FreightLink's start of commercial operations coincided with the inauguration of the AustralAsia Railway with the first freight train leaving Adelaide on 15 January 2004 and arriving in Darwin on 17 January 2004. (For additional information, visit the AARC website)

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As the last link in Australia's rail network, the project involves:

The project is being managed as a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer Back (BOOT) scheme, with lease arrrangements covering 50 years' operation before the railway is handed back to the Northern Territory and South Australian Governments. The AustralAsia Railway Corporation, a joint entity of the NT and SA Governments, is oversighting the project.

The Asia Pacific Transport company, a consortium of partners with vast experience in transport and related industries, won the commercial tender to design, construct and operate the railway under the BOOT scheme. ADrail was the company's design and construction contractor and FreightLink, is it's operating arm.

Connected to the Port of Darwin, the AustralAsia Railway creates a new transport system linking the southeast of Australia with the fast-growing economies of Asia and cementing Darwin's position as Australia's Asian Gateway.