Re: GSR's First Overland Arrives
Paul Pickford (boss@opera.iinet.net.au)
Wed, 5 Nov 1997 07:42:22 +0800
Terry Burton wrote in message
8< snip
>They were given carte blanche over the national network,
>they picked the eye teeth out of the freight business, they
>signed a 15 year one billion dollar contract for 120 freight
>loco's with maintenance and the Spotswood facility which
>employs a hand full of people. They have used all of the
>facilities and infrastructure built up by the CR/ANR/AN and
>then have the bloody hide to tell us their making a profit.
>Australian National bled to death after losing its business
>to National Rail, and then the party hacks with union
>support went around and said, "Oh well, AN were losing big
>money so we had to do something, and that's why we created
>National Rail Corp." AN were going OK until 1991.!
>
All this being the case, and I'm not thrashing a company line here, I think
most people have missed a point here. AN may well have been doing ok, but it
was still just a local identity. Parts of Westrail were ok too, and I'm sure
the other networks had their good performers as well. But overall,
nationally that is, the whole picture was a disorganised mess. It was
impossible to reform rail, as a national asset, without giving the whole
system a good enema.
It doesn't matter who owns NR, or even who it was, but the country as a
whole must be better off with an operator at the lead who is at least trying
to improve things. NR isn't perfect by a long way, and I don't doubt for a
second that they've made and will make mistakes. But they are trying to
improve things on a daily basis.
When I worked for Westrail we used to do a 3 1/2+ hour trip, Merredin to
Perth and book off. That night, 3 1/2+ hours back home. Plus mileage
payments, shift and Sunday payments, kilowatt allowances, tuckerbox money,
and as a mileage train we couldn't shunt before or after the trip. We
couldn't touch wagons or switches in the yards, use a computer, or drive a
car. Plus 100 other stupid little things.
I'm sure all the other state systems had similar jokes to this.
We still have to look past the signs on the loco's, who owns what and where
did they get it, and look at the whole deal as an asset to Australia. How
can we improve the country as a whole?
NR is a developing thing, and when it's gone, it will have left behind a
better rail system for Australia.