RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Yeah Gladstone shouldn't be the priority here. Maybe down the track as stage 2.

Couriermail --> Inland Rail route from Toowoomba to Gladstone gets $10 million business case support $

QuoteThe first step towards extending the Inland Rail from Toowoomba to Gladstone will be taken after Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce pledged $10 million to the business case, despite arguments continuing over its current route.

It would look at a potential 646km spur route to allow freight to be taken to the Central Queensland port city. ...

Brisbanetimes --> Urban Australia pays: Barnaby Joyce names his price for net zero commitment $

QuoteBarnaby Joyce has suggested a $5 billion extension of the Inland Rail into Queensland coal country in return for the Nationals backing a commitment on net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Deputy Prime Minister used an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Friday to announce he had secured $10 million in funding for a business case for a 500-kilometre extension of the freight line from Toowoomba to Gladstone on the Central Queensland coast. ...

Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister. 

Preferred Civil Works Program proponent awarded
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has taken another step towards construction of Inland Rail in Queensland following an agreement with a locally owned and operated joint venture for civil works within the Border to Gowrie section.
BHQ Joint Venture (BHQ JV), comprising Brisbane-based Bielby Holdings Pty Ltd, JF Hull Pty Ltd, and QH&M Birt Pty Ltd, has been appointed as the preferred Civil Works Program proponent for the first section of Inland Rail in Queensland.

This section, which will be the first shovel-in-ground Inland Rail project in Queensland, comprises approximately 162km of dual-gauge track and the upgrade of approximately 24.5km of existing track.

BHQ JV was selected following a rigorous evaluation process that demonstrated their capability to deliver the right technical solution while also providing significant lasting benefits for local communities along the alignment.

Couriermail----> 52km Inland Rail tunnel would stretch from Ipswich to Port of Brisbane

Quote from: #Metro on October 03, 2021, 11:28:44 AM

How ridiculous! A tunnel from Ipswich to POB.

Even I wouldn't float something like that.

Quote from: timh on October 03, 2021, 12:07:31 PM
Also built in 5 years? Pfft not likely.

Of course the private company that would benefit from its construction (Thiess) would be sprouting the benefits. This is verrrrry foamy

EDIT: Just realised a 52km rail tunnel would be one of the longest rail tunnels in the world. Within the top 5. Totally not justified for Brisbane

Sent from my SM-G780F using Tapatalk

I reckon it's a good idea. Meets reducing local emissions. It has a lower impact on the environment and the community. Plus it provides a direct link to the trade coast without the need of using trucks, hence reducing road congestion.

I reckon they will power it with regular electric rigid overhead though.


http://www.railsystem.net/rigid-catenary-or-overhead-contact-system/

^^New rigid systems allows rigid overhead to be placed right against the tunnel ceiling with a minimal gap. (min 300mm gap). This could also be a solution for the tunnels from Wellcamp to Gowrie. Electrification could start at Wellcamp, as there is a proposed freight transfer point at Wellcamp anyway.

Interview 13th October 2021 ABC Brisbane with Drive host Steve Austin and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.

Topic: Inland Rail with particular reference to Queensland

> https://backontrack.org/docs/abcbris/abc_drive_bj_13oct21.mp3  MP3 25.1MB

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https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1448364724937105411

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Just curious - nothing for a link with Canberra. I know it is not a huge destination at the moment - freight or passenger rail.

ABC Radio --> Barnaby Joyce doubles down on Inland Rail promise to send coal trains to Gladstone, not Brisbane

QuoteThe Port of Brisbane says it was blindsided by the recent announcement that coal trains to the city would be redirected on an extended Inland Rail to Gladstone.

It follows Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce telling ABC Radio Brisbane that sending coal to Gladstone instead of Brisbane could be "booked in" as an election promise.

A Port of Brisbane spokesperson said it had not been informed that coal exports would no longer depart from Brisbane.

Mr Joyce has said transporting coal to Gladstone was "logical" with freight going to Brisbane.

The Port of Brisbane spokesperson said the news would "come as a shock to those workers that are currently employed at Brisbane's rail and coal handling facilities, as well as the entire coal supply chain from Toowoomba through to Brisbane".

"The Port of Brisbane is the logical place for Inland Rail to connect," a spokesperson said.

"Any other connections, which can be examined in time, could only strengthen the national freight rail network.

"However, directly connecting the Port of Brisbane to Inland Rail must be the number one priority for all stakeholders." ...

https://twitter.com/christofspieler/status/1453581807962574848

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_Corridor

The Alameda Corridor is a 20-mile (32 km) freight rail "expressway" owned by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (reporting mark ATAX) that connects the national rail system near downtown Los Angeles, California, to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, running below Alameda Street. The corridor is considered one of the region's largest transportation projects when it was constructed.

https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/martinus-appointed-preferred-proponent/

ARTC appoints Martinus as preferred proponent for rail corridor program

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has appointed Australian owned contractor Martinus as the preferred contractor for the delivery of the Rail Corridor Program for Inland Rail sections in New South Wales and Southern Queensland.

The Guardian -->  If Australia's inland rail is a game changer, why are we shortchanging it?

^ completely unsuprising, as governments of both colours in Australia have a great deal of difficulty seeing and therefore planning for anything beyond the next electoral cycle.

Also, quite frankly, the idea of Inland Rail going to Gladstone is nothing but pork-barelling. I mean a Brisbane route would traverse some Labor divisions rather than Nationals ones, and we can't be building the Nationals can't be seen to be building infrastructure in Labor divisions! Pathetic.

Afr---> Melbourne-Brisbane inland rail to slash freight costs: CSIRO report

QuoteThe $14.5 billion inland rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane will help ease freight costs over the longer term, according to a new CSIRO report which forecasts an annual $213 million saving.

The rail link will also help ease road congestion and emissions by taking 200,000 trucks off the road each year, or 150 B-doubles for each train travelling between Melbourne and Brisbane.

The report, prepared before the recent spike in fuel prices, models the impact of the rail link, which as an off-budget project is meant to make a commercial return for its owner – the government. It is due to be completed by 2027.

Wow, they have 5 years to complete the Queensland leg to Port of Brisbane or Acacia Ridge.

Better start digging...somewhere

https://twitter.com/7NewsToowoomba/status/1503651411518955522

https://twitter.com/RailExpressNews/status/1503871805378887680

https://twitter.com/railjournal/status/1506333927958630409

Brisbanetimes --> 'Poorly planned': Labor to rethink $14b Inland Rail project if elected

QuoteFederal Labor will immediately review the $14.5 billion Inland Rail project between the Port of Melbourne and the Port of Brisbane if it wins government.

Labor's infrastructure spokeswoman, Catherine King, said the party had real concerns about the escalating cost of the 1715-kilometre line, which promises to use double-decker trains to shift freight from highways to rail to save time and money. ...

https://twitter.com/lenoretaylor/status/1522454513076310016

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ipswich/glimpse-of-the-future-the-10-major-projects-to-transform-ipswich/news-story/a0cd80a2ee44685f6e424db77227d29f

Quote... " A $14.5 billion vision to build a 52km inland rail tunnel underground from Ipswich to the Port of Brisbane could revolutionise the way freight is transported.
The ambitious PortConnex project would include driverless and battery-operated trains.
The visionaries behind the project, former Thiess CEO Martin Albrecht and the National Trunk Rail consortium, said the project could be built in five years. " ...

Why is a tunnel required? Can't it be placed in the road reserve of the Logan & Gateway motorways on the surface?

If trains are electric they shouldn't be that noisy.

Update: Found this

A Proposal to Enhance South East Queensland's Rail Freight Network: Part 2
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees.aspx?url=trs/networks/subs/sub156.pdf

If a proposal like the above means that we can get rid of freight from the Ipswich Line and most of the Cleveland Line, that would be a big bonus!

If noise is an issue, an option would be to build a sound tube similar to how the busway around Victoria Park has a tube around it on the surface or in Melbourne where part of the Tullamarine Freeway is in a tube as it is close to a public housing site.

https://twitter.com/Inland_Rail/status/1559057298579828737

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Project Stages --> https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/building-inland-rail/project-stages/?stage=1

ABC --> Farmers fear Inland Rail embankment will make life worse as they endure six floods in six months

QuoteWhen it comes to nation-building infrastructure, the 1,700-kilometre Inland Rail from Melbourne to Brisbane will be one of Australia's most significant.

Millions of dollars are already flowing through communities along the route as construction of the now $14.5-billion project continues.

But state approvals remain held up amid pending expert reviews of flood modelling, with some landholders still worried the current plan could make serious weather events worse. ...

Brisbanetimes --> Derailed or back on track? Inland Rail and the new government now at the throttle

Quoten Opposition, Labor promised transparency and fixes to get the $15 billion-and-counting Inland Rail project "back on track". It has also committed to serious budget repair. What happens now? ...

