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NSW rail freight set for industry overhaul?

The Australasian Railway Association has recommended the NSW government shift 30 per cent of the state’s freight to rail

An industry submission to a reform program from the NSW government says shifting 30 per cent of the state’s freight to rail would deliver extensive benefits to the economy and community.

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) believes increasing rail’s mode share is critical to meeting future freight demand and submitted 44 recommendations to the reform program.

NSW Ports figures show currently 17 per cent of freight that arrives at port for export comes via rail, while ARA research shows just two per cent of freight in the Melbourne to Sydney corridor travels by rail. The Melbourne to Sydney corridor is the busiest freight route in the country.

ARA CEO Caroline Wilkie says a rebuild of current freight strategies is needed to benefit the industry and help the country meet its net-zero targets.

“An urgent overhaul of the NSW freight strategy is critical to support the efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of rail freight services and position rail to thrive as an important part of NSW and national supply chains,” Wilkie says.

“For NSW to play its part in reaching net zero emissions targets, it is essential we ease pressure on the state’s congested roads and enable more freight to travel by rail, which is 16 times less carbon intensive than road freight.

“The poor utilisation of rail in NSW freight task has been an issue for decades, and strategies to date have not resulted in rail being any more competitive in the containerised market.”

The ARA submission cited the NSW Auditor General’s 2021 Rail Freight and Greater Sydney Report as a key reason rail freight needs to be elevated in order to meet current and future freight demands in the state.

“The industry believes the Auditor-General’s report, combined with similar experiences in other jurisdictions, provides a clear indication that policy settings need to change for rail freight to play a greater role in meeting the growing freight task at our ports,” the ARA submission states.

“The inflexible application of passenger priority and peak curfew requirements is also challenging and excessively restrictive.”

Key recommendations in the ARA submission include:

  • 30 per cent of contestable freight volumes to be moved on rail.
  • Prioritise rail system interoperability across NSW.
  • Address high priority harmonisation-related constraints, including actions agreed to under the National Rail Action Plan.
  • Require NSW agencies to publicly report on freight strategy delivery every six months.
  • Commission an investigation into the most effective rail freight coordination model.
  • Review passenger priority access to create a more flexible and transparent system.
  • Complete the Western Sydney Freight Line Business Case.
  • Investigate opportunities for existing rail infrastructure to deliver better freight performance, including inland rail connectivity, and Hunter Valley and Port of Newcastle utilisation.
  • Develop standard reporting to monitor on-time running.
  • NSW to support national decarbonisation of rail freight operations.

A full copy of the submission is available to read here.

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