About ARTC
The Australian Rail Track Corporation Ltd (ARTC) was created after the Commonwealth and State Governments agreed in 1997 to the formation of a 'one stop' shop for all operators seeking access to the National interstate rail network.
ARTC currently has responsibility for the management of over 8,500 route kilometres of standard gauge interstate track in South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. ARTC also manages the Hunter Valley coal rail network, and other regional rail links, in New South Wales.
The National Interstate Rail Network comprises:
| ARTC OWNED CORRIDORS |
National interstate rail network: |
 Adelaide to Wolseley |
| Adelaide - Port Augusta - Kalgoorlie |
| Port Augusta to Whyalla |
| Tarcoola to Alice Springs (long term lease to Genesee and Wyoming Australia) |
| Broken Hill to Crystal Brook |
| |
| VICTORIAN LEASED CORRIDORS |
Mainline interstate network: |
| Melbourne to Wolseley |
| Melbourne to Albury |
| Maroona to Portland |
| Benalla to Oaklands |
| |
| NEW SOUTH WALES LEASED CORRIDORS |
Mainline interstate network: |
| Albury to Macarthur |
| Newcastle to Queensland border |
| Cootamundra to Broken Hill |
| Port Botany |
| |
| Hunter Valley coal rail network: |
| Newcastle Ports to Werris Creek |
| Muswellbrook to Ulan |
| Werris Creek to Narrabri |
| |
| Regional rail network: |
| Parkes to Werris Creek |
| Merrygoen to Ulan |
| Narrabri to Boggabilla |
| |
| QUEENSLAND LEASED CORRIDORS |
Interstate rail network: |
| NSW/QLD Border to Acacia Ridge |
Over these corridors, ARTC is responsible for:
- Selling access to train operators
- The development of new business
- Capital investment in the corridors
- Management of the Network
- The management of infrastructure maintenance
The remainder of the interstate rail network is still controlled by the various government agencies as follows:
- Sydney Metropolitan Region (RailCorp)
- Kalgoorlie to Perth (Brookfield Rail)
ARTC has a wholesale agreement in place with the Western Australia Government giving ARTC rights to sell access to interstate services between Kalgoorlie, Perth and the Port of Kwinana.
In addition to ARTC's own capital investment programs, it has also received investment funding from the Australian Government.
For access to the interstate tracks currently under ARTC management, train operators, in the main, pay a two part access charge. A fixed component, known as the flagfall, is in effect a charge for occupying capacity on the network, regardless of the size of the train. The second charge is a mass distance charge based on the gross tonnage of the train multiplied by the distance traveled.
The major operators using the ARTC owned or leased network are:
- El Zorro
- Freightliner
- Genesee and Wyoming Australia
- Great Southern Railway
- Independent Rail
- Pacific National
- P&O Transport Australia
- QR National
- RailCorp
- Specialised Container Transport