In Australia, the TRACK rail freight incentive opened on 11 September, offering up to A$26 million as operators propose the subsidy they seek per additional loaded TEU.

Aurizon double-stack freight train carrying containers through arid terrain near Alice Springs
An official image published on 4 September 2026 shows an Aurizon double-stack freight train near Alice Springs. Photo: Aurizon.

The Transport Resilience and Capacity Kickstart Program runs over the 2026-27 financial year. Policy sits with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources administers the round. The grant opportunity closes at 5pm AEST on 1 October 2026. That leaves operators about three weeks from the day the guidelines appeared. Individual grants are capped at A$10 million.

Applicants propose their own per-TEU rate

Under the standard offer in the grant opportunity guidelines, the program pays for each loaded TEU carried above an accepted baseline. The applicant proposes a rate for each route. DITRDCSA may accept or reject the proposed rate or propose an alternative. Different routes may carry different rates and different terms. Assessment then turns that offer into a price comparison. The largest criterion, worth 50 points of 100, asks two things: how much Australian diesel a project saves, and what subsidy it needs per TEU on each route. DITRDCSA says it will prefer applications that save the most diesel for the lowest subsidy.

Payment rules are narrow. For example, empty containers earn nothing. A minimum of 8 tonnes per TEU normally applies, and only the forward leg normally qualifies, although DITRDCSA can waive either condition. A forty-foot unit counts as two TEU. In addition, each movement needs a single claimant of record, so two operators cannot bill for the same box. Grantees report diesel use, services and TEU by route every quarter. They also commission an independent assessment of performance as a project milestone. If the volumes they promised do not arrive, they may have to repay part of the grant.

Only freight that is new to rail counts

Baselines rest on verifiable history for 2024-25 and 2025-26, route by route and month by month. Applicants propose their own adjustment factors on top of that record. Those factors cover seasonal variation, known track disruptions, the long-term decline in freight volumes and the extra interest in rail that elevated fuel prices have created. Volume must be new to rail rather than won from another rail operator. Still, DITRDCSA may revise a baseline during the year if a force majeure event or unexpected track work changes what a route can carry.

The eligible period is already running. Movements count from 1 July 2026, three months before applications close, and every project must finish by 30 June 2027. The eligibility gate is narrow as well. Applicants must hold an Australian business number, sit on the register of the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR), qualify as rolling stock operators and run a rail freight business. An operator whose accreditation ONRSR cancelled or suspended within the previous two years cannot apply.

What the TRACK rail freight incentive excludes

Round 1 covers containerised freight plus what the guidelines call contestable freight. At DITRDCSA’s sole discretion, eligible contestable freight may include grain, cotton, mineral sands, bulk liquids, vehicles and capital equipment. For that freight, a hopper car or other container may count as a TEU-equivalent. DITRDCSA expects coal and iron not to be contestable with road and therefore treats them as ineligible.

TRACK Program Round 1: movements that earn a payment and movements that do not
Earns the incentive Earns nothing
Loaded TEU carried above the baseline agreed for that route TEU at or under that baseline
Containerised freight; at DITRDCSA’s sole discretion, contestable freight such as grain, cotton, mineral sands, bulk liquids, vehicles and capital equipment Coal and iron, which DITRDCSA expects not to be contestable with road
For contestable freight, a hopper car or other container may be treated as a TEU-equivalent at DITRDCSA’s sole discretion; one forty-foot container equals two TEU Empty containers; TEUs under 8 tonnes or carried on the return leg are normally ineligible unless DITRDCSA waives the relevant condition
Volume new to rail, on an Australian route, inside the project period Volume won from another rail operator, or moved outside the period or the route set
Movements with one operator registered as the claimant of record The same movement claimed twice, or evidence that fails audit
The round is narrower than a general freight subsidy: it pays only for loaded containers that rail was not already carrying, and coal and iron sit outside it. Source: TRACK Program Round 1 grant opportunity guidelines, DITRDCSA, sections 5 and 14 and Appendix A.

Volume alone does not decide the score. The second criterion, worth 35 points, rewards several other things. It credits operators that pass the incentive through to freight forwarders and customers, that fill backhaul containers which would otherwise run empty, and that combine the federal payment with a state or territory mode shift scheme. It also credits services to communities exposed to supply chain disruption, including remote First Nations communities. A third criterion, worth 15 points, looks at service reliability and at the longer-term effect on the network.

What Victoria’s per-container rebate achieved

Australia has tried this kind of subsidy before at state level. Victoria’s Mode Shift Incentive Scheme paid four regional terminal operators for each container they sent by rail. The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office examined the results in 2023. Between 2012-13 and 2021-22, A$38.1 million supported about 424,000 containers moved by rail. Still, the audit found the money kept freight on rail without lifting rail’s share of the container task. For example, the department had not opened the scheme to new entrants since 2014-15, which left the same four recipients funded for nine financial years. Meanwhile, three of them told the auditor that their rail freight services would probably become commercially unviable without the rebate.

What happens after 1 October

The department expects roughly two weeks to assess applications. A further week goes on approvals and announcements, and another week on negotiating grant agreements. Decisions rest with the minister responsible for the National Land Transport Act 2014. TRACK carries A$52 million for incentive payments in total. Later rounds are due to consider coastal shipping alongside rail.

TRACK Program Round 1: published timetable and eligible period, 2026-27
Stage Date or duration
Guidelines released, round opened 11 September 2026
Applications close 1 October 2026, 5pm AEST
Assessment About 2 weeks
Approval and announcement About 1 week
Grant agreements negotiated and awarded About 1 week
Freight movements that can earn the incentive 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027
Projects complete By 30 June 2027
On the published timetable, grant agreements would be awarded roughly four weeks after the closing date. By then, about one-third of the eligible year that began on 1 July 2026 would have passed — editorial calculation from the dates above. Durations after the closing date are the expected timings published with the round. Source: TRACK Program Round 1 grant opportunity guidelines, DITRDCSA, 11 September 2026.

The Australasian Railway Association welcomed the launch and treated it as a first step. Chief executive Caroline Wilkie said the incentive needs to sit alongside measures that keep rail competitive and lift network productivity.

Meanwhile, the association has been pressing the idea for months. After a workshop with industry and government in April, it recommended an incentive scheme for operators as part of the response to the fuel crisis. It puts the budget allocation at A$55 million, which also covers a coordinator role inside the Australian Rail Track Corporation.

Separately, the ministerial announcement refreshed the Freight Industry Reference Panel, now chaired by Michael Byrne AM. Three new subcommittees cover heavy vehicles, rail, and ports and shipping. Mark Mazurek chairs the rail subcommittee.