Rail transport in Australia

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Rail transport in Australia is large, comprising a total of 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) of track.

Contents

[edit] History

Main article: History of rail transport in Australia

The first attempts to build railways in Australia were by private companies, based in the extant colonies of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The first line opened in South Australia in 1854 as a horse-drawn line, while the first steam-powered line opened in Victoria in 1854. The private companies soon got into financial trouble, and were taken over by the respective Governments, as railway development was in the public interest. Despite advice from London to adopt a uniform gauge, should the lines of the various states ever meet, different gauges (see track type) were adopted in different states and indeed within states, which has caused problems ever since. === Timeline === this is not quite correct - but i shall check the exact date at home - tim

[edit] 19th century to early 20th century

In the 1890s, the establishment of an Austalalian Federation from the six colonies was debated. One of the points of discussion was the extent that railways would be a federal responsibility. A vote to make it so was lost narrowly, instead the new constitution allows "the acquisition, with the consent of a State, of any railways of the State on terms arranged between the Commonwealth and the State" (Section 51 xxxiii) and "railway construction and extension in any State with the consent of that State" (Section 51 xxxiv). However, the Australian Government is free to provide funding to the states for rail upgrading projects under Section 96 ("the Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit").

Suburban electrification began in Melbourne in 1919 (1500 V DC). Sydney's lines were electrified from 1926 (1500V DC), Brisbane's from 1979 (25 kV AC), and Perth's from 1992 (25 kV AC). There has also been extensive non-urban electrification in Queensland using 25 kV AC, mainly during the 1980s for the coal routes.

[edit] Later 20th century developments

Attempts to fix the gauge problem are ongoing and by no means completely unified even as of 2005. For example, the Wolseley to Mt. Gambier line is isolated by gauge and of no operational value. The various governments and private interests squabble about who should pay to fix it.

[edit] Australian Government Rail Funding

While, Australian Governments have provided substantial funding for the upgrading of roads, since the 1920s, they have not regularly funded investment in railways except for its own railway, the Commonwealth Railways, later the Australian National Railways Commission, which was privatised in 1997. They have considered the funding of railways owned by State Government to be a State responsibility.

Nevertheless, Australian Governments have made loans to the States for gauge standardisation projects from the 1920s to the 1970s. From the 1970s to 1996, the Australian Government has provided some grant funding to the States for rail projects, particularly the Keating Government's One Nation program, announced in 1992, which was notable for the standardisation of the Adelaide to Melbourne line in 1995. Significant Australian Government funding was also made available for the Alice Springs to Darwin Railway, opened in 2004. Substantial funding is now being made available for freight railways through the Australian Rail Track Corporation and the AusLink land transport funding program.

[edit] Funding provided through the Australian Rail Track Corporation

The Australian and NSW Governments agreed in 2003 that the Australian Rail Track Corporation would lease the NSW interstate and Hunter Valley networks for 60 years. As part of this agreement the ARTC agreed to the investment of [1]:

  • The Australian Rail Track Corporation is investing $270 million to improve the 452 km of track and signalling that make up the Hunter Valley rail network. This investment is part of ARTC's lease arrangements for the New South Wales mainline interstate and Hunter Valley rail networks. The investment will increase the capacity of the network from 85 million tonnes of coal per year to 100 million tonnes per year.
  • $192 million through the Australian Rail Track Corporation for a new access route for freight trains through the south-western Sydney metropolitan area from Macarthur to Chullora, the Southern Sydney Freight Line project. In the early 1990s the Australian Government funded a separate freight line from Macarthur and Glenfield. This project will complete the separation of freight and urban passenger traffic between the Southern line (connecting to Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide) at Macarthur to Port Botany, various freight terminals and the Northern Line at North Strathfield to connect with Newcastle and Brisbane. At present passenger trains have priority during the peak commuter periods. The resulting long delays are the biggest impediment to rail freight activity between Melbourne and Brisbane.
  • $175 million to upgrade the Main South Line from Macarthur to Albury. The investment will improve signalling, extend the length of crossing loops and replace the Murrumbidgee Bridge at Wagga Wagga. It will reduce the travel time for freight trains between Sydney and Melbourne by 3 hours.
  • $123 million for the North Coast Line from Maitland to the Queensland border. Importantly, the investment will replace the signalling system between Casino and Greenbank with modern equipment. The current system was installed in the 1920s. The investment will reduce the travel time for freight trains between Brisbane and Sydney by 3.5 hours.
  • $54.1 million to upgrade the line between Cootamundra and Werris Creek, including the replacement of timber bridges and the consolidation of the way trains are controlled.
  • $21.8 million to upgrade the line between Parkes and Broken Hill, including funds to raise the height clearance of the line. As a result, it will be possible for train operators to make unrestricted use of double stacked container trains.

