Transport

Competitive Advantages, rationale

Port Augusta is unique in Australia as it forms the interstate crossroads for the nation's east – west and north – south land transport network.  As such all goods arriving or departing Australia from the gateway ports of Fremantle and Darwin and originating from or destined for the major consumer centers of Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide transit through Port Augusta either by road or rail.  Invariably all such transport stops at Port Augusta for refueling or other related reasons.  Accordingly, Port Augusta has the potential to become a major distribution center for Australia's main consuming centers.

The dry climate and a history of supporting the transport industry when matched with the relatively close proximity to Australia's major centers gives the city a competitive edge in this growing market.  In terms of transiting times, Port Augusta is 1 -1.5 days from Sydney by road and 1.5 -2 days by rail. While this potential opportunity is strong for general consumer goods where the aim would be to attract a major discount retailer/wholesaler to establish a warehouse and distribution center, the case for such a facility to support the defence forces in northern Australia is hard to dismiss.

The region also has a number of maintenance and manufacturing operations focused on supporting the transport sector, the most significant being EDI Rail at Port Augusta that builds and services rail wagons and supports locomotives.  Approximately 4% of the region's employment is in the area of transport and storage.  The sector is however much reduced from its heyday when the region boasted the main rail centers of Peterborough and Port Augusta.

A significant market for the transport industry is the mining industry.  The industry is going through constant change.  The impact of the introduction of the new rail service through to Darwin has had an adjusting impact on the trucking industry.  There have been significant changes to the fueling industry and should BHP Billiton extend the rail from Pimba to Olympic Dam, a further shake up of the trucking industry could be expected.

Freight transport throughout the region is almost totally truck based.  Air services within the region are limited to general aviation and the RFDS.  Regular air services exist between Coober Pedy and Adelaide; Roxby Downs and Adelaide and Port Augusta and Adelaide.  Attraction of regular public transport services both within the region and with the region and major centers such as Adelaide and Alice Springs are urgently needed. 

The new Darwin rail service has some potential to increase tourist traffic for the region however, the current timetables that have tourists arriving either late at night in Port Augusta or in the middle of the night at an ill defined stop off point at Coober Pedy is hardly conducive to growing this market.

Board's Mission for the sector

To position the region as the ideal location for intermodal transport related activities and to ensure that the transport infrastructure supports the growth of the regional economy and sustainable communities:

Performance objectives

In support of this Mission, RDAFN seeks to:

Specific performance objectives in achieving this are :

Significant Current Developments