INTERSTATE
As indicated, the Interstate business has
been impacted by wider macro-market
conditions and, as a consequence,
containerised freight volumes in general
have been very flat and bulk commodities
such as grain remain highly variable due
to seasonal weather conditions.
This is not a case of losing market share
to road, it is simply representative of the
whole market being subdued.
Interstate access revenue has grown
8.9 percent for the same period over
the previous year, despite volume
growth over the same period being
only 1.8 percent.
Achieving significant growth in rail’s
share of the North South intermodal
market remains a cornerstone of our
overall strategy. We are focused on
translating the investment we have
made into real gains in market share
through consistently reliable operational
performance, more market responsive
pricing structures and engagement with
the market to promote rail as the essential
link in the national logistics chain.
The ‘Road to Rail’ rebate has been
successful in shifting freight from road to
rail for many customers, and combined
with improved reliability providing
consistent second morning delivery,
has resulted in hundreds of thousands
of tonnes of additional freight onto rail
between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
For the North South corridor between
Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, the
more than $3 billion investment delivered
over the last five years has delivered a
range of infrastructure improvements. A
combination of this investment alongside
operators introducing new locomotives
and performance initiatives has seen
a significant increase in the on-time
availability of freight to end users and
improving transit times.
Monthly average reliability for 2013/14
is up 15 percent on the same figures
for 2012/13, helping us meet freight
availability requirements.
On the back of these results, we launched
our first coordinated marketing strategy
in early 2014 to promote the East Coast
rail corridor. This included a targeted
advertising program, stakeholder and
customer engagement, participation in
a range of peak body activities and the
development of marketing collateral. This
campaign drove a holistic freight-on-rail
message and supported our marketing
and customer relations team engaging
with customers on the ground.
All of these factors have seen an increase in
volumes (up 1 percent) and access revenue
(up 10 percent) from last year for the North
South, which is particularly pleasing.
In the longer termwe remain concerned
about issues over which we have limited
direct influence but directly affect the North
South corridor. This includes heavy vehicle
charging and investment reform and the
need to move to the next generation of
intermodal terminals on the East Coast.
The focus for the East West corridor
is on sustaining asset performance to
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