History of rail transport in Australia
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Australians generally assumed in the 1850s that railways would be built by the private sector. Private companies built railways in the then colonies of Victoria, opened in 1854, and New South Wales, where the company was taken over by the government before completion in 1855, due to bankruptcy. South Australia's railways were government owned from the beginning, including a horse-drawn line opened in 1854 and a steam-powered line opened in 1856. In Victoria, the private railways were soon found not to be financially viable, and existing rail networks and their expansion were taken over by the colony. Government ownership also enabled railways to be built to promote development, even if not apparently viable in strictly financial terms. The railway systems spread from the colonial capitals, except for a few lines that hauled commodities to a rural port.
Railways in Australia date from the 10 December 1831 when the Australian Agricultural Company officially opened Australia's first railway,[1] located at the intersection of Brown and Church Streets, Newcastle, New South Wales. Privately owned and operated to service the A Pit coal mine, it was a cast iron fishbelly rail on an inclined plane as a gravitational railway.[2]
The colonial railways were built to three different gauges, which became a problem once lines of different systems met at
In the 1990s and the early 21st century, the traditional networks were reorganised and partially privatised. The interstate standard gauge network came largely under the control of the Australian Rail Track Corporation and private companies were allowed to operate on it for the first time. Some non-metropolitan intrastate networks became privately controlled and the operation of private freight and passenger trains commenced. The Melbourne suburban railways became the first urban rail system to be operated by private sector franchisees.
Development of state-based networks
Railways in Australia date from the 10 December 1831 when the
The earliest railway in South Australia consisted of the seven-mile horse-drawn freight line between
In 1848, the
The three major Australian colonies at the time failed to follow advice from the
Queensland's first line (3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge—known in Australia as "
The mainline systems of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and
New South Wales
New South Wales' railways date from the 10 December 1831 when the Australian Agricultural Company officially opened Australia's first railway,[1] located at the intersection of Brown and Church Streets, Newcastle. Privately owned and operated to service the A Pit coal mine, it was a cast iron fishbelly rail on an inclined plane as a gravitational railway[2]
New South Wales' railways were standard gauge lines built to connect the ports of Sydney and Newcastle to the rural interior. The first public railway was the
The
The last main line, the
Victoria
Victoria's first railway was a suburban railway opened from Melbourne to
In 1919, electrification and development of the
Queensland
The first line opened in 1865 from
Independent lines were commenced from the east coast ports of Maryborough, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay, Bowen, Townsville, Cairns and Cooktown. The central line opened from Rockhampton to Westwood in 1887 and reached Winton in central western Queensland in 1928. The northern line opened from Townsville to Charters Towers in 1882 and reached Mount Isa in 1929.[27][28][29][30] In 1888 the east-west lines began to be connected with the opening of the first section of the North Coast line to Petrie. It was not until 1924 that this line finally reached Cairns, Cooktown was never connected.[27][28][29][30]
Many heavy haul coal lines were built in the late 20th century from the ports of Gladstone (beginning in 1968) and
Western Australia
The first railway in Western Australia was the
In the 20th century, Perth was finally connected to the eastern states. In 1917, the standard gauge
South Australia
In 1854,
The first South Australian steam-operated line was built as a
The first interstate connection was completed in 1887, when the South Australian and Victorian broad gauge railways met at
Tasmania
The first railway in Tasmania was a broad
The Tasmanian Government bought the Tasmanian Main Line Company in 1890, creating the
Off network gauges
Development of the national network
In the 19th century, railways were created to enable agricultural and minerals traffic to be carried to ports for export, and to allow passenger and freight operations between colonial capitals and regional areas. Coastal shipping handled most passenger and freight traffic between the colonies. John Whitton was appointed Engineer in Chief of the New South Wales Government Railways in 1856 and immediately advised his government that the short railway that had been opened in Sydney be converted to broad gauge in case the railways of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia ever joined, but he was refused because "... his political masters ... were unable to envisage intercolonial traffic ever developing."[32] However, the problem of different gauges became apparent with the meeting of lines of the different systems at Albury in 1883[14] and Wallangarra in 1888.[14]
In the 1890s, the establishment of an
The Australian Government has full responsibility for railways in the federal territories, although the Northern Territory's railway is now owned and operated by the private
In 1910, a conference of Railway commissioners chose 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) to be the
Creating a standard gauge network
In the 20th century, the different state rail systems became more integrated, initially creating more
In 1932 the first progress in reducing the gauge conflict was made with the completion of the standard gauge
In the 1950s, a parliamentary committee chaired by
- broad gaugeto complete the Sydney–Melbourne railway.
