THE TOTAL volume of rail freight moved in Quarter 3 (October to December) of 2018-19 was 4.3 billion net tonne kilometres, up 2% on the same period the previous year.
Despite decreases in coal and domestic intermodal traffic, rises in other categories contributed to the increase. This included a 25% increase in the ‘other’ category, which includes smaller categories such as general merchandise, parcels/mail and domestic waste. The Office of Rail and Road, which compiles the statistics, suggests additional Christmas stock may have boosted this category.
Although it saw a 2% decline, domestic intermodal remains the largest category, accounting for 39% of rail freight moved. The amount of freight lifted, which measures the volume of material moved but does not take into account the distance travelled, also grew by 2%. The amount of coal lifted rose by 39% compared to the previous year, offsetting declines across other commodities.
Freight delay fell by 10% during the quarter, to 12.8 minutes per 100 train kilometres.
