TasRail (legal name Tasmanian Railway Pty Limited)[1] is a Tasmanian Government state-owned enterprise that has operated the mainline railways in Tasmania since September 2009. It operates only freight services.
 | |
 A TasRail container train led by a TR Class locomotive in January 2016 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Launceston |
| Locale | Tasmania, Australia |
| Dates of operation | 2009–present |
| Predecessor | AN Tasrail |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
| Length | 843 km (523.82 mi) |
| Other | |
| Website | www.tasrail.com.au |
History
editEstablished under the Rail Company Act 2009,[2] in September 2009 the Tasmanian Government purchased the AN Tasrail business from Pacific National.[3] TasRail combined the above-rail (rollingstock) and business assets with the below-rail assets (track and associated infrastructure), for which the state had assumed responsibility in May 2007,[4] to form a vertically integrated rail operator.[2]
The Tasmanian Government Railways had operated the state's railway network until it passed to the federal government's Australian National in March 1978.[5]
Fleet
editAs at April 2017, the fleet consisted of 27 operational locomotives.[6][7]
Current locomotive fleet
edit| Class | Image | Type | Built | Number | Notes |
| DQ | Diesel-electric | 1964-1969 | 12 | From Pacific National in 2009. Four stored. | |
| DV | Diesel-electric | 1961-1971 | 1 | From Pacific National in 2009. De-motored and is used as a driving van. | |
| TR | Diesel-electric | 2013-2014 | 17 | Purchased from Progress Rail and have Caterpillar 3512 engines. All are still in operation. | |
| Y | Diesel-electric | 1961-1971 | 1 | From Pacific National in 2009. One in service as a shunter and one de-motored and is used as a driving van. |
Former locomotive fleet
edit| Class | Image | Type | Built | Number | Notes | Preservation |
| 2050 | Diesel-electric | 1978 | 4 | Purchased from Aurizon in 2011. 2 stored as 2 others Returned to Service. | ||
| D | Diesel-electric | 1971 | 2 | From Pacific National in 2009 | ||
| QR | Diesel-electric | 1964-1969 | 3 | From Pacific National in 2009. All stored. | ||
| DC | Diesel-electric | 1964 | 1 | From Pacific National in 2009, scrapped in 2011 | ||
| MKA | Diesel-electric | 1967-1972 | 6 | From Pacific National in 2009, all stored | ||
| ZC | Diesel-electric | 1966-72 | 4 | From Pacific National in 2009, 3 scrapped in 2012 | 1 at Launceston and North East Railway | |
| Z | Diesel-electric | 1973 | 4 | From Pacific National in 2009, all stored | 2 at Don River Railway
2 at Bellarine Peninsula Railway | |
| Za | Diesel-electric | 1973-1976 | 3 | From Pacific National in 2009, 2 stored, 1retained for preservation | 1 at Tasmanian Transport Museum
1 at Don River Railway | |
| ZB | Diesel-electric | 1973 | 4 | From Pacific National in 2009, 2 members preserved | 1 at Don River Railway
1 at Launceston and North East Railway | |
| ZP | Diesel-electric | 1973 | 1 | From Pacific National in 2009, Preserved with the Don River Railway | At Don River Railway | |
| ZR | Diesel-electric | 1973 | 1 | From Pacific National in 2009, stored |
Road crossings
editThere are 199 level crossings on the TasRail network with active control at 123 crossings and passive control at the remainder.[8] Active control includes flashing lights and warning bells that are activated by approaching trains and passive control includes 'Stop' or 'Give Way' sign which rely on motorists to watch for trains before crossing the railway line. From 2003 to 2012, there were 36 reported crashes at level crossings, with 20 resulting in casualties, 3 of which were fatal.[9] Almost two thirds of crashes occurred within urban areas with speed limits 50 or 60 km/h. Relocation of the Hobart terminal to Brighton during June 2014 meant that 29 crossings became inactive, which was expected to reduce level crossing crashes in Tasmania by 30%.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Tasmanian Railway Pty Ltd Australian Securities & Investments Commission
- ^ a b "TasRail – Home". tasrail.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ Rail Sale Agreement Finalised Archived 11 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Asciano 7 September 2009
- ^ "Tasmanian Railway Network Declaration Application" (PDF). National Competition Council. 1 May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ Background – Organisation of Australia's Railways Archived 4 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Department of Infrastructure & Regional Development
- ^ "Australia Wide Fleet List" Motive Power issue 96 November 2014 page 73
- ^ "TasRail locomotive and rolling stock update" Railway Digest December 2014 page 20
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ [1] Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Para 3.1
- ^ [2] Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Para 4.2