This study provides financial and social cost-benefit analyses of options for the Australian National railways operation in Tasmania (Tasrail).

• The Future of the Tasmanian Railway System: A Cost–Benefit Assessment of Options
  
  report_069.pdf
  (9.17 MB)

This report assesses the social impacts of a range of scenarios developed for non-urban rail by the Railway Industry Council to set out reform options for railway systems in Australia. Use is made of Australian Bureau of Statistics census data for 1981 and 1986, data from railway systems in Australia and results from a survey of redundant and redeployed railway workers.

• The Social Impacts of Rail Systems Rationalisation
  
  report_072.pdf
  (3.97 MB)

This study has refined the methodology and expanded the scope of a previous Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics study on the cost of road accidents in Australia. The human capital approach has been used in this study to estimate the social cost of road, rail, aviation and maritime accidents in Australia in 1988.

• Social Cost of Transport Accidents in Australia
  
  report_079.pdf
  (5.87 MB)

This Working Paper is the second in a series of Working Papers which disseminates the results of a large research project into the adequacy of Australia's transport infrastructure over the next 20 years. The assessment covers all four modes of transport–road, rail, air and sea–with the primary focus on freight.

• Adequacy of transport Infrastructure: Rail
  
  wp_014-2.pdf
  (7.46 MB)

Like some other freight-oriented rail investments, the inland railway has been advocated partly on the grounds that it will stimulate the economies of some rural regions. Examined in this paper are the effects of inland railway on the agricultural and mining industries of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.

• Economic Effects of a Brisbane–Melbourne Inland Railway
  
  wp_018.pdf
  (7.58 MB)

The aim of this study is to find out if railways are improving their financial performance following the industry reform programs initiated by the State and Commonwealth Governments in the 1980s.

• Analysis of the Rail Deficit
  
  ip_040.pdf
  (6.89 MB)

BTCE (1992) Social cost of transport accidents in Australia, Report 79, p. 52, estimated the total cost of rail accidents in 1988 as $94.5 million (in 1988 dollars). The Information Sheet table provides updated estimates, including comparable figures for 1988 and 1993 that are expressed in 1993 dollars.

• Costs of rail accidents in Australia–1993
  
  is_007.pdf
  (13.26 MB)

The value of transport safety is an important input to decisions on policies and investments with safety implications and for measuring the burden of transport accidents to the community. There are a number of approaches which may be used in valuing transport safety. The purpose of this Working Paper is to provide an appraisal of the approaches available and issues involved in valuing transport safety along with a survey of international developments.

• Valuing Transport Safety in Australia
  
  wp_026.pdf
  (5.43 MB)

Indicators currently published by Australian railways do not measure service standards from the viewpoint of customers, but rather are based on statistics compiled by management for other purposes.

• Quality of Rail Freight Service: The Customer's Perspective
  
  report_096.pdf
  (6.46 MB)

Public debate on whether the road or the rail sector is relatively more disadvantaged in terms of competition tends naturally to be driven by the specific interests of the protagonists. The focus of the debate reflects changing issues as new, alleged discrepancies are discovered. It has therefore ranged from taxes paid, the extent of charges levied, and the degree of direct or indirect financial assistance provided by governments, and the fairness of increasing mass limits for heavy road vehicles. It is thus not surprising that the debate continues, and that it is not particularly fruitful or illuminating. The BTCE has adopted a different approach. Given the intensity of the debate and the fact that it has continued for so long, it was surprising that little or no systematic information exists on taxes and charges in the transport sector. The BTCE's first step was therefore to compile the lists presented in the appendixes (to which many public and private organisations and individuals generously contributed). Recognising that all four modes (it was not possible to include pipelines) are substitutes to some extent, the list is not limited to road and rail. Most importantly, the summary matrix in table 1 (liftout) and the underlying analytical approach reflect marginal cost principles in the hope that this methodology will assist objective comparisons between modes, as well as the formulation of policy options in any consideration of general taxation reform.

• Taxes and Charges in Australian Transport: A Transmodal Overview
  
  wp_034.pdf
  (357.61 KB)