- narrow gaugeconverted to standard gauge.
- Port Pirie– narrow gauge converted to standard.
In 1962 the
The
Private railways
There have always been niches for private railways in most colonies, such as:
- timber – private timber lines have occurred in most forested areas of Australia since the late 19th century
- mining – private iron mining railways alone now account for most Australian rail freight by tonnage, but private coal railways have been important since the early years of coal mining in the mid 19th century
- quarrying
- major factory sites, such as steel works
- temporary lines at construction sites
- agriculture, especially the sugar industry
Timber railways
Most timber railway operations across Australia were transitory, only existing for the time that timber was extracted. Some lines were moved regularly to the areas of forest to be exploited. A few 19th century operations were horse hauled, but most were steam powered. Very few timber railways lasted into the 1960s with the advent of more versatile and stronger road based haulage.[37]
Mining railways
Starting in the 1960s, four heavy duty railways were developed in the Pilbara region of the far north of Western Australia for the haulage of iron ore from several mines to the nearest ports. These railways are isolated from each other and from the national system, carrying no other traffic.
The very heavy traffic on these lines, up to 100 million tonnes per year, push wheel/rail technology to its limits, and has resulted in considerable research and development that has been of value to railways worldwide.
These iron ore railways are all 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge, and started off using American standards for track, locomotives and wagons.
In 2008, the
The railway lines are:
- Hamersley & Robe River railway (Rio Tinto)
- Mount Newman railway (BHP)
- Goldsworthy railway (BHP)
- Fortescue railway (FMG)
1990s and recent developments
Privatisation
In 1992, the largely
Australian National was privatised in 1997. Its Tasmanian operations and infrastructure (TasRail) were sold to Australian Transport Network, which was taken over by Pacific National in 2004. South Australian branch lines were sold to Genesee & Wyoming Australia. Its passenger operations were taken over by Great Southern Railway.
State freight and country passenger operations were privatised. Urban passenger trains remained in government ownership, except in
New operating companies that appeared included:
- Aurizon
- Australian Railroad Group
- Australian Southern Railroad, eventually named One Rail Australia
- Bowmans Rail
- FreightLink
- Magnetic Rail Group
- Patrick Rail Operations
- Qube Logistics
- Rail First Asset Management
- SCT Logistics
- Silverton Rail
- South Spur Rail Services
- Southern Shorthaul Railroad
- Watco Australia
Licensing of personnel with nationally recognised credentials facilitates the transfer of those people from one state or operator to another, as traffic demands.
Separation of infrastructure and operations
Construction and maintenance of network infrastructure were consolidated into non-profit government bodies, in the case of the interstate network and the non-urban railways of New South Wales (Australian Rail Track Corporation) and Western Australia (WestNet Rail). This was intended to provide access to new and existing players.
The interstate rail network of the former
Other railways continue to be integrated, although access to their infrastructure is generally required under National Competition Policy principles agreed by the Federal, State and Territory governments:
- Queensland – Queensland Rail
- Tasmania – Pacific National
- Victorian non-interstate lines – Pacific National
- Western Australian non-interstate lines – Australian Railroad Group
- South Australian non-interstate lines – Genesee & Wyoming Australia
- Tarcoola-Darwin railway – FreightLink
Much maintenance of tracks were contracted out.
Australian Government funding
The
One Nation program
Under the Keating government's One Nation program:
- the Melbourne-Adelaide linewas converted to standard gauge in 1995.
- the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge Fisherman Islands line to the Port of Brisbane was converted to dual 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) / 1,067 mm gauge and extended in parallel with the duplicated passenger line to Dutton Park.
- a standard gauge link was built to the port at Fremantle.
- new standard gauge sidings were provided at Adelaide Outer Harbor.
- a separate freight line was built between Australian Government under AusLink.
- the Sydney–Brisbane line was upgraded with longer passing loops, the replacement of wooden trestles with concrete bridges, concrete resleepering, some minor deviations and bank stabilisation.
- passing loops were extended between Wodonga and Melbourne.
Alice Springs to Darwin railway
In 2004, the final link in the
See Rail transport in Australia for current Australian Government rail funding.
