*CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY*
Good afternoon everyone, I’m Wayne Johnson, CEO of ARTC.
I’d like to start by acknowledging the land and traditional families of the Awabakal and Worimi people, and offer my respects to all First Nations people, including those here with us today.
It may surprise you to learn that our vast rail network at ARTC crosses the lands of more than 50 First People communities and lands, so recognising the connection to land that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have is really important to us as we progress our own reconciliation journey.
It’s great to be here today and see such a broad cross-section of organisations represented.
A big shout-out to any of our customers represented, and our partners across the supply chain, including suppliers who continue to support us in our important work.
To name a few who I can see: Transport for NSW, the High Speed Rail Authority, One Rail, Siemens, John Holland, Martinus, and the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator.
Caroline Wilkie did say that today’s lunch was fast selling, so I’ll just assume you’re all here for the Scotch Fillet!
In all seriousness, thanks Caroline for the invitation to speak … and a huge thanks to the broader ARA team for hosting us today and enabling another valuable networking opportunity.
Today, I’ve been given 15 minutes, but I’m sure I’ll probably take 20, so I apologise in advance.
I’ll also mention upfront that I did want to talk about safety today and the latest steps we’re taking at ARTC … importantly in locked arms with others like our Shareholders and Transport for NSW in level crossing risk reduction programs.
We’ve taken some really positive steps forward on safety – and there’s so much more we’re focused on doing – but due to the tight schedule today, I’ll jump straight into the topic of the day, which is…
The need for a new mindset when it comes to freight in this country, and the importance of productivity to our freight future.
Let’s start from the top shall we … the Prime Minister.
During the recent Federal Election campaign, Anthony Albanese said something that really resonated with me. He said:
“Our rail network is our nation’s nervous system.”
I couldn’t agree more.
The PM also stressed how important it is for Australia’s key freight lines to remain:
“Productive, viable and well maintained.”
And folks, therein lies the challenge!
It’s a challenge that we absolutely must address – and overcome – if we’re going to arrest the rising cost of doing business in this country.
Would you believe that dollar-per-tonne of freight on a train between Melbourne and Brisbane is now as or more expensive than road?
Reducing the cost of doing business is vital if we’re to lower the prices of goods on supermarket shelves…
If we’re to ease the cost-of-living crisis…
And if we’re to secure the future of rail freight in Australia, and meet the tripling of the national freight task by 2050.
To deliver “productive, viable and well maintained” freight lines – which includes rail and road – our transport sector needs a new mindset.
A more sustainable supply chain is not about determining superiority between trucks and trains.
It’s about understanding and respecting how these modes can complement each other, and adopting modern hub and spoke supply chain design.
It’s about leveraging our strengths to achieve shared goals and coordinating the combined.
And it’s about moving away from incremental fixes to a nationally-coordinated, productivity-driven transformation of the freight network that serves communities, business and the national interest.
At ARTC, one of the things we’ve done is shift from a traditional network pathing view, to an integrated end-to-end freight needs perspective for our customers.
Our position is that we need all industry players working together, not against each other.
Australia’s future will continue to require effective and cost-efficient means of transport to prosper in trade.
If we’re to improve efficiency, drive economic growth and create a stronger supply chain, we must coordinate between rail, road and intermodal transport options.
Of course, this isn’t revolutionary thinking.
The building blocks already exist through our National Land Transport Network…
… connecting our major urban centres, regional hubs, ports, airports and intermodal terminals to streamline logistics and freight movement.
Albeit, as the National Network operator, the onus is on ARTC to step up and ensure scrutiny against this framework.
Improvement though requires investment, with capital-efficient approaches to recycling of assets, and access approaches that leverage shared infrastructure, adding to competitiveness and not the opposite.
It requires collaborative planning.
And perhaps above all, it requires increased productivity.
Indeed, improving productivity is crucial.
To meet the future freight task and help reduce the cost of doing business – and living – in this country, something needs to change.
We can’t just deliver business-as-usual.
Reliability to market, payload and velocity are all determinants of rail competitiveness – not how much is spent!
We need to unlock the next door of productivity.
And guess what? The rail industry holds the key.
