Case studies > Brisbane Metropolitan Coal Capacity Study
Network: Brisbane metropolitan rail network Client: Queensland Rail and Queensland Transport Date: July 2006 to December 2006
The coal export boom has placed considerable pressure on rail operators to commit to increased annual coal tonnages on their rail network from the mines to the port. To respond to this, Queensland Rail called upon Systemwide to provide advice on the capacity for increased coal tonnages through the Brisbane metro network and the Port of Brisbane.
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The Challenge
Growth in coal exports has resulted in a significant increase in the amount of coal that needs to be transported from Southwest Queensland to the Port of Brisbane via the Brisbane metropolitan network.
Systemwide was asked to analyse key elements of the current coal rail and port operation within the metropolitan area and the effects that anticipated growth in future metropolitan service levels would have on the ability of the network to accommodate increased coal demand.
Our Approach
This engagement required an in-depth analysis of key elements of the coal freight supply chain from mine to port, and its interaction with passenger trains and the metropolitan network. The analysis was conducted in three phases.
The first phase determined the maximum capacity of coal traffic on the current metropolitan network, assuming no changes to passenger or other freight services.
The second phase then identified the additional infrastructure to meet forecast future coal tonnages out to 2013.
Finally, the third phase was a sensitivity analysis looking at two scenarios:
- The additional infrastructure required to support future coal tonnages if a higher off-peak frequency for passenger trains was implemented in the future
- The infrastructure savings if longer and therefore fewer coal trains were operated
The Benefits
Systemwide’s findings from this study have assisted QR to form long-term contracts with mining organisations and have allowed QR and QT to plan the infrastructure requirements relating to coal operations and to understand the implications of policy decisions relating to passenger trains on future coal tonnage capacity.
