More calls for bulk freight to be taken off roads

By Rob McKay

The latest accident claimed the life of a utility driver involved in a collision near Wyong with a truck carrying mining equipment.
A coalition of rail unions, transport and motoring groups led by the Rail, Tram And Bus Union has also reportedly urged the Federal and State Governments to ban the long-distance transport of dangerous goods on the road. The coalition is advocating for each state and territory to introduce a uniform change in their Dangerous Goods Act that would require hazardous materials such as petrol and other chemicals to be transported to and from the nearest available rail hub, it was reported.
AIMPE federal secretary Henning Christiansen widened the argument, saying that there were strong safety, environmental and public-spending grounds for all bulk commodities to be similarly taken off the roads.
“Of the $4.7 billion of public money being spent each year on public roads, the billions spent on reinforced concrete arterial highways would not be necessary if government required bulk-freight as well as dangerous freight to be carried where possible by existing rail infrastructure,” Christiansen said.
“The ordinary family car and even light trucks do not require such expensive roads due to their much lighter axle-loads, so effectively the public is paying for roads far stronger and more expensive than ordinary taxpayers need.
“This is a huge subsidy of the heavy-truck industry at the public’s expense.
“That this money is spent to produce an alternative freight infrastructure which has gradually eroded the financial viability of the public rail system, already funded over the last 100 years, is just extraordinarily wasteful.
“All Australian domestic freight modes should be able to compete on an equal footing: road, rail and domestic shipping but the distortion produced by the subsidy of the heavy-truck industry has over decades shifted freight from the safer modes of Australian rail and Australian domestic shipping onto public roads with horrific road accidents the result.
“All bulk freight and dangerous cargoes should be required to be carried on domestic rail or domestic shipping, with heavy-truck haulage restricted to delivery from the railhead or the wharf.
“Competition on the long trips (e.g. Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane) between domestic rail and domestic shipping would ensure that such legislative requirement was not exploited by either workforce.”
The events of the past two weeks have increased the focus on the issue and forced defensive responses from the trucking industry.
Toll chief executive Paul Little and NSW premier Christine Keneally, have both pointed to the logistical difficulties of forcing a modal shift to rail freight.

Source: Lloyd’s List Daily Commercial News – www.lloydslistdcn.com.au