kids encyclopedia robot

RailCorp facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Rail Corporation New South Wales
Railcorp.svg
Agency overview
Formed 1 January 2004
Preceding agencies
  • State Rail Authority
  • Rail Infrastructure Corporation
Dissolved 1 July 2020
Superseding agency
Jurisdiction New South Wales
Headquarters Sydney
Minister responsible
  • Minister for Transport
Agency executive
  • Howard Collins, Acting Chief Executive
Parent agency Transport for NSW
Website www.transport.nsw.gov.au/railcorp

Rail Corporation New South Wales (RailCorp) was an agency of the State of New South Wales, Australia established under the Transport Administration Act 1988 in 2004. It was a division under the control of Transport for NSW since the latter's establishment in 2011. RailCorp was converted into a state-owned corporation and renamed Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) on 1 July 2020.

Until its conversion to TAHE, RailCorp held rail property assets, rolling stock and rail infrastructure in the Sydney metropolitan area and limited country locations in the state and it makes these assets available to Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink for their operations. It also managed the NSW Government's contract with the Airport Link Company. At the time of conversion to TAHE, the acting chief executive of RailCorp was Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins.

Additionally, until 2013, RailCorp also formerly operated passenger train services in New South Wales under the brand CityRail, and maintained rail infrastructure within the New South Wales Metropolitan Rail Area. From July 2013, operation and maintenance functions were transferred to the newly created Sydney Trains and NSW Trains agencies, which were also subsidiaries of RailCorp, leaving RailCorp as the legal owner of a portfolio of $28.6 billion of railway property, mostly within the metropolitan area. In July 2017, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains ceased to be subsidiaries of RailCorp and became standalone independent agencies.

History

In January 2004, after much criticism and public perceptions of blame shifting between units of the State Rail Authority for operational failings, RailCorp was formed taking over the passenger train operations of CityRail and CountryLink, and responsibility for maintaining the greater metropolitan network from the Rail Infrastructure Corporation.

Initially governed by a Board of Directors as a State owned corporation, RailCorp was reconstituted as a statutory authority on 1 January 2009. Changes to the resulted in abolition of the Board effective 1 July 2010 and the repositioning of RailCorp as an entity under Transport NSW. This was followed by further structural changes under the Transport Legislation Amendment Act 2011, which saw Transport NSW replaced by Transport for NSW, which was established as a controlled entity of the Department of Transport, with Rail Corporation New South Wales a controlled entity of Transport for NSW. RailCorp reports to the Minister for Transport.

Restructure 2013

In May 2012 the Minister for Transport announced a restructure of RailCorp from July 2013 that would:

  • establish Sydney Trains to operate services in the Sydney Metropolitan area bounded by Berowra, Richmond, Emu Plains, Macarthur and Waterfall
  • establish NSW TrainLink to operate all other passenger services including those of CountryLink
  • transfer capital projects and planning functions to Transport for New South Wales
  • establish Transport Cleaning Services, a specialist division responsible for train cleaning
  • establish a customer service division
  • reduce RailCorp's function to asset owner
  • offer voluntary redundancies to 750 management and support staff
kids search engine
RailCorp Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.