As we all know, there are so many benefits to rail transport … safety and economic benefits, as well as environmental advantages, such as for every 1% of freight moved from road to rail, there’s an estimated 330,000 tonne carbon benefit.
There are also significant productivity benefits on offer via longer, faster trains that can carry more goods.
Through more resilient and reliable railways that can handle heavier loads, which is demanded by modern supply chains and consumption trends.
And through intermodal terminals that can bolster efficiencies across the board.
Rail can actually learn from the evolution of heavy vehicle productivity.
Since the early 1970s, productivity growth of heavy freight vehicles has increased six-fold.
It’s done so on the back of expanded network access, increases in mass and dimension limits, growth in long-distance freight, and investment in road infrastructure.
So as a collective, we need to step things up.
At ARTC, we’re in the process of transforming our network – and critically, our point-to-point service offering – to enable our customers to grow their businesses.
Of course, our ability – and our customers’ ability – to increase market share is contingent on the condition, availability and reliability of our rail infrastructure … day after day.
We’re investing in significant upgrades, and are working hard to improve efficiency and service levels as part of building a safer, more resilient and reliable network.
It’s a big job. Massive actually.
A lot of the infrastructure assets we inherited at ARTC are between 100 and 130 years old.
Built during a time when engineering standards were vastly different.
So there’s plenty of work to improve reliability across Australia to improve baseline performance and growth.
That said, we’re making inroads.
One example is the line upgrade we completed last year between Narrabri and Turrawan.
An important link between northern New South Wales, Inland Rail and the Port of Newcastle, the upgrade has facilitated heavier axle loads to improve freight capacity and efficiency for agricultural producers and freight movers.
Ultimately, it’s enabling customers to increase volumes. And we’re seeing positive outcomes.
For example, in terms of agri product services, we’ve seen over a 200% uplift from last year to this year … working with customers to deliver better planning and more efficient solutions to meet their needs.
Of course, we’re also partnering with the Australian Government to invest more than $1 billion over six years via our Network Investment Program … on top of our existing annual investment in capital, asset renewal and maintenance activities.
This is leading to new projects – including here in New South Wales.
It’s also leading to results. For example, we recently undertook track rehabilitation works between Albury and Sydney, which led to the lifting of numerous temporary speed restrictions.
To be precise, 57 minutes’ worth of delays were removed between Sydney and Melbourne, and 97 minutes between Melbourne and Brisbane. This is an early example of the deployment of dollars to improve customer outcomes, with more much-needed improvements in the pipeline over the next few years.
Another focus here in New South Wales is our Southern Highlands Overtaking Opportunities project, which we’re on track to complete early next year.
This will ease congestion between Sydney and Melbourne, and enable more efficient and reliable movement of freight and passenger trains – all additive to rail’s overall competitiveness.
We’ve also supported several rail siding upgrade projects in recent times in support of the state’s farmers.
Building on the back of these projects, we’re making positive progress further afield too.
For example, just this week, we joined with BHP and Aurizon to announce one of the largest road-to-rail freight conversions in Australian history.
At the heart of the announcement is a new intermodal facility at Pimba near Olympic Dam on a site ARTC is leasing to BHP for Aurizon to develop and run.
Once operational, it will replace more than 11,000 truck movements annually with rail services.
It really is a landmark project.
Of course, Inland Rail will also transform how freight moves across the country.
Our subsidiary company, IRPL, continues to make good progress, particularly between Beveridge and Parkes where we’re on track to operate double-stacked trains by the end of 2027.
And as part of Inland Rail’s next phase, we’ll continue working with the Interim CEO to ensure that momentum is maintained, and that delivery continues.
A common thread amongst all of this is the importance of working together across governments and industry.
That’s why the National Rail Action Plan is important.
It reiterates the need to work together to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of rail transport in Australia, and highlights the need for greater consistency and compatibility of technologies and systems.
Achieving interoperability and harmonisation will enable operators to run their trains seamlessly across Australia’s different networks.
It will promote a continuous flow of rail transport to the advantage of an aligned and integrated industry.
