Special Report Railways - The Australian Newspaper 16th October 2008

[ozbob]

The Australian Newspaper 16 October 2008 has a special Infrastructure Report -  Special Report Railways

The report is 6 broadsheet pages and confirms that "Australia is reflecting the global trend of reviving the railways as a viable mode of transport"  ...



From this report page 1

Journey of rediscovery

Australia is reflecting the global trend in reviving the railways as a viable mode of transport, writes Robin Bromby TEN years ago, it seemed Australia's railway industry was destined to be a bit player in transport, one that could never compete with road. It has stilt a long fight-back before it, but rail is gradually becoming an industry transformed. True, there are some black spots, Sydney being the number one.

It's a bottleneck for interstate freight trains, and it is a city where commuter trains are struggling to meet the demands of the public for a quick and reliable transit system. The latter problem looks like being compounded by the financial problems of the NSW Government, the latest threat being the almost certain postponement of the North-West Metro rail link because of the state's parlous finances.

If you take Sydney or Melbourne as examples, it seems neither public nor private operation is the answer to the suburban railway issue. Sydney's suburban trains have been a political hot potato for years, with frequent service disruptions, delays in delivery of new rolling stock and promised network additions cancelled or postponed. Last year the Victorian Government levied about $40 million in fines for late and cancelled services on Melbourne's transport networks, and has put the train services up for re-tendering.

The present operator, Connex (owned by France's Veolia group), is up against two other short-listed players, French transport company Keolis and the Hong Kong metro train operator MTR Corp.

Tasmania's railways are up in the air following the decision by Pacific National to withdraw from the island; the market share for rail on the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane corridor is still tow; and, despite rising business on the Darwin line, the train operator FreightLink put itself up for sate. Japan has had its bullet trains for decades, now China has them (and you can travel between Nanjing and Shanghai in 2.5 hours) but Australia seems as far away from the VFT the very fast train concept as it was a decade ago.

But things are changing. As this was written, work had begun on the Wodonga rail bypass, part of what Victoria calls the $501 million North-East Rail Revitalisation project.

This money is being spent to take the rail corridor out of the Victorian border town. It is part of a conversion of 200km of broad-gauge track between Seymour and the NSW border station of Albury.

At present those two stations are connected by one standard gauge and one broad gauge line, but the latter is very under-utilised. The conversion will allow for a greatly increased number of interstate freight trains to run on the section a traffic that is predicted by the federal Government to increase by 70 per cent in the next 20 years and also will speed up times for passenger trains. Stations will also be upgraded for passenger trains.

The federal Government has also begun work on a $3 million study into rail freight movements in the Adelaide area, one of the issues being the relocation of the city's main freight line north of the Adelaide Hills. The trigger has been complaints about noise, safety and congestion with the present line through the city.

The organisation managing much of the country's rail investment, Australian Rail Track Corp, recently announced a $90 million investment in an advanced train management system.

To start initially between Adelaide and Port Augusta, it will use a global positioning system to allow greater numbers of trains to run on lines; at present, trackside signals can be between 20km and 50km apart and only one train can be between any two signals at a given time.

However, one other significant project the inland rail corridor to run between Melbourne and Brisbane, so bypassing the Sydney bottleneck is still up in the air. Its outcome will hinge on a study commissioned by federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese. The study will cost $15 million and be completed next August.

Still the most likely route is for trains leaving Melbourne to use the existing interstate line as far north as Cootamundra in NSW, then to Parker where the route would dissect the main Sydney-Perth line through Dubbo, Werris Creek, then north across the Queensland border where it would be necessary to provide standard-gauge track alongside existing narrow-gauge lines. It is more than 11 years since this proposal first got any traction, and the prevailing view within the industry is that it will probably be built the new era of carbon emissions restraint will ensure that by hobbling road industry. But it is important that governments don't take their eye off the ball regarding upgrading existing infrastructure.

But, just a few years after the completion of the Darwin line and with the inland rail still many years away, another grand vision is upon us.

Project Iron Boomerang it is called and the company behind it is proposing a new transcontinental railway line across the top half of the country, linking Abbott Point in Queensland with Port Hedland and Dampier in the west.

