For PRM, the agreement represents an important continuation of its long-standing relationship with Rio Tinto.

PRM Chief Executive Officer Chris Prior said the contract reflected the trust shared between the two organisations, realised through years of working together in demanding heavy-haul operating environments.

“We are incredibly grateful to Rio Tinto for entrusting PRM through this significant remit, on one of the largest privately owned railways in the world” Mr Prior said.

“Our partnership has strengthened over time, with our teams working closely together on the network, sharing a vision to solve complex rail challenges and continually seek safer and more efficient ways to deliver critical track maintenance and renewal works.

“This contract gives us the opportunity to build on that partnership for the long term. Importantly, it also gives PRM the means to continue investing in our people, our local capability and the specialist equipment required to support Rio Tinto’s operations.”

The contract will also see the future deployment of the P95 track renewal system, an Australian-first mechanised methodology that PRM is adapting specifically for Australian operating conditions.

Proven internationally, the P95 integrates sleeper replacement and rail renewal into a continuous mechanised process.
Mr Prior said Rio Tinto’s willingness to support the introduction of the methodology represented an important step in bringing globally proven mechanised renewal practices into Australian heavy-haul rail.

“Introducing a system of this scale into Australia requires much more than bringing a machine into the country. There is significant engineering involved in adapting proven international technology to Australian standards, operating conditions and network requirements,” Mr Prior said.

“Rio Tinto has been prepared to work with us as an early adopter of this methodology, and we are grateful for that support. It gives both organisations an opportunity to apply proven global rail technology in a way that responds directly to the operating realities of the Pilbara.”

The P95 forms part of PRM’s broader strategy to introduce internationally proven mechanised rail systems into Australia as a Salcef Group company. PRM combines Australian heavy-haul delivery experience with Salcef’s international engineering, manufacturing and mechanised rail capability.