Total freight volumes for Tasmania’s state-owned rail operator TasRail rose 10.5 per cent in FY18, thanks primarily to standout growth in forestry and intermodal volumes.
The Hodgman Government said this week it expects steady growth to continue on Tasmania’s railways after the bumper year.
TasRail set a monthly record for containers hauled in November 2017 at 4,687 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) – a record the State noted has already been broken twice so far in FY19, with 5,125 TEU hauled in October 2018 and 5,356 TEU hauled in November 2018.
Timber volumes grew 24 per cent in FY18, and the operator moved plantation timber on rail for the first time in the state.
In a statement Premier Hodgman’s office said the growth justified work to improve capacity and capability on the TasRail network.
“TasRail’s improved capacity and capability is attracting strong interest in rail as an efficient and sustainable part of the supply chain,” the Government said.
“A record $240 million investment by the Tasmanian and Australian governments into the Tasmanian Freight Rail Revitalisation Program has also enabled TasRail to significantly upgrade Below Rail infrastructure.”
Hodgman’s office said TasRail is on time and on-budget to complete the $120 million tranche one of this program by the end of FY19.
Work has included replacing 115,074 new sleepers and 118,792 metres of rail, and installation of 65,894 tonnes of new ballast. The work has covered almost 12,000 track welds.
36 culverts have been rehabilitated and 36 level crossings have been upgraded.
The state says the work has already allowed 92 per cent of the network to operate at track speed, “the best performance in decades”.