The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is reviewing a rail access undertaking by Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) covering four states.
Speaking at the NSW Rail Summit conference in Sydney, Commissioner John Martin, said ”the undertaking covers third party access to tracks in Victoria and South Australia and up to Kalgoorlie in WA and Broken Hill in NSW. It signals a significant change in the role of the Commission in the rail industry.”
Until now, reforms have been concentrated at the State level where rail access regimes have been developed by the individual States. The ARTC undertaking represents the first major attempt to reform third party access to rail tracks at a national level.
“Until recently, the ACCC has not exercised access responsibilities, but the ARTC undertaking provides a direct role for the Commission”, Commissioner Martin said.
ARTC controls the interstate mainline standard gauge tracks linking Kalgoorlie in WA, Adelaide, Wolseley and Crystal Brooke in SA, Broken Hill in NSW and Melbourne and Wodonga in VIC. ARTC was formed in 1997 following an Intergovernmental Agreement between the Commonwealth and State governments with the primary purpose of promoting third party access to Australia’s interstate rail network on a nationally consistent basis.
The ACCC has commenced public consultations as part of the assessment of the ARTC undertaking. An Issues Paper has been circulated to interested parties inviting submissions and comments. The ACCC has extended the deadline for submissions to Monday 4 June.