NTC priority rail reforms for 2012/13-2014/15

NTC chief executive Nick Dimopoulos told Rail Express that the NTC’s forward work program reflects its commitment to supporting the implementation of priority reforms such as the National Rail Safety Regulator and a review of the heavy vehicle charging system, in partnership with NTC stakeholders.

“Important issues identified by industry during consultation on the national laws also feature strongly in the forward work program,” Dimopoulos said.

Rail-related projects included on the forward work program include:

• Working closely with the National Rail Safety Regulator to support the transition to the new regulator in 2013, including supporting the development of national guidelines, leading targeted priority maintenance work and undertaking a post-implementation review within the first 18 months of operation
• Investigating reforms to improve rail productivity such as improving rail freight investment decisions by governments, providing advice on national regulatory models for securing third party access to significant intermodal terminals and assessing the case for establishing nationally consistent economic regulation for the rail freight sector
• Work on reforms to promote improved cooperation and coordination along the supply chain, including the implementation of the National Ports Strategy
• Exploring emerging issues such as barriers to seamless intermodal transfers, a voluntary national program for reducing carbon emissions and continuing to engage with stakeholders on the impacts of options to better use and fund infrastructure.This will form the basis for a discussion to inform future work program development
• Updating the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail (7th edition) to incorporate the model legislation developed by the United Nations (16th and 17th editions) and other amendments identified in the maintenance monitoring program.

Dimopoulos said that the strategic plan and work program continues to implement the recommendations of the 2009 NTC review, such as a larger role in implementing, monitoring and evaluating reforms. This includes monitoring and evaluating the productivity, safety and sustainability of the transport sector, including rail, as an indicator of the success of reforms.

The NTC is required to develop a three year rolling strategic plan and work plan for submission to the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure (SCOTI) each year. The documents were prepared under the guidance of NTC Commissioners, with valuable input from governments, stakeholders and NTC staff.

The NTC’s 2012/2013 to 2014/15 Strategic Plan and Work Program have been approved by the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure (SCOTI) and can be downloaded from: www.ntc.gov.au