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RAIL, SHIPPING & LOGISTICS
RAIL… A route to recovery?
With the COVID19 crisis continuing to wreak havoc around the world, there is a growing debate about how to stimulate Australia’s struggling economy. Could the rail industry and its supply chains offer one possible route to recovery?
On 2 September, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed what many people had been expecting for most of 2020: Australia was officially in recession. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 7% in the June quarter, the largest contraction since records began in 1959. With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to have a devastating impact, both here and worldwide, the economic outlook is the bleakest it has ever been since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Confirmation of the recession also intensified a debate that had already been building since the COVID-19 crisis began: about ways to stimulate the economy as we emerge from the pandemic. While the Government’s stimulus measures so far have concentrated on emergency assistance for individuals and businesses affected by the downturn, there is a growing sense that more far-reaching measures will be needed, including funding for large-scale projects in infrastructure such as energy and transport networks. One notable voice backing investment in the rail sector and its supply chain is opposition leader Anthony Albanese. In a speech in May, Albanese cited rail as an area with the potential to play a key role in rebuilding Australia’s economy. “We must invest in nation-building infrastructure including iconic projects like high-speed rail and we should be building trains
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here,” said Albanese. “Government procurement policy in rail manufacturing has produced superior outcomes to imports, and created regional jobs in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.” High-speed rail remains something of a pipe dream for Australia. Although proposals for a network linking the country’s eastern cities have surfaced intermittently for decades, significant questions remain about its feasibility (see page 48) in a country like Australia. However, we do have a substantial rail manufacturing industry that offers a strong foundation to build on. According to the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), rolling stock manufacturing generated about $3bn of revenue in 2016 and contributes about 4,000 jobs to the Australian economy. The sector is led by companies including Alstom, Bombardier, Downer and UGL, with more than 900 companies involved in manufacturing and supply across the industry. Rolling stock manufacturing and assembly capability currently exists in Cardiff and Broadmeadows in New South Wales; Dandenong, Ballarat and Newport in Victoria; Maryborough in Queensland; and East Perth in Western Australia. Moreover, rail manufacturing is an important industry for our regional centres, with 46% of rolling stock manufacturing and repair services jobs located outside of the eight state capitals.
