Media - Confronting rail's inconvenient truth

FUTURE: Sydney's plans should be viewed in the light of experiences overseas.

There was never any rigorous science to Sydney's plans for 40% of its containers to move by rail, but with the right support it remains achievable, writes Neil Matthews.

More freight is moving by rail than in 1996 when plans first emerged to encourage four in every 10 containers onto the tracks. But despite a substantial increase in the use of rail, the mode's share of Port Botany's freight task appears to have temporarily stalled.

The question is why? And what need to change after 12 years of sustained effort?

Sam Collyer’s recent article, “Enfield’s Enigma” Lloyd’s List DCN, March 19, provides a timely reflection on Sydney’s intermodal report card.

While references to “number crunching” and “media releases” will grate for some, it is an inconvenient truth when discussing how Sydney has performed in its 40% target. It is worth nothing that there was never any rigorous science behind the 40% target - this number was set by Sydney Ports, its then chief executive, Greg Martin, and myself as general manager freight services for FreightCorp in the late 1996 as a means of galvanising the efforts of the two organisations towards a common path. The extent to which it became folklore only served to reinforce our objectives.

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