Single regulator
In 2009, it was proposed to combine the seven separate state rail regulators into a single regulator.[39][needs update]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Webber, J; Wylie, R.F. (March 1968), "Colliery Railways of the Australian Agricultural Company in the Newcastle District", Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 53–63
- ^ a b c Campbell, D.; Brougham, J.; Caldwell, R., "Conference Paper: Uncovering and understanding Australia's First Railway" (PDF), Australian Journal of Multi-disciplinary Engineering, 7 (2), Newcastle, NSW: Engineering Heritage Australia: 2–3, archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014, retrieved 14 July 2011
- ^ a b Testro, Ron (1971), A Pictorial History of Australian Railways, Lansdowne Press, p. 9
- ^ a b c d e "Chapter 4: Building Australia's First Railways, 1848–1873". Linking a Nation. Australian Heritage Council. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008.
- ^ Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Archived from the originalon 26 September 2008.
- ^ a b "William Webster – the first railway engineer". The Iron Road www.warrenfahey.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Main South Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Main Western Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d "ARHS Railway Museum: History 1839–1900". ARHS Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 29 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Beginnings". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010.
- ^ a b "The choice of a different gauge". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010.
- ^ "Canberra Branch history". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
- Sydney Morning Herald. 2 May 1889. p. 7. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Main North Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
- ^ "North Coast Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
- ^ "Additional Crossing of the Clarence River – Feasibility Study Report" (PDF). Roads & Traffic Authority. February 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2011. p1
- ^ a b "Broken Hill Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
- ^ "South Coast Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
- ^ a b c "VR timeline". victorianrailways.net. Mark Bau. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
- ^ "Geelong Line". Rail Geelong. Marcus Wong. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
- ^ Brown, Sid (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail. 18 (3). Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division): 71–76.
- ^ "Victorian Railway Maps 1860–2000". Victorian Railways Resources. Andrew Waugh. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
- ^ "ARHS Railway Museum: History 1900–1950". ARHS Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
- ^ Lucas, Clay (20 August 2008). "Public transport use hits all-time high". The Age. Melbourne, Australia.
- ^ "An imported railway". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008.
- ^ "Building to the bush". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ^ a b c "The common carrier". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008.
- ^ a b "Towards a unified rail system". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 30 October 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ^ a b "A vision splendid". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Rail as foremost mode of travel". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ^ a b "Modern competitive railway". QR History. Queensland Rail. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Chapter 5: The Railway Age, 1874–1920". Linking a Nation. Australian Heritage Council. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d "A History of Rail in South Australia". National Rail Museum. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009.
- ^ "Terowie Urban Conservation Area, Terowie, SA, Australia". Australian Heritage Database. Aussie Heritage. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008.
- ^ "Peterborough Railway Roundhouse and Turntable, Railway Terrace, Peterborough, SA". Australian Heritage Database. Aussie Heritage. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act
- ISBN 978-0-9803922-2-7
- ^ Anderson, John. "Media release, December 2003". Government of Australia. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007.
- ^ Single, national rail safety regulatory and investigation framework: draft regulatory impact statement (PDF), Australia: National Transport Commission, November 2008, archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2014
Further reading
- Brown, Sid. "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail (Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)) (March 1990). 18 (3): 71–76.
- Carroll, Brian. Australia's Railway Days: Milestones in Railway History (Macmillan Company of Australia, 1977).
- Hearn, Mark. Working Lives: A History of the Australian Railways Union (NSW Branch) (Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1990).
- Hill, William (1894). "State Railways in Australia". Journal of Political Economy. 3 (1): 1–23.
- Lee, Robert. "A Fractious Federation: Patterns in Australian Railway Historiography." Mobility in History 4#1 (2013): 149–158.
- Rowe, Denis. "The Robust Navvy: The Railway Construction Worker in Northern New South Wales, 1854–1894." Labour History (1980): 28–46. in JSTOR
- Taksa, Lucy. "'About as popular as a dose of clap': Steam, diesel and masculinity at the New South Wales Eveleigh railway workshops." The Journal of Transport History 26#2 (2005): 79–97.
- Testro, Ron. A Pictorial History of Australian Railways (Lansdowne Press, 1971)
- Wills-Johnson, Nick. "Competition Policy and Railway Investment in Australia." Planning and Transport Research Centre Working Paper 12 (2007). online
- Wotherspoon, Garry. "The determinants of the pattern and pace of railway development in New South Wales, 1850–1914." Australian Journal of Politics & History 25.1 (1979): 51–65.
External links
- John L. Buckland collection of railway transport photographs / National Library collection that covers all aspects of Australian railway history
- A history of the Australian railway / Covers several aspects of railway development in Australia, with nice images