RailCorp facts for kids
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1 January 2004 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Dissolved | 1 July 2020 |
| Superseding agency |
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| Jurisdiction | New South Wales |
| Headquarters | Sydney |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Transport for NSW |
| Website | www.transport.nsw.gov.au/railcorp |
Rail Corporation New South Wales, often called RailCorp, was a government agency in New South Wales, Australia. It started in 2004. From 2011, it was part of Transport for NSW, a bigger transport group. On July 1, 2020, RailCorp changed its name to Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) and became a state-owned company.
Before this change, RailCorp owned railway land, trains, and tracks in Sydney and some country areas. It let Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink use these assets for their train services. RailCorp also managed the NSW Government's agreement with the Airport Link Company.
Until 2013, RailCorp also ran passenger train services in New South Wales under the name CityRail. It also looked after the railway tracks in the Sydney area. In July 2013, running trains and maintaining tracks became the job of new agencies: Sydney Trains and NSW Trains. These agencies were also part of RailCorp. This left RailCorp as the legal owner of railway property worth billions of dollars, mostly in Sydney. In July 2017, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains became independent agencies, no longer part of RailCorp.
Contents
The Story of RailCorp: How It Began
In January 2004, RailCorp was created. This happened after many people criticized the State Rail Authority for problems with train services. RailCorp took over running passenger trains from CityRail and CountryLink. It also became responsible for maintaining the railway network in the greater Sydney area, taking over from the Rail Infrastructure Corporation.
At first, RailCorp was a state-owned company with a Board of Directors. But on January 1, 2009, it changed and became a NSW government agency. More changes happened on July 1, 2010, when the Board was removed, and RailCorp became an agency of Transport NSW. Later, in 2011, Transport NSW was replaced by Transport for NSW. RailCorp then became an agency controlled by Transport for NSW. RailCorp reported to the Minister for Transport.
Changes to RailCorp's Structure
In May 2012, the Minister for Transport announced big changes for RailCorp, starting in July 2013. These changes included:
- Creating Sydney Trains to run train services in the Sydney area. This area covered places like Berowra, Richmond, Emu Plains, Macarthur, and Waterfall.
- Creating NSW TrainLink to run all other passenger services, including those that used to be run by CountryLink.
- Moving big building projects and planning jobs to Transport for NSW.
- Setting up Transport Cleaning Services, a special team just for cleaning trains.
- Creating a new customer service team.
- Making RailCorp's main job just to own railway assets (like land and tracks).
- Offering voluntary leave to about 750 management and support staff.
Because of these changes, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains started running passenger train services in New South Wales. Even though they were part of RailCorp, they were actually controlled by Transport for NSW. The old train services, CityRail and CountryLink, were also stopped. In July 2017, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains became fully independent agencies, no longer part of RailCorp.
Becoming the Transport Asset Holding Entity
On July 1, 2020, RailCorp officially changed into a state-owned company called Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE). This new company would continue to own railway assets for Transport for NSW. Another group, the Residual Transport Corporation (RTC), which started in July 2017, would own assets that were not suitable for TAHE.
Looking Into RailCorp's Past
In 2007 and 2008, the Independent Commission Against Corruption looked into RailCorp's activities. They found that over $21 million was involved in improper contracts and deals for services in just three years.
