RAIL - Back On Track Forum

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/events/han/2022/2022_03_15_DAILY.pdf

Queensland Parliament Hansard

Questions Without Notice

Queensland Floods, Road Infrastructure

Ms PUGH: My question is of the Minister for Transport and Main Roads. Can the minister update
the House on how many roads closed during the South-East Queensland floods and how TMR worked
to get Queenslanders moving again?

Mr BAILEY: I thank the member for Mount Ommaney for her question. I would like to
acknowledge her incredible hard work on behalf of her constituents, particularly in Corinda and Oxley,
who were very badly impacted by the Oxley Creek catchment. It is such a pleasure working with
somebody who is so embedded and supportive of her community.

We have had more than a thousand roads closed, some due to the flooding and some due to
hazards. We have seen a huge impact across our road network. It was an incredibly dangerous time to
be on our roads, particularly as the rain was falling. That is why our advice to people for safety reasons
was to stay off the roads as much as possible. Of course, some people had no choice. As their homes
flooded, they needed to move about. In my electorate of Miller we had 136 streets impacted by flooding
and of course there were thousands of streets across Queensland impacted as well. Many streets were
no longer roads or streets; they were actually waterways for quite a number of days.

In Brisbane, a city of a million people and suffering those kinds of impacts, we saw only two
evacuation centres for a city of that size. It just was not enough. In contrast, the Moreton Bay Regional
Council put in place six evacuation centres for a population of about half a million—much more
appropriate. It was impossible for people in my electorate to get to Chandler at times because of road
closures and it was even worse for people in the Mount Ommaney electorate. Road closures and
distance meant people could not get to the evacuation centre itself.

We saw some evacuation centres spring up organically. In my electorate the Wellers Hill Bowls
Club started one and put up 30 people overnight at short notice with community input. I thank them
from the bottom of my heart for the work they did. Let's be clear. We need at least four evacuation
centres in Brisbane during an event like this, particularly for those on the south side and the south-west.
They need access to an evacuation centre, and two for a city of this size is not enough.

Sadly, the Wellers Hills Bowls Club evacuation centre was shut down the next day by the council.
There was also a school in my electorate that received a call from the council and was told not to
become an evacuation centre when they were not planning to. It is hard to work out what the priorities
of the council were when they were doing those kinds of things.
We certainly need a sweeper collection out there for a lot of people who put things out on the
footpath. If they had a narrow footpath they literally did not have enough space. It has been collected,
but we need the council to get in with some sweeper collections. A lot of roads look like they have snow
on them from the debris that has been taken away.

In active transport we see cycling infrastructure still closed to this day. We have to start treating
active transport infrastructure in the same way as roads and rail, otherwise it just contributes to the
congestion. That is something we need to address.
(Time expired)

Government Media Release

15th March 2022

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Mark Bailey

Full timetable returns tomorrow

After more than two weeks of reduced rail services due to damage caused by the floods, Queensland Rail's South East Queensland timetable will return to a full weekday timetable tomorrow.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey reminded customers of the good news.

"Returning to a full timetable is a testament to the hard work and endurance of over 700 Queensland Rail workers who got stuck into the recovery efforts, both on the track and behind the scenes," Mr Bailey said.

"From first service tomorrow morning, we will be operating a regular weekday timetable on all lines.

"I'm proud of the work done by all those involved to get us to this point, which is a far cry from when the floods hit, and we experienced extensive damage to the whole network.

"Considering there were 26 sites and 34 stations damaged, plus 16 facilities in Mayne Yard requiring repairs, I'm pleased we are in a position to return to full service tomorrow."

Mr Bailey said Queensland Rail offered nearly 8,400 train services per week.

"In response to COVID-19, Queensland Rail added an additional 105 weekly services to the timetable to give commuters more options for travel," he said.

"Almost all these services will be available tomorrow, with the exception of services between Ipswich and Rosewood stations.

"Repairs are continuing to a landslip near Thomas Street station, which has delayed the resumption of services west of Ipswich.

"We are anticipating these services will be back up and running from Thursday, weather and construction conditions permitting.

