NEWSFLASH: CRR DELAY ANNOUNCED!!!

[#Metro]

What did I say?... I knew this would happen...
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/the-state-government-has-shelved-plans-for-a-cross-river-rail-service-to-help-pay-for-the-cost-of-flood-relief/story-e6freon6-1225996057695

BRISBANE'S cross-river rail project will be delayed by several years to help pay for State Government's flood response.

A day after promising to shield critical infrastructure, Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the project now had to be delayed.

The Government also confirmed that the proceeds from Abbott Point coal terminal would go towards paying to fix infrastructure damaged by floods rather than paying off debt.

In its mid-year budget review, the Government estimated the cost of the flood would be $5 billion.

Mr Fraser said it was obvious the Federal Government could also not contribute to cross-river rail so the project must be delayed.

[colinw]

Not unexpected.

What I do not understand is how this can possibly be said to be saving any money.  Its not like it was a committed project for which money had been allocated yet.

So what else is going to get cut?

And what is the Government's plan to develop public transport in Brisbane now that the centrepiece of that plan is in tatters? I'm guessing nothing, and many more years of mediocrity and half hourly services.

A most convenient crisis indeed.

[colinw]

Much better detail in the Brisbane Times -> Click Here

Looks like a two year delay, with construction to commence 2015 rather than 2013.

[ozbob]

CRR delay, MBRL, Springfield (possibly now with Springfield Lakes station as well), GCRT to proceed as planned.

Not unexpected.   Thinking caps on.  What strategies to improve capacity pending CRR?

[#Metro]

Yep, that's why I had the other tread going- cuts are coming, can't stop the cut, but can influence where the cut lands.

[#Metro]

CRR delay, MBRL, Springfield, GCRT to proceed as planned.

Not unexpected.   Thinking caps on.  What strategies to improve capacity pending CRR?

I don't know if it is possible to get any Plan B alternative for this.
Other than maybe run via Tennyson (the yuck option)

[ozbob]

Widen peaks, higher frequency earlier and later, incentive ticketing, decentralisation, more encouragement to vary work hours (flexible), intensive examination of bus system to garner improvements (the bus system is near capacity as well) eg. Smart bus like initiatives.  There is much we can come up with.

Tennyson is an option for some more GC services I think.  QR has considered this in the past, now is the hour ...   

[colinw]

2 year delay I think we can live with, cancellation would be time to vote the BLIGHters out (if you didn't already intend doing so).

I still don't see how this saves any money ... it simply was not a committed project yet.

Regarding service improvements without CRR, the peak period shows that the system can be run successfully with a much more intense timetable than the current offpeak service.

15 or 20 minute frequencies on most lines, as far as possible, should be the goal now.  Along with identifying some cheap & cheerful infrastructure improvements (like new crossovers or turnbacks) to achieve that.

I would like to see the Government re-affirm a committment to going ahead with CRR after the 2 year delay, by retaining some budget for ongoing planning work.  Proceeding with the necessary resumptions and any early works would be a good thing as well.

The worry is that CRR will fall over completely, which leaves us without the "game changing project" to ramp up rail to where it should be.

[#Metro]

Groan 

Maybe I will just pack up and move to Perth. Solves the problem.

[colinw]

I have had similar thoughts (not Perth).  Brisbane is getting less attractive by the day.

[ozbob]

I intend to focus on what can be done to improve things pending CRR. 

Have a think ...  starting listing your ideas.   There will be an opportunity to put forward our ideas down the track.

[Stillwater]

This announcement was inevitable, as was the imposition of a flood 'mateship' levy, but were there actual state dollars allocated to construction of CRR?  As we have seen in other posts about 'locked in promises' from the state government for things such as the Sunshine Coast Line duplication, and their subsequent delay, the integrity of the Connecting SEQ 2031 document must be be questioned.  It is exposed as an uncosted bit of wishful thinking.

It is not good enough for the government to say CRR is postponed.  (Construction was never committed to, by either the federal or state government.)  The Queensland Government has to say CRR is postponed so our fallback position is XYZ.  We need details of how growth and capacity constraints will be addressed through x, y and z, as interim measures until CRR is affordable.

And the CRR costings will have to be reworked to allow for natural cost increases -- 15 per cent componded annually according to some estimates.  Will that be the tipping point in proving up viability using normal cost and benefits analysis?

