Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is the major provider of rail services in this State, controlling around 10,000km of track and providing most above-rail freight and passenger services.
In 2003-04 (the most recent available figures), QR carried 161.8 million tonnes of freight and catered for in excess of 49 million passenger journeys. The majority of freight carried was coal and passenger journeys were on Brisbane's suburban rail network.
QR must allow other train operators to use its intrastate rail infrastructure in accordance with an access undertaking approved by the Queensland Competition Authority. The access undertaking sets out general terms and conditions for the negotiation of access arrangements and also contains reference tariffs for coal train services in central Queensland.
The Authority's responsibilities in relation to the Rail industry are to:
- assess and approve third party access undertakings to Queensland's intrastate rail network;
- arbitrate access disputes;
- enforce breaches of access obligations; and
- assess competitive neutrality.
Regulatory Framework
The main sources of rail industry regulation in Queensland - as
relevant to the role of the Queensland Competition Authority in the rail sector are:
The Transport Infrastructure Act regulates, amongst
other things:
- safety accreditation
- rail transport infrastructure powers
- railway incidents
- rail corridors
Issues
The Authority's responsibilities encompass the following rail issues:
