Information provided by Startrack Express

26th February 2013 

StarTrack wishes to provide the following update on the floods in northern New South Wales. A number of major towns between Taree and Ballina have been affected, delaying freight services.

Parts of Queensland between Gympie and Bundaberg, and west of Brisbane, are also experiencing flooding, delaying freight for a number of towns up to Gladstone due to road closures.

Authorities have informed us that weather conditions are not expected to improve for several days.

Northern NSW

Grafton: Freight sent from Sydney over the weekend will arrive in Grafton this morning. Some areas north of Grafton, including Yamba and Maclean, are still isolated by flooding on the Pacific Highway. There will be some delays while we process the backlogged freight.

Lismore: Inbound freight into Lismore (both road and air) is scheduled to arrive in Lismore this morning. All areas will be serviced with the exception of some outlying areas still affected by localised flooding.

Port Macquarie: We will attempt to deliver Kempsey CBD freight today; however some areas are still affected by flooding. Freight coming from Brisbane has not arrived due to flooding on the Pacific Highway, north of Grafton. This freight was sent to Sydney last night and will arrive in Port Macquarie for delivery tomorrow.

Coffs Harbour: Road line-haul from Sydney is scheduled to arrive in Coffs Harbour this morning. Freight from Brisbane arrived last night.

Air line-haul from Sydney is also scheduled to arrive this morning. This truck is also carrying freight from yesterday. Service delays can be expected while we process the backlog of freight.

Roads into South West Rocks have re-opened today. This freight will be delivered tomorrow.

Taree: Freight from Brisbane was sent to Sydney last night and is expected to arrive in Taree tomorrow.

Queensland

Gympie, Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay and surrounding areas cannot be serviced today as the Bruce Highway is closed.

Road freight into Maryborough, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Gin Gin, Childers, Woodgate, Agnes Water, Benaraby, Gladstone, Tannum Sands, Boyne Island, and Calliope and surrounds, will proceed as normal today, however air freight will arrive late due to road closures. Any freight that cannot be delivered today will be delivered tomorrow and priority will be given to any urgent medical deliveries.

We are experiencing delays in areas surrounding Gatton due to road closures in Grantham, Laidley, Helidon, Esk and Tenthill.

For weather warnings, please visit www.bom.gov.au

For information on road and traffic changes, please visit http://livetraffic.rta.nsw.gov.au for NSW, and http://131940.qld.gov.au/ for Queensland.

For freight currently in our network, customers are encouraged to use our online track and trace system or call 13 2345 for up-to-date consignment information. 

25th February 2013

Due to flooding in north-east NSW over the weekend, a number of major towns between Taree and Ballina are currently unserviceable. Please find a service update on the affected towns below.

Freight for most of these towns will be held in Brisbane or Sydney until weather conditions improve and flood waters recede. This is expected to take several days.

Grafton: Due to flooding on the Pacific Highway, freight from Brisbane and Sydney is currently not able to reach Grafton.

Lismore: Freight into Lismore will arrive as scheduled. Some outlying areas are unserviceable due to localised flooding.

Port Macquarie: Most businesses in the Kempsey CBD and surrounding areas are closed due to flooding over the weekend. Limited deliveries will be conducted in Kempsey. No freight has arrived from Brisbane due to flooding on the Pacific Highway, north of Grafton. It will be business as usual for all other areas serviced from Port Macquarie.

Coffs Harbour: Road line-haul from Sydney ran as normal on Saturday morning. Freight from Sydney that arrived by air has been stopped during delivery at Port Macquarie due to flooding on the Pacific Highway at Clybucca. No freight has been received from Brisbane due to flooding on the Pacific Highway, north of Grafton. South West Rocks has been isolated by flooding and will not be serviced.

Taree: No freight has arrived from Brisbane due to flooding on the Pacific Highway, north of Grafton.

1st February 2013 (PM)

Customers are advised that the situation in Queensland is mostly unchanged since this morning.

We continue to experience delays in the following areas:

• Rockhampton: The Bruce Highway south of Rockhampton has closed and the Fitzroy River is expected to peak later today. The water is not expected to recede for several days. While this has not prevented truck access so far, this may change over the weekend.

• Bundaberg: As previously advised, freight that was intended for the parts of Bundaberg that have been permanently damaged will be returned to sender next week.

• West of Toowoomba:Goondiwindi and parts of Chinchilla are still unserviceable. There will be delays as we work to process the backlogged freight in this region.

1st February 2013

Despatch into all areas of Queensland, including Rockhampton, can resume today. 

Normal services have resumed in the following areas, however delays can be expected as we process the large volume of backlogged freight:

• Mackay, Townsville and Cairns
• Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast with the exception of some hinterland locations
• Toowoomba
• Northern New South Wales, including Grafton and Lismore with the exception of some low lying farming areas.

The following areas of Queensland are still unserviceable in part or full, due to flooding and road closures: 

• North Queensland: Rockhampton is expected to flood again today, keeping the Bruce Highway cut off to the north. We continue to use alternative routes to access Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.

• Bundaberg: This region remains in a state of emergency. We expect delivery services to be affected for some time.

• West of Toowoomba: Regions west of Toowoomba are still unserviceable due to localised flooding and road closures. At this stage there is no access past Dalby. The service difficulties in this region apply to both road and air freight.

• Brisbane: As the flood waters recede, previously closed suburbs are reopening and we are almost back to business as usual, however the outlying areas of Ipswich and Logan remain unserviceable.

All major highways into Brisbane are now open.

An update on the situation in the affected areas will be provided this afternoon.

StarTrack is working to re-establish normal services in Queensland as soon as possible.

30th January 2013 (PM)

As advised earlier today, despatch into Queensland can resume tomorrow.

