- The ACCC regulates the Interstate rail network through an access undertaking by infrastructure provider, the Australian Rail Track Corporation.
- The Interstate rail network is used for freight and passenger services.
What the ACCC does
- We regulate the Interstate rail network through an access undertaking.
What the ACCC can't do
- We don’t set the prices or provide access to the rail network.
- We don’t direct the Australian Rail Track Corporation.
- We don’t set technical standards for the rail industry.
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 and undertaking
About the access undertaking and regulation of the rail network
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).
Current undertaking application projects
See a complete list of rail projects.
Past undertaking application projects
Past projects including applications to vary or extend
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.
| Title | Industry | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate rail network forecast expenditure variation 2012 | Rail | Undertaking variation |
Accepted
18 Apr 2012 |
On 18 April 2012, the ACCC decided to consent to ARTC’s application to vary its undertaking. |
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| Indicative Interstate Rail access agreement variation 2008 | Rail | Undertaking variation |
Withdrawn
09 Oct 2008 |
On 9 October 2008, ARTC submitted an application to vary the undertaking with the ACCC under s.44ZZA(7) of the Act. |
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