"I thank commuters for their ongoing patience in recent weeks and look forward to seeing everyone back onboard.

"Having trains and buses back to normal should also help ease traffic on our roads."

Customers are encouraged to plan their journey in advance by using the TransLink journey planner.

ENDS

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Media Release

16th March 2022

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Mark Bailey

Rail network back on track

Link to network recovery vision > https://vimeo.com/688268825/64cbaf75ba


Services across all of the Queensland Rail network will be restored by tomorrow (Thursday), after a mammoth three-week recovery of damage and debris from the recent record rain and flooding.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey confirmed the West Moreton rail line re-opened to freight services this morning, and passenger services to Rosewood will resume on Thursday.

"Queensland Rail has undertaken a mammoth job to repair washouts, sink holes, landslips, debris and an extensive list of other damage across hundreds of kilometres of rail in the state's south, caused by the recent flood event," Mr Bailey said.

"Today, we see a critical supply chain reinstated with the reopening of the West Moreton rail line, where coal, grain and other freight services have now resumed.

"More than 90 workers in crews from Toowoomba, Laidley, Dalby, Chinchilla and Warwick joined the effort to restore our western rail lines, with final efforts focused on the Toowoomba Range in recent days.

"The Toowoomba Range was hit hard and had more than 30 slip sites, washouts and water coming through the rock face.

"This week professional rock climbers were brought onboard to assist in stabilising the slope, allowing for final repairs to be completed and services to resume today."

Member for Ipswich West Jim Madden said the South East Queensland rail network was also resuming operations on all lines, including the Rosewood line.

"Today, we have all lines running to full timetable except for the Rosewood line, where SEQ passenger trains will resume tomorrow," Mr Madden said.

"A major landslip in West Ipswich has been the thorn in the side of the SEQ recovery effort, and a creative solution has re-established connection through this area.

"Queensland Rail has constructed a temporary track deviation around the landslip, which is allowing Rosewood line trains, freight and regional western services to safely resume at restricted speeds, while work on the landslip continues to be safely repaired.

"With this interim arrangement in place, it means services on the Rosewood line will run at different times to what customers are used to, so customers should visit the TransLink Journey Planner to plan their travel.

"This is an important transport corridor for SEQ services to Rosewood, regional passenger services through to Charleville, and freight services connecting from the west to the Port of Brisbane.

"Already today, on the first day of re-opening, twelve freight trains are scheduled to pass through and we'll see more as operations return to normal.

"Tomorrow, Rosewood SEQ passenger rail services will resume and on 24 March, the Westlander passenger service will also make its return, connecting communities between Brisbane and Charleville."

Member for Ipswich Jennifer Howard credited Queensland Rail teams for their hard work, resilience and commitment to connecting communities.

"It's hard to convey the full scale of the recovery effort completed in the last three weeks, especially here in Ipswich," Ms Howard said.

"There have been more people and teams involved in this milestone than meets the eye.

"I'd like to thank Queensland Rail teams for their work in restoring the network, as well as commuters, rail freight partners and the broader community for their patience while we did so."

ENDS

Background

SEQ summary:

    Approx. 2000m of track was repaired spread across the 26 sites, including the Shorncliffe line which had over 1000m of washout.
    More than 26 network infrastructure sites were damaged by washouts, sinkholes, embankment damage, landslips, debris, and there was further damage to traction and signalling assets.
    34 out of 153 stations were damaged, alongside stabling yards and maintenance facilities.
    Approx. 600 network maintenance staff involved in recovery alongside more than 100 others in critical workgroups including signalling, rollingstock maintenance, train control, scheduling, rostering, the Rail Operations Response Unit and many others.
    4400m3 of ballast placed across the network.

Western lines summary:

    95 network infrastructure sites impacted, including slips, washouts, scour sites, signalling damage, road damage and drain blockages.
    Over 90 network maintenance staff have been involved in the recovery, including engineering, civil, signal electricians, system maintainers, Telecom technicians, planners, administration and schedulers.
    Other critical workgroups and contractors included 40 earthworks machinery operators, sucka truck operators, surveyors, cable locators and geotechnical expertise.
    2,600 tonne of rock was used to repair flood damage, 9.6 tonne of grout was used to repair culvert damage, 1,600 tonne of slip or potential slip rock/earthen material was removed.