The company, East West Line Parks, wants to establish iron ore smelters at each end of this line, railing coal from the east and iron ore from the west, producing finished products for Asia rather than raw materials. So far the company has spent $7 million on this project, and the smelters would utilise coal seam gas in Queensland and natural gas in Western Australia.

But Australia's renewed spending on rail is dwarfed by what is going on in China. China's railway investment soared 37.5 per cent from January to July. The numbers are attributed to a building boom of high-speed lines and the country's desire to link together poor regions. The investment reached $US19.6 billion, according to the country's railway ministry.

This includes a 1318km Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway which will allow trains to run at 350km/h. When completed, it will have cost an estimated $US32 billion. More people than ever are using railways, says a report from the Xinhua news agency. In the first seven months of the year, trains carried 855.3 million passengers, up 12.6 per cent from the same period last year. Cargo volume was 1.94 billion tonnes, up 6.8 per cent from a 2007.

Also nearing completion is a bridge over the Yangtze River at Wuhan that carries four rail tracks, and trains will be able to pass over the bridge at 250km/h.

Rail is also resurgent in east Africa. The East African Community is planning 15 new railway lines connecting seven countries, with Tanzania getting eight of those to provide links to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. A further sign that changing fuel and climate scenarios are working in rail's favour comes in a report in The Journal of Commerce. German logistics giant BD Schenker is launching a rail freight service between Europe and China to attract business that is now going by air and sea.

The trial train left Hong Kong in late September and was expected to take 17 days to reach Munich with its 50 containers holding electronics and auto parts. The train ran through China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland 6250km in all.

The advantage to shippers is that it is cheaper than air freight and quicker than using ships, which take up to 35 days.

From this report page 3

QUEENSLAND RAIL

QR has what it takes to win One government railway has gone from strength to strength, and even into other states, writes Robin Bromby QUEENSLAND Rail or QR as it prefers to be called shows what you can do with a railway business if you get it right. Here is a corporation that has sprung from government ownership and turned into a case study of commercial ambition and growth. It has managed to adapt to a railway business that has turned almost full circle. Much of the initial impetus behind railway building in Australia came from private enterprise, but most of that was short-lived. Who now, apart from historians, remembers the Sydney Railway Company, the Deniliquin e, Moama Railway Co or the Launceston & Western Railway Co? After the initial enthusiasm from private capital, railway building and operation became an almost exclusively public-sector proposition. Each state had its government railway department and its railway losses, especially in the case of Tasmania. Even the federal Government got involved, with the establishment in 1917 of Commonwealth Railways to run trains on the new line between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie.

Since then, and one by one, the states have walked away from their railway systems because it all got too hard and too costly. Initially Tasmania and South Australia sold theirs into the Whitlam Government creation, Australian National. Others sought the aid of private enterprise. But QR was the exception. It has its origins in Queensland's 1863 Railway Act, which authorised the spending of 1.23 million pounds to build the first line in the then colony. The first sod of the 34km line from Ipswich to the Little Liverpool Range was turned on February 26, 1864, and in the next year track as far as Bigge's Camp (now Grandchester) was opened to traffic. The early pattern of railway building in Queensland was typified by construction of isolated sections, radiating out from Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville. By 1900, there were 11 isolated sections making up Queensland's railways. The great coastal route, whose 1680 km length linked all the main parts, was not completed until December 1924. Now QR operates in every mainland state. Apart from running the Queensland network, it owns Western Australia's largest rail freight operator, Australian Railroad Group. QR has about 20 per cent of the coal haulage business in NSW's Hunter Valley.

The corporation can now haul freight from Cairns to Perth, and started a Melbourne-Perth container service late last year. It has more than $11 billion in assets and annual revenue of $3.4 billion. And it is not standing still, with planned capital investment over the next five years of $8.5 billion. Orders went out in June for $200 million in new rolling stock and to upgrade terminals. Having once been a government department, then a government-owned corporation, QR is now a public company (QR Ltd) under the Corporations Act. But, just as it has brought competition to the national scene, so QR is seeing new operators on its home turf. Asciano, which operates Pacific National, announced in August that it had signed contacts to haul coal in Queensland from 2010 and would spend $380 million on new rolling stock. The change in the way railways operate is also reflected in that it is no longer a job for life, where the men who rose to the top usually had spent most or all of their working lives in railways.

