The adequacy of rural intra-state rail lines in many several States, used mainly for grain traffic, has been an ongoing issue for some time.

‘Most of the present and regional road and rail network infrastructure has been based on the production levels of some 30-40 years ago, or roughly half the current required capacity. Over this period there has been minimal capital investment in components of the network to bring it up to modern standards. The rail network is deteriorating rapidly and has become a limiting factor for the grain industry to meet demand in a timely manner’. (Endnote 1)

This also coincides with changes in the grain industry with ongoing deregulation of export grain and industry fragmentation.
Traditionally rail has carried the major share of bulk grain from rural areas to the ports. This is a seasonal task where the majority of movements occur over a relatively short period from December to February but the volumes of grain are dependent on climatic conditions. The declining condition of many rural branch lines has increased transit times and decreased reliability. The lack of investment in this infrastructure has reduced customer choice with an increasing transfer of freight, including grain, to road.

The demise of rail freight reduces community safety and threatens environmental values. (Endnote 2)  The increasing size and volume of trucks on local government roads in rural areas has caused a significant deficit in maintenance of local roads.

The Victorian government initiated a review of the Victorian rail freight network in 2007. The resultant report, ‘Switchpoint: The template for rail freight to revive and thrive’ followed extensive consultation with stakeholders who made it clear that ‘there is overwhelmingly strong support for rail freight by the general community, industry, farmers, local government and port authorities’ (Endnote 3).

In Western Australia, the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure has the power to regulate specific products to rail under the Transport Regulation Act 1966. This power is now being used to regulate the transport of grain, ore and woodchips. For export grain, any use of road transport from rail-served sites to the port must be approved by the rail operating company and the Minister in advance.

While individual States address transport issues within their jurisdictions, governments are currently failing to address the bigger picture ‘What are the objectives for transport and logistics systems for Australia?’ Optimum solutions are unlikely to be achieved by ‘improving’ separate parts of the system in isolation.(Endnote 4)

The consequences of road transport continue to be debated. While all modes of transport have adverse impacts on the community, they prefer rail transport. The rail industry will continue to provide strategic advice to governments promoting rail’s social, economical and environmental benefits to bring about improvements to the land freight transport system (including the role of rural branch lines).

Once a train operator has been provided access under an access agreement, the train operator must be accredited by the ‘Rail Safety Regulator’ in the State in which they operate. Accreditation attests that an operator has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the ‘Rail Safety Regulator’ that the operator has the capacity and competence to manage the risks to safety associated with the rail operations for which accreditation has been sought. There is no prescription on how operators identify the risks associated with their operations and they can choose the methodology most appropriate for identifying risks.

Further detailed information on Accreditation requirements, guidelines and processes is available from the individual State ‘Rail Safety Regulator’ (or their equivalent) websites. The ARA website www.ara.net.au/useful_safety_links.htm provides quick links to these websites.