Transport in Australia

There are many forms of transport in Australia. The nation is highly dependent on road transport. There are more than 300 airports with paved runways. An extensive rail network for passengers connects many rural areas to major metropolitan centres. The mining sector is reliant on rail to transport its product to Australia's ports for export.

Roads

Main articles: Road transport in Australia and Highways in Australia

The Eastern Suburbs Line passing over the Eastern Distributor motorway in Sydney

Australia has the second highest level of car ownership in the world. It has three to four times more road per capita than Europe and seven to nine times more than Asia. Australia also has the third highest per capita rate of fuel consumption in the world. Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are rated among the most car-dependent cities in the world, with Sydney and Melbourne close behind. Furthermore, the distance travelled by car (or similar vehicle) in Australia is among the highest in the world, being exceeded by USA and Canada.

There are 3 different categories of Australian roads. They are federal highways, state highways and local roads. The road network comprises a total of 913,000 km broken down into:

• paved: 353,331 km (including 3,132 km of expressways)
• unpaved: 559,669 km (1996 estimate)

The majority of road tunnels in Australia have been constructed since the 1990s to relieve traffic congestion in metropolitan areas, or to cross significant watercourses.

See also: List of tunnels in Australia

Public transport in Australia

Rising petrol prices and increasing traffic congestion are thought to be factors contributing to renewed growth in use of urban public transport.

Intra-city public transport networks

Epping Station on Sydney's Cityrail network

The table below lists major cities in Australia with currently operating multi-modal intra-city (as opposed to inter-city or regional) public transportation networks.

The only Australian capital cities without multi-modal networks are Canberra and Darwin, which rely entirely on buses. Canberra is planning a light rail line (Capital Metro), which will link with existing bus services, and is expected to be operational in 2018.

Trams in Australia historically serviced many Australian towns and several cities formerly operated tram networks, however the majority of these were shut down before the 1970s. Melbourne is an exception here however, and today boasts the largest tram network of any city in the world. Major regional cities where trams formerly facilitated multi-modal public transport networks Launceston, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Rockhampton.

See also: Trams in Australia and Commuter rail in Australia

The following table presents an overview of public transport networks in Australia's larger cities. The table does not include tourist or heritage transport modes (such as the private monorail at Sea World or the tourist Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram).

City	Overview	Integrated Network Name	Buses	Urban rail	Light rail	Monorail	Watercraft
Adelaide	Public transport in Adelaide	Adelaide Metro	Yes	Yes	Yes
Brisbane	Public transport in Brisbane	Translink	Yes	Yes			Yes
Darwin	Public transport in Darwin		Yes				Limited Access
Gold Coast	Public transport on the Gold Coast	Translink	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hobart	Public transport in Hobart	Metro	Yes				Yes
Melbourne	Public transport in Melbourne	Public Transport Victoria	Yes	Yes	Yes		Limited Access
Newcastle	Bus routes in Newcastle, New South Wales	Transport for NSW	Yes	Limited Access
Perth	Public transport in Perth	Transperth	Yes	Yes			Yes
Sydney	Public transport in Sydney	Transport for NSW	Yes	Yes	Yes	Due for demolition in 2013	Yes

Intercity rail transport

Map of passenger railway services in Australia
State Government owned rail services:

  QR Citytrain and Traveltrain services

  CountryLink and CityRail services

  V/Line services

  Transwa services

Great Southern Railway lines:

  Indian Pacific

  The Overland

  The Ghan

Looking along the Trans-Australian Railway

The Indian Pacific in Perth

Main articles: Rail transport in Australia and History of rail transport in Australia

The railway network is large, comprising a total of 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) of track: 3,719 km broad gauge, 15,422 km standard gauge, 14,506 km narrow gauge and 172 km dual gauge. Rail transport started in the various colonies at different dates. Privately owned railways started the first lines, and struggled to succeed on a remote, huge, and sparsely populated continent, and government railways dominated. Although the various colonies had been advised by London to choose a common gauge, the colonies ended up with different gauges.