Lance Hockridge, who took over as chief executive almost a year ago, is not new to rail operations he once worked for BHP Billiton's transport arm but his last job was with Bluescope Steel's US operation. He sees QR as having strengths and weaknesses among what he has termed the four pillars to be addressed. Over its 142-years the operation has built up great strength in some operating and technical areas. Hockridge wants to transform safety. QR has had a good record, but in his view by no means is it meeting world-class standards. Nor has there been a customer focus for much of that 142 years. That has to be improved. He wants to instil a greater commercial sense through the operation. "We need to be a very sharp, resilient player," Hockridge says.

The fourth pillar is growth in bulk freight, intermodal (or containerised), and in passenger services. Here is where QR and Pacific National take different paths. Hockridge sees this as a vital part of his railway. Brisbane's fast growth, and the numbers transferring to public transport, means that QR needs to invest heavily for better suburban services. Forty-four new train sets are being added, and more will be needed. "Even at that rate, we'll be running hard to keep up," he says. The long-distance trains that run up and down the main coastal line constitute the glamour end of rail in Queensland, but Hockridge knows that the trains that run into the interior of the state are also vital. "There's still a reliance in the Queensland bush on QR services."

[ozbob]

From the special report in the Australian 16 October 2008 page 1

Locomotive orders signal boom onset
Mark Carter

RAPIDLY increasing traffic and ageing locomotives have rail companies scrambling for new locomotives to improve reliability and keep up with demand. For the first time in a decade, Australia's two major locomotive manufacturers have bulging order books. Investment promised by privatisation is now kicking in. In the 10 years from the first rail privatisation in 1997, fewer than 100 new diesel locomotives were built with only 20 per cent for the private sector. The rest were for government-owned Queensland Rail. That is about to change with at least 100 new diesel locomotives, worth between $500 million and $600 million, being built in Australia during 2008 and 2009. While Queensland Rail ordered many of these, the private sector is stepping up investment.

According to Australasian Railway Association figures there are between 1500 and 1600 locomotives in use with major operators. More than half are over 20 years old, and around 30 per cent are more than 30 years old. Several are well over 50 years old. (But very few veterans are on what could be considered front-line service, most being confined to non-intensive, fit-for-purpose duties).

US experience has shown that where a locomotive travels fewer than 100,000 km a year it is usually cost-effective to keep it rather than replace it. But multiple operators, differing gauges, diverse tasks and full or partial re-builds make assessment of an average locomotive age somewhat subjective. Perhaps a better benchmark is the standard gauge Defined Interstate Rail Network (DIRN), linking the major capitals between Brisbane and Perth and including the Hunter Valley.

There are around 500 locomotives in regular use on the DIRN, and with a few exceptions, all were inherited from former government-owned fleets. With allowances for re-manufacturing, the average age of these is 17.6 years, which compares favourably with major rail US operators. The introduction of 60 new locomotives to the DIRN over the next couple of years will bring this average to just under 16 years. Locomotive manufacturer Downer EDI Rail (EDI) is about to finalise delivery of the last of 15 ac-traction high-horsepower locomotives (GT46C ACe) for interstate freight operator SCT Logistics. The $100 million contract, which includes ongoing maintenance, provides SCT with the most modern fleet in the industry for its general freight services linking Parkes, Melbourne and Perth. In 2008 and 2009 EDI will also deliver 32 SD70 ACe/ii locomotives for iron ore haulage in the Pilbara, and 45 diesel-electric locomotives for narrow-gauge use in Queensland by QR National and Pacific National, principally on coal traffic. Major manufacturer United Group Limited Rail (UGL Rail) is testing the first of 15 of its own 4300hp AC-traction design for Pacific National. These will operate coal trains in the Hunter Valley or interstate intermodal freight services.

