There were 82 sightings for this week. This is 17 sighting less than last week, making a total of 1670 sightings for this year to date. On day 120 last year we had recorded 1569 sightings. This is 101 sighting up on the same time last year.
A MULTI-MILLION dollar investment in Ballarat’s rail services is expected in tomorrow’s state budget announcement.
The 2011-12 budget will be handed down in Parliament by the Treasurer Kim Wells tomorrow and The Courier understands there will be a major investment set aside for rail services in the area.
Almost $5 million is believed to have been allocated to increase train services at Wendouree and to conduct the restoration of rural train stations.
MARY Valley Heritage Railway volunteers will promote the Valley Rattler steam and rail-motor tours at the 34th Brisbane Model Train Show this weekend.
ELECTRIFICATION of the entire Regional Rail Link and more new train stations for Wyndham remain on the cards, the State Government says.
The Government announced last week that it would back the $5 billion project after initially casting doubt on whether it would go ahead, blaming a federal and state Labor funding shortfall.
Rail and ports operator Asciano Ltd says it expects to report a jump in full year earnings before interest and tax of $530 million to $540 million despite a difficult third quarter.
That would be a 22 per cent rise on last year's result of $439.56 million.
Full year material items this year are expected to be in line with previous estimates and in the range of $60 million to $70 million.
MAJOR delays are being experienced by motorists at Beresfield and rail passengers travelling between Newcastle and the Central Coast due to separate incidents.
Motorists are enduring major traffic delays at Weakleys Drive at Beresfield near the New England Highway this morning following a truck breakdown.
Commuters are being warned to brace for major delays to the Fremantle rail line today after a boat ran into the Fremantle rail bridge this morning.
COMMUTERS infuriated by train delays have set fire to at least 11 cars on a rail line linking Buenos Aires to its populous western suburbs, televised images showed.
The chain of fires began during the morning rush hour at the suburban Haedo station, 16 kilometres west of Buenos Aires, and quickly spread to the neighbouring Ramos Mejia and Ciudadela stations.
THE state's new infrastructure chief, Nick Greiner, has flagged high-speed rail to the regions as a possible way forward for NSW but said city metros were some time away.
The Government confirmed yesterday Mr Greiner would chair Infrastructure NSW, with a board of 10 directors, including one from regional NSW.
Mr Greiner told The Daily Telegraph a focus on improving the lot of the regions could be high-speed rail links.
As Amtrak, the nation's passenger railroad service, turned 40 on Sunday, it had reason to celebrate. Last month the company announced it had achieved 17 straight months of growth. Amtrak recorded its best March ever with more than 2.6 million passengers. And -- barring disruptions due to this spring's weather -- officials are hoping April will be the 18th.
Earlier this month Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman told a House Appropriations committee that ridership has grown more than 36 percent since 2000 and that he expects the trend to continue and even accelerate as gas prices continue to rise. "Our only restriction will be the available capacity," he said.
Ports and rail group Asciano (AIO) yesterday reported March quarter results the market viewed as soft, reflecting weak underlying volumes for the Ports and Intermodal operations and the impact of wet weather on rail volumes.
In more detail, coal haulage volumes fell 6.6% in the March quarter, with Citi noting any recovery in the fourth quarter will likely be impacted somewhat by speed restrictions in both New South Wales and Queensland.
Intermodal volumes were down 5.8% for the March quarter, Citi expecting some one-off impacts in the fourth quarter given track closure disruptions and subdued steel volumes. The 8% decline in container port volumes in the period is likely a precursor to more weakness according to Citi, this given ongoing weak non-food retail volumes and the scope for industrial action.
TRAIN services between Warrnambool and Melbourne will gain $10 million in state government cash for a new and improved transport link, the standard can reveal.
The Victorian Coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to redevelop Warragul Railway Station with the 2011-12 Victorian Budget providing the first segment of funding for the $17 million project.
Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder said funding had been allocated from this year's Budget as part of a $47.3 million package to fix country level crossings.
The Victorian Coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to link Avalon Airport with Melbourne and Geelong by rail, with the 2011-12 Victorian Budget providing funding to begin project planning and design.
Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder said the Budget would allocate $3 million to begin planning and design of the rail link from Lara to Avalon Airport.
"This rail link will allow passengers to travel from Melbourne, Geelong or even Warrnambool by train direct to Avalon Airport," Mr Mulder said.
