The rail industry will have a critical role to play in the successful decarbonisation of Australia’s transport sector. The transport sector is currently the third-highest emitting sector nationally, and without intervention is projected to become Australia’s highest emitting sector by 2030. Heavy vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and passenger cars made up 83 per cent of the sector’s total emissions in 2023-24, while rail contributed just four per cent. Rail represents an inherently sustainable form of transport for both passengers and freight, with mode shift to rail offering an immediate pathway to reduce emissions from the transport sector collectively.
While mode shift presents a near-term solution to sector-wide emissions reduction, longer term solutions will need to consider the decarbonisation of the rail industry, including the continued decarbonisation of rail rollingstock. Last year, the ARA published a major research project, titled The critical path to decarbonise Australia’s rail rollingstock. This crucial piece of work highlighted a looming procurement window facing Australian rollingstock owners and operators, with approximately half of Australia’s diesel-powered rollingstock due for replacement within the next eight to 13 years. Rollingstock procured during this period will be in operation well beyond 2050 and will need to include low and zero carbon technologies in order to meet Australia’s net zero targets. Given the timeframes for rollingstock procurement, urgent action is needed to confirm technology pathways for diesel alternatives, to ensure these solutions are available and commercially viable in Australia when the procurement window is reached.
To achieve the Net Zero Fund’s objectives of supporting large-scale industrial decarbonisation and manufacture of low-emissions technologies, there are numerous projects which could be considered:
- Battery electric locomotives and network electrification
- Longer-term technology pathways
- Intermodal assets