Earlier this year Perth-based Australian Railroad Group placed an order with UGL Rail for eight 4300hp locomotives, with an option for another 16. They will be manufactured at Broadmeadow in Newcastle for delivered between next April and August. In an over-$65 million deal, rail equipment lessor CFCLA Australia (CFCLA) has ordered 10 similar locomotives for lease to the broader rail industry, rather than to a specific operator. This could be a new trend. Downer EDI Rail has said that following the success of its new GT46C ACe it will build nine more for probable lease to the industry. New investment, escalating fuel prices and environmental concerns all suggest a substantial increase in rail haulage in the next few years. Some analysts predict that the $2.4 billion investment in North South rail infrastructure could see rail's market share roughly double.

The boom in locomotive orders indicates a shift to mainstream rail tasks. QR National has announced tenders for 18 locomotives, mainly for intermodal freight service. Indications also are that new players such as grain handler and marketer AWB Limited could be in the market for eight locomotives.

[ozbob]

From the special report page 6

Urban rail projects need fund injection
STEWART PRINS

AUSTRALIA'S passenger rail sector is in an extraordinary period of growth. This renaissance in passenger rail can be attributed to three key factors: rising fuel prices, urban congestion and climate change.

Fuel prices are hitting Australians hard. Many no longer see the car as the cheapest, most effective way of getting to work in the morning. Continued population growth in our major cities is also placing road networks, and commuters, under increasing stress. And the frightening spectre of climate change is forcing a growing number of Australians to think about the environmental impact of their travel behaviour.

Of course, the most environmentally sustainable modes of transport are cycling and walking but these options aren't always practical. Electric-powered trains and trams offer clear environmental advantages over private vehicles.

The International Association of Public Transport says that during peak periods, private cars emit around 10 times more greenhouse gases per passenger than mass transit systems. When you consider the potential for electric trains and trams to run on green power, the environmental advantages of these modes could be even greater. The industry, however, cannot afford to sit back and revel in the glory these new opportunities bring a new set of challenges. With growing patronage has come a growing chorus of complaints about overcrowded trains, infrequent services, and poor reliability. Rail operators are at risk of becoming victims of their own success.

Decades of under-investment in rail infrastructure have left our metropolitan rail networks under-prepared for the onslaught of new passengers. If urban networks are to meet demand they will need to be upgraded so they can carry more trains and more people. Building capacity is, therefore, the number one priority for investment in rail infrastructure.

Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) made this point strongly in a recent discussion paper presented to Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese. The Australian Transport Compact outlines a comprehensive program of infrastructure investment and regulatory reform to take Australia's passenger transport sector into the 21st century.

The federal Government has $20 billion set aside for the construction of critical infrastructure, and the allocation of the federal Government's Building Australia Fund will hold the key to gaining a national consensus on transport policy. TTF would like to see money directed into major urban rail projects, including:

The planned Sydney Metro rail network;

The proposed Melbourne CBD rail tunnel;

A second rail crossing of the Brisbane River;

Electrification of the Adelaide metropolitan rail network; and

More rolling-stock for the Perth metropolitan rail network.

But state and territory governments should not simply be gifted Federal hand-outs. All jurisdictions should first be required to sign up to a national transport reform agenda that delivers greater efficiency, better services and higher levels of safety. That's why TTF has also identified a series of industry reform projects recognising that rail must always be considered in the context of an integrated transport network.

These reform projects include:

Developing a co-ordinated national plan to address urban congestion.

Developing a national plan for the transition of the transport industry to the lowcarbon economy.

Introducing measures to ensure the timely approval of important infrastructure projects. Identifying a national pipeline of infrastructure projects.

Providing more university places in transport-related degrees.

Establishing a National Road Safety Council and National Rail Safety Regulator.

Establishing a single national vehicle registration system and a single national driving licence system.

Conducting a national review of the taxi industry.

Conducting a review of taxes on transport such as the FBT exemption for salarypackaged cars.

The state, territory and federal transport ministers have already begun developing a national transport strategy to go to COAG next year.

It's time for politicians to get on board, and to recognise the critical need for large-scale investment in rail infrastructure and services. Stewart Prins is national transport manager for peak industry group Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF)