Re: FC in Vic
Michael Walker (walker@hotkey.net.au)
Sun, 01 Feb 1998 01:07:24 +1100
> The only way that the main southern line is ever going to get upgraded is if
> someone opens a bloody big coal mine somewhere along the way ,and FC gets
> exclusive monopoly to carry the coal.
> The only reason that Queensland Rail gets so much money is due to the coal it
> carries,coal which incidentally is a total monopoly,and an area where the
> Queensland Govt will allow no competition.
>
> Its a similar story in NSW,although FC is slightly less dependant on coal
> than is Qrail.
> For all the knocking of PTC freight,considering they have no major mineral
> haulage like coal , they are doing pretty well in the current climate.
>
> I suspect that over the next few years, that coal will become an ever smaller
> export earner for Aus,and that Railways traditionally reliant on coal to break
> even will have to find some new sources of freight.
>
> cheers
> MD
I agree with both your comments on PTC freight and coal export. However
I am sure you must agree Vline Freight would do much better if the
government spent money on making railways more competitive to road. A
few small things like a relatively well graded relatively direct line to
Ballarat or a well maintained line between Cranbourne and Lang Lang or
further (remember when trains ran to Barries Beach and pass trains to
Leongatha) instead of these near enough is (not) good enough lines built
last century when pacifying land owners was more important than building
straight well graded railways. Especially given modern freeways /
highways with lots of money spent on them generally put rail at a
disadvantage. After all, a meandering single line with the odd crossing
loop cannot compete very easily compared to even a two lane highway
which runs directly from point A to point B with no change of mode and
relatively few crossing loop restrictions let alone the more common
multi lane freeway.
The classic example is the 5-10 minute drive Melton Bacchus Marsh vs.
the 11-18 or so to travel by PASSENGER train. (obviously faster in the
section than a comparable freight)
Even with the coal haulage comparison between Freightcorp and QR, at
least QR spent considerable sums to maximise their opportunities and
lower their costs via Electrification of and Main North Line Upgrade.
What has Freightcorp done that is comparable? The last thing would have
been electrification projects and as can be seen from previous threads,
they are now throwing this money away by not using the electric locos as
much.