Adam Scully is optimistic about his role in the coal chain. He’s been in the rail industry for the most part of the last 20 years, hauling coal from mines across NSW to the Port of Newcastle.
Pacific National was the perfect fit for Adam. He followed in his family’s footsteps, his grandfather was a train driver in the days of steam, and his uncle also worked for Pacific National.
“I started out as a trainee train driver 15 years ago. It was such a cool perspective to see the industry from – you got to see all the mines through Mudgee, the Gunnedah Basin and the Hunter Valley so I have a pretty good understanding of the region.
“The thing that surprised me was how much history there was out there. When I first started, I was working alongside people who had 40 to 50 years of experience, had done it all their life, and they would point out where mines were and how they branched out.
“I just had no idea how long mining had been around and how much history was there.
“One of the main reasons I joined the rail industry was that in my early 20s everyone said you would have a job for life by joining the rail or mining industry – if you work hard and you do the right thing by the companies you work for, it doesn’t matter if you change companies you’ll always find a job,” Adam said.
Adam worked his way up the chain at Pacific National, moving into an Operations Supervisor role, then Superintendent and is now a Supply Chain Principal & Customer Service Manager.
He said he’s seen the ups and downs of the coal mining industry through his time in rail, the impact of changes of government and public perception.
“I feel like the reputation of the coal industry has been tarnished over the last few decades. I am very pro-coal. It provides so much for our economy, our communities, it employs hundreds of thousands of people across the country, it’s vital.
“We have a thousand years’ worth of coal if not more that we can use right here in our backyard. I’m all for adding things into the mix like renewables, but I do worry that we will get to a point in 15 to 20 years time where we haven’t approved anything, we’ve bottlenecked the industry and then we’re going to have to spend four or five times as much to bring the energy network up to where it needs to be.”
Adam is proud of the industry and from his perspective, neither he nor coal are going anywhere soon.
“Pacific National is a pretty critical part of the coal chain in Australia. Simply put, coal doesn’t really move at scale without rail and Pacific National is one of the key operators making that happen. We sit right in the middle of the supply chain, connecting mines to ports and customers reliably, day in and day out. Without that link, the whole system slows down or becomes far more expensive and less efficient.
“We’re not the headline act like the miner or the exporter, but we’re a supporting pillar that keeps everything flowing smoothly behind the scenes. My key take away is freight rail is fundamental to the value of Australia’s coal exports, moving coal from regions to ports and international markets,” Adam said.
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