Followers of the Kippa-Ring saga will see a pattern emerging ...Kippa-Ring, CAMCOS, CRR.  The government wants to look good by announcing a series of projects that it acknowledges are uncosted, then has an 'oh crap' moment when it realises the final cost.  Very conveniently Mr Fraser's announcement of the CRR delay is a response to the 'oh crap' moment wrapped up as a response to the floods.

So it is an unfunded planned project where the dollars that don't exist are reallocated, presumably to flood relief projects that, consequently, can't be funded either, because the dollars don't exist in the first place!  Mr Fraser would be a whizz at playing Monopoly.

What all this says, of course, is that the state wants to be seen to be doing its bit financially for the flood recovery effort by postponing a project that it had expected the federal government to pay for.  In other words, it wants to be seen to be identifying smoke and mirror 'savings' that, in reality, means the plan is for the federal government to shoulder a greater share of the cost of recovery, beyond the normal financial arangements in such disaster recovery circumstances.

[colinw]

Stillwater, I completely agree with your analysis.  The flood is an oh-so-convenient excuse to s**tcan CRR, but given that it was "glossy brochure" level promise with no construction funding allocated in either the State or Federal budget the total money spent to date is a few million dollars at most.

I do not see how canning it saves a single cent, the financial position simply is not altered by its cancellation.

Given that CRR was always going to be dependent on Federal money from Infrastructure Australia, does that mean that IA's budget is now being devoted to flood repairs?  I think not, as it appears the Kippa-Ring funding is intact, as is the Epping to Parramatta money for NSW (if they choose to use it when O'Farrell gets in).

I think CRR is exposed as a hollow sham, and Andrew Fraser as the Michael Costa of QLD politics.

[Stillwater]

Well, the 'real' hardship will be endured by the public service, where 3500 jobs will go.  Whatever your views about public servants and their work habits, that is a blow to what we can expect from government in the next few years -- less service.

Will those 3500 positions to be axed include the team working on CRR?

Federally, I think it would be more accurate to say that money otherwised destined for IA will now go to flood relief measures.  IA only has a projected budget going forward; the year-on-year funding is confirmed in the annual budget.  It is not as though IA has money for future projects banked in its own name.  Money is not budgetted 'up front', but measured out like childrens' pocket money as the costs are incurred, up to the maximum amount identified for the project.

That's why the Queensland Government's costings are important.  If it tells the federal government that something will cost $10 million, and the federal government budgets for that amount, Queensland has itself to blame if the figure goes up, subsequently, to $12 million.

In her speech yesterday, the PM said the regional component of the federal infrastructure spending allocated to local government projects would not be reprioritised to the most needy flood recovery project.  So, the new netball courts or the bicycle path may now not be funded, with money redirected to refurbishing the sewerage treatment plant that may have been inumdated by floodwater.

[Stillwater]

sorry .. now* be reprioritised

[colinw]

Ok, a more positive post now.  What can we do with what he have - a "do more with less" approach.

Until proven otherwise, I choose to view CRR as delayed, not cancelled.

I think first priority should be what can we do to get quarter hourly or better services as far as possible.

Corridor by Corridor I think we can realistically shoot for:

2TPH Rosewood <-> Ipswich
4TPH Ipswich <-> Caboolture
4TPH Richlands <-> Petrie (eventually 4TPH Springfield <-> Kippa-Ring)
2TPH Kuraby <-> Ferny Grove (FG duplication & crossover works Salsibury -> Kuraby needed)
2TPH Beenleigh <-> Ferny Grove
2TPH Cleveland <-> Shorncliffe
2TPH Manly <-> Shorncliffe (Shorncliffe duplication works required?)
2TPH Varsity Lakes <-> Airport
2TPH Roma St <-> Airport
2TPH Corinda <-> Doomben via South Brisbane
1TPH Roma St <-> Nambour (or Yandina)  May need some works north of Beerburrum.
2 - 4 TPD (Trains per day) Gympie North <-> Roma St

This completely separates the Western & NCL sector with an 8 TPH "metro like" core service from Darra to Petrie.

Merivale Bridge runs at a constant 12 TPH, or 5 minute headway.  Tight but achievable.

South Brisbane and Bowen Hills terminators are eliminated.

Via Tennyson service is restored (at 2TPH frequency) via the traditional pairing of Corinda & Doomben.

3 trains per hour (2 from Airport, 1 from Nambour) terminate & turn back at Roma St.

Gympie North trains I propose running off TravelTrain platform #10 at Roma St.

