Rail Freight
This metric tracks the amount of freight transported using rail as a proportion of all freight transported in Australia.
Where are we at?
When we think about how goods get around Australia, rail and road carry most of Australia’s freight, with a relatively small amount of domestic shipping and air freight. Of all freight-tonne kilometres travelled in 2022-23, 57% were by rail, 31% by road, 12% by coastal shipping and less than 1% by air.*
While rail moves the vast majority of bulk freight such as minerals and grain, 80% of packaged freight is transported by road. Packaged freight, also known as non-bulk freight, is a broad category that includes foods, drinks, produce, post and manufactured goods.
Why does this matter?
Transporting freight using rail produces much less climate pollution relative to road or air transport. This means we can cut climate pollution by reserving air freight for genuinely time-sensitive transport and take advantage of more rail freight for interstate transport of consumer goods and other non-bulk freight.
How do we build momentum?
We can further cut climate pollution from the movement of goods across Australia by shifting one-third of road freight to rail by 2030, by increasing the use of rail for packaged freight, and by electrifying more heavy road vehicles
* A freight-tonne kilometre is measured as moving one tonne of freight for one kilometre.
