Outcomes from the evaluation of the NSFC

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) recently completed an evaluation of the Evaluation of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor (NSFC) project, with the research conducted by the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO).

The aim of the rail project was to improve access for freight trains between Sydney and Brisbane through capacity improvements between the constrained Sydney to Newcastle (Broadmeadow) corridor.

Background

The Commonwealth and NSW Government jointly funded the $1.05B North Sydney Freight Corridor works. The works were delivered by TfNSW in the four years to 2016. This was part of a broader plan to expand the capacity for rail freight services throughout the metropolitan network and complemented the major investment to improve southern access to Sydney – the Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL).

The remaining unaddressed bottleneck for freight services was access through Northern Sydney. The upgrades were implemented between Strathfield, Sydney and Broadmeadow, near Newcastle. They included:

• Epping to Thornleigh Third Track – completed in 2016
• Gosford Passing Loop – Completed 2015
• North Strathfield Rail Underpass – Completed 2015
• Hexham Freight Loop – Completed 2012

A key intended benefit from the project was to increases capacity for interstate freight trains, and allow a more competitive service level offering against road transport.

The project also offers an important strategic case study for consideration of future works. Policy makers now have the benefits of two contrasting approaches to achieving rail freight outcomes in Metropolitan Sydney. The Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) was a project based on providing a dedicated freight track, fully separated from the passenger network. The Northern works, by contrast were based on amplifications to a mixed-use corridor, that predominantly services passenger services.

The two projects demonstrate the additional variables and challenges that need to be considered when seeking to realise intended freight outcomes from investments in a mixed-use infrastructure.

Objectives

The overarching research objective was to evaluate to what degree the freight outcomes have eventuated against the original business case. The evaluation assessed the main objectives of the NSFC program, which were to:

• Increase freight capacity to keep up with demand driven by:
  1 )interstate freight services between Melbourne – Sydney – Brisbane by removing the capacity bottleneck through northern Sydney; and
  2) passenger services and population growth
• Improved rail operational efficiencies flowing from reduced transit times, congestion and improved reliability;
• Enhance the service to help increase rail freight;
• Improved safety by reducing road accidents along the corridor; and
• Improved sustainability by reducing air, greenhouse gas and noise population by shifting mode share from road to rail

In order to achieve these objectives, researchers reviewed project background documents, relevant rail operational documents for NSW and Australia, and NSW rail governance and policy documents. They also consulted with key stakeholders to gather their perspectives on the upgrades and insights into operators’ needs. Additionally, the study analysed data on the project, freight and passenger rail operations, passenger satisfaction, road freight, road safety, and environmental impacts.

The final report details five components: a needs analysis, value for money, unintended impacts, sustainability, and governance.

Needs analysis

The project considered the NSFC’s impact from the freight operators’ perspectives. These related to:

1. Capacity and reliability: Ensuring consistent access to freight train paths through the Sydney Trains network, along with reliable service and guaranteed access when needed;
2. Timetabling and operations: Implementing timetables and network operations that support the movement of freight trains; and
3. .Communication and accountability: Improving communication between Sydney Trains and freight operators, enhancing understanding of freight requirements, and increasing Sydney Trains’ accountability for changes or disruptions.

There was no quantitative evidence of the NSFC delivering on its intended benefits of increasing interstate rail services. This was due to the lack of uptake by freight operators of the additional timetabled paths created.
However, the project had a number benefits for the management of the different passenger and freight tasks in what is a highly utilised corridor with scarce capacity.

Benefits from the project were realised for other freight services, coal, grain and regional freight services. Qualitative consultations with rail freight operators did indicate a strong view that management of the different tasks within the corridor would have been much more demanding in the absence of the upgrades, mainly due to increased passenger movements.

The increased capacity may not have delivered the intended increase in freight on the network, but, without these upgrades the consulted freight operators considered that there would have been substantially less freight on rail.

Value for money

NSFC upgrades were assessed for the value they delivered to TfNSW and Sydney Trains. The aspects explored included the:

• Capacity and reliability of freight train paths;
• Capacity of passenger train services;
• Usage; and
• Checking if the NSFC program delivered the upgrades as per the original business case.

The final cost of $932M was below the $1.05B estimate, which was a major achievement considering the upgrade project’s complexity.

The evaluation report showed that Northern Sydney Freight Corridor project’s work programs had not sufficiently addressed the transit time, rail frequency, reliability, and cost issues. In fact, over time, road infrastructure updates had widened the gap, with road productivity cutting costs by about 13%.

However, other non-rail related infrastructure projects such as the Pacific Hwy upgrades also coincided with the completion of the NSFC upgrades which would have improved road productivity.

These factors have not been sufficiently addressed by the NSFC program of works, and over time road infrastructure upgrades have widened the gap.

Sustainability

Researchers assessed the greenhouse gas and noise emissions associated with using the corridor, compared these to the primary road freight routes, and evaluated safety factors.

They found the NSFC upgrades successfully prioritised and incorporated sustainability, aligning with the project’s design and construction guidelines. This commitment to safe and sustainable practices was evident in all individual projects, the evaluation found.

However, freight train noise has been a long-term issue along the North Sydney rail corridor. Hence, the upgrades included noise barrier installation, noise-level monitoring, and extensive and regulator local community consultation.

Despite these measures, noise worsened on the Epping to Thornleigh rail segment. With fewer trains, noise levels rose significantly from 75dB to 82dB on average (measured from 30m). Ageing infrastructure and long-distance trains contribute to these higher noise levels.

While the upgrades had achieved positive sustainability outcomes, ongoing emissions monitoring is essential. Quantifying truck and train traffic, including payload, distance, and routes, will offer valuable data for assessing environmental impacts. This information will allow more accurate estimation of emissions and potential causal relationships with infrastructure projects.

TfNSW is also actively working to mitigate the noise impact of freight trains on nearby residents in northern Sydney. This is a complex challenge due to the high population density and the combined use of freight and passenger trains.

Governance

The two key governance questions for the evaluation were:

• How can the NSW Government use access arrangements to deliver government-policy initiatives to increase freight on rail?
• What are the lessons of the NSFC program from a governance perspective?

The evaluation found the NSW rail network’s governance is complex and fragmented. Despite efforts to improve access and efficiency, rail freight patronage has not increased significantly. The current system, involving multiple parties and negotiations, can lead to delays, inefficiencies, and a lack of transparency.

Key governance issues included:

• Complex governance with multiple parties involved in managing different segments of the network;
• Inefficient access, meaning many negotiations and approvals were needed for long-distance freight paths;
• Lack of transparency and clarity about roles, responsibilities, and processes;
• Infrastructure limitations which have led to insufficient capacity for both passenger and freight trains; and
• The system prioritises passenger services, so freight trains were often treated as an inconvenience.

Key findings

The overarching finding of the evaluation was that the implementation of the NSFC upgrades was achieved on time, on budget and, from the freight operator’s perspective, improved the network.

However, the report said the NSFC investment did not fully realise its anticipated benefits due to various factors. While the upgrades increased network capacity and added specific freight paths in the standard working timetable (SWTT), these paths have not been taken up by freight operators.

Issues included timetabling, access arrangements, and a operators changing their requirements for the train path type.

A recommendation therefore to improve the benefits from the project is to update the SWTT in collaboration with freight operators.

…the number of freight train movements through the corridor has declined over the post-upgrade period, despite an increase in freight paths offered compared to before the upgrade … [therefore] freight utilisation indicates providing a path does not necessarily lead to a shift in freight volumes from road to rail.

Download the report

Download your copy of the final report, Evaluation of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor, by clicking the button below.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT