Victoria, Australia Releases 2026–2036 Rail Freight Plan, Will Develop 10-Year Network Upgrade Program

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 16, the Victorian Government of Australia officially released "Freight on Track: Victorian Rail Freight Plan 2026–2036," setting out an action framework to improve the capacity, reliability, and commercial usability of the state's rail freight network over the next 10 years. The Victorian Department of Transport and Planning will develop a 10-year maintenance and upgrade program for the regional rail network, with the goal of achieving at least 21-tonne axle load (21 TAL) across the network, and will incorporate passing loops, signaling systems, and capacity expansion on key freight lines into long-term network maintenance and upgrade arrangements. This plan is one of the dedicated tasks identified in Victoria's 2025–2030 Freight Master Plan.

The Victorian Government said that since 2020 it has invested nearly AUD 600 million in the regional rail freight network to increase axle loads, raise line operating speeds, improve reliability, build and extend passing loops, and expand capacity on major freight lines. The newly released 2026–2036 plan does not announce a new overall construction investment amount, but instead requires the Department of Transport and Planning to establish a long-term funding and project prioritization mechanism, and to determine the sequence of subsequent maintenance and upgrades based on the economic and commercial value of each freight corridor.

In the next phase of network planning, Victoria will assess the conditions for further upgrading some major freight lines to 23-tonne axle load, while studying the economic feasibility of adding passing loops and train refuge loops, reopening disused lines, and converting some broad-gauge lines to standard gauge. The government will also assess the economic value of rail freight corridors on a case-by-case basis, comparing road and rail transport costs, axle loads, line speeds, train turnaround cycles, and the impact of line disruptions, and will study the effect of rail access price adjustments on modal shift to freight.

The plan also proposes adjusting rail freight access and operations management mechanisms. The Department of Transport and Planning will establish a "Rail Freight Disruption and Service Continuity Management Framework," requiring major rail projects and maintenance works to assess their impact on freight trains during the planning stage and to coordinate construction windows with operators to reduce line disruptions during freight peak periods such as the harvest season. The next round of Melbourne metropolitan rail operating franchise agreements will also add on-time performance indicators for freight trains and update freight access arrangements and rail access guidelines.

Victoria also plans to establish a rail freight coordination service to provide operators and shippers with preliminary information on train paths, line capacity, project feasibility, and network constraints, and to jointly develop a long-term rail freight network development plan with the industry. On the port side, the government will continue to advance the Melbourne Port rail shuttle network and the construction of on-port rail facilities to improve container transfer conditions between trains and ships. Victoria's existing regional rail freight transports about 3 million tonnes of goods annually, of which regional container rail transport has a cargo value of about AUD 2 billion, and grain rail exports have a cargo value of more than AUD 400 million; the state's total freight volume is expected to increase from about 440 million tonnes in 2020–2021 to more than 900 million tonnes in 2050–2051.