The story
The commission was established following an election commitment made during the 1972 federal election by the Whitlam federal government. The Whitlam government invited the state governments to hand over their railway systems to the federal government. On 1 July 1975, the Australian National Railways Commission took over responsibility for the operations of the federal government owned Commonwealth Railways and branded itself Australian National Railways.
The state governments of South Australia and Tasmania, where the railway systems were deeply in debt, accepted. During the next two years, following discussions between the two states and the federal government, new staffing and operating agreements enabled the transfer in March 1978 of all South Australian Railways services (except the Adelaide metropolitan passenger network) and all Tasmanian Government Railways services to Australian National Railways, the latter being branded AN Tasrail.
Overnight, Australian National Railways went from an organisation with 4000 employees operating routes of just over 2000 kilometres (1200 miles) – 20 per cent of Australia's rail network – to just over 12,000 employees operating 7890 km (4900 mi). Reflecting the persistence of three mainline gauges that had afflicted Australia since 1865, the total comprised 2395 km (1488 mi) of 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge, 2812 km (1747 mi) of 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and 2683 km (1667 mi) of narrow gauge track.
Australian National Railways was a corporation owned by the Australian government and, in 1978, the Fraser government made it clear it expected the organisation to achieve a financial break-even point during the next 10 years. That decision was unique in Australia's railway history because, with the exception of Commonwealth Railways, all the state systems were running at a loss, being financially supported by their respective governments. The commission appointed a professional engineer with overseas experience as general manager, which was a break from the traditional railway practice of making such appointments from within the organisations.
The commission's first corporate plan in 1979 set out six ways that the commission would ensure its survival. They were:
concentrating its marketing drive on bulk traffic, inter-capital freight and major city freight
seeking agreement to cease services where there is little or no demand for the services
rationalisation of services and withdrawal of services not effectively demanded
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implement technological changes in all areas of railway operation particularly track maintenance
acquire larger and more efficient locomotives and rolling stock to operate trains at maximum capacity
pursue a vigorous policy directed towards staff reductions and more efficient use of manpower
In 1980, a delegation of senior staff, led by the general manager, visited North America to examine current railway practices. In Canada, the delegation had talks with the Canadian National Railway (which, like Australian National, was government owned) and the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the United States, contact was made with Chessie System and the Southern Pacific Railroad. The areas looked at included marketing and pricing, finance and planning, engineering, and staff training.
On 12 March 1980, a new green-and-yellow corporate identity was launched with GM1 being the first locomotive painted in the new livery.
In October 1980, a new standard gauge line from Tarcoola to Alice Springs was opened, replacing the narrow gauge Central Australia Railway which closed in December 1980. In December 1982, the Adelaide to Crystal Brook line reopened after being converted to standard gauge.
Ownership of the Queanbeyan to Canberra railway line was transferred to the New South Wales State Rail Authority in May 1985.
From Wikipedia’s article on Australian National Railways Commission, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3