THE trucking industry says that without trucks Australia stops. Well, that may be about to change with the building of the Inland Rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane.
Rail already carries half of Australia’s freight and that percentage will grow when Inland Rail comes into operation.
The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has just released a 10-point plan to boost Australia’s rail freight through greater efficiencies.
The ARA points out that the national freight task is expected to grow by more than 80 per cent between 2011 and 2031. On top of that, the Australian population is expected to increase to 30.5 million by 2031, which makes it imperative that our infrastructure – particularly rail freight – is ready to meet the demands of the coming decades.
The ARA plan has identified 10 areas which it believes need attention. But as in all things, money is required to be spent on rail. Without it we will slip further behind.
It is time that the federal and state governments stepped up and committed more funds to give the country a 21st-century railway system.
Apart from efficiency, rail is a key factor in the nation reducing its carbon footprint, with an average freight train taking 100 B-double trucks off the
roads.
– TONY DUBOUDIN
Rail already carries half of Australia’s freight and that percentage will grow when Inland Rail comes into operation.
The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has just released a 10-point plan to boost Australia’s rail freight through greater efficiencies.
The ARA points out that the national freight task is expected to grow by more than 80 per cent between 2011 and 2031. On top of that, the Australian population is expected to increase to 30.5 million by 2031, which makes it imperative that our infrastructure – particularly rail freight – is ready to meet the demands of the coming decades.
The ARA plan has identified 10 areas which it believes need attention. But as in all things, money is required to be spent on rail. Without it we will slip further behind.
It is time that the federal and state governments stepped up and committed more funds to give the country a 21st-century railway system.
Apart from efficiency, rail is a key factor in the nation reducing its carbon footprint, with an average freight train taking 100 B-double trucks off the
roads.
– TONY DUBOUDIN
