Suggestion - Parity Pricing Road vs Rail

Why is it that the Rail industry is only group seemingly forced to pay for "Externalities"?

• For example, the UK govt agrees to push up Lorry Tares to 40tonnes. The knock on, every bridge in the UK needs to be strengthened. Who pays? The trucking industry? No, the Rail industry!
• In Qld, a ruling is made that QR must fence railway lines to "protect children" (or some rot). As a consequence, QR has outlaid MILLIONS on fencing throughout the state. Yet these same fences often run along side busy roadways - you guessed it - that are UNFENCED!

We see this sort of bullshit time and time again and then there's the right wing mantra - full cost recovery - viz, the railway must pay its own way. Yeah, like the truck industry "pays its own way" - the whole lot is massively subsidised.

But I have a solution. Whilst road users continue to enjoy toll free roads, the rail users should enjoy the same privileges. What I suggest is a simple flat "vehicle" registration charge so that the more a "vehicle" is used, the more profitable it is - which is exactly the same logic that sees trucks plying our roads everyday. If EVERY truck journey incurred the same horrendous costs that rail users are levied, watch them clear the roads faster than you can imagine.

So, lets stop the imbalance and lets:

• Open Rail to FULL Competition (operators)
• The only charge on rails should be a per vehicle charge
• Make the State fund the contruction, maintenance and care of the railway network (rails and signals) but get out of operations (i.e. sell off the bit of QR that drives and operates trains).

And then sit back, watch rail prosper and watch the trucks leave the roads in the thousands!!!