VicTrack, the trading name of Victorian Rail Track Corporation, is a
Victorian Government
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...
state-owned enterprise which owns all railway and tram lines, associated rail lands and other rail-related infrastructure in the state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia, with the exception of the Emerald Tourist Railway Board's heritage
Puffing Billy Railway
The Puffing Billy Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway in the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne, Australia. The railway was one of the five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways which opened around the beg ...
.
VicTrack leases railway and tram land used for public transport to
Public Transport Victoria
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria, Australia, Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authorit ...
which then sub-leases the assets and infrastructure to rail and tram operators, currently
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),
Metro Trains Melbourne
Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the franchise operator of the electrified suburban passenger service on the Melbourne rail network. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture between Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation (60% ...
,
V/Line
V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...
and
Yarra Trams
Yarra Trams is the trading name of the operator of the tram network in Melbourne, Australia, which is owned by VicTrack and leased to Yarra Trams by the Victorian Department of Transport. The current franchise is operated by Keolis Downer. As ...
. VicTrack retains responsibility for the freight lines around the
Dynon Intermodal Freight Terminal,
South Dynon Locomotive Depot
South Dynon Locomotive Depot is an Australian locomotive depot in Melbourne, purpose built for the servicing of diesel and electric locomotives by the Victorian Railways opening in July 1961.
It was built adjacent to the Dynon marshalling yards ...
and in
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...
.
VicTrack also carries out a range of commercial activities on railway land, including:
* property leasing and licensing of surplus railway land
* providing telecommunications services using surplus railway network capacity
* outdoor advertising
* commercial property development
* environmental programs on railway lands such as remediation of contaminated land.
Objective
The ''
Transport Integration Act 2010
The Transport Integration Act 2010 (the Act) is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia. The Act is the prime transport statute in Victoria, having replaced major parts of the ''Transport Act 1983'', which was renam ...
'' provides that VicTrack's primary object is "to act as the custodial owner of the State's transport-related land, infrastructure and assets" consistent with the vision statement in the Act and objectives which emphasise transport integration and sustainability. The Act also states that VicTrack's activities should be primarily directed at supporting the transport system and other purposes which support Government policy.
[
]
History
Victorian Rail Track was established on 1 July 1997 by the ''Rail Corporations Act 1996'' to hold, manage and maintain railway land and infrastructure in Victoria for the Victorian Government
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...
.
In 1999, the standard gauge tracks from Melbourne to Serviceton
__NOTOC__
Serviceton is a small town in rural western Victoria, Australia. It is near the Victorian–South Australian border, north-west of Melbourne. Named after James Service, who was Premier of Victoria in 1880 and from 1883 to 1886, it ...
(near the South Australian border) and to 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 ...
(on the New South Wales border) were leased for five years to the newly formed 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.
...
. This was later extended for another 10 years and in May 2008, for another 45 years.
As part of the extension, the rundown and underutilised broad gauge line from Seymour to Albury that paralleled the Melbourne to Sydney line, was converted to standard gauge. Included was construction of a five kilometre Wodonga Rail Bypass
The Wodonga Rail Bypass, was a Victorian state government project in regional Victoria Australia, to provide a new double-track railway bypass around the northern city of Wodonga. The 5.5-kilometre bypass eliminated 11 level crossings. to eliminate 11 level crossings.
In May 1999, a 45-year lease on the regional network was sold to Freight Victoria
Freight Australia was an Australian railway company that purchased the V/Line Freight business from the Government of Victoria in 1999. Initially known as Freight Victoria, it operated rail freight services and controlled non-urban rail track in ...
. The lease was included in the sale of the business to Pacific National
Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses.
History
In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Government of New ...
in August 2004, before being bought back by the State Government in 2007.
In July 2008, the line from Maroona to Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
was leased to the ARTC for 50 years with $15 million to be invested in the line. The line was handed over in March 2009.
Director of Public Transport
In August 1999, the office of Director of Public Transport
The Director of Public Transport (also referred to as the Director, or the DPT) was the head of the Public Transport Division (PTD) of the Victorian Department of Transport. PTD was the government agency responsible for promoting, providing, ...
was created in the Department of Transport to manage, coordinate and regulate public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
in Victoria. The responsibilities of the Director included the entering into and management of franchising contracts with train, tram and bus companies to provide public transport services in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and Victoria. To further these goals, the Director leased the metropolitan and intrastate train and tram infrastructure and assets from VicTrack through the Metropolitan Infrastructure Head Lease, and would sub-lease various assets to the various franchisees through Infrastructure Leases. On 2 April 2012, these functions of the Director were transferred to the newly created Public Transport Victoria
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria, Australia, Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authorit ...
, as were the leases.
The Victorian Rail Track Corporation (VicTrack) was re-established with a new corporate charter from 1 July 2010 by the ''Transport Integration Act 2010''.[Transport Integration Act 2010]
Victorian Government The 2010 Act also changed the name of the ''Rail Corporations Act 1996'' to the ''Rail Management Act 1996''.
Relationship with Public Transport Victoria
VicTrack is the custodian of all rail infrastructure and assets in Victoria. VicTrack leases the metropolitan and intrastate train and tram infrastructure and assets to Public Transport Victoria
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria, Australia, Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authorit ...
(PTV), which then sub-leases the infrastructure and assets to the metropolitan train and tram operators and V/Line
V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...
. PTV manages the rights and obligations contained in the sub-leases on behalf of the State.
Metro Trains Melbourne
Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the franchise operator of the electrified suburban passenger service on the Melbourne rail network. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture between Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation (60% ...
operates Melbourne's railway network of of track and is responsible for 215 railway stations. V/Line operates to 91 railway stations and is track manager of the Victorian intrastate rail network outside of the ARTC and Metro Trains Melbourne sub-leases. Yarra Trams
Yarra Trams is the trading name of the operator of the tram network in Melbourne, Australia, which is owned by VicTrack and leased to Yarra Trams by the Victorian Department of Transport. The current franchise is operated by Keolis Downer. As ...
operates the Melbourne tram network
Trams are a major form of Transport in Melbourne, public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the States of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. As of May 2017, the Melbourne tramway network consists of of dou ...
. ARTC sub-leases from PTV the interstate standard gauge railway tracks from Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
to Serviceton
__NOTOC__
Serviceton is a small town in rural western Victoria, Australia. It is near the Victorian–South Australian border, north-west of Melbourne. Named after James Service, who was Premier of Victoria in 1880 and from 1883 to 1886, it ...
and Melbourne to 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 ...
.Annual Report 30 June 1999
Australian Rail Track Corporation
References
External links
Official websiteâ€
Department of Transport Victoria
â€
PTV website{{Rail network infrastructure companies, state=collapsed
Government agencies of Victoria (Australia)
Railway infrastructure companies of Australia
Rail transport in Victoria (Australia)
Railway companies established in 1997
Australian companies established in 1997