The Victorian Coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to return passenger rail services to the north-central Victorian town of Talbot.
Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder today announced the 2011-12 Victorian Budget would provide funding to upgrade and re-open Talbot Railway Station.
"The Coalition Government will allocate $2.5 million to upgrade Talbot Railway Station in preparation for the return of passenger services to the town," Mr Mulder said.
The Victorian Coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to deliver more train services to Wendouree Station and improve access to rail services for people in Ballarat.
Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder said the 2011-12 Victorian Budget included $1.6 million over four years to provide an additional 68 services each week to and from Wendouree.
"This will mean a total of 141 services will stop at Wendouree each week, a significant increase from the current 73 services," Mr Mulder said.
The Victorian Coalition Government has taken the first step towards giving commuters to and from Doncaster a heavy rail link – a proposal first raised more than 40 years ago.
Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said the 2011-12 Victorian Budget provided $6.5 million for a detailed study into the best route for a Doncaster rail link.
"The Coalition is delivering on its commitment to fund this study, the first step in providing residents in the Doncaster corridor with the transport system they deserve,'' Mr Mulder said.
THE Department of Transport could reopen the Dimboola to Yaapeet rail line to shift almost 150,000 tonnes of grain from storage before this year's harvest.
The future of the line was in doubt after V-Line closed it late last year but the State Government has revealed funding to repair and reinstate the line could be available within months.
Minister for Public Transport and Roads Terry Mulder told the Mail-Times the government was investigating an 'innovative method' of funding to assist with reopening the line.
Major disruptions are continuing for a second day for commuters along the Fremantle train line as authorities are yet to restore power after a ship crashed into the rail bridge yesterday.
Trains are running from Perth to the Showgrounds station, with rail replacement buses continuing to Fremantle, while assessments are being carried out on the damaged bridge.
TRAINS had to be stopped so three people could be rescued from a car that had crashed and rolled down an embankment on to railway tracks in Sydney's north west this morning.
A 19-year-old Rooty Hill man, believed to be an L-plater, was driving a Holden Vectra, turned off George St, Mt Druitt into Beames Ave when the car left the road, crashed through a wire fence, and rolled down an embankment, coming to rest on railway tracks.
Trains had to be stopped while emergency services rescued the driver and two female passengers.
RIO Tinto's unambiguous success in overturning Australian Competition Tribunal access orders on the Robe River railway system looks to have finally ended Andrew Forrest's near seven-year effort to get his iron ore trains on the other miners' railway lines in the Pilbara.
The Federal Court decision to set aside the ACT access orders says first that the $100 million or so Rio and BHP Billiton have invested on the legal defence of the integrity of their rail networks was money well spent.
The state's rail operator has rejected claims business is losing confidence in Tasmania's rail network.
The Opposition is concerned low confidence in the network will put pressure on roads.
In the latest rail incident, five wagons jumped the tracks near Penguin in the state's north-west at the weekend.
South Coast rail services failed to run on time in peak periods in seven out of the last nine months, according to CityRail figures.
Not since September last year have train services met an organisational target of running to within six minutes of their scheduled times, 92 per cent of the time each month.
CityRail's acting chief operating officer Tony Eid said trains on the South Coast line ran on time in peak periods 88.7 per cent of the time between July last year and last month.
That figure dipped as low as 82.8 per cent in November 2010 and 83.5 per cent last month.
THE Sydney rail system remains vulnerable to the type of mass signalling failure that delayed more than 800 trains and 100,000 passengers this month.
An engineering report on the failure at the Sydenham signalling complex reveals that the design of CityRail's system leaves it open to widespread breakdown.
Southeast Queensland bus patronage has surged by 65 per cent over the past six years, more than triple the growth in rail usage.
As the state government yesterday hailed the 10th anniversary of the first full busway opening in Brisbane, new figures showed how much the region had embraced that mode of travel.
Bus patronage rose by 65 per cent since 2003/04 to 71,659,535 trips last financial year as more busways and buses were rolled out, according to figures provided by TransLink.
A lower south-east South Australian council wants rail infrastructure removed so landholders can expand their land titles.
Train tracks are not being used in the region and the Grant District Council says $10 million in a fund to help reopen them would be better spent removing some of the lines.
I LOVE high-speed rail. My travels on Japan's Bullet Train and France's TGV were just wonderful. These rail systems service densely populated centres over relatively small distances. The Tokyo to Osaka line is profitable, the French routes not so. Where high-speed rail substitutes significantly for road and air travel and relieves congestion in other modes, it has a chance.
VICTORIA'S rail network needs critical changes to bring it up to speed for current and future uses, according to Engineers Australia.
EA had rated the condition of the rail network – both freight and public transport – as "D" in a scale ranging from A to F.
It was the lowest rating in a report card on Victoria's roads, ports, airports, water, energy and communications sectors.
The five-yearly report card on infrastructure said the transport sector – which included rail – was struggling and improvements needed to occur immediately.
JOHN Burnett has been working on the land his whole life. His 60,000 hectare property ‘Frankfield', 100km north of Clermont, produces some of the best beef cattle in Queensland.
But the sound of birds and the odd moo from a cow might soon be replaced by the rumble of coal trains if proposed new coal rail line projects are given the go-ahead.
The proposed rail corridors will service three new mining projects in the Galilee Basin: Clive Palmer's China First project, Gina Rinehart's Alpha Coal/Kevin's Corner project and Indian-owned Adani Mining Carmichael coal projects.
GEOFF Thomas has a big job. As general manager of logistics for Woolworths, he and his team need to make sure the tub of yoghurt you collect from your local store is fresh, undamaged and makes it into your shopping trolley in the fastest time possible from cow to shelf. It is the complex art of logistics and central to every decision is whether to use road or rail.
For a long time, there was no contest. Though rail was the mode of choice for some long-distance runs between, say, Brisbane and Cairns, on the busy Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane route rail was simply too slow, too unreliable. In fact, in 2007 Woolworths stopped using rail on that route altogether. It was more reliable and quicker to send everything along our highways by truck.
RAILWAY stations in Melbourne's east will lose up to 10 morning peak-hour services each weekday, according to a Metro report outlining the biggest change to timetables in a decade.
Metro's ''passenger impact statement'' was handed to the Baillieu government in March, and remained confidential until yesterday.
Commuters in Melbourne's north and west face delays of up to 40 minutes this morning after a signalling fault caused rail chaos.
The Craigieburn, Sydenham, Werribee, Williamstown and Upfield lines will be affected.
Passengers were stranded on a train for more than 45 minutes outside North Melbourne station this morning.
Al-Qaeda was considering an attack on US trains on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, some of the first information gleaned from Osama bin Laden's compound suggests. But counter-terrorism officials say they believe the plot was aspirational and have no recent intelligence about an active plan for such an attack.
New Containers from Card add great realism to the layout, brand names such as Linfox, Patrick, Holden, Ford, MSC, Toll, FCL plus many others, available also in a curtain side detail in 20 and 40 ft.
Container stacks are another feature in the card range with stacks up to four containers high in one lot. this can be of an assorted name or just a stack of one brand. Order a FREE sample and see how easy they are to make. DIY Cut, shape and glue.
I will be demonstrating how at the Ballarat Exhibition June 2011, see you there.
Construction of the Gold Coast Rapid Transit system will begin later this year following the appointment of a consortium to build and operate the $1 billion service.
Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk will today announce that GoldLinQ, which includes companies Keolis, Downer EDI, McConnell Dowell, Bombardier and Plenary, has been awarded the tender for the new service.
The light rail system will be the first public passenger transport project to be delivered through a public-private partnership.
SPENDING on major road and rail projects across Australia will not be cut when the federal government hands down its budget next week, Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese says.
But there won't be any major handouts either, he said.
"People shouldn't be expecting massive new expenditures on Tuesday night in any area," he told reporters in Sydney today.
"We've made sure that in terms of the economic stimulus plan that all projects ... are on time and on budget.
There were 108 sightings for this week. This is 26 sighting more than last week, making a total of 1778 sightings for this year to date. On day 127 last year we had recorded 1662 sightings. This is 116 sighting up on the same time last year.
VICTORIAN motorists will benefit from $630 million of federal road funding in Tuesday's budget, but it will be a fraction of a massive boost planned for New South Wales.
On Tuesday, Treasurer Wayne Swan will unveil the next financial year's spending on roads, with the lion's share - $2.2 billion - going to NSW. In a move that will leave the Baillieu government under more pressure to deliver on its election promises, Victoria will receive about a quarter of NSW's road funding in the same period.
THE Federal Government will spend almost $585 million on South Australia's rail and road infrastructure.
The 2011-12 investment, to be revealed in tomorrow's Budget, includes projects to cut commuter transit times, improve black spots and ease traffic congestion.
The funding will go towards the new South Road Superway, easing congestion on the key metropolitan transport route, safety work on the notorious Dukes Highway, and continuing work on the Gawler rail line and the extension of the Noarlunga line to Seaford.
A plan for three huge coal projects to build separate railway lines to the port of Bowen in north Queensland is "crazy", the Liberal National Party (LNP) says.
Gina Rinehart's Hancock project, Clive Palmer's Waratah and Adani's project have failed to co-operate on plans to ship coal from the Galilee Basin in central Queensland to Bowen.
A LONG-awaited plan to extend Frankston’s metropolitan train service to Baxter has received a kickstart in the State Budget.
And a campaign backed by the Leader for a pedestrian crossing on the Esplanade at Mt Martha will get $100,000 funding.
A TRACK fault triggered major delays on the Werribee and Williamstown lines today, amid major timetable changes.
Many people were forced to switch trains today for the timetable changes, while Metro rushed its ageing Hitachi trains back into service to cope.
Some commuters feigned shock that their trains were on time this morning.
“My train is on time for the first time in over a month. Win,” one commuter tweeted today.
The Victorian Coalition Government has committed $2 million to commence a traffic solution for the New Street level crossing in Brighton.
HOW does a rail operator avoid running its trains late? If you are V/Line, the answer is simple: just add between three and six minutes to the timetable.
While most attention focused yesterday on Metro's new timetable for Melbourne, V/Line also brought in a new regional schedule.
With approval from the Department of Transport, V/Line management has added between three and six minutes to the scheduled times of most country services.
TRAIN services to Swan Hill were disrupted overnight after a goods train locomotive derailed near Raywood.
V/Line spokesman James Kelly said an El Zorro Transport locomotive derailed while entering a siding 30km north of Raywood on Monday afternoon.
The goods train’s trucks were left blocking the main line.
Federal budget savings have hit Victoria hard, with transport projects left hanging and the state denied its fair share of health funds, Premier Ted Baillieu says.
Mr Baillieu highlighted the Regional Rail Link and the Princes Highway redevelopment as projects hurt by the expected deferral of funds.
The demolition of the old Perth Entertainment Centre has begun to make way for the Perth City Link Project.
The project will see the sinking of the rail line and the reconnection of the CBD with Northbridge.
The Planning Minister John Day also revealed the State Government has given in-principle support for the land owner Seven Group Holdings' plans for redevelopment.
RAILWAY gates in Brighton that were closed permanently under the last government will be reopened, or possibly replaced by a multimillion-dollar underpass for cars, Transport Minister Terry Mulder says.
Labor accused the government of pork barrelling, to shore up the seat of Brighton for minister Louise Asher.
The heritage-listed New Street railway gates were shut in 2007 after a train collided with them, and were never reopened. They were originally built in 1882 and then modified when the line was duplicated in 1902.
TRANSPORT Minister Terry Mulder has confirmed a plan by the previous government to staff 22 extra railway stations full-time has been dumped, as the Baillieu government moves to put armed guards on the rail network after dark.
Mr Mulder also yesterday accused the Brumby government of having ''doctored'' the number of assaults occurring at railway stations in 2010, in a bid to retain power last year.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee yesterday to answer questions about last week's budget, Mr Mulder confirmed that a plan announced in 2010 by then transport minister Martin Pakula was no more.
It’s the Travelling Health Show. From bush to beach, health workers, volunteers take health to the people.
From the bush to the beach, Queensland Health and allied groups are taking the health check message to Gympie region people.
WANT to buy railway sleepers for the garden? If you live near Colac and are offered some at a discount price, beware: V/Line yesterday reported about 14 tonnes of wooden sleepers had been stolen from rail lines between Warrnambool and Geelong at the weekend.
Freight, Specials and Derailments Sightings.
FEWER than 10 per cent of the Baillieu government's controversial rail station guards will be deployed in the first year of the planned rollout.
Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland revealed yesterday that only 93 protective services officers, out of an eventual total of 940, would be deployed by the end of next financial year.
The figure is way short of what was indicated by Police Minister Peter Ryan in December, when he said about a quarter of the total would be operational by July next year.
Labor is failing to properly plan freight rail lines for new mines according to Queensland’s Shadow Infrastructure Minister Jeff Seeney.
