History

The Australasian Railway Association was originally established in Australia under the name of Australian and New Zealand Railway Commissioners in the 1890s. Its name was eventually changed to the Australasian Railway Association Inc when it was incorporated under the Victorian Associations Incorporation Act in November 1994.

It was intended that the new body would bring together all sections of a very large and diverse industry, to assist its future development. The twelve founding organisations which subscribed to the rules of the Association and became the inaugural members were:

• ABB Transportation Pty Ltd
• A. Goninan & Co. Ltd
• Australian National
• BTR Nylex Ltd
• EDI Rail
• GEC Alstom Australia Ltd
• National Rail Corporation Ltd
• New Zealand Rail Ltd
• PTC Victoria
• Queensland Rail
• State Rail Authority of NSW
• Westrail

The original Office Bearers in 1994 were:

President
Ross Dunning, Chief Executive,
Evans Deakin Industries Ltd

Vice President
Vince O'Rourke, Chief Executive,
Queensland Rail

Treasurer
Francis Small, Managing Director,
New Zealand Rail Ltd

Secretary
Ian Dobbs, Chief Executive,
Public Transport Corporation of Victoria