Moving Australia’s Long-Haul Freight from Road to Rail

The rail industry is calling on the government to amend regulation, reduce bureaucracy, increase flexibility to make greater use of rail and make private freight investment more attractive. According to an analysis by Partnerships Australia, more than 60% of investors identified “political risks” in freight. Pacific National, one of the largest rail freight businesses in Australia is pushing for the government to cut back red tape and end the slow but steady decline in infrastructure investment. Dean Dalla Valle, CEO of Pacific National, recently said that governments “underestimate how disruptive poorly designed regulations can be,” and that investment would “only flow where there is political certainty.”

NSW Government to Look at Adapting Regulations

NSW’s deputy-secretary for freight, Clare Gardiner-Barnes, told the same CEDA audience that the Government was indeed considering revising its legislation and assured the listeners that the forthcoming NSW Freight and Ports Plan will encourage investment by providing greater industry certainty. She added that the increasing freight task demands improved partnerships with the industry and a collaborative approach from all governments.

Key Issue is High Proportion of Road Freight

Mr Dalla Valle and Ms Gardiner-Barnes agreed that a key supply chain issue in Australia is its road dominated approach to freight. Currently, approximately 90 percent of Sydney-Melbourne freight goes on trucks, a situation that Dalla Valle referred to as “unsustainable”. He raised traffic congestion, emissions and heavy vehicle fatalities as related issues. He claimed that not only is rail safer, but it also produces far less pollution, according to a Deloitte study that showed 65 trucks could be replaced by a typical freight train. Dalla Vale acknowledged the role of trucks in the supply chain, but questioned their suitability for long haul freight. With national freight demand predicted to triple by 2050, Dalla Valle urged people to question whether the current proportion of road freight is sustainable. Gardiner-Barnes said that the state government was committed to collaborating with the industry and increasing rail freight to 28 percent by 2021.

Challenge For Transport Companies to Provide a Courier Quote Australia Wide

Consumers obtaining an online courier quote from Sydney, often have no say in how their items will be transported. Whether they need goods delivered within the city or are seeking an interstate courier quote, it is highly likely that the consignment will be shipped by road. Dalla Valle said that "The road freight task between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane is forecast to reach around 140 billion tonne kilometres by 2030, up from around 60 billion tonne kilometres.” He said that good planning for intermodal freight hubs was essential to “help reduce disruptions like severe traffic congestion in our major cities."