Necessary infrastructure:

Stabling & turnback at Yandina.  Don't really like terminating trains at Nambour due to layout.
Ferny Grove duplication (committed project)
Shorncliffe Duplication (makes 4TPH to Shorncliffe easier)
Crossover works between Salisbury & Kuraby (makes 4TPH to Kuraby a lot easier)
4th line electrification & 4th platform at Oxley
Petrie station extra platforms (on Kippa-Ring alignment) ASAP.  Use them as a turnback until the KR line is open.

Some of these services - Corinda to Doomben in particular will be 3 car trains.  Maybe the Manly to Shorncliffe and Kuraby to Ferny Grove ones as well.

What have I missed?  What are the naive assumptions, stupidities or outright impossibilities in my plan?

Note also that I am not hung up on the Beenleigh to Ferny Grove and Cleveland to Shorncliffe pairings, if another arrangement would work better operationally then we should use it.  I do believe we should keep Ipswich/Springfield and Caboolture/Kippa-Ring completely sectorised via Central platforms 5 & 6.

[Gazza]

What a disasapointment. I thought the whole point of the flood levy was so that they didn't need to make such drastic cutbacks.

I do wonder however, Will the floods have affected economic activity such that passenger growth won't rise as quicky as expected, thereby 'buying some time' that way? In other words, instead of it being "Build it by 2016 or else" becomes "Build it by 2017-18 etc or else".

[colinw]

Brisbane Times: Key points: Queensland budget mid-year review

The CRR deferral is not necessary a disaster, if it gives time to get the project right.

Outright cancellation would be a calamity, and would doom the rail system to - at worst - irrelevance, or - at best - only a secondary role in the region's public transport task.

[#Metro]

This announcement was inevitable, as was the imposition of a flood 'mateship' levy, but were there actual state dollars allocated to construction of CRR?  As we have seen in other posts about 'locked in promises' from the state government for things such as the Sunshine Coast Line duplication, and their subsequent delay, the integrity of the Connecting SEQ 2031 document must be be questioned.  It is exposed as an uncosted bit of wishful thinking.

Yes, build them up and then cut them down.

Followers of the Kippa-Ring saga will see a pattern emerging ...Kippa-Ring, CAMCOS, CRR.  The government wants to look good by announcing a series of projects that it acknowledges are uncosted, then has an 'oh crap' moment when it realises the final cost.  Very conveniently Mr Fraser's announcement of the CRR delay is a response to the 'oh crap' moment wrapped up as a response to the floods.

Programmed to fail...

What all this says, of course, is that the state wants to be seen to be doing its bit financially for the flood recovery effort by postponing a project that it had expected the federal government to pay for.  In other words, it wants to be seen to be identifying smoke and mirror 'savings' that, in reality, means the plan is for the federal government to shoulder a greater share of the cost of recovery, beyond the normal financial arangements in such disaster recovery circumstances.

Yes, I am really wary of using Infrastructure Australia as some giant ATM. Perth managed to build the 70km Mandurah line and the other extensions with no support
from the Federal Government AIUI.

[colinw]

Indeed, cancellation of this project was only ever as far away as a Federal Government knockback.

Without Federal support it will never go ahead.

[#Metro]

What have I missed?  What are the naive assumptions, stupidities or outright impossibilities in my plan?

Why bother with the Doomben-Corinda service. Why not scrap it and just replace it with Beenleigh Trains?
Maybe Doomben should be bussed.

[colinw]

Please do not even suggest killing off the Doomben line in response to the floods.

My reasoning was mainly to preserve both corridors as suburban rail operations rather than using this crisis as an excuse to can a couple more rail lines.

At 2TPH the service would provide a useful interconnection between the Ipswich line sector and the southside routes, and at 2PH and full time operation the Doomben line would actually become useful.

I wanted to give Doomben a decent service, although 2TPH is barely adequate, and at the same time eliminate trains terminating in the CBD as much as possible.  With completion of CRR, the Doomben service can grow to 4TPH to Hamilton North Shore on a duplicated and extended Doomben line.  At that frequency the interconnectivity between the Ipswich/Springfield and Beenleigh/Gold Coast corridor would be significantly enhanced (I am assuming a Yeerongpilly stop on the Gold Coast trains by that point).

Please remember also that both the Tennis centre and proposed Yeerongpilly TOD are as close to Tennyson station as to Yeerongpilly, in fact I suspect a lot of the housing may actually end up being closer to Tennyson.  Giving the Tennyson route a decent service will enhance the Yeerongpilly TOD by giving it a rail route which allows access to the Ipswich line & destinations without going in to the city.

