Melbourne to Brisbane
Inland Rail
22 June 2012
Overview
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Introducing GATR
Why Inland Rail?
The GATR concept
ARTC’s Inland Rail Alignment Study and GATR
The GATR rationale
Proposed corridor
21st Century infrastructure
A new rail service paradigm and huge productivity gains
Better environmental and safety outcomes
Regional influence
Network connectivity
A robust “future proofed” network
Market potential
Re-direction of capital funding
What would the GATR project achieve?
In conclusion
Introducing GATR
• GATR is a company established to promote and
potentially participate in creation of an inland rail
network which integrates Australia’s railways and
maximises the cost and time benefits of efficient
freight transport.
• GATR aims to facilitate delivery of a trunk rail route
between Melbourne and Brisbane which is direct and
aligned to allow high performance, market oriented
operations comparable with those of the best and
most profitable North American railroads.
• GATR’s key people have a strong background in
strategic planning, Local Government, transport and
logistics, and the rail industry.
Why Inland Rail?
• A much shorter Melbourne-Brisbane railway via Parkes and
Moree than the existing route via Sydney has long been seen
as a more effective means for rail to provide competitive and
efficient freight service on Australia’s east coast.
• The existing Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane lines remain as slow,
circuitous and inefficient “steam era” railways that cannot
provide effective competition with trucking notwithstanding
ARTC’s current $2.5bn “catch-up” investment programme.
• The cost of adequately overcoming conflicts with passenger and
other freight services through the Sydney-Newcastle region is
massive and clearing the corridor for container double stacking
or hi-cube wagons could never be justified in economic terms.
• Inland Rail would provide network redundancy by having all
east coast capitals connected by at least two routes,
significantly improving reliability and minimizing delays or
disruptions caused by planned works, failures and weather
related events.
The GATR concept
• An open access Melbourne-Brisbane inland railway of the
shortest practical length and the backbone of a high standard
network that would allow rail to deliver consistently high quality
customer service, more than double current productivity and
take full advantage of modern technology.
• A route has been developed that is substantially shorter than
other inland railway proposals, minimises elevation change and
is aligned to a very high standard whilst minimising construction
costs.
• Extended passing loops and bypasses of major town centres
will allow operations at consistently high average speeds over
considerable distances.
• The proposed alignment will allow any train to achieve optimum
operating efficiency and consume minimum energy at its
chosen operating speed.
ARTC’s I.R.A.S. and GATR
Key points of difference:
• GATR proposes a much shorter, better aligned corridor that will
allow trains to provide faster, more competitive, reliable and
cost-effective service and achieve greater asset productivity.
• GATR’s corridor infrastructure anticipates future standards, not
past or current standards - wide radius curves, flat grades
wherever possible, town bypasses, higher axle loads and
clearance for larger dimension rolling stock.
• GATR is proposing the basis of an ultimate network
configuration for interstate rail – not just a single corridor.
• GATR is proposing a much earlier start for the Inland Railway to
maximise capital cost offsets against proposed coastal railway
upgrades that could be deferred, curtailed or cancelled, and to
offset the cost of otherwise needed highway upgrades.
• GATR rejects the view that Inland Rail should be deferred until
the existing coastal railway reaches a certain tonnage threshold
– a self-defeating proposition for continued inaction.
The GATR rationale
The high capability inland route proposed by GATR
seeks to overcome the long term lack of modern rail
infrastructure on Australia’s east coast and become
the transport mode of choice for a significant volume
of contestable freight.
It would:
• provide a totally new set of rail transport connections between
far more origin/destination pairs than is now achievable.
• introduce a choice of six ports in three States for the despatch
of many regional exports.
• capture a large share of Victoria to Queensland freight from
road transport with resultant safety, environmental and road
maintenance benefits.
• facilitate economic development in regional Eastern Australia,
particularly for centres along the inland rail network.
Proposed corridor
The GATR route would generally serve but not directly
pass through the following main centres being linked to
them by connecting lines
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Shepparton
Tocumwal
Narrandera
Parkes
Dubbo
Gilgandra
Narrabri
Moree
Inglewood
Millmerran
Toowoomba
21st Century infrastructure
• Once selected and built, the Inland Railway corridor
and its base infrastructure is likely to have a useful
life of at least 100 years.
• For a relatively modest increase in initial capital cost,
this “once in a lifetime” project should be of the
highest practicable standard that minimises distance
and transit time and provides for both present and
future train speeds, dimensions and axle loads.
• Only a high standard railway can attract the freight
volumes required for a large rail market share and
long term financial success. A railway at the current
east coast standard of low average speeds, poor
reliability and inadequate axle loads does not and
cannot compete with road transport.
A new rail service paradigm and
huge productivity gains (1)
• High cube and double stacked container trains conveying up
to 350 TEU operating at up to 120 km/h would make the
journey in 18 to 19 hours, enabling rail service for the first time
to be strongly competitive with road on the east coast. By
comparison, coastal route transits via Sydney, after current
upgrading work is completed, will be 27-30 hours.
• The GATR corridor would also allow high speed (160km/h)
specialised freight trains to operate Melbourne - Brisbane in
less than 14 hours.
A new rail service paradigm and
huge productivity gains (2)
• Productivity of key rail resources (locomotives and wagons)
would more than double by virtue of their greater capacity and
potential 48 hour cycle times (i.e. one train set on GATR would
perform the same task as two train sets on the existing route).
• For long hauls, double stacking of containers or the use of
higher capacity and larger rolling stock coupled with higher axle
loads is an efficient way to minimise costs by fully utilising the
space/weight relationship of a modern railway.