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/94755

Drift Restaurant to be moved in interest of public safety
22 Mar 2022

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics Infrastructure
The Honourable Dr Steven Miles

The Deputy Premier has directed the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) to use its powers under the QRA Act to stabilise and make safe the damaged Drift Restaurant structure after an independent engineering report found it posed a significant public safety risk and could collapse.

Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for the QRA Steven Miles said he was concerned by the findings of an engineering report, as the stabilisation of the structure was critical to restore the safety of not only the bikeway, but the Brisbane River.

"Most people have seen images of Drift impaled on river pilings at Milton during the unprecedented rain event," Mr Miles said.

"The 200-tonne structure is currently preventing the community walking, bike riding and scooting safely on the bikeway.

"An independent engineering report highlighted serious safety issues and stated that 'in its current state, the pontoon is considered to be at risk of immediate and sudden collapse'.

"The Queensland Government is concerned by the findings within this report, and I've directed QRA to exercise its powers under the QRA Act to work with MSQ to undertake emergency stabilisation and remediation works."

Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said the structure posed a risk to safety and caused an exclusion zone to be issued on the Brisbane River by the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Maritime Safety Queensland Branch (MSQ).

"The independent report recommended immediate actions to secure the site and return safe access to the waterway and bikeway," Mr Bailey said.

"We have a duty to ensure the safety of the local community and to see essential public assets, like the bikeway and Brisbane River, restored, and hazards appropriately managed."

The QRA Act came into effect on 21 February 2011 to ensure Queensland and its communities can recover from the impacts of disaster events.

The QRA Act includes powers to declare reconstruction areas and critical infrastructure projects and undertake works where it is necessary to facilitate, amongst other reasons, the protection, rebuilding and recovery of an affected community.

These powers have been exercised only once before when, following the 2011 floods, QRA was directed to undertake works, under section 96, to repair and restore the Toowoomba water pipeline which was heavily damaged during the 2011 floods.

The QRA are firm supporter of small businesses, having worked with the Queensland and Australian Governments recently to unlock hardship grants of up to $50,000 and low-interest loans for small businesses impacted by the recent flooding event.

ENDS

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1507904333366829060

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1508089143251058692

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ21037.shtml

IDQ21037
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST

Severe Weather Warning
for HEAVY RAINFALL
For people in Southeast Coast and parts of Darling Downs and Granite Belt Forecast Districts.

Issued at 10:47 am Monday, 28 March 2022.
HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY INTENSE FALLS ARE FORECAST OVER SOUTHEAST QLD FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW.

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1508441342816710656

https://twitter.com/TransLinkSEQ/status/1508449449244246021

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1508902348114268160

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1510740978172588032

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/94905

Scott Morrison's election-eve insult to Queensland flood victims
6th April 2022

Acting Premier and Minister for the Olympics
The Honourable Cameron Dick

Scott Morrison has delivered an insult to thousands of Queensland flood victims, refusing to provide funding to help get homes out of floodwaters.

Acting Premier Cameron Dick said that the response showed the Prime Minister will not take responsibility, and Queensland flood victims will pay the price.

"Less than three weeks ago, the Premier wrote to the Prime Minister, asking him to hear the call of flood victims, and help fund a $741m residential recovery package" the Acting Premier said.

"Last night, Scott Morrison responded, saying it's not his problem.

"Every Queenslander needs to know that this letter shows that Scott Morrison does not care about flood victims who need help from all levels of Government.

"It doesn't matter if your home floods two, three or four times over, Scott Morrison wants no part in creating an ongoing solution.

"It is clear the Prime Minister has made a political calculation.

"He has decided he doesn't need flood victims to vote for him – so he has nothing to offer them."

Mr Dick said that it wasn't just South-East Queensland victims who have been rejected by the Prime Minister.

"Nearly a decade after ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald devasted Bundaberg, the Prime Minister is still refusing to support the Bundaberg Flood Levee," the Acting Premier said.

"This project has gone through detailed design and community consultation already, but Scott Morrison says it has to do it all again.

