By Jennifer Perry
Instead, he suggested that Australia should employ long-term thinking in its rail sector.
Australias national transport policies, regulations and planning need to evolve and reflect how the industry works – that is across all modes and users shared passenger and freight networks.
Dimopoulos said that transport ministers have embraced this concept by leading a National Transport Policy Framework and in this context, the NTC has released a draft position paper on rail productivity. Its key findings included track owners being responsive to user needs benchmarking of productivity data against worlds best practice and greater transparency in Community Service Obligations (CSOs).
If Government wants to use rail because trucks might run past school playgrounds then lets be honest about it, said Dimopoulos in relation to CSOs.
The results of implementing the NTCs findings would be, A sustainable, growing rail system that adapts to industry needs, with better track speeds, quicker transit times, higher axle weights and improved service and reliability, said Dimpoulos.
He went on to emphasise the need to work together as a nation on whats important and said that Government planning tended to stop at State and Territory borders rather than extend across supply chains.
Acknowledging that AusLinks corridor planning and the Australian Rail Track Corporations (ARTC) interstate rail network have both delivered good national outcomes, Dimopoulos said that Governments should take national planning a step further:
Learn from industry the benefits of working together for common goals.
He used the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Logistics Team and the Port Botany Rail Logistics Team as a good example of industry-led coordination.
All parties in the supply chain have put their competitive differences aside and worked cooperatively to increase capacity so they all benefit.
This approach has also been identified in the ports industry, where a Parliamentary enquiry showed the lack of cohesive national development planning for ports and landside infrastructure links.
Dimopoulos said the Ministerial Council on International Trade had also identified the need to work cooperatively on national infrastructure priorities and develop more streamlined regulations.
The NTC is developing a proposal for a national rail safety regulator which Dimopoulos said would serve to cut red tape and improve understanding of how to comply.
Operators can focus their time and energies on the real job at hand – growing their business and ensuring rail plays a central role in addressing national challenges such as urban sustainability, climate change and safety, he said.
Key findings of the NTC draft position paper on rail productivity:
    Ensuring averaged truck charges do not disadvantage regional rail
    Greater transparency in regard to CSOs
    Track owners being responsive to user-needs, possible through vertical integration
    Fair access to strategically located rail terminals and
    Rail productivity data benchmarked against worlds best practice to make more informed decisions.
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