TasRail

TasRail operates within the regulatory safety framework created under the Rail Safety Act 2009 (formerly the Rail Safety Act 1997) and administered by the Tasmanian Rail Safety Regulator. The Company has its headquarters in Launceston, with a small presence in Hobart and Burnie and currently has over 260 employees. TasRail was created by combining the below rail assets (track and associated infrastructure) that the State had assumed responsibility for in 2007 with the above rail (rollingstock) and business assets purchased from Pacific National in late 2009. At the time of the purchase from Pacific National the State (and thus ultimately TasRail) also purchased the Melba Line that services the West Coast. This completed the amalgamation of the whole operating rail network within Tasmania for the first time. At the time of the Company's creation the State also transferred the activities and resources of the Rail Management Branch from DIER to TasRail. In effect this transferred responsibility for the management and implementation of the major below rail upgrade program, largely funded by the Commonwealth, to the Company. This program will eventually expend in excess of $200 million upgrading the below rail infrastructure by 2013. TasRail has been created as a vertically integrated rail business, inheriting all rail track infrastructure; rollingstock (locomotive and wagon fleets); workshops; depots; workforce and systems and Pacific National's customer base that together make up the Tasmanian freight rail system and business. This provides a real opportunity for the new Company to progress, having for the first time ever in Tasmania brought under the State's control all of the elements needed for a successful rail freight business.