Regional Development Australia Hume Region Passenger & Freight Rail Review Final Report 26 August 2011 This Hume Region Passenger & Freight Rail Review Final Report (“Report”): 1. has been prepared by GHD Pty Ltd for Regional Development Australia - Hume; 2. may only be used and relied on by Regional Development Australia - Hume; 3. must not be copied to, used by, or relied on by any person other than Regional Development Australia - Hume without the prior written consent of GHD; 4. may only be used for the purpose of addressing the RDA Hume Brief (and must not be used for any other purpose). GHD and its servants, employees and officers otherwise expressly disclaim responsibility to any person other than Regional Development Australia - Hume arising from or in connection with this Report. To the maximum extent permitted by law, all implied warranties and conditions in relation to the services provided by GHD and the Report are excluded unless they are expressly stated to apply in this Report. The services undertaken by GHD in connection with preparing this Report were limited to those specifically detailed in the Brief. The opinions, conclusions and any recommendations in this Report are based on assumptions made by GHD when undertaking services and preparing the Report in accordance with the Brief. Subject to the paragraphs in this section of the Report, the opinions, conclusions and any recommendations in this Report are based on conditions encountered and information reviewed at the time of preparation. GHD |Regional Development Australia - Final Report Executive Summary GHD has been engaged by the Regional Development Australia - Hume (RDA Hume) to undertake a pre-feasibility study to identify the optimal outcomes for both passenger and freight rail in the Hume Region of Victoria. The Hume Region is located in north east Victoria and contains a total of twelve local government areas. It is geographically diverse and includes the major regional centres of Wodonga, Wangaratta, Shepparton and Seymour. Passenger Rail Service Passenger rail services are a particular focus of this study and are fully discussed in Section 2. Passenger rail in the Hume region consists of two rail lines which extend as a single corridor from Melbourne to Mangalore where the corridor splits to continue to Shepparton on one line (the Goulburn Valley line) and to Wangaratta and Wodonga on the North East line. A comparative analysis of population, employment, the current passenger rail service characteristics and trends in train patronage have been completed for the Hume region along with a comparison with similar regional centres in Victoria, Traralgon, Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat. The analysis shows that the number and scheduling of passenger rail services along the Shepparton and Albury/Wodonga lines are currently inadequate to meet community needs for a link to Melbourne. The number of services provided to townships along the Shepparton and Albury/Wodonga lines is disproportionately low when similarities in population and the distance from Melbourne are taken into account. Freight Rail Service Freight rail services were also a particular focus of this study and are fully discussed in Section 3. Rail freight in the Hume region travels on the same lines as the passenger services to Shepparton and to Albury/Wodonga along with three branch lines off the Goulburn Valley Line which terminate in southern NSW. The freight network within Australia is a complex system due to the rail track gauge variations. Until very recently Victoria has had a predominantly broad gauge rail “network” which created inefficiencies for interstate and intrastate rail freight movements and also reduced the number of operators. Prices have therefore been unnecessarily high for rail freight. The ongoing presence of broad gauge tracks in the Goulburn Valley continues to propagate those inefficiencies and barriers to entry for the rail industry. The freight services within the Hume region are limited. For example, the number of services along the Shepparton Line has decreased from two services a day to three services a week over the last few decades. The decline of freight rail services in the Hume region has also resulted in rail becoming inflexible and therefore not the preferred mode of freight transport. The Hume region is a key generator of freight and with most freight now transported by road there is a significant opportunity to increase the volume transported by rail. GHD | Regional Development Australia - Final Report Benefits of Rail The benefits of rail transport for passengers and freight are detailed in Section 6.1. Increasing the usage of rail within the Hume region has a number of benefits which include: y Safety - Rail is a safer transport mode compared to the road system due to driver fatigue resulting in increased chances of collisions; y Cost of Oil Increasing - Oil is a finite resource and will become more expensive; based on average vehicles usage rates it will become more economical to transport by rail instead of by road; y Environmental Impacts - Average vehicle occupancy for passengers and the volume of goods trucks can carry will cause road vehicles to emit increasingly greater amounts of greenhouse gases per person km or per tonne km; y Congestion - Traffic volumes on roads are increasing resulting in longer travel times. Passenger and freight rail provide greater certainty for the duration of the trip; y Productivity and Time Savings - Rail services offer passengers the opportunity to use their travel time productively. Also, trains can operate at higher speeds than cars therefore decreasing travel time; y Accessibility - The provision of public transport is fundamental to a coherent and socially inclusive society offering services to those people not equipped with a car; y Deferment or reduction of expenditure on the road network - Road upgrades and maintenance would be reduced by a mode shift of passengers and freight to rail; y Recent research by Deloittes Access Economics - “The True Value of Rail” quantifies externalities and the social benefits of rail transport. These are particularly applicable to the RDA Hume Region. Issues from a paucity of rail services The issues from a paucity of rail services are detailed in Section 6.2 and summarised below. A paucity of passenger rail services While minimal freight rail services creates the following issues: create the following issues: y Constraints on regional growth; y More road maintenance due to an increased number of trucks; y Increased dependence on private cars; y Social and security issues in towns from large vehicles y Reduction of productivity; travelling through the town; y Decrease in the number/variety of y Road safety; specialist services provided in the town; y Traffic congestion in regional towns and in Melbourne; and y Education growth limitations; y Lack of choice for industry to y Fruit picking and multi-cultural choose a mode of transport. migration difficulties; and y Tourism limitations. GHD |Regional Development Australia - Final Report Investment Requirements/Recommendations The key recommendations and investment requirements from this report are detailed in Section 7 and summarised below. The key recommendations are detailed in Section 7 and summarised in the table below. Key Recommendations Recommendations Justification of Recommendations Gauge Standardisation of y There is a paucity of freight operators on broad the Shepparton (Goulburn gauge and therefore the cost competiveness of Valley) Line efficient rail transport cannot be tested against road transport. y The broad gauge line increases travel time for rail freight from Shepparton to Sydney/Brisbane due to the need to travel to Melbourne to change gauges. y The Hume region has two gauge types and therefore gauge standardising the Shepparton line would allow for efficiencies in the region. y Gauge standardisation on the Goulburn Valley corridor would relieve congestion on the North East corridor with trains able to travel direct to Shepparton. Increase passenger rail y There is a disparity between passenger rail services along the services in the Hume region and other major Shepparton and regional centres in Victoria. The analysis shows that Albury/Wodonga Lines the number of services to Shepparton and to Albury/Wodonga is disproportionately low compared to regional centres of similar population and proximity to Melbourne’s CBD. In particular, Shepparton shares similar demographics, population and commuter travel characteristics with Traralgon but receives less than one fifth of the number of services. Track upgrades along the y Currently the tracks are maintained for lower Shepparton and levels of transport (particularly the track to Albury/Wodonga Lines to Shepparton). This results in lower train speeds and achieve parity with an uncomfortable journey. Regional Fast Rail (RFR) y Track upgrades would allow faster and newer standards (i.e. Class 1 trains to operate on these tracks. track) Additional passenger rail y To increase the number of passenger services rolling stock more rolling stock is required. y More rolling stock provides greater flexibility for timetabling. GHD |Regional Development Australia - Final Report Recommendations Justification of Recommendations Additional freight rail rolling y More rolling stock allows for an increase in the stock frequency of the services. Investigate opportunities y A container terminal in the Goulburn Valley area for a container terminal in would reduce the complexities