However, as an evacuation alert remains for Rockhampton, with the likelihood of further highway closures and a significant volume of backlogged freight remaining for North Queensland, we advise customers to avoid despatching into these areas until further notice.

We are pleased to report that normal services have resumed into northern New South Wales.

Queensland

North Queensland: Rockhampton is still expected to flood this evening, keeping the Bruce Highway cut off to the north. We have established alternate routes to enable access through to Mackay, Townsville and Cairns. This freight will be moved into these regions tonight for unload and delivery on Friday. Freight from Brisbane to Gladstone will be moved tonight. Operations in Gladstone returned to normal today. 

Bundaberg: This region remains in a state of emergency. Delivery services are expected to be affected for some time.

West of Toowoomba: Toowoomba and regions west of Toowoomba are still affected by localised flooding and road closures remain in place. An update on this situation will be provided in tomorrow morning's update.

Brisbane: The flood waters in Brisbane are starting to recede. We expect business to return to normal by tomorrow morning.

Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast: Pick-up and delivery services have returned to normal today with the exception of some locations in the hinterland.

New South Wales

Grafton and Lismore: Grafton and Lismore have returned to business as usual today with the exception of some low lying farming areas. There are some delays expected as we process the backlogged freight.

The Road Transport Authority has advised that the Pacific Highway remains closed until further notice and the Newell Highway has not reopened today, as previously advised. The New England Highway remains open, granting access to Brisbane from the south, allowing line-haul to resume but with delayed transit times.

30th January 2013

Flood conditions throughout Queensland and northern New South Wales have improved slightly overnight. However, we request that customers continue to hold off despatching any Queensland bound freight until tomorrow.
 
Please see the update below for information on services in the flood affected areas:
 
Queensland
 
North Queensland: At this stage, the Bureau of Meteorology has advised that Rockhampton is expected to flood later today, keeping the Bruce Highway cut off to the north. We are looking into alternative routes to enable access to Mackay, Townsville and Cairns. Pick-up and delivery services in Gladstone have resumed today, however it will take several days to clear the backlog of freight.
 
Bundaberg: This region remains in a state of emergency. Delivery services are expected to be affected for some time.
 
West of Toowoomba: Due to localised flooding and continued road closures areas west of Toowoomba, including Oakey, Dalby, Chinchilla, Charleville and St George remain unserviceable.
 
Brisbane: Due to localised flooding and road closures, some parts of Brisbane remain inaccessible including Ipswich, Gatton, Moggill, Mt Crosby, Mt Tamborine and Logan.
 
Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast: Pick-up and delivery services have returned to normal today with the exception of some locations in the hinterland.
 
New South Wales
 
Grafton and Lismore: Flood waters have begun to recede. Deliveries will be made with the exception of Yamba, McLean and Iluka, which are affected by localised flooding and are inaccessible. Services in Lismore have returned to normal today, however it will take several days to clear the backlog of freight.
 
The Road Transport Authority has advised that the Pacific Highway remains closed until further notice but the Newell Highway will reopen today, allowing line-haul to resume but with delayed transit times. The New England Highway has also reopened, granting access to Brisbane from the south.
 
StarTrack is working to re-establish normal services as soon as possible. We will provide another update later today.

For freight currently in our network, customers are encouraged to visit our online track and trace system for up-to-date consignment information. 

Our thoughts are with those individuals, families and communities affected by the floods. StarTrack is supporting them by donating to the Australian Red Cross Queensland Floods Appeal 2013. If you wish to donate, click here.

For further information on weather warnings for flood affected regions, please visit www.bom.gov.au

For further information on road and traffic changes, please visit www.livetraffic.rta.nsw.gov.au  or www.rms.nsw.gov.au

29th January 2013

StarTrack wishes to advise customers of the following service updates for the flood affected areas of Queensland and northern New South Wales, as a result of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

All major highways from the south into Brisbane and north out of Brisbane are closed in several sections.

Queensland

Rockhampton, Gladstone to Mackay region: Due to severe flooding and road closures throughout these regions, we are unable to deliver freight to areas north of Gladstone, including the towns of Rockhampton, Gladstone, Mackay, Ayr, Bowen and Proserpine.

Bundaberg: Evacuations are in place in Bundaberg and surrounding towns. Freight held in Bundaberg has been moved to higher ground and will be delivered once the flood waters recede.

Maryborough and Harvey Bay: Due to localised flooding and road closures, some areas within these regions are unserviceable.
Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Ipswich: Due to localised flooding and road closures, some areas within these regions are unserviceable. We anticipate metropolitan Brisbane will operate business as usual today however we will continue to review the situation and will advise you of any changes.   

Northern New South Wales:

Grafton: Road and Air freight into Grafton have reached the depots and will be held until roads reopen. Flood waters are expected to peak this morning so we will review the situation and will advise you of any changes.   

25th January 2013

StarTrack wishes to advise customers of the following service updates for the flood affected areas of northern Queensland.

Gladstone to Mackay region: Due to road closures caused by the current severe weather and flooding throughout these regions, we are unable to deliver freight to areas north of Gladstone, including the towns of Gladstone, Mackay, Ayr, Bowen and Proserpine. Deliveries will be limited in Rockhampton today due to the weather and localised flooding. All depots in these towns are aiming to recover today's deliveries on Tuesday, 29 January.

Air freight into these regions has also been delayed due to high winds at Gladstone Airport and flooding at Mackay Airport.

All StarTrack branches in South East Queensland are operating at normal capacity today, however the weather is travelling south with rain expected to hit over the weekend. Updates will be provided on the StarTrack website as they arise. Visit www.startrack.com.au. 

We will endeavour to re-establish normal services in these regions as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience and support.

Customers are advised to visit our online track and trace system for up-to-date consignment information.