Last week, the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) and Freight on Rail Group (FORG) marked a huge milestone for the rail industry, with the launch of The Future of Freight campaign and the release of landmark research into rail freight productivity.
The research project was officially launched by Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government the Hon Catherine King MP, together with the ARA and Freight on Rail Group (FORG), and revealed the importance of greater use of rail freight to support a strong and sustainable freight network to meet the nation’s future needs.
This research demonstrates that we need a resilient, reliable and efficient national rail freight network to support the economy and community. Road and shipping cannot alone meet growing demand for freight services, and new policies and more strategic investment are needed to support greater use of rail.
At the moment, rail’s share of freight is only 11 per cent across the eastern seaboard, and as little as two per cent on Australia’s busiest freight corridor between Melbourne and Sydney. Less than a third of freight (28 per cent) is on rail between Melbourne and Brisbane, the future service area for the Inland Rail project.
While governments have progressed mode shift policies to increase use of the rail in the past, they have had limited success due to a range of policy and other constraints that have held back the industry. We need a national approach to enable governments and industry to work together to address these issues and ensure rail can further contribute to strong supply chains in the future. This research provides a clear pathway to achieving that ambition.
This comprehensive research is led by the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI), with input from the ARA and FORG and supported by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
A dedicated website has been created for The Future of Freight campaign with links to the Full Report and a Summary Report and can be viewed here.
The report is broken down into three “workstreams” - Achieving mode shift, infrastructure and planning, and safety and operations. It is envisaged the research, and its recommendations in particular, will provide an important platform for Government and industry to work together towards a more efficient and productive rail freight network.
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