“The Bligh government must get involved now and coordinate a single rail corridor for three proposed Central Queensland mega-coal mines to minimise the impact on landholders and local communities,” Seeney warns.
With Gina Rinehart's Hancock project, Clive Palmer's Waratah and Adani's project failing to co-operate on plans to ship coal from the Galilee Basin in central Queensland to the Port of Bowen in the north, the plan is to build three separate railway lines.
MOUNT PROSPECT – Rail traffic on the Union Pacific Northwest Line has been modified and in some areas canceled this morning after an accident in Mount Prospect derailed a southbound train, Metra officials report.
Preliminary reports from emergency medical responders, Metra officials said, indicate the driver of a truck involved in the accident was killed.
There were 106 sightings for this week. This is 2 sighting less than last week, making a total of 1884 sightings for this year to date. On day 134 last year we had recorded 1754 sightings. This is 130 sighting up on the same time last year.
TRAINING for the state government's armed guards for train stations is to be overhauled, amid fears that the officers will not be properly equipped to tackle crime on the rail network.
A Victoria Police proposal, seen by The Sunday Age, recommends extending the training program for protective services officers from nine weeks to 12 to ensure they will be able to deal with the complex problems they are likely to confront.
Victoria's newly elected coalition government has announced it will link Melbourne and Avalon Airport by rail, as part of a plan to turn Avalon into a second international airport.
Travellers flying via Avalon currently have to take a shuttle bus to Melbourne, at a cost of $20 each way.
The new rail link will connect Avalon Airport with the nearby suburban railway station of Lara, which is 8.8KM away by road, or 5KM "as the crow flies".
Victoria's transport safety regulator says it is concerned about the condition of the Melbourne to Sydney train line.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation says an investigation has found the damage is due to heavy rain.
The director of rail safety for Transport Safety Victoria, Chris McKeown, says the problems with the track were there before this year's heavy rain.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon is calling for a public inquiry into rail infrastructure.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation is under fire for letting the main east-west rail line deteriorate to such a degree that at least one freight carrier is favouring road transport.
One of the Upper Hunter's main rail freight lines will be closed for the rest of the week, to allow for more than $6-million in upgrade work to be carried out.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation says 114 individual projects are being undertaken from re-railing, to rail grinding, and bridge repairs at Singleton, Allandale and Scone.
A-R-T-C spokesman, Brad Emery says the rail maintenance work will see immediate benefits, including reducing noise from the rail line.
AUSTRALIA'S peak rail industry body says it has delayed its submission to the federal communications department pleading to retain control of 1800MHz spectrum licences.
The Australasian Railway Association was given the opportunity to take its case to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy after Transport Minister Anthony Albanese intervened in its dispute with the communications regulator over plans to reorganise the spectrum band.
The ARA says state rail authorities stand to lose up to $500 million invested in new standardised signalling and safety systems if the licences are re-auctioned to carriers who are eager to use next-generation long-term evolution mobile broadband services.
Work on Victoria's Regional Rail Link will begin on July 1, the government has announced.
State Transport Minister Terry Mulder said on Tuesday that workers will start moving part of the existing track between Sunshine and Tottenham, in Melbourne's west, to make way for new country tracks into the city.
The Regional Rail Link aims to improve the times of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo regional trains when they make their way through the city, by creating dedicated tracks for them.
The Queensland Transport Minister says early works for the billion dollar Gold Coast rapid transport system are ahead of schedule.
Annastacia Palaszczuk has told State Parliament, the first 13 kilometre section from Parklands to Broadbeach should be completed by 2014.
The federal government says the $300 million budget allocation to the Inland Rail Link is proof it is serious about the freight route going ahead.
The Minister for Infrastructure, Anthony Albanese says land resumption for the new line through the Eastern Riverina will begin in 2014.
Mr Albanese says it is a major project for the long term in inland New South Wales.
Former union chief Jim Paterson has his own take on how to fix Melbourne's ailing train network.
'Nothing changes,'' says Jim Paterson gruffly, standing in the rain on a platform at Ringwood railway station. A platform announcement had just advised passengers that the ''Belgrave train will be late''. Says Paterson: ''How bloody late? When can you possibly get on this train?''
On Saturday 21st may at the Bathurst Railway Station where the Ben Chifley's restoration has been completed the locomotive will be on display. Time is 10.30am all welcomed please come.
A MAN has pleaded guilty to raping and bashing an 85-year-old woman at a Melbourne train station.