As one of the many stakeholders involved with the National Transport Commission, ARTC is committed to improving the ability of trains to operate across multiple networks – as a singular transport system.
It’s an extremely complex challenge. And large-scale.
Just think: a train from Fremantle to Port Botany travels 4,000km – roughly the width of Europe – navigating multiple networks and systems along the way.
So we’re supporting the NTC to progress rail harmonisation priorities, including locking in national standards and aligning train control and signalling technology.
By working together to unify and streamline consistent tools, standards, systems and equipment across Australia, we’ll collectively position our industry to improve productivity.
And it’s in this spirit of collaboration that we also continue to address the evolving landscape for our Hunter Valley network, which remains crucial to Australia and global markets.
This includes preparing for, and responding to, highly-coordinated protest activity.
It’s something that everyone in the community – including all of us in this room today – have a role to play.
Let’s forget the economics for a moment.
We simply cannot tolerate people dangerously and recklessly entering the rail corridor to protest.
It jeopardises the health, safety and wellbeing of our rail workers and train drivers, not to mention the first responders, let alone the protestors’ own safety.
In recent times, we’ve had to take drastic measures – in consultation with our customers – including stopping passenger train services during night-time hours due to safety risks.
The impact to the community in terms of getting to and from work – or to appointments or wherever they needed to go on the rail network – was completely avoidable.
I will say this: we’ve strengthened security measures throughout the Hunter and at key locations; we’re working with police; and we’re really supportive of the tougher stance the NSW Government is taking in this space to help ensure a safe working environment for all.
More broadly in the Hunter, we continue to adapt our operations to meet the needs of a transitioning energy market.
Yes, the next 10 years will be different to the past 10.
But the fact remains the Hunter is still one of the largest and best coal export networks in the world, and will continue to play a significant role over the coming decade.
So, while demand for coal continues to change, it’s still important to Australia’s energy security, and to the energy security of many other countries.
Rail remains the most economical, environmentally-friendly and sustainable way to transport large volumes of coal from mine to port, with ARTC’s open access rail infrastructure facilities continuing to play a key role in the supply chain.
Like I said though, we’re fully aware of the need to adapt our business to changing customer needs in response to economy-wide decarbonisation, and longer-term reduction in the supply of thermal coal globally.
To that end, we’re continuing to invest in the reliability, resilience and capacity of the Hunter network to diversify our revenue base, attract new markets and drive modal shift to rail.
Coal volumes remain significant.
In FY24, 165 million coal tonnes were transported on our network … up from 149 million tonnes the year prior.
And as we near the end of FY25, we’re on track for similar figures this year.
The vast majority of the coal transported on our Heavy Haul Network is still being exported overseas. In fact, around 90% is still going from mines to the Port of Newcastle for export.
Our primary focus in and around the Hunter remains firmly on network reliability for our heavy haul customers, and ensuring they are at the forefront of international competitiveness.
It means minimising delays and maximising availability.
It means boosting track performance.
And it means improving safety, which is crucial in the service we provide.
Indeed, safety sits at the heart of reliability.
In recent years, we’ve seen far too many incidents, injuries and near misses on our network.
So we’re working hard to strengthen our standards, procedures and training to embed sturdier controls that better protect our people, customers and communities.
Yes, there’s much to be done.
In the Hunter.
Across regional New South Wales.
And more broadly, around the nation.
But let me assure you, our appetite is there.
To keep raising our game by strengthening our network.
And ultimately, drive performance standards.
To conclude, let me repeat the Prime Minister’s words:
“Our rail network is our nation’s nervous system.”
This really does emphasise the critical role we have to play.
All of us.
To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of rail transport, and grow freight volumes.
Rail has the capacity.
We have the productivity potential.
So as an industry, let’s embrace a new mindset and work with all transport stakeholders – not against.
Let’s tap into rail’s capacity and boost productivity by better integrating the national supply chain.
It really is a great opportunity … if we work together.
So, my challenge to you here today, and the wider industry, is what are you doing to pivot in support of boosting the productivity – and ultimately, the competitiveness – of the sector?
Or is the short game of returning your investment the goal at hand?
As always, myself and the team remain open to challenge and welcome your views.
Thanks for your time.