About the Interstate rail network
The network is used for freight and passenger services
The Interstate rail network includes the mainline standard gauge track. It links:
- Kalgoorlie in Western Australia
- Adelaide, Wolseley and Crystal Brook in South Australia
- Melbourne and Wodonga in Victoria
- Cootamundra, Albury, Macarthur, Moss Vale, Unanderra, Newcastle (to the Queensland border) and Parkes in New South Wales
- Acacia Ridge (southern Brisbane) in Queensland.
It is used by:
- general freight services, such as manufactured goods
- bulk freight services, such as mining and agriculture products
- long distance and regional passenger services.
The provider is the Australian Rail Track Corporation
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) manages the Interstate rail network.
It is a rail infrastructure provider that:
- formed out of a 1997 inter-governmental agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia
- is vertically separated, providing ‘below-rail’ services, such as the rail track infrastructure, but not ‘above-rail’ services, such as haulage
- provides a single contact for parties wanting to run trains on the Interstate rail network and the Hunter Valley rail network in New South Wales.
Interstate rail network regulation
About the access undertaking and rail network regulation
The Interstate rail network is regulated through an access undertaking by its operator, the Australian Rail Track Corporation.
Access undertakings allow infrastructure owners and operators to give other parties access to their infrastructure services. Undertakings are one method to facilitate access to services under the national access regime and are described in Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
The access undertaking covers the terms and conditions of access to the mainline standard gauge rail track. The track is owned or leased by the Australian Rail Track Corporation. It runs from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Acacia Ridge in Queensland, via South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
We accepted Australian Rail Track Corporation’s access undertaking on 30 July 2008. This was under Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974, which is now the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Current version of the access undertaking
The 2008 access undertaking has been varied several times.
The current version is Australian Rail Track Corporation Interstate rail network access undertaking - 30 June 2023 (PDF 784.3 KB).
Access undertaking application projects
See a complete list of rail projects.
Current undertaking application projects
There are currently no undertaking application projects.
Applications to vary or extend an existing undertaking
This is a list of past projects considered by the ACCC, including applications submitted by the Australian Rail Track Corporation to vary or extend an existing Interstate rail network access undertaking.
On 21 February 2023 ARTC submitted an application to extend the term of its 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking to 30 June 2024. This is a 12-month extension from the existing expiration date of 30 June 2023.
On 10 October 2022 the ACCC sent a letter to ARTC regarding the potential timing of assessing a replacement undertaking. On 19 December 2022 ARTC provided a letter to stakeholders outlining its intent to submit a new 2023 IAU and a further extension of the 2008 IAU in early 2023.
On 23 April 2020, the ACCC engaged GHD to conduct a Depreciated Optimised Replacement Cost (DORC) valuation of ARTC's Interstate network to determine the Regulated Asset Base (RAB).
On 23 April 2021, ARTC submitted an application to extend the term of its 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking to 30 June 2023.
On 5 May 2020, ARTC submitted an application to vary its 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking. The variation sought to extend the term of the undertaking to 30 June 2021.
The ACCC is reviewing the regulatory framework for ARTC's Interstate network.
On 23 August 2019, ARTC sent a letter to the ACCC seeking views on ARTC's proposal to revalue the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) on the Interstate network using the Depreciated Optimised Replacement Cost (DORC) methodology. ARTC stated it was seeking views on this proposal prior to formally submitting its replacement Interstate Access Undertaking application for ACCC assessment.
On 29 July 2019, ARTC submitted an application to vary its 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking to 30 June 2020.
On 16 November 2018 ARTC submitted an application to vary its 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking by two months until 28 February 2019.
On 29 January 2019 ARTC submitted an application to vary its 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking.
On 28 June 2018 ARTC submitted an application to vary its 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking by four months until 21 December 2018.
ARTC is required to review the accepted access undertaking five years after the commencement date to determine whether any amendments to the undertaking are required as a result of changes to industry circumstances or Government legislation, rules, or regulations.
On 10 April 2013 the ACCC made a final decision to consent to ARTC's proposed undertaking variation.
On 18 April 2012, the ACCC decided to consent to ARTC’s application to vary its undertaking.
On 9 October 2008, ARTC submitted an application to vary the undertaking with the ACCC under s.44ZZA(7) of the Act.
Under section 2.2(b) of the 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking (IAU), ARTC must submit to the ACCC a written statement outlining whether or not it intends to submit a new undertaking to the ACCC for its consideration, no later than six months prior to the expiry of the 2008 IAU. ARTC’s 2008 IAU was due to expire on 30 June 2020.
Under section 2.2(b) of the 2008 Interstate Access Undertaking (IAU), ARTC must submit to the ACCC a written statement outlining whether or not it intends to submit a new undertaking to the ACCC for its consideration, no later than six months prior to the expiry of the 2008 IAU.
