Choose rail freight when low cost is your number one priority

Rail freight is a reliable and extremely cost effective way to transport goods. Not the best choice if you need urgent shipping or express transportation, rail freight may suit a business or industry looking to reduce transport costs.

Australian rail freight is impacted by the variance in gauge width

The Australian rail network is made up of three bands:

• standard gauge
• narrow gauge
• broad gauge

Depending on the state you are in and the type of goods you are transporting, your rail freight will be transported via one of these bands. Narrow gauge generally cannot handle as much tonnage as standard or broad gauge but is faster and easier to construct.

Victoria operates on broad gauge, while NSW is on standard gauge and narrow gauge can be found in Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

How Australian industry relies on rail freight

Most major industries in Australia rely on rail freight. The following goods, materials and resources are routinely transported by rail:

• Grains
• Coal
• Steel and metal products
• Wood and logs
• Cars and auto parts
• White goods
• Consumer goods
• Manufactured goods
• 30ft containers

Rail freight offers broad cross country coverage

The main interstate standard gauge rail freight routes in Australia cross east to west and north to south. There is some more dense coverage in the south east corner of the country.

The east west rail route runs along the southerly part of the country, while the north south route cuts right through the centre.

Within each state there are further choices of narrow, standard or broad gauge. But there are few rail freight options in much of Western Australia, and central parts of Queensland, South Australia and most of the Northern Territory.

For Rail Transport we use:

• Q.R. National
• Northline Freight
• Sadleirs Transport