Overview of the Australian Rail Industry
What is the Australian rail industry? Rail transport in Australia is a modern, national and diverse industry and a key element in the integrated logistics supply chain. The industry comprises freight and passenger train operators; track owners; infrastructure providers and maintainers; rolling stock manufacturers and maintainers; suppliers (particularly signalling); supply chain and logistics operators; and a wide range of service providers supporting the rail industry. Each sector of the rail industry has quite different business and community objectives. ARA’s website www.ara.net.au provides information about Member companies. How many people are employed in the Australian rail industry? The rail industry is a major employer with 42,000 men and women employed throughout urban and regional Australia in diverse operational and professional occupations. There is also another 70,000 working in industries supporting rail. In many regional centres, employment in the rail or rail related sector comprises a major source of employment. This workforce is a valued part of today’s dynamic rail industry. Having the right people in the right jobs is a key element and provides individual employees with opportunities to contribute to business success and realise their personal potential. Does the rail industry provide economic benefits to rural and regional economies? Yes. Rail is a significant contributor to Australia’s rural and regional economies, producing economic benefits worth around $7.7 billion a year. Is the Australian rail industry still government owned? Since the 1990’s Australia’s railways have undergone significant change. Privatisation has seen a decline in government ownership and management of railways. Modernisation of the rail industry has resulted in productivity improvements worth over $2 billion. The majority of rail industry companies are private, profitable enterprises trading in highly competitive domestic and international markets. Australian rail has a high overseas profile as an innovative supplier of quality rail products, services and technology. ‘Above Rail’ operations (freight and passenger trains) have been separated from ‘Below Rail’ activities (track ownership, maintenance & construction, access to the rail network to run trains and allocation of train paths) as part of national competition reform and open access to government railway infrastructure. This resulted in private companies offering freight and passenger services over government-owned track. Link What is the Australian rail industry doing in terms of manufacturing? Rail equipment manufacturing in Australia is mainly related to manufacturing or repairing railway locomotives and rolling stock and light rail (trams). Further economic value and jobs are provided in the track and equipment suppliers industries, particularly signalling. Railway equipment manufacturing industry revenue in Australia in 2008 was estimated at $1.959 billion. Where is Australian rail industry manufacturing located? This tends to be concentrated in the more populous states of NSW, Victoria and Queensland due to the existence of a vast rail network to support passenger and freight markets. Are the major rail industry equipment manufacturers trading profitably? The major rail equipment manufacturing companies (Tier 1 Suppliers) are profitable businesses and have experienced strong growth in recent times and have healthy order books. They are dominated by wholly owned Australian divisions of multi-national corporations. These major manufacturing companies are also supported by a large number of specialist providers in areas of components and consultants and around 50% of their business costs are purchases of products and services. This is a significant sector in the Australian business environment and the Commonwealth and State governments are keen to provide support for a range of activity. The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) is working with both government and industry to create these outcomes by 2014. Link What challenges do the railway equipment manufacturing industry face? The Australian and New Zealand rail market has often been described by industry commentators as ‘being subject to seasonal fluctuations and generally very small in the global heavy engineering manufacturing industry’. Challenging issues include relatively low levels of productivity, declining levels of research and development and emerging skill shortages. These may crucially affect competitiveness and require attention to safeguard the industry’s development. Where can I find a listing of the various companies comprising the rail industry and their capabilities? > Click here to view information about ARA Member companies and their capabilities
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