Informing major government programs for rural transport infrastructure in northern Australia

Abstract

New or expanded agricultural industries in northern Australia require efficient and reliable supply chains and transport to domestic and international markets. A major challenge in the north is long transport distances of over 1000km between production and markets, along a sparse rural road/rail network that is largely unsealed and disrupted by seasonal flooding. To provide a comprehensive view of transport logistics costs and benefits due to infrastructure investments and regulatory changes in agriculture supply chains, the Australian Government commissioned CSIRO to develop the Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TraNSIT). TraNSIT optimises transport routes for up to hundreds of thousands of enterprises and millions of vehicle trips between farms and their markets, providing modelled input into operational and investment decisions. As part of a major Australian Government initiative, TraNSIT was used to directly inform the A$100 million 2016 Beef Roads Program targeting transport infrastructure investments across northern Australia. It was used to evaluate the transport savings for 60 road upgrade submissions, where the total construction cost exceeded A$3 billion. This paper highlights the innovations and experiences of using TraNSIT to inform the Beef Roads Program.