[colinw]

Hmmm... Another view on the relative financial impact of this crisis:
Opinion piece in the Brisbane Times: Click here.

In particular:

"A more confident economic manager would have started yesterday by pointing out that Australian government debt is among the lowest of the advanced world. Rebuilding costs, while at first glance sizeable at $5.6 billion over four years, are minuscule compared with total projected revenue over those four years of $1.4 trillion (about $350 billion a year). Just so we're clear, that's 0.4 per cent of total revenue over four years.

Gillard could have called for calm, acknowledged the floods were a game-changer for her projected surplus in 2012-13 and admitted that only time would tell exactly which side of the line the budget balance would fall on in two years."

[Jonno]

Where are the road project cancellations...oh there are none!!

[ozbob]

The are multiple road cancellations.

See --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5234.msg46151#msg46151

and significant projects in other states delayed as well ...

[ozbob]

The bulk of the funding for CRR is/was to be Federal, State some.  The reality is that the federal government will not have the money for a year or two so no surprise to me this is the outcome.

I am very pleased that Springfield particularly is to go ahead as previously indicated.  There is a chance that Springfield Lakes might be greenfield as well now.  I can live without Ellen Grove for the time being (although would prefer that greenfield as well).  I suspected that CRR would be delayed, I was also concerned about Springfield, particularly as there has been no announcement of the tender as planned (was to be last Dec.).  Fairies at the bottom of the garden tell me that there might just be an announcement re tender now within a few weeks.

MBRL, never concerned about that. GCRT no worries.

So there is bad news, and there is good news.  That's the breaks.

What is now critical is that our public transport must be worked up to utilise what we have properly.  The roads are getting worse and worse it seems almost daily ..

[#Metro]

The are multiple road cancellations.

KSD double deck tunnels? 

[colinw]

I think I have worked through my shock, denial , anger and acceptance of this now.  I shall stop ranting & raving for now.

I am relieved that Springfield seems ok, and MBRL as well.  Neither of those need CRR to be a success, and I firmly believe Darra to Petrie can be developed as Brisbane's first Metro equivalent corridor on the basis of these projects.

I just hope that in this mess the Government can see fit to implement some of the ideas surrounding improved service frequencies on the network with have now, plus those two extensions and some selective infrastructure upgrades.

Given the benefits of CRR to the Brisbane CBD, perhaps the Brisbane City Council would like to take leaf out of Moreton Bay Council's books and devote some of the money it plans to spend on the Lunacy Way or KSD tunnels to CRR instead.

My final words on this - for now - are that CRR MUST PROCEED after the 2 year deferral period.  It is not a project that we can afford to walk away from, even if the CRR trains don't roll until 2018 or so.

[ozbob]

We are in trouble transport wise without significant and sustained rail frequency increases.  The radial bus routes cannot do much more, rail still can.

There now must be a focus on some cross suburban bus routes, starting with GCL to a 7 day frequent operation.  Enough of the nonsense, time to pull the transport finger out.

Bus lanes are needed in the obvious places.  There is little chance of that happening though with the politics of BCC.  Can the state government direct BCC to re-instate bus lanes?  Don't know.

As far as roads in rivers, no chance now.  Northern Link? 

Doomben rail needs boosting ..

[BrizCommuter]

http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2011/01/cross-river-rail-delayed-until-2020.html
Oh dear!

[colinw]

Doomben rail needs boosting ..

I included Doomben to Corinda via South Brisbane in my "straw man" plan above for a good reason.  We need to use the corridor, and if it is used sensibly it will eventually have 4TPH or better on a double track line to Hamilton North Shore, with good bus links into the Australia TradeCoast area.  With that done, you can kiss your KSD under river tunnel goodbye.

As I posted above, I really think we need to be looking at 4 TPH on all the main corridors as far as possible, which means to Richlands, Ipswich, Ferny Grove, Caboolture, Shorncliffe, Airport, Manly and Kuraby.  Then add in 2TPH to Rosewood, Doomben, Corinda via South Brisbane, Beenleigh, Cleveland and Airport and 1 TPH to Nambour.  I think it is doable.

I deliberately angled for a 2TPH Doomben to Corinda via South Brisbane to give Doomben a frequency & hours of operation boost, and to keep the Doomben and Tennyson routes alive until such time as they can be brought fully up to par with the rest of the system.  2 TPH fulltime to Doomben would be a good start, and make it at least as good as the rest of the system currently is - a level of service that has managed to sustain reasonable patronage, which 1TPH and part time operation clearly will not.

