<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> Passenger journeys on Australian railways increased by 84 million over the past four years â to almost 800 million journeys per annum, according to the Australasian Railway Association (ARA). </span> <p> </p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">The ARA’s new report, the <i>Australian Rail Industry Report</i>, features contributions from 22 rail operators. The association’s chief executive officer, Bryan Nye, said he was encouraged by the statistics outlined in the report, with activity in passenger, light rail and freight all increasing on the previous year.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">“This report has shown that passenger journeys on rail increased by 15.4 million in one year taking the total annual figure up to 784.2 million journeys,” Nye said.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">The report also shows light rail journeys on the rise, growing by 7.3 million in 2011/12 to reach 166.5 million in total.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif""> “If you look back to 2008, there has been a staggering increase of 84 million passenger journeys on rail, proving that Australians are seeing rail as a viable transport option now more than they ever have before,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">Nye highlighted to the environmental benefits of this usage increase, pointing to the fact that the average train takes 525 cars of the road, “[reducing] carbon emissions by the same amount as planting 320 hectares of trees.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">“If the growing trend that this report indicates continues, Australia will be on right on track to a greener, efficient and more productive future through the utilisation of rail,” Nye continued.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">The ARA’s report quantifies rail’s transport task, its energy usage and locomotive profile for 2012, as well as bringing to light new statistics on how much the industry as a whole is increasing in its activity.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">Freight increased by over 8% to 929.6 million tonnes in 2011/12 with ore constituting for 53%, followed by coal at 33%, according to the report.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif""> “This report justifies increased investment in rail to reduce congestion on roads and increase productivity across the economy,” said Nye.</span></p> <p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">“With only 5 per cent of freight moving by rail between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane rail has the capacity and is ready to take more freight between the capitals and free up our congested highways,” Nye concluded.</span></p><p><span style="Times New Roman","serif"">The 2012 Rail Industry Report is the ninth annual report of its kind commissioned by the ARA. It can be viewed <a href="http://ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/Publications/Australian_rail_industry_report_2011-12.pdf">here [PDF link]</a>.</span></p>
