Greenhouse Challenge Plus - Action Plan

Updated 3 Feb 09

Background

V/Line provides public transport to customers in regional Victoria. 

The company runs diesel-powered passenger rail services along 5 main corridors across the state, between Melbourne and

·         Geelong and Warrnambool

·         Ballarat and Ararat

·         Bendigo, Swan Hill and Echuca

·         Seymour, Albury* and Shepparton and

·         Traralgon, Sale and Bairnsdale. 

* V/Line is not running rail services to Albury until 2010 due to the North East Rail Revitalisation Project

 

V/Line operated more than 1400 train services across the state each week during 2007‑08. As at 30 June 2008, employed 1320 staff.

 

Rail Infrastructure Buy Back

On 4 May 2007, the Victorian Government bought back the State’s regional rail infrastructure lease from Pacific National.

The Regional Network and Access (RNA) business was transferred from Pacific National to V/Line.

The inclusion of RNA means V/Line is now responsible for the maintenance and management of Victoria’s intrastate rail network, which includes regional freight lines to northern and western Victoria, as well as for the operation of the passenger rail services on the network.

RNA data and activities have been included in this Progress Report.

 

New fleet & new timetable

During 2006-07, the introduction of a new fleet of VLocity DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) was completed and a new service plan, with a significant increase in the number of services, was launched during September and October 2006.

V/Line is now operating more than 1400 train services across the state each week. 

The new Service Plan takes advantage of the Victorian Government’s major investment in regional rail infrastructure.  This includes the Regional Fast Rail project under which four corridors – Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland – have been upgraded to permit running at speeds of up to 160 kph.

Patronage

 

Patronage continues to grow at remarkable levels. In 2007-08 rail patronage grew by 24% over 2006-07 levels which was in turn an increase of 31% over 2005-06. The increase equates to approximately 2.2 million more rail trips being made during the financial year on V/Line services.

V/Line Fleet

V/Line operates a fleet of trains comprising:

·         41 locomotives (including locomotives used for shunting)

·         138 carriages

·         21 Sprinters and

·         40 two- or three-car VLocity trains

 

In addition, 22 VLocity middle carriages are under construction.

When all 22 middle carriages have been delivered there will be 22 three-car sets and 18 two‑car sets. The Government has also committed to purchasing up to an additional 52 carriages for V/Line.

 

See vline.com.au/expanding for the latest information on our expanding fleet.

 

See our Our Fleet page for more fleet information.

 

Rolling stock maintenance

 

This rolling stock is maintained by EDI Rail Pty Ltd. EDI sub-leases three facilities from V/Line to carry out maintenance at:

·         West Melbourne Depot

·         Geelong Workshop and

·         Ballarat East Workshop

 

Track infrastructure

V/Line manages track infrastructure in regional Victoria and accesses track infrastructure under an Access Agreement with Metro Trains in metropolitan Melbourne.

 

Emissions associated with the management of the regional track infrastructure are now included within the scope of V/Line’s Greenhouse emissions audit.

 

Emissions

 

V/Line’s gross emissions increased by 23% in 2007-08, over those recorded in 2006-07.  This was due to:

·         A 12% increase in the number of kilometres travelled by our motive power units (locomotives and diesel multiple units). The increase in service kilometres was due mainly to the running of longer VLocity DMU trains (each unit is powered).

·         The inclusion of emissions associated with RNA activities.

 

V/Line’s total emissions and Greenhouse Performance Indicators (GPIs) for 2007-08 are detailed in the table below.

Measure	2007-08
Emissions (tonnes CO2 - e)	102,335.4
Motive power unit kms	13,897,220
Passenger kms	869,775,383
Seat kms	2,302,525,161
kg CO2 - e / pass km	0.1177
kg CO2 - e / motive power unit km	7.364
kg CO2 - e / seat km	0.04444

 

 

However for passenger (‘Above Rail’) business, V/Line was able to improve its performance against all three of its GPIs. 

Emissions per passenger kilometre decreased by 13%, and emissions per seat kilometre and emissions per motive power unit kilometre by 3%. These improvements are detailed in the table below.

 

Action Plan

Approximately 80% of V/Line’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the use of diesel to power its fleet of rolling stock; therefore the Action Plan focuses heavily on this area. 

 

Reduce fuel usage

Some of the more significant actions that are being or have been implemented or investigated to reduce the consumption of diesel fuel are:

·         replacing Detroit generators on N Locos with more efficient Cummins generators – all 25 N-Class locomotives have had their generators replaced.

·         a new gel-based battery will be installed in 12 locomotives giving a longer life and more reliable cold starting which reduces the need to keep locomotives idling when stationary between services.

·         a fuel additive, aimed at reducing fuel consumption, was trialled in one Sprinter but fuel use increased during the trial period, so the initiative was not progressed further.

 

Cut electricity usage

 

The other major contributor to V/Line’s greenhouse gas emissions is the consumption of purchased electricity, mainly for the operation of rolling stock maintenance facilities and lighting. 

 

The main actions that have been undertaken for reducing electricity consumption are:

·         more efficient light fittings have been identified and will be trialled in a small section of head office with a view to implementing further across the business.

·         electricity use at West Melbourne Depot has been reviewed, with a number of small projects being identified with a combined payback of approximately 4 years. A decision is yet to be made on whether to implement these projects.

 

Efficient motor vehicle use

 

V/Line’s Motor Vehicle Policy was reviewed during the year. Of the vehicles already is use, many were found to be the most efficient in their class.

 

For on-road driving, V/Line has traditionally used large sedans and wagons.  Recently some smaller sedans have been leased.

During the review, emissions from the smaller sedans were found to be around 10% lower than large sedans.  As a result, smaller sedans are the new standard for that category in the policy.

Reduce paper usage

 

In an effort to reduce paper consumption, where possible V/Line’s printers have been configured to print double sided as the default setting. V/Line also has a target to achieve 95 per cent of white A4 office paper having at least 50 per cent recycled content; currently V/Line is at about 30 per cent.

 

ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems)

As a major provider of rail services in the Victorian public transport industry, V/Line is conscious of its social responsibilities and is committed to reducing its own greenhouse emissions where practicable. 

V/Line is currently developing and implementing an Environmental Management System, which will be compliant with ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems).

 

V/Line’s commitment to the environment is outlined in our Environment policy (PDF, 400KB)