2026 to 2030
Why this plan exists
West Coast Wilderness Railway runs through a landscape still recovering from a century of mining. The Queen and King Rivers carry the consequences of decisions made without regard for what came after, and that history is visible from every journey we operate.
We are not in a position to lecture anyone about environmental impact. We are in a position to be careful, to be honest about what we do and do not know, and to improve at every stage where improvement is possible.
This plan sets out what we have already done, what we have not yet measured, and what we commit to doing between now and 2030.
Scope. This plan covers the whole business: railway operations, the workshop at Carswell Park, both station cafés, retail, and administration across Queenstown and Regatta Point.
Our position on steam
We operate original Abt steam locomotives, some over 120 years old. They are the reason people travel to the West Coast to ride this railway, and they are our largest single source of emissions.
The locomotives are the heritage asset. They are finite, irreplaceable, and the only working Abt rack railway in the southern hemisphere depends on them running. Preserving them in operating condition is the point of the organisation. A plan that quietly implied we would phase them out would be dishonest.
What we can do is minimise everything around them. That is the strategy this plan sets out.
Where we are now
Fuel
Our steam locomotives run on reclaimed waste oil rather than virgin fuel. Our supplier collects contaminated waste oil from ships, trucking companies and industrial operators across Tasmania, then cleans and purifies it for resale.
Most reclaimed oil is burned for low grade heat. Our locomotives need to extract far more energy from it, which required our supplier to develop a product to a considerably more demanding specification.
In the 2025-26 financial year we consumed a minimum of 161,400 litres of reclaimed oil across 269 steam round trips. Every litre was industrial waste diverted from disposal and returned to productive use.
Track materials
We have begun installing KLP Hybrid Polymer Sleepers, manufactured in the Netherlands from household and industrial plastic waste. Each sleeper uses the equivalent of approximately 35,000 bottle caps, is reinforced with recycled steel, is manufactured using 100% green energy, and is fully recyclable at the end of a maintenance free life of at least 50 years. Approximately 50 were installed in June 2026.
Separately, we acquired 5,000 second hand steel sleepers from TasRail that were destined for scrap. Approximately 400 have been installed, with the remainder held for ongoing replacement. TasRail provided them at no cost. We paid only the freight to move them across the state.
Waste
Approximately 95% of packaging used across our cafés and onboard service is biodegradable, recycled cardboard or recycled plastic. Cardboard is separated on site and collected by council.
We are a registered supplier under Recycle Rewards, Tasmania’s container refund scheme, so every can we sell carries a 10 cent refund. In remote terrain where litter is difficult to retrieve, attaching a redeemable value to a container gives it a reason to be carried out rather than left behind.
Energy
We have replaced lighting with LED across our sites wherever it has been possible to do so within heritage constraints.
Water and land
We operate water supply and wastewater treatment systems at our remote stations to reduce ecological impact, collect rainwater where practical, and manage biodiversity along the railway corridor including the removal of declared weeds and introduced species.
Local supply
We engaged 178 Tasmanian businesses as suppliers in the 2025-26 financial year, spending approximately $1.75 million on goods and services in addition to wages. Sourcing locally reduces freight into an already remote location and keeps economic benefit in the region.
Accreditation and policy
We hold EcoStar accreditation, renewed annually. Our approach is formalised in the Environmental, Social and Ethics Policy (ARMC-WCWR-POL-068) and the Responsible Tourism Policy (POL049).
How we measure
We do not calculate a formal emissions footprint.
Doing so credibly requires supply chain data, and operating in one of the most remote parts of Tasmania means our suppliers are numerous, small, and often not collecting the information we would need from them. We have explored it and concluded that any number we published would be more assumption than measurement.
Rather than publish a figure we cannot stand behind, we track what we consume and work to reduce it. Consumption is something we can measure accurately, from our own records, every year.
Our commitments
1. Track what we consume
- Record annual consumption of electricity, liquefied petroleum gas and reclaimed oil across all sites, establishing a trend we can act on
- Record waste to landfill and recycling volumes through council collection data
- Report these figures publicly each year, whether they move in the right direction or not
2. Reduce where we can
- Complete LED replacement at all remaining sites where heritage constraints allow
- Move packaging from approximately 95% to 100% biodegradable, recycled cardboard or recycled plastic across both cafés and onboard service
- Continue the polymer and reclaimed steel sleeper program, reporting the number installed each year
- Maintain 100% reclaimed waste oil for steam operations rather than reverting to virgin fuel
- Assess the feasibility of on site solar generation at Queenstown and Regatta Point
3. Keep the benefit local
- Maintain and grow procurement from Tasmanian suppliers, currently 178 businesses
- Continue restoring rolling stock rather than replacing it, using salvaged and locally sourced timber where possible
- Continue engaging local trades on restoration and maintenance work
5. Stay accountable
- Maintain EcoStar accreditation, which requires demonstrated improvement at each renewal
- Continue biodiversity management along the railway corridor, including removal of declared weeds and introduced species
- Publish annual progress against every commitment in this plan
Governance
This plan is owned by the WCWR management team, consistent with the governance of our Environmental, Social and Ethics Policy. It is formally reviewed every five years, with the next full review due in 2031.
Five years is a long time in this area, so progress against the commitments above will be reported publicly on our website each year between formal reviews. Where we do not meet a commitment, we will say so and explain why.
Feedback on this plan is welcome and can be sent to info@wcwr.com.au.
A note on honesty
Sustainability plans are easy to write and hard to deliver, particularly for a heritage operator in a remote location with 120 year old assets and a small team.
We have chosen to publish where we actually are rather than where it would be flattering to appear. We have documented what we have done, been clear about what we do not calculate, and committed only to steps we believe we can genuinely take.
Version 1, July 2026. Next formal review: 2031. Annual progress reporting from 2027.