Inter-state rail services

The Great Southern Railway, owned by Serco Asia Pacific, operates three trains: the Indian Pacific (Sydney-Adelaide-Perth), The Ghan (Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin), and The Overland (Melbourne-Adelaide). NSW owned CountryLink services link Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne via Sydney. Since the extension of the Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin was completed in 2004, all mainland Australian capital cities are linked by standard gauge rail, for the first time.

See also: High-speed rail in Australia

Intra-state and city rail services

There are various state and city rail services operated by a combination of government and private entities, the most prominent of these include V/Line (regional trains and buses in Victoria); Metro Trains Melbourne which operates the Melbourne rail network; RailCorp operating all passenger rail services in New South Wales including CityRail and CountryLink; Queensland Rail (QR) operating Traveltrain and the Citytrain network, South-East Queensland's commuter railway network under the TransLink scheme, and Transwa operating train and bus services in Western Australia.

Metro

Major cities in Australia do not have full-fledged rapid transit systems. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth's systems are all partially underground. Melbourne has plans for a new train service branded as a metro, but as it will interact with the suburban system and won't be grade-separated from Footscray out, it will fall short of the criteria of a metro. Plans for a "Euro-style" metro in Sydney have been shelved in favor of additional underground lines on the suburban network.

Mining railways

Four heavy-duty mining railways carry iron ore to ports in the northwest of Western Australia. These railways carry no other traffic, and are isolated by deserts from all other railways. The lines are standard gauge and are built to the heaviest US standards.

In 2006, a fifth iron ore railway is proposed by the Fortescue Metals Group, while a sixth common carrier railway is proposed to serve the port of Oakajee just north of Geraldton.

Cane railways

In Queensland about 15 sugar mills have narrow gauge (2 ft (610 mm) gauge) cane tramways that deliver sugar cane to the mills.

Pipelines

There are several pipeline systems including:

• Crude oil: 2,500 km
• Petroleum products: 500 km
• Natural gas: 5,600 km
• Water
  • Perth to Kalgoorlie - Goldfields Water Supply Scheme
  • Morgan on the Murray River to Adelaide, Whyalla, Port Lincoln
  • Waranga Western Channel, near Colbinabbin to Bendigo and Ballarat - Goldfields Superpipe

Projects under construction or planned:
Victoria

• Goulburn River to Sugarloaf Reservoir, Melbourne (North-South Pipeline, alternatively called the Sugarloaf Pipeline) - was connected to Melbourne in February 2010.
• Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline - construction commenced in November 2006 and was completed in April 2010.
• Melbourne to Geelong Pipeline - construction was completed in March 2012.
• Rocklands Reservoir to Grampian Headworks Pipeline (Hamilton - Grampians Pipeline) - construction commenced December 2008, expected completion in 2010.

Waterways

Australia's inland waterways are not a significant means of commercial transport. In the 19th century, paddle steamers were used on the Murray-Darling Basin to transport produce such as wool and wheat.^{[citation needed]} However, the water levels of the inland waterways are highly unreliable, making the rivers impassable for large parts of the year.^{[citation needed]} The steamers proved unable to compete with rail, and later, road transport.^{[citation needed]} Traffic now on inland waterways is therefore largely restricted to private recreational craft.^{[citation needed]}

Ports and harbours

Ferries in Sydney

Total employment in the water transport sector (thousands of people) since 1984

Mainland

General

• Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Fremantle, Geelong, Gladstone, Port Lincoln, Mackay, Melbourne, Newcastle, Portland, Sydney, Townsville, Wollongong

Iron ore

• Dampier
• Port Hedland
• Geraldton
• Oakajee - proposed 2006
• Esperance
• Port Lincoln - possible 2007

Tasmania

• Burnie
• Devonport
• Launceston
• Hobart

See also: List of Australian ports

Merchant marine vessels

Container crane and ship at the Port of Melbourne

As of 2006, the Australian fleet consists of 53 ships of 1,000 gross register tons or over. The use of foreign registered ships to carry Australian cargoes between Australian ports is permitted under a permit scheme, with either Single Voyage Permit (SVP) or a Continuous Voyage Permit (CVP) being issued to ships. Between 1996 and 2002 the number of permits issued has increased by about 350 per cent.

