The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) is officially extending its research and expertise across all modes of transport with the launch of the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) for Australia and New Zealand. 

NTRO was launched on 1 December 2022 in Melbourne, and is creating 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. 

ARRB has more than 60 years’ experience in the road space which will underpin the new NTRO entity, and will continue to lead the way in road research. 

But ARRB has been transformed over the past five years to have a genuine focus across all modes of transport, at the same time that Australia and New Zealand’s road agencies have transformed themselves into transport agencies with a holistic view of movement. 

The Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI) formally became part of ARRB in mid-2022, and the national facilities that ARRB has in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth are truly reflective of a mode-agnostic road, rail, ports and airports organisation. 

“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 and ARRB Chief Executive Officer Michael Caltabiano told the 250-plus attendees at the NTRO launch.