Environmental regulations pertaining to rail: developing best practice

The Australian rail industry consists of a complex network of rail operators and owners. Against this background are separate regulatory regimes for safety, access, economic and environmental functions, which are overseen by a mix of State governments, including the relevant Environmental Protection Agencies (EPAs), and the Commonwealth. Within the rail industry, these regimes, owing to incompatibility and lack of cohesion, are regarded as leading to inefficiencies within the sector, while the need to comply with different and sometimes contradictory laws and accompanying regulation is believed to create unnecessary red tape. This paper stems from a research project currently being undertaken by the CRC for Rail Innovation.