Thread: why dont they use rail?

Indeed... It reminds me of the time Thatcher suggested building special roads purely for freight traffic, then someone pointed out that's exactly what we've already got.

..It's called a railway!!

M

cost.....

Unfortunately because the big businesses that now run the freight rail networks are doing quite well, doing what they are doing, thankyou, therefore they are not set up to be bothered with general freight.

As well, there is huge and growing investment in the major trucking companies so, as with all big business anywhere, they'll get what they want as well.

The state of our nation's infrastructure for bulk freight is marginal anyway.

I live near the Hume and travel on it a bit - there are too many drivers - car and truck with eyes like this but most vehicles are B doubles - it is bad enough with B doubles with drivers like let alone B triples.

While the current rail tracks and overhead bridges cannot handle large amount of cargo there really needs to be dedicated cargo rail between the main centres (Bris, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide). These should be also able to carry the semis, B doubles, and now B triples where it is not economic the transfer cargo at the end of the rail run - this happens in Europe and seems to work OK.

Garry

A few years ago, when I was a signaller on the Blue Mountains line, I remember seeing regular freight trains from Perth to Sydney. The train consisted of the trailers from semis that were fitted with rail bogies for the trip. When they arrived, they were quickly disconnected, hooked to a prime mover and driven away.

See [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadrailer"]Roadrailer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

I have no idea why that stopped but you can imagine how many trucks that took off the road.

We used to have several petrol trains a week from Sydney to western NSW. Surely that was better than having all those trucks?

I wouldn't have an issue piloting a B triple on the Hume. Hell it's easier than heading up north. BUT come holiday time I wouldn't want to be near the place when all the idiots get on the roads.....


As for our train infrastructure - it couldn't get anywhere near handling the amount of freight that trucks move every day.

Originally Posted by p38arover

A few years ago, when I was a signaller on the Blue Mountains line, I remember seeing regular freight trains from Perth to Sydney. The train consisted of the trailers from semis that were fitted with rail bogies for the trip. When they arrived, they were quickly disconnected, hooked to a prime mover and driven away.

I have no idea why that stopped but you can imagine how many trucks that took off the road.

We used to have several petrol trains a week from Sydney to western NSW. Surely that was better than having all those trucks?

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Every truck you take a road is either 1 or 2 people now unemployed. In the background there is also all of the logistics personnel, mechanics etc etc.

have a safe and happy new year