The plan I posted above is a little ambitious in that it asks for a full time 12 TPH over Merivale Bridge, but we do better than that in peak.  If we take the Doomben to Corinda route out (and I don't want to), it drops to 10 TPH which surely is achievable.

Outside of the rail system, more BUZ routes and a serious rework of the GCL are the obvious things to do.

[colinw]

Hey, have a read of the public feedback against the CM article on the CRR delay: click here

There are quite a lot of comments decrying the delay, and pointing out the obvious that the inner city system is at capacity and by 2016 we'll be in real trouble with rail capacity.

I recognise some of those posters as RailBOT regulars, but clearly the message is getting out there ...

e.g.

Nathan of Brisbane Posted at 1:12 PM Today

    @ A Voter of Brisvegas We need another one because within the next 5 years, that rail bridge will be at 100% capacity. Without another river crossing of some sort, no additional services will be able to be added to the Gold Coast, Beenleigh or Cleveland lines, as all three lines need to cross the river. This is a terrible outcome! There needs to be an additional rail crossing, and CRR was the only feasible way of creating one, as there is just no space for a second rail bridge to be built anywhere near the CBD.

Comment 48 of 67

or

Lassie of Brisbane Posted at 2:31 PM Today

   We DO need the Cross River Rail because Merivale Bridge (the rail bridge) will be at capacity by 2016 - this means you can't just add a few more trains and this will affect ALL services... What that means is more people using cars on already clogged roads and people stuck in buses in traffic jams because we're not allowed bus priority.... now we could look into adapting Clem 7 for a rail crossing - but that would start to look like a bit of sense creeping in which would be pretty revolutionary....

Comment 65 of 67

Not sure about that Clem7 idea, but it is encouraging that the people of Brisbane are well aware of where the problems lie, and the need for CRR.

[colinw]

Oh oh.  The Government just forecast a "bounce" to 5% growth in 2011-12.  If they are right, the 2016 "crunch" for the rail system will arrive on schedule.

Media release: Queensland economy swamped by floods, bounce back forecast next year

Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development
The Honourable Andrew Fraser

Friday, January 28, 2011

Queensland economy swamped by floods, bounce back forecast next year

Queensland's economic recovery has been swamped by floods, wiping nearly 2 percentage points from previously expected growth, Treasurer Andrew Fraser said today.

"Our economy will take a hit, wiping almost 2 percentage points of forecast growth. Growth excluding the impact of the floods was to be forecast at 3% for this financial year – now it will be just 1¼%.

"The biggest hits will come in mining and agriculture, with tourism also facing losses."

Mr Fraser said there was an upside for the economy as the rebuilding effort would add to the growth from planned LNG projects and other resource sector expansions.

"While our economy will slow this year with lost production, the rebuilding activity will add fuel to the fire of strong investment expected to drive growth in 2011-12.

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Review released today revised growth for 2011-12 up to 5%.

"Right now we are dealing with firms facing pressure to stay afloat during the aftermath of the flood, but it's likely we will be facing very different pressures by the end of the year as we head into 2012.

"Demand for skills should drive the unemployment rate lower to 5 ¼% in 2011-12 as a tight labour market will struggle to answer the call for workers."

In other forecasts released today inflation was tipped to rise by a quarter of a percent to 3¼% before settling back to 3% next year.

"Together a tight labour market and rising inflation will put pressure on wages, making adherence to the government's wage policy absolutely vital."

Mr Fraser said while job losses were expected from the floods, the recovery effort would boost employment with the government still on track to deliver on its commitment of generating a net new 100 000 jobs this term.

The MYFER is available online at treasury.qld.gov.au

Media contact: Treasurer's office - 3224 5982 or 3224 6361

[Stillwater]

What's curious is that, in providing his justification for state initiatives to pay for the flood recovery effort, Mr Fraser gave detailed costings against each item, except the decision to delay the CRR for two years.  Mr Fraser merely says this: 'Budget allocations for planned Brisbane Cross-River Rail Project delayed by at least two years.'

Well, what were those budget allocations; what was their monetary value?  Can we have a dollar figure please, as was the case with every other flood recovery matter Mr Fraser itemised today.

