TasRail

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.

Not to be confused with AN Tasrail, a predecessor to the current company.
This article is about the current state government-operated company. For the original state government-owned company, see Tasmanian Government Railways.

A TasRail container train led by a TR Class locomotive in January 2016
Overview
HeadquartersLaunceston
LocaleTasmania, Australia
Dates of operation2009-present–
PredecessorAN Tasrail
Technical
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Length843 km (523.82 mi)
Other
Websitewww.tasrail.com.au

History

Established 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

As at April 2017, the fleet consisted of 27 operational locomotives.[6][7]

Current locomotive fleet
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
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 Muesum

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

There 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. During the period 2003 – 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

References
  1. Tasmanian Railway Pty Ltd Australian Securities & Investments Commission
  2. "TasRail – Home". tasrail.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  3. Rail Sale Agreement Finalised Archived 11 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Asciano 7 September 2009
  4. "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.
  5. Background – Organisation of Australia's Railways Archived 4 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Department of Infrastructure & Regional Development
  6. "Australia Wide Fleet List" Motive Power issue 96 November 2014 page 73
  7. "TasRail locomotive and rolling stock update" Railway Digest December 2014 page 20
  8. "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)
  9. Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Para 3.1
  10. Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Para 4.2
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.