• The GATR route would eliminate the slow and tortuous 150 year
old narrow gauge Toowoomba Range railway with its confined
tunnels and low axle load regime (only 15.75 tonnes) inherited
from the steam era. It would remove limits on container sizes
and the severely restricted volume of Darling Downs coal and
grain that can be railed to the Port of Brisbane.
Better environmental and
safety outcomes
A railway in easy country on a direct alignment
with no slow speed restrictions will minimise
fuel use and reduce greenhouse emissions in
two ways:
• Trains will operate with minimum emissions
compared to those on other lines.
• The attractiveness of the line will divert substantial
freight volumes from heavy road transport which
generates much higher emissions on a like for like
basis than a modern efficient rail operation.
The potential for serious accidents and trauma
to road users will also significantly reduce.
Regional influence
• The GATR route would pass through almost continuously
productive regions nearly all the way between Melbourne and
Brisbane unlike any of the existing inter-capital rail routes.
• GATR would provide new transport opportunities and lower
costs for regional areas in northern Victoria, southern, midwestern and northern NSW and south-western Queensland.
• It would facilitate development of processing and warehousing
and/or distribution centres in regional locations.
• Regional centres not on the direct GATR line would also
benefit. For example,
– produce for export from the MIA (Griffith and Leeton areas) would
save 130 km in distance to Melbourne;
– cotton producers from the Narrabri and Warren areas could
realistically choose Sydney or Brisbane or even Melbourne as
their export port;
– Goulburn Valley produce sold into domestic markets would have
direct rail access to all mainland capitals for the first time.
Network connectivity (1)
GATR proposes a new 25km direct link between
Wallendbeen and Stockinbingal and re-building of
the closed Hillston - Roto line. This allows:
– Sydney - Melbourne – the route via Narrandera is
about the same length as via Albury but would be
faster with lower operating costs. It would bypass
the Bethungra Spiral and avoid the need for
ARTC’s proposed Junee-Wodonga duplication.
– Brisbane - Adelaide & Perth – the GATR link
between Brisbane and Parkes would reduce rail
distance to Perth by over 600km and to Adelaide
by 450km with marked reductions in transit time
and cost, thus likely to generate new traffic.
Network connectivity (2)
- Melbourne - Perth & Darwin – the MelbourneNarrandera route plus an upgraded NarranderaGriffith-Roto line linking to Broken Hill and Port
Augusta would provide an effective route for
double-stacked container trains, thus eliminating
double stack conversion in Adelaide without adding
to overall transit time. This would largely offset any
need for a major bypass around the Adelaide Hills.
A robust “future proofed” network
• The GATR line, of contemporary high standard
construction, would be inherently more robust than
the existing heritage routes and stand up more
effectively to severe weather events and the like.
• In future, the GATR Inland Railway would be
capable of handling much higher freight train speeds
than are now accepted (by virtue of its very flat
curves) allowing very fast end to end times as well
as further improving resource utilisation.
• GATR would accommodate rolling stock built to
North American weight and dimensional standards,
instead of the more restrictive Australian outline and
axle loads. Substantially lower procurement costs
and added productivity gains would flow from
adoption of their “off the shelf” locomotive and
wagon designs.
Market potential
• Melbourne-Brisbane rail market shares are forecast
to ultimately increase from the current sub-25% to
around 75% with the GATR proposal.
• This is wholly dependent upon provision of high
quality infrastructure and a resultant paradigm shift
in the ability of rail freight service providers to meet
today’s demanding customer requirements.
• Assessment is based on extensive input from key
decision makers in the transport and logistics
industries and from end customers.
• A high standard railway offering reliable next day
and possible same day delivery will allow rail to
compete effectively in markets now closed to it,
including express road and possibly, some air
freight.
Re-direction of capital funding
• The GATR Inland Railway is estimated to cost
around $6 billion at current values, using efficient
construction methods. Some major projects under
consideration to improve freight transit and capacity
over the existing coastal route could be postponed or
curtailed with the advent of GATR, including:
– A NSW Government $7.9bn proposal to IA in July 2010 for
the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor to enhance Sydney to
Newcastle freight capacity. Much of the forecast growth
used to justify this project is Melbourne-Brisbane traffic.
– ATRC’s proposal to invest some $1.4bn to upgrade capacity
of the NSW North Coast line (Maitland to Brisbane).
• Mode shift to the Inland Railway will postpone many
significant Newell Highway capacity and safety
improvements that will otherwise be needed.
What would the GATR project achieve?
The GATR system would deliver wideranging benefits of national
significance including:
– Provide a long term sustainable solution to
many current infrastructure impediments on
Australia’s east coast.
– Overcome the current lack of reliable, timely and
cost-effective east coast rail freight that has
underpinned much of the extensive growth of
long distance road freight.
– Encourage economic development in regional
Eastern Australia, particularly for major centres
along the inland rail network.
In conclusion
GATR is proposing a modern open access rail
network that can transform Australia’s transport
system by delivering fast transits, low operating
cost, low emissions and consistently reliable
service to the transport and logistics markets.
There will only be one opportunity to build a new
inland railway – it should therefore anticipate
future standards, not past standards - wide radius
curves, flattest practical grades, town by-passes,
high axle loads and clearance for larger rolling
stock.
The GATR Inland Railway is a visionary project of
national significance, but one that can be delivered
during the current decade at a fraction the cost of
other large scale nation building projects.
A bold new approach is needed for
rail to deliver its real potential.
Let’s do the job properly so that
Inland Rail becomes a serious game
changer for Australia’s land transport.