The funding sources for the investment included an Australian Government equity injection into ARTC of $143 million and a funding contribution of almost $62 million by the New South Wales Government.

[edit] AusLink

Under the AusLink program, introduced in July 2004, the Australian Government has introduced the opportunity for rail to gain access to funds on a similar basis to that of roads. AusLink established a defined National Network (superseding the former National Highway system) of important road and rail infrastructure links and their intermodal connections.

[edit] National Network

Australian Government land transport funding is focused on the National Network, including the following rail corridors, connecting at one or both ends to State Capital Cities:

[edit] AusLink projects

Rail funding has been announced for the following projects:

  • $550 million from AusLink and $123 million from Australian Rail Track Corporation funds (mentioned above) for an upgrade the 684 km of AusLink Network track and signalling along the North-South rail corridor from Maitland to Brisbane to reduce transit times substantially and to permit more trains to operate safely on the largely single track line.
  • $110 million on the Rail Corporation New South Wales metropolitan track system towards improving rail access for freight trains between Strathfield and Hornsby. Some of these funds will be available during the later part of the current five-year AusLink investment programme, for the development of the Port Botany rail link.
  • $110 million to the Government of Victoria for a new rail link and grade separation from Footscray Road between the Dynon intermodal freight precinct and the Port of Melbourne.
  • $45 million to Victorian Government to convert the broad gauge line between Geelong and Mildura and between Melbourne and Albury to standard gauge.
  • $42 million to the Australian Rail Track Corporation to extend the Code Division Multiple Access mobile phone system to cover the interstate rail network. This will achieve a single national media for voice and data communications for the non-metropolitan interstate rail system. This is being provided by Telstra and will later need to be converted to 3GSM when Telstra replaces its CDMA network with 3GSM.
  • $40 million to the Australian Rail Track Corporation towards the cost of the line upgrading and signalling system between Tottenham, Victoria and West Footscray.
  • $20.3 million to the Australian Rail Track Corporation to develop Australia's next generation of train control technology, includind the capacity for computerised on-board signalling to replace the current track-side system, satellite-based location technology to track trains to within 3 metres, and a computerised warning system that alerts drivers to impending dangers.
  • $20 million towards a Wodonga rail bypass to remove the Melbourne-Sydney line running from the centre of Wodonga.
  • $8 million for crossing loop extensions at Jamestown, South Australia and Mingary, South Australia between Crystal Brook and Broken Hill at Yarrabandia and Matakana between Broken Hill and Parkes.
  • Up to $5 million from for a major study of the North-South rail corridor between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The study will examine future freight demand, capacity and options for development of the North-South rail corridor. It will form part of the broader AusLink corridor study of transport links between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
  • $4 million for new passing loops at Mungala and Haig on the Trans-Australian Railway.
  • $3.5 million for the upgrade and strengthening of the Albury Murray River rail bridge.
  • $2.6 million for the installation of an In-Cab Activated Points System to avoid the need for train crew to manually change points.
  • $2.5 million for the upgrading and strengthening of the Murray River Bridge at Murray Bridge, South Australia.