Allan Richard Hodson, 65, bashed and raped the elderly woman after dragging her into a public toilet at Southern Cross train station in a brutal daylight attack on January 27.
He pleaded guilty to charges of rape, recklessly causing serious injury and threatening to inflict serious injury during a brief hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today.
The Public Transport Users' Association (PTUA) says it expects there will be ongoing disruptions to the Ballarat and Bendigo train lines once construction starts on the Regional Rail Link in July.
The project will separate the regional and metropolitan train lines in Melbourne to ease congestion and allow more V/Line services to be run.
A woman who got pulled of an Amtrak train by police after passengers complained she was speaking too loudly on a cell phone said she felt “disrespected” by the entire incident.
A fully integrated industrial estate and transport hub development in the Latrobe Valley is a step closer following the launch of expressions of interest for the Gippsland Logistics Precinct in Morwell today.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan said the Gippsland Logistics Precinct would give businesses using the estate a competitive edge by integrating manufacturing and transport infrastructure in a single location.
After 22 years of debate, $240,000 and a shift to orange state mine museum at Lithgow and the Hunter Valley the Chifley Engine was finally unveiled as a static display at Bathurst Railway Station.
The Mary Valley Heritage Railway has stepped up security because it continues to be the target of petty criminals.
Gympie Magistrate Maxine Baldwin came down hard on a petty criminal who broke into the Mary Valley Heritage Railway Station more than once, saying it up set her it kept happening to a community group “operating on the smell of an oily rag”.
There were 121 sightings for this week. This is 15 sighting more than last week, making a total of 2005 sightings for this year to date. On day 141 last year we had recorded 1851 sightings. This is 154 sighting up on the same time last year.
A north-west Queensland resident says kilometre-long trains are blocking access to his property for hours at a time.
Jay Mackenzie has to cross a rail line to enter his property at Cloncurry, in north-west Queensland, but he says a kilometre-long train has regularly blocked the road since late last month.
Work on the Victorian rail network during the July school holidays will add up to 45 minutes to travel times as buses replace trains from central and north-west Victoria.
The multi-billion dollar project will separate the regional and metropolitan train lines in Melbourne to ease congestion.
Anticipation is starting to build that the Upper Hunter township of Murrurundi is set for a revival when work starts on a major rail infrastructure project.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation announced in late-March that $285 million will be spent to duplicate the line across the Liverpool Range above the town.
LNP leader Campbell Newman says he is amazed at how much grain is still transported on southern inland Queensland's roads.
Mr Newman has been in southern Queensland this week on his 'listening tour' of the state and is in Roma today.
Train commuters in Melbourne's south-east have been warned to expect major delays this morning after a train smashed into a car at a level crossing.
Police said the crash occurred just after 8am at the intersection of the South Gippsland Highway and the Princes Highway in Dandenong.
Coal shipments from Newcastle port, which ships mostly thermal coal used in power plants, dropped 9.5 per cent during the last week to the lowest level since late March as scheduled rail work and adverse weather impacted exports.
Exports from the eastern coast port were 1.779 million tonnes in the week to May 23, down from 1.965 million the previous week, Newcastle Port Corporation said on its website.
A Tauranga Boys' College student who was pictured on Facebook planking on a railway track has spoken of his regret over the incident.
The picture of Reid Moodie, 15, was posted online after the planking incident on The Strand on Friday.
Today, Reid told the Bay of Plenty Times he would not be planking again after having "a bit of a talking to" by his step-mother after she learned of the stunt, part of a worldwide craze which has caused at least one death.
An accident on the historic Zig Zag railway at Lithgow in the state's Central West, is the subject of an investigation by the Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI).
In April this year, two employees were injured when the Zig Zag railway maintenance vehicle, known as the Hi-Rail, collided with a two car rail motor between the Clarence and Top Point Stations.
Federal transportation officials say they cannot postpone the deadline to start construction of the $43-billion project or allow the state to move the first rail leg out of the Central Valley.
IF YOU want to know the finer details when it comes to trains or any local rail history, you will get all the answers from Bill Head.
A railway enthusiast through and through since the age of four, Bill is part of a family tradition of railway workers, and has been passing on his knowledge of the industry to those who visit the Archer Park Rail Museum for almost 10 years.
And yesterday it saw the new addition to the Rockhampton rail heritage museum, where a 1952 C17 class steam locomotive and its tender were lifted onto the platform.
