The paper, put together by Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, suggests CountryLink operates under a four-year franchise agreement, while the government conducts a public inquiry into the future of rail operations for the whole of New South Wales.
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia CEO Brendan Lyon said a four-year short-term franchise agreement would give CountryLink rail passengers ‘a taste’ of what the rail network was like under a franchise, so they could then decide what would be best for the future of the New South Wales rail network.
Under the franchise agreement Mr Lyon said the infrastructure would remain 100 per cent publicly owned and the State Government would still set the fares and timetables.
However the trains would be run, staff managed and new infrastructure built by the franchise company.
“Rural and regional rail systems would be run more efficiently as the franchise could offer better allocation of work force, new technology, and the funds to complete infrastructure projects,” Mr Lyon said.
The O’Farrell government have not ruled out the possibility of moving to a franchise, however Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries remained firm that it would not happen.
“It is not government’s policy to privatise CountryLink,” Mr Humphries said.
CountryLink transports two million people every year to 365 destinations in NSW and interstate.
Mr Lyon said the rail system was currently experiencing problems with delays and inefficiency of services.
“The spiralling costs, inefficiency and vast amounts of unfunded projects need to be looked at,” Mr Lyons said.
Shadow Minister for Regional and Rural Affairs, Mick Veitch said in his website posts that he did not want the government to consider moving CountryLink to a franchise.
“The National Party should immediately rule out any support for the privatisation of CountryLink,” Mr Veitch said.
“For someone to operate CountryLink privately they would need to turn a profit, and so some of the less profitable lines may face closure,” he said.
“Not everyone can afford to buy a plane ticket, and not every country town has an airport,
“This plan would literally cut off regional New South Wales from Sydney,” he said.
Meanwhile, things are looking secure for another regional transport link - QantasLink.
Qantas Airways CEO Alan Joyce announced last week that the company would cut 500 jobs and reduce capital spending by $700 million per annum over the next two years.
A Qantas media spokesperson confirmed that some flight routes would be cut but QantasLink, which services Moree Airport, would be safe.
“QantasLink flights will remain unaffected by the changes,” the spokesperson said.
The dropped flights included routes to Mumbai, Singapore and Auckland.
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