Article: Putting more freight on rail can save lives

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Putting more freight on rail can save lives

Putting more freight on rail can save lives

Up to 45 road deaths could be saved every year if just 15 per cent of 'contestable' road freight was transferred to rail. This was revealed recently in an article published on the latest issue of the Journal of the Australasian College of Road Safety.

"A simple shift to rail of the 15 per cent of road freight said to be transferable (or contestable) could save up to 45 lives annually (calculated on the basis of roughly three deaths for every 1 per cent of freight hauled)."

The article, written by independent transport and road safety researcher Peter MacKenzie, also suggests that by shifting the same amount of freight from road to freight, 275 people or more could be saved from paraplegia, quadriplegia, brain damage and other long-term serious disabilities. In economic termes, it is estimated that the potential saving to the nation would be more than 1 billion dollars.

Bryan Nye, chief executive of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) said: "I want to be very clear in that this is not a competition with the trucking industry, we are simply advocating for the optimisation of the best mode of transport for each type of freight task.

"Our vision is that where there is a viable rail network, such as between the capital cities, freight is transported by an efficient rail network to integrated inter-modal terminals where it is forwarded to its city location by smaller trucks, preferably avoiding peak periods of congestion," Mr Nye said.

The ARA calls for governments of all persuasions to do everything possible to help rail take freight off the road.

Mr Nye said: "We have developed a National Freight Strategy with specific and clear recommendations to create a competitive, efficient and cost-effective freight transport system. But this needs to be done by industry and governments working collaboratively.

"Putting more or heavier trucks on the road is not a sustainable solution for the nation," Mr Nye said.

Australasian Railway Association Inc