Cattle trains - rail and road

[ozbob]

ABC News click here!

Outback mayor pleads for cattle train return

Outback mayor pleads for cattle train return
By Chrissy Arthur

A south-west Queensland mayor has called on the State Government to reinstate cattle and freight trains to the region.

Murweh Mayor Denis Cook says the council has made a submission, as part of the Government's review into long distance travel.

Earlier this year, the Government revealed big subsidies were being paid for passengers on the Westlander service between Brisbane and Charleville.

Councillor Cook says that service should be maintained but there is a need for other rail improvements.

"There hasn't been a cattle train that I know of since last year and the only train we are getting now is the Westlander on a Wednesday and a Friday," he said.

"You've got no other chance of getting run over by a train because there is none."

He says the region's roads are crumbling because all freight is being delivered by truck.

Cr Cook says operating more trains to the west would help to keep rail infrastructure sustainable.

"This is part of what developed the west and we have magnificent infrastructure here with the railway and especially when you have a look at the Channel Country and Quilpie with your cattle trains," he said.

"There is a massive amount of cattle and there will be thousands of them that will have to be moved, so surely we will have to have priority for a cattle train.

"The lines are here, everything is here, all you have to do is run a train on it."

... He says the region's roads are crumbling because all freight is being delivered by truck.

Cr Cook says operating more trains to the west would help to keep rail infrastructure sustainable ...

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament Hansard Private Members Statements

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2013/2013_05_02_DAILY.pdf

Aurizon, Rail Cattle Services

Aurizon, Rail Cattle Services
Mr KATTER (Mount Isa—KAP) (3.30 pm): I rise in the House to discuss an issue relating to rail services in my area. I have been informed recently that Aurizon is proposing to scrap 120 cattle rail wagons from its fleet, stating that it has 122 too many wagons in the area. It is a common theme. The service has been run down over many years so people have walked away from it because they got fed up with the level of service. Instead of fixing the service to help cattle producers in the area, it has deliberately run down the service in order to let more mineral trains on that line because they are more profitable. I am concerned about this for a number of reasons. Firstly, it puts too many trucks on the road. Our roads are already overloaded. This is the last thing they need. That has a multiple effect, including additional driver danger, additional wear and tear on the roads and higher transport costs for graziers already hard hit by other factors. Secondly, this confirms the suspicions people in the north-west had for many years under the Labor government that cattle rail would be taken off the line for the stronger mining industry. There is real fear that this will be the winding down of cattle train wagons so essential to the industry in north-west and Western Queensland, where distances from paddock to market are enormous. Discussions with producers along the line have informed me that cattlemen prefer rail over road as their stock arrives in better condition on rail over distances than they do on road. It is an important element to a currently fragile industry that will burden many producers if no longer available.

I believe that this is the start of Aurizon walking away from taking livestock on that line. A US government study earlier this year published in USA Today reported that a 40-tonne truck does as much damage to the road as 9,600 cars. Even allowing for imperial and metric conversions, does the government want to put more costs for roadworks of this magnitude back on taxpayers? This poses the question to this government and to the wider public: do we want to preserve a broad industry base or do we want to ensure that these utilities make the most profit for the government? Based entirely on profitability of the line, then, yes, concentrating the available rail space on carting ore is probably a good idea. Surely we are not here though to make sure that governments are simply profitable. The government has a very important role to play in preserving a broad industry base to ride the mineral boom cycles. At the moment all other industry outside of mining is struggling and it is as imperative now as it will ever be to preserve other industries like cattle grazing so that it is still there during the downturns. Applying the rationale of providing a broad industry base means that you do not just shut down services like rail freight, as was done in the past, or wind down cattle rail. The priority should be that the rail line needs proper levels of maintenance so that locomotives can run at 80 kilometres an hour and not the 30 to 40 kilometres an hour as they do at the moment. This will allow greater access to this line and remove the requirement to bush the cattle wagons. The government needs to turn a great deal of attention towards this line as it may well be an affordable way for the government to do something great for the people of Queensland.

[ozbob]

From the ABC News click here!

Outback cattle train trial becomes permanent

Outback cattle train trial becomes permanent
By Chrissy Arthur and Amy Phillips

The Queensland Government says it is committed to providing more livestock train services into the future but is hamstrung under contract arrangements.

The State Government has confirmed a trial of extra livestock trains on the Winton to Rockhampton line, while the Mount Isa line to Townsville will continue permanently.

Transport Minister Scott Emerson says there are also trains scheduled for the Quilpie line, south of Longreach.

Mr Emerson says it has been able to renegotiate with the privatised rail provider Aurizon and have secured additional train services this season for cattle.

"At the moment we are really hamstrung by this contract but we are really determined to get more onto rail," he said.

"There are certain limitations - as I mentioned that contract was signed by the previous government."

Mr Emerson also says there are also infrastructure limitations.

"But we are determined to keep our focus firmly on increasing what we can do in terms of the rail freight path," he said.

"Three cattle train services per week out of Winton and two out of Cloncurry - I can confirm that they will be staying permanently now.

"All up, we are looking at running about 325 cattle train services per season, under our renegotiations with Aurizon.

"Now that is up by about 48 services from 2012, so I think that is a great result."
'Under-utilised'

Quilpie Mayor Stuart McKenzie says getting more livestock trains is a priority for councils in south-west Queensland.

He says livestock train services to the states south-west are under-utilised because of competition from coal trains down the Toowoomba range.

"We had 42 planned for last year 2012 - and only 16 services were actually provided," he said.

"I think you have got a provider of a service that actually doesn't want to provide it.

"Then you have issues with the service down the range at Toowoomba - the capacity of it.

"You only have to see the coal pile at Jondaryan when you go past, to see how much pressure that is putting on the service."

Rail provider Aurizon says it has a contract with the State Government to provide trains on the Quilpie line, but the first request from customers has been for a train later this month.

It says it will continue to meet contractual agreements

[ozbob]

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Scott Emerson

Pilot assistance to open CQ stock route

The Newman Government will cut red tape to ensure a major central Queensland stock route remains open to assist drought-affected cattle producers from the state's north west.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said pilot escorts would be provided free of charge for type 2 road trains travelling between Clermont and Emerald.

"Pilots are required for road trains operating between Clermont and Emerald," Mr Emerson said.

"The Newman Government will take on the cost of finding and funding pilots for drought-affected cattle.

"This will allow cattle to travel via Winton, Longreach, Alpha, then north to Clermont on the approved type 2 network. 

"With the number of heavy vehicles expected, it will cost more than $100,000 over the next three months."

Type 2 road trains are three-trailer combinations that carry up to 120 cattle.

Member for Gregory Vaughan Johnson welcomed the move which would help graziers suffering under drought conditions.

"Those graziers who missed out on the wet need our support and it's up to everyone in the industry to do their bit," Mr Johnson said.

"We are cutting red tape to get these trucks moving, but also to ensure it is done in a safe and responsible manner.

"Support from the road and rail transport systems is crucial to get cattle on to greener pastures."

The Newman Government has also announced a 17 per cent increase in cattle trains for 2013, including an additional weekly service from Winton until the end of October and an extra weekly service from Cloncurry until the end of September.

"A trial last year showed the extra services were being well used by industry, so I'm pleased we have been able to continue offering them to graziers," Mr Johnson said.

[ENDS] 16 May 2013