[edit] Gauge change

[edit] Track route km

[edit] Rail infrastructure

Construction and maintenance of network infrastructure is consolidated into non-profit government bodies, in the case of the interstate network and the non-urban railways of New South Wales (the Australian Government-owned Australian Rail Track Corporation) and Western Australia (WestNet Rail). This is intended to provide access to new and existing players.

The interstate rail network excludes the line from Perth to Kalgoorlie and between Brisbane and the New South Wales border. Nevertheless, the ARTC has rights to sell access between Kalgoorlie and Kwinana to interstate rail operators under a wholesale access agreement with the Western Australian track owner and operator, WestNet Rail. It also "has a working relationship with Queensland Rail about the use of the 127 kilometres of standard gauge line between the Queensland border and Fisherman Island. ARTC intends to start discussions with Queensland about leasing this track once the NSW arrangements are bedded down". [2] The ARTC also maintains the NSW rural branch lines under contract.

Other railways continue to be integrated, although access to their infrastructure is generally required under National Competition Policy principles agreed by the Federal, State and Territory governments:

[edit] Rail freight operators

The major freight operators on the rail networks (excluding integrated mining railways) are:

Other rail freight operators include :

Licensing of personnel with nationally recognised credentials facilitates the transfer of those people from one state or operator to another, as traffic demands.

[edit] National rail passenger services

Passenger rail operates on a state-by-state basis. The main federal body representing passenger rail is Rail Australia, but serves mostly to promote GSR, CountryLink, and Queensland Rail services.

The Great Southern Railway, owned by Serco Asia Pacific, operates three passenger trains [1]:

New South Wales government-owned CountryLink passenger services link Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne via Sydney. Since the extension of the Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin was completed in 2004, all mainland Australian capital cities are linked by standard gauge rail, for the first time.

Pacific National is Australia's largest private rail freight business, operating in all states and the Northern Territory. It is a 50/50 joint venture owned by Toll Holdings and Patrick Corporation. Toll Corporation has taken over Patrick Corporation and is required to sell off half of Pacific National.

[edit] State and city rail services

All rail freight operators in New South Wales have been privately owned since 2002. The Rail Infrastructure Corporation is responsible for the development and maintenance of tracks, overhead wiring, etc.

[edit] Private railways

[edit] Cane

Tramways with 610 mm gauge for the transport of sugar cane have always been operated as private concerns associated with the relevant sugar cane mill. These tramways are quite advanced technically, with hand-me-down rails cascaded from the normal rails, remote-controlled brake vans, concrete sleepers in places, and tamping machines in miniature. The twenty or so separate tramways cooperate in research and development.

[edit] Timber

Tramways were often associated with Timbergetting and sawmilling opperations. Various gauges were used, including the 610mm gauge commonly used for cane haulling.

Wider gauges were sometimes used; Queensland had a number of 991mm systems, some on wooden rails. In some areas 1067mm was used, a considerable investment of resources. In the early 21st century the disused Queensland Rail Esk line (1067mm) in the Brisbane valley was used for timber haullage.

[edit] Iron ore

Four isolated heavy duty railways for the cartage of iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia have always been private concerns operated as part of the production line between mine and port. These lines have pushed the limit of the wheel to rail interface which has led to much useful research of value to railways worldwide.

In 2005, a fifth iron ore line has been proposed to the port of North Geraldton, and this will have open access to any iron ore mine wishing to use it.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Media release, December 2003. John Anderson, Minister for Transport and Regional Services, www.ministers.dotars.gov.au. Retrieved on 2006-04-27.
  2. ^ Media release, December 2003. John Anderson, Minister for Transport and Regional Services, www.ministers.dotars.gov.au. Retrieved on 2006-04-27.
  3. ^ "Toll sells rail lease", Canberra Times, 2 November 2006, pp. 17.
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