Re: Start of ARTC.

[mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie Daly)]

One of the major problems that ARTC will face in maintaining the track and 
improving it , is the relatively small number of trains that run over it,and 
the level of track access charges they will realistically be able to levy.
As an example the Melb - Albury track is carrying less than 1/3 of its real 
capacity with the current number of trains per day, and there hasnt been any 
real sign of improvement , ie more freight going from road to rail.
If the examples of other Track Access authorities are anything to go by, such 
as RAC or Westrails equivalent , there is virtually no incentive at all to 
spend money on track improvements.
This is one of the great drawbacks of the horizontal integration model.
The rest of the mainline SG Network , with the exception of parts of the 
Nth Coast line , is carrying a woefully small number of trains per day , 
compared with its theoretical capacity, especially the TAR & the CAR, which is 
effectively the main source of ARTCs potential revenue.
Effectively what we have ended up with , is yet another Govt rail authority, 
looking after a small subset of the national network,over which there are less 
trains running.
The initial concept of a National Track Access authority , which was a good 
one , has really been lost.

cheers
MD