The fact is the CRR was in the proving up stage -- its business case was still in progress.  The business case would have quantified the costs and benefits, established the construction costs and looked at possible finance models.  This was always going to require large sums of money from the federal government, but also some from the private sector.  And, yes, some from the state government.

In postponing CRR for at least two years, Mr Fraser makes the assumption that the business case would find the project viable and affordable.  But how could he?  What is the basis for this assumption?  In order to identify a 'saving' to the state, he would have to know the preferred funding model and the state's share of the total cost to government.  Yet, how could he know?

In fact, a more cogent case could be put for Mr Fraser actually causing taxpayers to pay more for the CRR project, when it is eventually built (subject to the business case proving its viability).  It is no longer an $8 billion project, but closer to $10 billion and will be closer to $13 billion or $15 billion in the year it is finally completed (allowing for contingencies on a project of this complexity and scale.)

Whether the funding comes from the federal or state government, for that is immaterial, taxpayers will fork out an additional $4-5 billion on project whose viability is yet to be proven, in the way governments go about these things, in order to save two years of interest payments on an undisclosed contribution the state would otherwise have put towards its cost.  It's voodoo economics whch ever way you look at it.

That said, without the business case being completed, we have been told that CRR is needed by 2016. For 2016, read 2018 completion at the earliest.  That is two or three years during which the rail network would be 'over capacity' if I could use that term.

It behoves the government to present us with a contingency plan.  That plan will cost money -- money that was not anticipated to be spent because the government was banking on CRR proceeding, even it had no viable basis for making that assumption in the absence of a watertight business case.

So, to the cost of the (undisclosed) saving from delaying the CRR two years, we must add the cost of the stopgap measures that will need to proceed in the meantime.  (What some here have referred to as Plan B.)

Just how is the taxpayer better off in all of this?  The forward planning looks good -- just look at the brochures and videos -- but the reality is a finger in the dyke approach to government.

[johnnigh]

Springfield (possibly now with Springfield Lakes station as well),

That's news to me, Bob. Have I missed something or is it a rumour from some moderately deep throat in QT?

[colinw]

I find it most curious that Mr Fraser says that:

"This year's Budget would have incorporated funding to commence work – that will now have to wait."

Why would the Government have funded commencement of work, other than possibly some planning & geotechnical survey work, if the business case was not complete and Federal Funding in committed?  How much funding are we talking about?

I also wonder what the downstream impacts of this decision are, specifically on:

- viability of the Yeerongpilly TOD,
- impact on the Boggo Road precinct,
- viability of the Woolloongabba redevelopment,
- renewal plans for the southern CBD, and
- renewal plans for the RNA site.
- not to mention leaving a bunch of Yeerongpilly property owners hanging by a thread.

Deferring CRR pulls the rug out of much of the Government's inner city development strategy, if it had one.

This will also likely defer investment in more rollingstock, which will drive up the cost of that eventual procurement.

This decision stinks, and is going to cost us big time one way or another.  As it says under my profile pic ... "I ride trains and I vote!"

[ozbob]

Springfield (possibly now with Springfield Lakes station as well),

That's news to me, Bob. Have I missed something or is it a rumour from some moderately deep throat in QT?

We have been battling for both Ellen Grove and Springfield Lakes stations both to be built as greenfield.  One is better than none.

Informed sources.  Expect something in the next week or so.

[Stillwater]

The only money that was budgetted was what the federal government gave to Queensland to prepare the CRR business case.

The Opposition is onto this.  From today's BrisbaneTimes:

Opposition treasury spokesperson, Tim Nicholls said three-quarters of the money that was to be spent on the cross-river rail project would have come from the federal government, but neither level of government ever committed funds.

"There was never any money in the budget in the first place so to say it was a saving is really a case of funny money," he said.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland president David Goodwin welcomed the commitment to rebuild but said the government had only found "micro-savings" to get the state out of trouble.

"The commitment you'd expect to find savings, we're just not seeing it there," he told reporters.

[ozbob]

I think everyone is missing the point, the money was going to funded beginning in the next budgets (subject to certain outcomes).  Obviously due to the quantum involved it was considered necessary from a fiscal point of view to push it back.  It is pointless bleating on ad infinitum.  More can be achieved by looking at constructive moves to improve the system without CRR probably till at least 2020 if not later.  If finances turn around faster delays might be that long at all.

[colinw]

Fair enough.  If the Government is doing this in good faith then we should see the planning process continue, at least.  Probably useful to review the Albert St station design in light of how that part of the CBD fared as well.