Review of South Australian rail access regime information kit

Status

Current status is Final

Final

The Commission has finalised its review of the South Australian rail access regime: information kit (Information Kit). The review focused on the extent to which the existing Information Kit could be better clarified and/improved.

The review arose as a consequence of the Commission's 2009 inquiry into the access regime that applies to the major intrastate railways in South Australia. During the course of that inquiry, the Commission had identified several aspects of the existing Information Kit that could be further improved (e.g. greater transparency in which pricing information was being provided to access seekers).

In finalising the final decision, the Commission has had regard to submissions made in response to the draft revised Information Kit and accompanying discussion paper released in December 2009, and issues raised by stakeholders in discussions held with the Commission throughout the review process.

The Commission has concluded that there are several aspects of the existing Information Kit that could be improved (e.g. extending the Information Kit’s floor and ceiling pricing principles to incorporate relevant and appropriate features of the AustralAsia railway guidelines and the ARTC Undertaking). Accordingly, the Information Kit has been amended to give effect to the final decision.

Whilst the Commission sought to ensure that all relevant aspects were appropriately considered in the review, it stresses that the final decision reflects the context of the existing access regime only. The final decision therefore does not anticipate the South Australian Government’s response to the recommendations put forward by the Commission in the 2009 SA rail access regime inquiry: final inquiry report (the Final Inquiry Report), which may result in amendments being made to the Railways (Operations and Access) Act 1997 (the ROA Act).