Transport in Australia

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Transport in Australia is a highly significant part of the infrastructure of the Australian economy, since the distances are large and the country has a relatively low population density.

Contents

[edit] Railways

Main article: Rail transport in Australia
Looking along the Trans-Australian Railway
Looking along the Trans-Australian Railway
The Indian Pacific in Perth
The Indian Pacific in Perth
Sign showing distances (in kilometres) on the Hume highway from Sydney to Melbourne
Sign showing distances (in kilometres) on the Hume highway from Sydney to Melbourne

The railway network is large, comprising a total of 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) of track: 3,719 km broad gauge, 15,422 km standard gauge, 14,506 km narrow gauge and 172 km dual gauge. Rail transport started in the various colonies at different dates. Privately owned railways started the first lines, and struggled to succeed on a remote, huge, and sparsely populated continent, and government railways dominated. Although the various colonies had been advised by London to choose a common gauge, the colonies ended up with different gauges.

[edit] National rail services

The Great Southern Railway, owned by Serco Asia Pacific, operates three trains: the Indian Pacific (Sydney-Adelaide-Perth), The Ghan (Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin), and The Overland (Melbourne-Adelaide) [1]. NSW owned CountryLink services link Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne via Sydney. Since the extension of the Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin was completed in 2004, all mainland Australian capital cities are linked by standard gauge rail, for the first time.

[edit] State and city rail services

There are various state and city rail services operated by a combination of government and private entities, the most prominent of these include V/Line (regional trains and buses in Victoria); Connex Melbourne which operates the Melbourne suburban railway network; RailCorp operating all passenger rail services in New South Wales including (CityRail and CountryLink);Queensland Rail (QR) operating Traveltrain and the Citytrain network, South-East Queensland's commuter railway network under the TransLink scheme, and Transwa operating train and bus services in Western Australia.

[edit] Mining railways

Four heavy-duty mining railways carry iron ore to ports in the northwest of Western Australia. These railways carry no other traffic, and are isolated by deserts from all other railways. The lines are standard gauge and are built to the heaviest US standards.

In 2006, a fifth iron ore railway is proposed by the Fortescue Metals Group, while a sixth common carrier railway is proposed to serve the port of Oakajee just north of Geraldton.

[edit] Cane railways

In Queensland about 15 sugar mills have narrow gauge (2 ft (610 mm) gauge) cane tramways that deliver sugar cane to the mills.

[edit] Highways

Main articles: Road transport in Australia and Highways in Australia
The Eastern Suburbs Line passing over the Eastern Distributor motorway in Sydney
The Eastern Suburbs Line passing over the Eastern Distributor motorway in Sydney

The Australian Highway System is broken up into 3 different categories for rural Australia:

  • Federal Highways
  • State Highways
  • and Local Roads

Small Information from the CIA world fact book

The road network is again extensive, comprising a total of 913,000 km broken down into:

  • Paved: 353,331 km (including 13,630 km of expressways)
  • Unpaved: 559,669 km (1996 estimate)

The majority of road tunnels in Australia have been constructed since the 1990's to relieve traffic congestion in metropolitan areas, or to cross significant watercourses. See Tunnels in Australia for a listing.

[edit] Pipelines

There are several pipeline systems including:

[edit] Waterways

Australia's inland waterways are not a significant means commercial transport. In the 19th century, paddle steamers were used on the Murray-Darling Basin to transport produce such as wool and wheat but the water levels are highly unreliable, making the river impassable for large parts of the year. The steamers proved unable to compete with rail, and later, road transport. Traffic now on inland waterways is therefore largely restricted to private recreational craft.

[edit] Ports and harbours

See also: List of Australian ports
Ferries in Sydney
Ferries in Sydney

[edit] Mainland

[edit] General

[edit] Iron Ore

[edit] Tasmania

[edit] Merchant marine vessels

As of 2006, the Australian fleet consists of 53 ships of 1,000 gross register tons or over:

Flag of AustraliaStatistics for the Shipping Industry of Australia
Total: 53 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over)
Totalling: 1,361,000 GRT/1,532,874 metric tons of deadweight (DWT)
Cargo ships
Bulk ships 17
Cargo ship 4
Container ships 1
Roll-on/Roll-off ships 5
Tanker ships
Liquefied gas tanker ships 4
Chemical tanker ships 3
Petroleum tanker ships 6
Passenger ships
General passenger ships 6
Combined passenger/cargo 7
Foreign Ownership and Documentation
Note: 17 of these are foreign-owned: Canada 1, France 3, Germany 3, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, United Kingdom 2, United States 3. Australia has 34 vessels registered in other countries: Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 2, Bermuda 3, Fiji 1, Hong Kong 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 1, New Zealand 2, Panama 3, Portugal 1, Singapore 7, Tonga 1, United Kingdom 3, United States 2, Vanuatu 2. 2006 estimates.
Source: This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

[edit] Airports

Main article: List of Australian airports
Melbourne Airport
Melbourne Airport
Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport

There are many airports around Australia paved or unpaved. A 2004 estimate put the number of airports at 448. The busiest airports in Australia are:


[edit] Airports with paved runways

Total: 305

  • Over 3,047 m (10,000 ft): 10
  • 2,438 to 3,047 m (8,000 to 10,000 ft): 12
  • 1,524 to 2,437 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft): 131
  • 914 to 1,523 m (3,000 to 5,000 ft): 139
  • Under 914 m (3,000 ft): 13 (2004 estimate)

[edit] Airports with unpaved runways

Total:143

  • 1,524 to 2,437 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft): 17
  • 914 to 1,523 m (3,000 to 5,000 ft): 112
  • Under 914 m (3,000 ft): 14 (2004 estimate)

Note:

sourced from CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html/

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

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Australian industry
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Transport in Oceania
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Australia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · New Zealand1 · Norfolk Island
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Federated States of Micronesia · Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Nauru · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau
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1 Often included in Polynesia.  2 Often included in Southeast Asia.  3 Often included in Australasia.
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