Rail company Aurizon has secured a non-coal revenue contract with logistics group Team Global Express worth $1.8 billion over 11 years. 

The agreement is Aurizon’s “biggest non-coal revenue contract ever”, according to chief executive Andrew Harding.

The seven-train service agreement will shift containerised goods on rail networks across Australia, diversifying Aurizon's business. 

The deal comes as the company aims to double the earnings of its bulk business over the decade and deliver sustainable growth in non-coal areas. 

About two-thirds of the services Aurizon provides to TGE will travel across Australia between Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, with the remainder up and down the east coast between Melbourne and Brisbane. 

TGE CEO Christine Holgate said the deal with Aurizon would make deliveries of goods more reliable and help cut carbon emissions. Rail services emit less carbon than diesel-fuelled trucks. 

“The weather events of recent years have demonstrated how important both choice and capacity on major routes are, to ensure important freight, including food, can still be delivered at times of great need,” Ms Holgate said.

“This is our biggest non-coal revenue contract ever,” said Aurizon CEO Andrew Harding. 

Mr Harding said the acquisition has been ‘a key enabler’ in allowing Aurizon to deliver national services for customers like TGE. 

The deal comes as the company faces pressure to justify the $2.35 billion acquisition of One Rail in mid-2022 and expand into bulk haulage. 

“We are well-positioned to expand our presence in a growing market and demonstrate the many strong competitive advantages of rail, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions and congestion-busting in our towns and metropolitan areas,” Mr Harding said.