Inland north-south rail link `needed in next decade'

Inland north-south rail link `needed in next decade’

An inland railway linking Melbourne and Brisbane will need to be in operation by 2019 to meet Australia’s forecast transport task, a federal study has found. In the interim, the existing coastal line north of Sydney will require substantial upgrading earlier than originally planned. These are the major findings of the North-South Rail Corridor Study released today (Thursday, September 7) by transport and regional services minister Warren Truss. The Federal Government will now seek comment on the proposals from industry, the states and local communities. "The study team has confirmed that our existing $2.4bn Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and AusLink capital investment program has successfully targeted the highest priority projects to deliver maximum benefits for the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor,&#8221 Mr Truss said. "This investment is already leading to improved rail reliability and transit times, which are critical to developing a more competitive rail freight industry meeting future demand growth on the vital east coast transport corridor. "The study’s results indicate that rail’s market share on the Melbourne-Brisbane route is estimated to double, once the current ARTC upgrade is completed in 2009. &#8220Rail’s share of the shorter Melbourne-Sydney and Sydney-Brisbane routes is also expected to grow." Mr Truss said the study identified four possible route options to address this demand once the present line reached capacity in 2019: &#8226 The far western sub-corridor &#8211 via Junee, Parkes, Narromine, Coonamble, Burren Junction, Moree, North Star, Goondiwindi and Toowoomba &#8226 The central inland sub-corridor &#8211 via Junee, Parkes, Dubbo, Werris Creek, Armidale, Tenterfield and Warwick &#8226 The coastal sub-corridor &#8211 the existing coastal route and &#8226 The hybrid sub-corridor &#8211 combines elements of inland options to Muswellbrook, Maitland then follows the coastal route. All of these routes could be linked to Melbourne either via Albury or Shepparton. Mr Truss said that the far western corridor would cost at least $3.1bn to build and achieve a transit time of under 21 hours. About $2bn of this funding would be required to construct the line between Toowoomba and Brisbane. The central inland route would cost about $8bn and deliver a transit time of about 24 hours, with the coastal route estimated to have a capital cost of $10bn to achieve a transit time of just under 22 hours. Routes via Albury would cost about $500m less and be three-quarters of an hour faster than routes via Shepparton. The financial analysis undertaken with the study highlighted that any investment on the corridor is likely to require Government subsidy because major development of rail track along the corridor will not achieve commercial rates of return for the private sector. The study also highlighted the fact that the greatest hindrance to rail achieving good reliability on the inter-capital city routes is congestion in the Sydney metropolitan network. The on-time performance of the rail line north of Newcastle is 80%, but that falls to only 30% between Newcastle and Sydney. Similarly, reliability on the Melbourne-Sydney line falls from 60% to 40% through southwestern Sydney. The North-South Rail Corridor Study Executive Report, Detailed Study Report and background briefing outlining key points are available on the DOTARS website at: www.auslink.gov.au&#47publications&#47reports&#47index.aspx .

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