David Marchant AM (born November 1954) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

railway executive.

Biography

Marchant was born in November 1954 in Grafton, New South Wales,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. His early career included a period as advisor to former New South Wales Premier

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...

. He also became the Deputy Director General for the New South Wales Department of Community Services in 1989, responsible for the delivery of services to disadvantaged individuals, families and communities, and the Group General Manager for

Sydney Water Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a New South Wales Government owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the B ...

in 1993, a New South Wales government-owned, statutory corporation. During this time he was also working concurrently as the Managing Director for Australian Water Technologies Pty Ltd. He worked for the

Pacific Gas and Electric Company The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

from 1996 to 1997 through its subsidiary company the PG&E Corporation, Australasia, as the Senior General Manager, Development. Since leaving the railway industry Marchant has been appointed Managing Director of

Lendlease Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was establ ...

Infrastructure Services and the Managing Director of Lend Lease Engineering in 2013, integrating the

Abigroup Abigroup was an Australian construction company. History Abigroup was established as Graham Evans & Co in 1957 as a civil engineering company within New South Wales, being renamed Abignano in 1961. In 1981 it was listed on the Australian Securiti ...

and

Baulderstone Baulderstone, formerly Baulderstone Hornibrook, was an Australian construction company. History MR Hornibrook In 1926, Manuel Hornibrook founded a construction company in Brisbane. Amongst its notable projects were the Story Bridge and William Jo ...

, Infrastructure Services and Project Management and Construction businesses. In July 2014 he was appointed to the Board of

Airservices Australia Airservices Australia is an Australian Government owned corporation, responsible for providing safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible services to the aviation industry within the Australian Flight Information Region (FIR). S ...

. Marchant became a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 2013 Australia Day Honours List for significant service to the rail industry through national structural reform and infrastructure upgrades.

Career

After working in legal and executive roles for the public and private sector, Marchant was appointed in June 1998 the inaugural Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the

Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation spanning 8,500km across five states, 39 worksites and more than 50 First Nations. ...

(ARTC), created through the retention of the Federal government's Track Access Unit in November 1997 after the division and sale of Australian National's business assets. The ARTC was conceived as a 'one-stop shop' for train operators seeking access to the interstate network. The ARTC commenced a five-year lease on the Victorian interstate tracks from

VicTrack VicTrack, the trading name of Victorian Rail Track Corporation, is a Government of Victoria, Victorian Government state-owned enterprise which owns all railway and tram lines, associated rail lands and other rail-related infrastructure in the ...

in July 1999, which gave it control over the interstate rail network from

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

and

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

through to

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

. Marchant used his political knowledge to present a strong business case for Federal funding for the interstate network and in 1999 the government provided ARTC with $250 million that would be spent over the next several years to improve rail network infrastructure. Under Marchant's direction, the ARTC in the early 2000's expanded its business, as well as the trackage that came under its control, and in 2001 it was granted rights from the then West Australian track owner, WestNet Rail to sell track access to interstate rail operators between Kalgoorlie and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

for fifteen years. In addition, the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

government entered into an agreement for ARTC in September 2004 to lease the interstate and

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

tracks from the

Rail Infrastructure Corporation Rail Infrastructure Corporation, later known as Country Rail Infrastructure Authority after July 2010, was a Government of New South Wales statutory corporation with responsibility for the management of the railway network in rural New South Wales, ...

for a period of 60 years. Subsequently in 2010, ARTC negotiated a lease with the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

government for the management of track access of the Queensland

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

rail line from the New South Wales border, to

Acacia Ridge Acacia Ridge is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,429 people. Geography Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. It is within the local government are ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, also for 60 years. Marchant also facilitated the completion of concrete sleeper insertion over the entire ARTC interstate network of 8,500 kilometers that, when combined with other track upgrading and strengthening of

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

s and bridges, provided greater network reliability and lower maintenance costs. During Marchant's time as CEO of ARTC, he was heavily involved in other areas of the rail industry: * Director, Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board, 2005-2010 * Chairman, Australasian Rail Association, 2009-2011 * Director, Australasian Railway Association, 1999-2011 * Director of the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordination Company Pty Ltd, 2009-2011 Marchant stepped down from his role as ARTC's CEO in 2011 after thirteen years at the helm. Marchant is currently serving on the boards of Air Services Australia and QR.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchant, David Living people 1954 births Australian chief executives Members of the Order of Australia