Trends show bleak outlook for VIC?s rail freight network

Despite significant investment in Victoriaâs rail freight network in recent years, the future continues to look bleak. By Vernon Knight*Disturbing trends are detailed in the final report of the Victorian Essential Services Commission’s Review of the Victorian Rail Access Regime, 2010. Rails share of grain freight has fallen from 90% in 2001/02 to just 35% in 2007/08. Non-grain rail freight has been declining by almost 40% per annum. Rail’s share of containers through the port of Melbourne has fallen from 8% in September 2006 to 3.5% in June 2008 (despite an overall annual growth rate of 4.4%). Significant stretches of the freight network continue to have operating speeds of less than 40 kph. Clearly, there are some fundamentals which still need to be addressed if Victoria is to rediscover the advantages of rail for bulk, long haul freight. The thought that we can continue to turn our backs on a transport option that is safer, cleaner and more fuel efficient beggars belief. To its credit, the Victorian Government has worked to implement the findings of the recently released Fischer Report. The buy-back of the network, the subsidisation of access charges and much needed upgrades are all to be applauded. What hasn’t been acknowledged is the plight of the industry and the needs of rail operators. The fact remains that the best of Victoria’s rolling stock has migrated over the past decade to other states where non-seasonal freight tasks and standard gauges are certain to make for better business. The buy-back of the network managed to ignore that the original privatisation also robbed Victoria of its train-sets (bought and paid for by Victorians). While some were scrapped, much of the locomotive fleet was redeployed to other parts of Australia. Obviously, Victorian rail’s current difficulties cannot be addressed without a strategy that results in either public or private investment in new locomotives and fit-for-purpose wagons. The road transport industry competes using high technology equipment of recent origin too often the equipment available to the rail industry in Victoria is outdated and inefficient. To justify such investment, there needs to be a clear commitment to standardisation and the adoption of an access regime which enables rail to compete with road on a fair and equitable basis. Our continuing failure to cost the externalities of road transport in terms of public safety, carbon emissions and road maintenance leaves us burdened by a transport system which is socially, economically and environmentally unsustainable. At the heart of the problem is the legacy of confused and antiquated governance. Ask yourself: who do I talk to about Victoria’s rail freight future? Who is responsible for creating the vision for Victoria’s transport future? Until such time as Victorians can answer those questions clearly and unequivocally, nothing is likely to change. And the millions already invested in rail’s recovery will count for nought.*Cr Vernon Knight AM is chair of the Alliance of Councils for Rail Freight Development. The alliance is made up of 24 rural and regional Local Government from Central and Western Victoria and Southern New South Wales.&nbsp&nbsp

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