Re: The Federal Budget - Rail forgotten??

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

>I can a appreciate how frustrating it is when the NSW government forms RAC
>so they can capture all track cost and demand a return on their investment
>when they do no such thing with the roads of this state. I wish politicians
>would have the guts to form the Roads and Traffic Corporation and demand
>that it makes a profit by directly charging its users just like RAC. Then we
>will finally be able to see the true cost of supply of all thses roads. Some
>politicians can be complete bastards setting totally different standards for
>the same commodity (i.e. transport). In the days of user pays why am I
>paying for some arse wipe to drive down a new freeway or upgraded road which
>I don't use??

>Ben Staples



The problem with this argument is that the Railway Lines of NSW, like 
everywhere else in Australia wernt paid for by RAC or even by the NSW Govt.
the were paid for out of taxes from you and me , so there isnt anything to get 
a return from .
The whole business of returns from capital investments only works in the 
private sector world ,when investors fund capital infrastructure.

If all Govt assetts had to make a return on their capital costs,then the whole 
Govt would run at a profit.
Rather that arguing that the users of roads should have to pay for them ,(we 
already do via fuel taxes by around 11 times ) , it makes more sense to argue 
that access to Railways should be on the same basis of the roads , ie free.
If we abandoned track access charges and charged registration fees for 
locomotives & rolling stock then the whole system would become totally 
transparant,especially if the registration charges were linked to those 
charged to the Road Transport sector.

Of course , this will never happen , as Govts like to use Railways as tax 
collectors , especially in the cases of coal Railways.

MD