A MAN was fatally stabbed and another seriously injured during a brawl on a rail platform tonight.
A fight erupted on Bankstown railway station shortly about 6.50pm between a group of young men.
Stunned witnesses looked on as two men were stabbed, with one suffering fatal injuries.
Public service superannuation would be used to pay for road and rail projects under a state 'future fund' being considered by the NSW Treasurer.
The multi-billion dollar fund could be part of Mike Baird's September budget, The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
WITH the possibility of another bumper crop looming, Victoria’s non-standardised rail network and the lack of rolling stock (locomotives and carriages) is causing concern among the grain industry.
Earlier this year, the Alliance of Councils for Rail Freight Development released a report titled Victorian Rail Freight Capacity and the 2010-11 Grain Harvest, put together by well-known advisor Professor Bill Russell, EW Russell & Associates.
Metro has apologised to up to 100 train passengers who were dumped two stations short of their destination in Melbourne's north-east last night because the peak-hour train was running late.
Passengers were told to get off the train at Diamond Creek station, two stops before its intended destination of Hurstbridge, so the train could return to the city.
The NSW government has denied reports Sydney's north west rail link and Parramatta to Epping line will be "developed in parallel".
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian told AAP on Friday building the north west and south west rail links were the government's "number one" priority.
But she said there were no plans to develop the Parramatta to Epping rail link at the same time.
Train commuters in Melbourne's south-east have been warned to expect major delays this morning after a train smashed into a car at a level crossing.
Police said the crash occurred just after 8am at the intersection of the South Gippsland Highway and the Princes Highway in Dandenong.
No-one on board the V/Line train was injured in the crash. Paramedics are treating one man, believed to be the driver of the car, for minor injuries.
TO COPE with more traffic, the Tullamarine Freeway would be widened from four to six lanes from the Western Ring Road to Melbourne Airport, under a plan VicRoads began work on last year.
A teenager is fighting for his life after he was hit by a passing train during another altercation between young males at a western Sydney train station.
The 18-year-old from Merrylands was hit by a city-bound train and flung back onto the platform at Cabramatta station about 7.10pm (AEST) on Thursday after getting into a fight with a 19-year-old.
As the youths wrestled, the young man's head struck the wall of the back carriage of the train.
Train commuters in Melbourne's south-east have been warned to expect major delays this morning after a train smashed into a car at a level crossing.
Police said the crash occurred just after 8am at the intersection of the South Gippsland Highway and the Princes Highway in Dandenong.
No-one on board the V/Line train was injured in the crash. Paramedics are treating one man, believed to be the driver of the car, for minor injuries.
A light rail system in Perth's CBD seems inevitable with the state opposition putting forward its own proposal which would run east to west across the city.
The push towards light rail gained momentum last year when West Australian Premier Colin Barnett told a Chamber of Commerce and Industry luncheon the government had started serious planning work.
Mr Barnett said in November a light rail system would be built within the next decade and would service the inner suburbs and the Perth central area.
A ONE kilometre tunnel and train station beneath a Bowden housing development is set to cost taxpayers $418 million.
The State Government says the project will reduce traffic on Park Tce, improve train services and be a feature of its 2200-home Bowden Urban Village project.
RAIL passengers can expect quicker trip times from Monday, when speed restrictions on problem trains will begin to be lifted.
A braking fault has meant that Metro's Siemens trains have effectively been running up to three minutes late before they even begin service.
An express train has derailed and caught fire in a tunnel in Japan, injuring 39 passengers.
VICTORIANS are warming to the myki ticketing system, increasing pressure on the state government to decide whether to implement it fully, cut its losses and dump it, or continue to fund the exorbitant cost of running it alongside the Metcard system.
There were 114 sightings for this week. This is seven sighting less than last week, making a total of 2119 sightings for this year to date. On day 148 last year we had recorded 1961 sightings. This is 158 sightings up on the same time last year.
THE architect of the Brumby government's unbuilt $5 billion rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield has been appointed to oversee a feasibility study into a rail line to Rowville.
Train fares are to be slashed by up to $240 a year, the NSW government has announced.
From July 1, rail fares for regular commuters buying monthly, quarterly and yearly tickets will be slashed by nine per cent, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said on Monday.
Under the new fare structure, commuters travelling from Gosford to Wynyard will save $20 when they buy a monthly ticket.