Rail transport in Australia

A Transperth suburban train and the Indian Pacific in Perth, Western Australia; both trains are on dual gauge track

Rail transport in Australia is a crucial aspect of the Australian transport network, and an enabler of the wider Australian economy. Rail in Australia is to a large extent state-based. The Australian rail network consists of a total of 33,819 km of track of three major gauges, of which 2,540 km is electrified.

The majority of the Australian railway network infrastructure is government-owned, either at the federal or state level, except for a small number of private railways. The majority of railway operators were once state government agencies, but with privatisation in the 1990s, private companies now operate the majority of trains in Australia.

The Australian Federal Government has involvement in the formation of national policies, and provides funding for national projects. Rail transport in Australia has often been neglected in favour of the Australian road transport network.

Contents

National issues

Uniform gauge

The Spirit of Progress press launch with locomotive S302, the "Edward Henty", at Spencer Street Station prior to the demonstration run to Geelong, Victoria, in 1937

Very little thought was given in the early years of the development of the colony-based rail networks of national interests. The most obvious issue to arise was determining a gauge for each network. Despite advice from London to adopt a uniform gauge, should the lines of the various colonies ever meet, gauges were adopted in different colonies, and indeed within colonies, without reference to those of other colonies. This has caused problems ever since at the national level.

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.

Electrification

CityRail Millennium train in Sydney, New South Wales

With the electrification of suburban networks, which began in 1919, a consistent electric rail traction standard was not adopted. Electrification began in Melbourne in 1919 using 1500 V DC. Sydney's lines were electrified from 1926 using 1500V DC, Brisbane's from 1979 using 25 kV AC, and Perth's from 1992 using 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. In 2008, plans were revealed to electify Adelaide at 25kV AC. 25kV AC voltage has now become the international standard.[1]

History

The first railways in Australia were built by private companies, based in the then colonies of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The first line opened was in South Australia in 1854, a horse-drawn line from Goolwa to Port Elliot. The first steam-powered line opened in Victoria in 1854. The 4 km long Flinders Street to Sandridge (now Port Melbourne) line was opened by the Hobsons Bay Railway Company at the height of the Victorian gold rush.

In these early years there was very little thought of national interests in developing the colony-based networks. The most obvious issue to arise was determining a uniform gauge for the continent. Despite advice from London to adopt a uniform gauge, should the lines of the various colonies ever meet, gauges were adopted in different colonies, and indeed within colonies, without reference to those of other colonies. This example has caused problems ever since at the national level.

In the 1890s, the establishment of an Australian 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 (1500 V DC), Brisbane's from 1979 (25 kV AC), and Perth's from 1992 (25 kV AC). Mainline electrification was first carried out in Victoria in 1954, closely followed by New South Wales which continued to expand their network. These networks have fallen into decline, in contrast to Queensland where 25 kV AC equipment was introduced from the 1980s for coal traffic.

Diesel locomotives were introduced to Australian railways from the early 1950s. Most units were of local design and construction, using imported British or American technology and power equipment. The three major firms were Clyde Engineering partnered with GM-EMD, Goninan with General Electric, and A. E. Goodwin (later Comeng) with the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). The major British company was English Electric, with Swiss firm Sulzer also supplying some equipment.[2] This continues today, with Downer EDI Rail and United Group Rail the modern incarnations of Clyde and Goninan respectively.

Milestones

Government funding

V/Line VLocity train in Victoria

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 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.

Australian Rail Track Corporation

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is a federal government owned corporation established in 1997 that owns, leases, maintains and controls the majority of main line standard gauge railway lines on the mainland of Australia, known as the Designated Interstate Rail Network (DIRN).

In 2003 the Australian and New South Wales Governments agreed that ARTC would lease the NSW interstate and Hunter Valley networks for 60 years. As part of this agreement, ARTC agreed to an A$872 million investment programme on the interstate rail network.[3] 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.

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.

Rail funding has been announced for signalling upgrades to numerous railway lines, gauge conversion of existing broad gauge lines in Victoria to standard gauge, new rail links to intermodal freight precincts, and extensions to existing crossing loops to permit longer trains to operate.

Funding is focused on the National Network, including the following rail corridors, connecting at one or both ends to State Capital Cities:

Infrastructure Australia

After the recent federal election, the government body Infrastructure Australia was created to oversee all rail, road, airports and other infrastructure at a national level.

Rail infrastructure

Looking along the Trans-Australian Railway

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".[4] 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:

Operators

Rail freight

Pacific National intermodal service from Perth in Western Australia
Specialised Container Transport train in Victoria

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.

National passenger

Map of passenger railway services in Australia
State Government owned rail services:      QR Citytrain and Traveltrain services      CountryLink and CityRail services      V/Line services      Transwa services Great Southern Railway lines:      Indian Pacific      The Overland      The Ghan
Great Southern Railway operated The Overland

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 QR services.

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

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.

Urban and intrastate passenger

Private railways

Sugar tram near Ingham mill
BHP iron ore train arriving into Port Hedland, Western Australia.

Cane

Tramways with 610 mm (2 ft)  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.

Timber

Tramways were often associated with the transport of timber to sawmills. Various gauges were used, including the 610 mm (2 ft)  gauge which was also commonly used for cane haulage.

Wider gauges were sometimes used as well; Queensland had a number of 991 mm (3.25 ft) systems, some on wooden rails. In some areas 1067mm (3.5 ft) was used, a considerable investment of resources. In the early 21st century, the disused QR line to Esk (1067 mm) in the Brisbane Valley was used for timber haulage.

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 2008, a fifth open access line built by Fortescue Metals Group opened. A sixth dual gauge open access iron ore network is proposed to the port of Oakajee.

References

  1. ↑ IEC 60850:2000 - "Railway Applications. Supply voltages of traction systems"
  2. ↑ "Diesel Traction (Chapter 7, page 473)". Technology in Australia 1788-1988. www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au. http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/473.html. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
  3. ↑ "Media release, December 2003". John Anderson, Minister for Transport and Regional Services, www.ministers.dotars.gov.au. http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/ja/releases/2003/december/artc_summary.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-27. 
  4. ↑ "Media release, December 2003". John Anderson, Minister for Transport and Regional Services, www.ministers.dotars.gov.au. http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/ja/releases/2003/december/artc_summary.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-27. 
Australia Rail transport in Australia
By state
New South Wales • Victoria • Queensland • South Australia • Western Australia • Tasmania
 Passenger-Rail-Australia-Map.png
By capital
Sydney • Melbourne • Brisbane and South East Queensland • Adelaide • Perth
Stations
Sydney • Melbourne and Victoria • Brisbane and South East Queensland • Adelaide • Perth
Misc
History • Narrow gauge • Rail gauge • High-speed rail • Signalling • Railway companies • Former companies • Former government authorities