"Scott Morrison doesn't even have the guts to give the people of Bundaberg a straight answer, trying to tie this project up in more bureaucratic process.

"When it comes to helping flood victims avoid future disasters, it's the same old story from Scott Morrison.

"He says the words, but will not deliver.

"Every expert report, including his own Royal Commission into natural disasters, says that the Federal Government should be funding disaster resilience, but this Prime Minister will not take responsibility and do his job to fund it.

"When it comes to helping flood victims, the Prime Minister says one thing but will not deliver."

https://twitter.com/ShannonMM9/status/1513676785409740800

Brisbanetimes --> 2011 Qld flood victims lose final appeal against dam operator $

Quote... In September 2021, after Seqwater's successful appeal, it was confirmed that the more than 6500 flood victims would share $440 million in compensation from the Queensland government and Sunwater.

The NSW Supreme Court ruled Seqwater bore 50 per cent of the liability for flood compensation claims, while the Queensland government and Sunwater shared the remaining 50 per cent.

Because only Seqwater was successful in its challenge of the original ruling, the compensation from the state government and Sunwater still stands.

However, it is half what the victims could have received had Seqwater also been found to be liable.

The Government didn't appeal because the 'polyticks' would not look good.  Happy to fork out half a billion dollars to buy a few more votes. 

The bottom line is, if you live on a flood plain expect to be flooded.

Purchasing a property, you need to check the flood maps very carefully. I was in Brisbane for the 1974 floods and soon learned that one needed to be circumspect with property selection.  It is not rocket science ..

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1522240487825940481

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ21037.shtml

IDQ21037
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology

TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST

Severe Weather Warning
for HEAVY RAINFALL
For people in Central West and parts of Gulf Country, Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders, North West and Channel Country Forecast Districts.

Issued at 10:46 am Monday, 9 May 2022.
Heavy rainfall developing about central Queensland from Tuesday morning.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1523485313162629120

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1523880605939019776

http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/warnings/flood/index.shtml

Flood Warning Summary
IDQ20885

Flood Summary
Issued at 5:59 am EST on Wednesday 11 May 2022.


The following Watches/Warnings are current:

Major Flood Warning for the Bohle River and Flood Warning for the Ross River, Black River and Bluewater Creek

Major Flood Warning for the Cooper Creek and Moderate Flood Warning for the Thomson and Barcoo Rivers

Major Flood Warning for the Haughton River Catchment

Moderate Flood Warning for Eyre Creek and Minor Flood Warning for the Georgina River

Moderate Flood Warning for the Cape River, Minor Flood Warning for the Upper Burdekin River and Flood Warning for the Suttor River

Moderate Flood Warning for the Tully River and Flood Warning for the Murray River

Moderate Flood Warning for the Western River and Flood Warning for the Diamantina River

Minor Flood Warning for the Lower Herbert River

Minor Flood Warning for the Mulgrave and Russell Rivers

Initial Minor Flood Warning for the Flinders River

Flood Watch for Western and Central Queensland, and the Central and North Tropical Queensland Coast

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/community-and-safety/community-safety/february-2022-severe-weather-event-recovery

Brisbane Flood Review

Brisbane Flood Review (PDF - 1.25Mb)

Brisbane Flood Review (Word - 7.28Mb)

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1524536336161861633

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1524545809357979652

How high does the water level need to be for Moggill to be cut off?

Quote from: #Metro on May 12, 2022, 11:08:11 AMHow high does the water level need to be for Moggill to be cut off?

There are a few creeks that have flooded local bridges already around Moggill... https://qldtraffic.qld.gov.au/

The Moggill Ferry was stopped 2 days ago. As soon as the river starts to rise they secure it.

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/95130

Registrations open for the $741 million Resilient Homes Fund
12th May 2022

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Olympics
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics Infrastructure
The Honourable Dr Steven Miles

Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen and Minister for Public Works and Procurement
The Honourable Mick de Brenni

Queenslanders whose homes were damaged by floods can now register to access grants to raise, repair, retrofit or have their home voluntarily bought back.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the $741 million Resilient Homes Fund will help make Queensland homes more flood resilient.

"So many Queenslanders homes were ravaged by the recent floods across parts of Queensland," The Premier said.

"This is the largest home resilience program of its kind to ever be delivered in Australia.

"We can't stop floods from occurring, but we can take steps to reduce their impact.

"Queenslanders whose homes were damaged by floods will be able to access grants to rebuild more resilient homes, raise homes or buy back homes at high risk."

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said Queensland is the most disaster-impacted state in Australia, with flooding being the highest risk to our community.

"This isn't just about building back, it's about building back better," Mr Miles said.

"We know from initial assessments following the South East Queensland floods that there were nearly 7,000 homes with some degree of damage and more than 3,600 of these were uninhabitable.

"That's why we fought so hard to ensure we could provide as much support to as many flood-affected Queenslanders as possible.

"Grants will be available to assist Queensland homeowners to repair or retrofit their homes to incorporate flood resilient design and to raise homes to reduce the impacts of future flood events."

Minister for Public Works Mick de Brenni said building back better meant incorporating resilient building design and materials to significantly reduce the effort, cost and time to help Queenslanders back into their homes now and in the future.

"The damage to homes from the rain-bomb event has been widespread and whilst homeowners have experienced different types of damage, every home can be re-built to be far less vulnerable to future flood events," Mr de Brenni said.

"This is a nation-leading program, which is being designed to help those Queenslanders who've experienced the trauma of their home being flooded, the confidence they need to get their lives back to normal.

"It is a significant program and we're working with councils, industry and insurers to ensure the right assistance is provided to maximise the benefit to every affected homeowner.

"We're now asking flood-affected Queenslanders within the eligible local government areas who are interested in a voluntary buy-back, house raising or retrofitting for resilience following the floods, to come forward, register their details and that will trigger the start of the process."

State Recovery Coordinator Major General Jake Ellwood said over the past few months he had travelled throughout the South East speaking to hundreds of Queenslanders who were impacted by the floods.

"A lot of the people I've spoken to have strong connections to their local community and just want to make their homes more resilient – either by retrofitting or raising them above the flood level, while others want to sell their homes and make a fresh start somewhere else," Major General Ellwood said.

"It's fantastic to see that the Resilient Homes Fund will give people options when it comes to rebuilding, raising or selling their homes, which is important because every individual has different needs and priorities.

"It will give hope to people who've had their lives turned upside down and will also significantly enhance the resilience of some of the state's most vulnerable communities," he said.

The Queensland Government has worked closely with the Commonwealth, insurers and representatives from the building industry to help inform the program and ensure its rollout as quickly as possible.

The Department of Energy and Public Works will lead the delivery of the retrofitting and house-raising component of the program, whilst the Queensland Reconstruction Authority will manage any voluntary buy-backs together with local governments.

The $741 million Resilient Homes Fund is being delivered through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
 
Fast Facts

What funding is available?

Rebuilding more resilient homes

Grants will be available to assist eligible homeowners to repair or retrofit their homes to incorporate flood resilient design and materials. This could include replacement of floor coverings with a water-resistant finish such as tiles or polished concrete and moving power outlets to above recognised flood levels.

Raising homes

Grants will be available to eligible homeowners to raise homes to reduce the impacts of future flood events by lifting living areas and rooms above the defined flood level.

Buying back homes

In high-risk situations where repairing, retrofitting or raising are not considered suitable options, a voluntary buy-back of the residence will be considered.

Voluntary home buy-backs will be on a case-by-case basis and will consider a range of factors including the frequency of flooding, severity of flooding, structural safety of the property, future flood risk and broader social impacts.

Who can apply?

Queensland homeowners across 37 local government areas whose property was inundated as a result of any of the three major floods in 2021-22 including the South East Queensland floods (22 February 2022 onwards); the ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth floods (29 December 2021 – 10 January 2022); and the Central, Southern and Western Queensland flooding (10 November – 3 December 2021).

How do I register?

Register your interest at https://qld.gov.au/resilienthomes


ENDS

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Brisbane River at Goodna


You can see why the Moggill Ferry is stopped.

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1524978989865275392