Mark Carter

THE state government of South Australia and the Australian government have formalised an agreement that will see $A 220m ($US 163.3m) of federal funding provided towards full electrification of the 78km line linking Adelaide and the outer suburb of Gawler.

MINING company Rio Tinto has achieved the first delivery of iron ore by an autonomous, driverless train as part of its $US 940m AutoHaul programme focused on automating trains running to its port facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

OVERNIGHT testing of LRVs on the Canberra Metro light rail line has been ramped up with a view to achieving the scheduled opening at the end of 2018.

US regional and shortline railway operator Watco is set to expand its Australian operations after signing a contract with grain marketer and handler GrainCorp to operate its trains in the state of Queensland.

THE Australian and Victorian governments have provided an update on the construction timeframes for the $A 1.75bn ($US 1.3bn) jointly-funded Regional Rail Revival programme, which will upgrade predominantly passenger rail lines across the state of Victoria.

MINING company Rio Tinto has been granted accreditation by Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) for the autonomous operation of trains serving the group’s Pilbara iron-ore mines in Western Australia.

THE Australian federal government has committed substantial funding to rail related projects in its 2017-2018 budget, which was announced on May 8, although closer examination reveals that a significant amount of this funding will be provided as government equity, thereby appearing ‘off budget.’

THE government of the Australian state of Victoria says its 2018-19 budget will pave the way for its next big tranche of transport projects, although much of the funding has previously been announced or provision already made in forward estimates.

THE government of the Australian state of Victoria says it will provide $A 50m ($US 37.8m) in its upcoming 2018-19 budget for investigations into options for a high-speed rail link between Melbourne and Geelong, with detailed planning work and technical investigations set to begin.