Competition is tough in long haul merchandise

Australian national railways depend heavily on revenue from non bulk freight to improve its financial performance on the trans Australian east west link. No restrictions on entry into road haulage and inadequate charges for highway maintenance make road transport very competitive and so the quality of service is crucial in the market. The political fragmentation of the national network is against the rails competitive advantage; not one of the ten possible interconnections between Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth can be made on the tracks of one administration. The author suggests improved facilities could be increased by the formation of a freight forwarder to consolidate small lot general merchandise at major city rail terminals for the long terminal terminal rail carriage. Distribution is handled by the road operation of the freight forwarder out of the destination terminal. Services have been improved greatly recently. Examples are given of a reduction in transit time from tarcola to alice springs from four days to 32 hours, and a standard gauge link to Adelaide not requiring the changes of bogies of wagons travelling between Adelaide and Perth, Sydney or Brisbane. Other improvements have been the introduction of rapid rail involving the marshalling of merchandise freight on express passenger trains.