More than 250 people have attended the official launch of the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) in Melbourne.
The NTRO will create the new knowledge that will be used to provide world’s best practice across all modes of transport – road, rail, ports and airports – for Australia and New Zealand.
The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) will underpin the new NTRO entity, and will continue to lead the way in road research.
But the official transition to the NTRO signals an evolution from a roads-focused entity to one encompassing Australia’s entire transport network.
Leaders from around the transport industry, including Victorian Department of Transport secretary Paul Younis and Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) chief executive Matt Pinnegar were among the guest speakers at the launch function at the National Transport Research Centre in Fishermans Bend, Melbourne.
“State road agencies have been transitioning into transport agencies, and we’ve planning this shift since 2017,” NTRO Chief Executive Officer Michael Caltabiano said.
“NTRO will truly be the one source of truth for Australia and New Zealand Governments and the private sector, delivering solutions to the transport challenges of tomorrow and genuinely shaping our transport future.
“NTRO’s vision is to enable transport agencies to give effect to that change, by providing that central portal for innovation in Australia and New Zealand.”
As well as Melbourne, the NTRO also has offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, and Perth – making it truly national and reflective of a mode-agnostic road, rail, ports and airports organisation.
The Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI) formally became part of ARRB in mid-2022, and will lead the NTRO’s rail focus.
NTRO Ports and NTRO Airports have also been established for those disciplines.