in 2003 the Office of the Rail Access Regulator undertook the first five year WACC review for railways established under the Railways Access Code 2000.
The Regulator commissioned the Network Economics Consulting Group (NECG) to review and advise on the appropriate methodology for calculating the WACC for the below-rail operations of WNR and WAGR and to develop estimates for the appropriate parameters in the calculation of the WACC.
Following the publication of a draft report with a call for public submissions the final NECG report, incorporating comments from stakeholders, was published in July 2003.