Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

The Sydney to Melbourne Railway: Yesterday, today and tomorrow

posted Wednesday 28 September 2005

Abstract of paper by Dr Philip Laird, University of Wollongong, presented at the Second International Engineering Heritage Conference 2005.

VENUE: Sydney, 21 September-23 September 2005. Engineers Australia

KEYWORDS: Rail deviations, modal shares, time savings, fuel savings

ABSTRACT: The paper outlines the changes in the Sydney - Melbourne railway since its official opening on 14 June 1883. These include grade easing during the 1890s, duplication with deviations during the 1910s and the opening in 1962 of the standard gauge track between Albury and Melbourne. It then outlines the numerous studies undertaken in the period between 1975 and 2005 to upgrade the track. During this period, most of the Hume Highway was reconstructed and rail's share of Sydney - Melbourne non-bulk freight fell to its present level of 11 per cent. In addition to the track upgrading due to be completed by June 2008, the paper recommends the construction of three major deviations; Menangle to Aylmerton, Breadalbane to Yass, and Bowning to Cootamundra and two smaller deviations. The combined length is 197 km and would replace 257 km of track on "steam age" alignment. The benefits for a "reference" intermodal freight train include a time saving of 105 minutes, a fuel saving of about 2000 litres of diesel, train and track maintenance savings along with lower external costs. Track straightening for faster and heavier freight trains would also facilitate high-speed passenger tilt train services.

A soft copy is available on request to the author at plaird@uow.edu.au.

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