In 1985–86 the Comnonwealth Government agreed to a contract arrangement to finance the operating losses incurred by the Australian National (AN) Tasmanian rail system over the three-year period, 1985–86 to 1987–88.

• The Tasmanian Rail System: An Assessment of Costs and Benefits
  
  report_062.pdf
  (11.36 MB)

The Bureau was required to assess the economic and financial costs and benefits to the railways, governments and the nation of several options for partial or complete integration of the two systems. Operational, marketing, financial and industrial implications, and social costs and benefits have been considered.

• AN-Westrail Integration: An Assessment of Options
  
  report_063.pdf
  (8.27 MB)

This Paper provides information about recent changes in the regulatory approach to the railway industry in Canada and about the approach taken by Australian governments. The Paper also provides specific information on the components of shipper-carrier contracts, detailing their form and the range of factors a shipper would need to consider when negotiating such an agreement. Case studies illustrate the range of purposes these contracts may serve and the variety of approaches available to the solution of a rail transport problem.

• Railway Legislation and Rate Contracts in Canada and Australia
  
  ip_028.pdf
  (10.78 MB)

During the last decade, the major railway systems around the world have undergone a fundamental reappraisal of their place in the economy in general, and their transport purpose, in particular. This Paper examines the railway systems of eight countries, including Australia, to see how they responded to a changing competitive environment, focusing on institutional and organisational restructuring that had taken place to revitalise them and to improve their performance.

• A Comparison of Overseas Railway Systems: Their Policy Trends and Performance
  
  ip_030.pdf
  (4.13 MB)

Initiatives adopted to facilitate structural adjustment of rail systems in Australia have resulted in redeployment and redundancy of rail workers. A survey was conducted by the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics to obtain information on the work experiences of redeployed and redundant rail workers.

• Redeployment and Redundancy in Australian Railways
  
  report_065.pdf
  (4.69 MB)

This report presents an assessment of the financial, economic, social and environmental benefits and costs of the closure or continued operation of each of the Australian National Railway Commission's passenger services.

• An Economic and Social Assessment of Australian National's Passenger Services
  
  report_067.pdf
  (3.16 MB)

This Report has two main goals. The first is to present the theoretical aspects of productivity measurement and its interpretation with particular emphasis on its role as a performance measure. The second is to provide, within the context of performance appraisal, an empirical analysis of productivity growth in the Australian National Railways Commission over the period 1979–80 to 1987–88.

• An Analysis of Total Factor Productivity with an Application to Australian National
  
  report_068.pdf
  (3.36 MB)

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)

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)