Over recent years the number of Australian registered and flagged ships has greatly declined, from 75 ships in 1996 to less than 40 in 2007, by 2009 the number is now approaching 30. Marine unions blame the decline on the shipping policy of the Howard Government which permitted foreign ships to carry coastal traffic. There have also been cases where locally operated ships have Australian flag from the vessel, registering it overseas under a flag of convenience, then hiring foreign crews who earn up to about half the monthly rate of Australian sailors. Such moves were supported by the Howard Government but opposed by maritime unions and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The registration of the ship overseas also meant the earnings of the ships are not subject to Australian corporate taxation laws.

Statistics for the shipping industry of Australia
Total: 53 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over)
Totalling: 1,361,000 GRT/1,532,874 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Cargo ships
Bulk ships	17
Cargo ship	4
Container ships	1
Roll-on / roll-off ships	5
Tankers
Liquefied gas tanker ships	4
Chemical tanker ships	3
Petroleum tanker ships	6
Passenger ships
General passenger ships	6
Combined passenger/cargo	7
Foreign ownership and documentation Note: 17 of these are foreign-owned: Canada 1, France 3, Germany 3, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, United Kingdom 2, United States 3. Australia has 34 vessels registered in other countries: Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 2, Bermuda 3, Fiji 1, Hong Kong 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 1, New Zealand 2, Panama 3, Portugal 1, Singapore 7, Tonga 1, United Kingdom 3, United States 2, Vanuatu 2. 2006 estimates.
Source: This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

Airports

Total monthly arrivals to Australia since 1976

Main article: List of Australian airports

Further information: List of the busiest airports in Australia

Melbourne (Tullamarine) Airport

Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport

Major Australian Airlines:

• Qantas
  • Jetstar (subsidiary)
• Virgin Australia
• Tiger Airways Australia

There are many airports around Australia paved or unpaved. A 2004 estimate put the number of airports at 448. The busiest airports in Australia are:

1. Sydney Airport Sydney, New South Wales SYD
2. Melbourne Airport Melbourne, Victoria MEL
3. Brisbane Airport Brisbane, Queensland BNE
4. Perth Airport Perth, Western Australia PER
5. Adelaide Airport Adelaide, South Australia ADL
6. Gold Coast Airport Gold Coast, Queensland OOL
7. Cairns Airport Cairns, Queensland CNS
8. Canberra International Airport Canberra, Australian Capital Territory CBR
9. Hobart International Airport Hobart, Tasmania HBA
10. Darwin International Airport, Northern Territory DRW
11. Townsville International Airport Townsville, North Queensland

Airports with paved runways

Total: 305

• Over 3,047 m (10,000 ft): 10
• 2,438 to 3,047 m (8,000 to 10,000 ft): 12
• 1,524 to 2,437 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft): 131
• 914 to 1,523 m (3,000 to 5,001 ft): 139
• Under 914 m (3,000 ft): 13 (2004 estimate)

Airports with unpaved runways

Total:143

• 1,524 to 2,437 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft): 17
• 914 to 1,523 m (3,000 to 5,000 ft): 112
• Under 914 m (3,000 ft): 14 (2004 estimate)

Note:

sourced from CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Environmental impact

Main article: Environmental impact of transport in Australia

The environmental impact of transport in Australia is considerable. In 2009, transport emissions made up 15.3% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions. Between 1990 and 2009, transport emissions grew by 34.6%, the second-highest growth rate in emissions after stationary energy.

Australia subsidizes fossil fuel energy, keeping prices artificially low and raising greenhouse gas emissions due to the increased use of fossil fuels as a result of the subsidies^{[citation needed]}. The Australian Energy Regulator and state agencies such as the New South Wales' Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal set and regulate electricity prices, thereby lowering production and consumer cost.

See also

• Inland Railway
• Lonie Report
• Commuter rail in Australia

Sources

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2000 edition".

External links

• Australia Transport Statistics
• Railway maps
• Driving time calculator for NSW