... The planning challenge is particularly fraught on the Queensland side, where the Commonwealth, state and local governments are yet to figure out the best way to move rail freight through the congested suburbs of Australia's fastest-growing capital city to (and from) the Port of Brisbane.

Federal Labor's infrastructure spokeswoman Catherine King with Labor's Griffith MP Teri Butler (left) state MP Peter Russo and Moreton MP Graeme Perrett where $233 million was announced to replace two level crossings if Labor wins the May 22 election.

Costs have ballooned. Inland Rail was originally stated to cost about $5 billion end to end. By the completion of the 2015 business case, this had swollen to close to $10 billion. The Australian government has now invested $14.5 billion in "equity" through the developer, the Australian Rail Track Corporation. ...

Quote from: #Metro on July 31, 2022, 16:08:28 PMIf trains are electric they shouldn't be that noisy.

Where do you think these non-existent standard-gauge electric locomotives are coming from? Who is going to pay to electrify this route?

I can't see it makes economic sense. Carbon output will need to be offset in some other way, or perhaps HFC-powered trains.

https://twitter.com/ABCRural/status/1576339828567732226



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ABC News --> Former Inland Rail project director claims $14b freight line plans 'done in a rush'

QuoteWith an independent review of the $14.5 billion Inland Rail project looming, one former project director claims those charged with the initial planning "just looked on Google Maps". 

Cameron Simpkins, who was a project director at Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), which is building the 1,700-kilometre train line, said it was clear to him that early planning had been "rushed'.

Construction of the Inland Rail line from Melbourne to Brisbane has created thousands of jobs and boosted regional economies along the track.

But a damning Senate inquiry report last year warned of significant challenges for the vital project, which aims to guarantee freight transportation across the nation, especially when roads are impassable due to flooding. ...

https://twitter.com/CatherineKingMP/status/1578124788542758912

Quote from: achiruel on September 28, 2022, 04:40:59 AMCarbon output will need to be offset in some other way, or perhaps HFC-powered trains.

Get a container to be carried Brisbane to Melbourne by train rather than by truck and that's already a major win.

Rail Express --> Contract awarded for first Inland Rail site in Victoria

QuoteThe Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has engaged McConnell Dowell to start construction on the first Inland Rail sites in Victoria, awarding a major contract valued at about $200 million. ...

Queensland Parliament

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2022/1063-2022.pdf

QUESTION ON NOTICE
No. 1063
asked on 14 October 2022

MR P WEIR ASKED THE MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND
MANUFACTURING AND MINISTER FOR WATER (HON G BUTCHER)—

QUESTION:

With reference to the Australian Rail Track Corporation Inland Rail project across the
Condamine floodplain—
Will the Minister advise if the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing
and Water will ensure monitoring of water bore levels and supplies along the alignment
during construction of the rail line?

ANSWER:

The Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (the department)
has provided advice on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Border to
Gowrie section of the Inland Rail Project which includes the Condamine floodplain. The
proponent proposes to drill additional bores and set up a dedicated monitoring program
along the rail line, which includes monitoring water levels during construction.
The department will not be involved in this monitoring program. The department has
an existing dedicated monitoring bore network across the Condamine River Alluvium,
which is read at regular intervals throughout the year.
 

Brisbanetimes --> Pains, trains and automobiles: The $6b plan to solve Brisbane's Inland Rail woes

QuoteAfter years of political floundering and mysterious studies deemed too hot for commoner consumption, the long-held "indicative" endpoint for the nation-building, money-gorging Inland Rail project has never been on shakier ground.

Acacia Ridge, in Brisbane's southern suburbs, was the nominated northern terminus in the original 2015 business case forming the basis of all assumptions and constipated progress since.

The Australian Rail Trail Corporation [ARTC], tasked with building the 1700 kilometres of track from Melbourne to Brisbane for an unrealistic $15 billion, still marked it as home base in its maps and pamphlets.

But up against practical realities and with no solutions in sight, the public utterances of rail bosses and Canberra infrastructure bureaucrats have been slowly shifting to accommodate and then narrow down alternatives, most plainly at federal estimates hearings last month. ...

Sent to all outlets:

More Detail Required on PortConnex Freight Concept for Brisbane

29th November 2022

RAIL Back On Track (RBoT, http://backontrack.org) has welcomed further information about National Trunk Rail (NTR) Consortium's PortConnex Freight concept (1).

NTR Consortium's PortConnex Freight concept is a 52-km tunnel connection from the Inland Rail line to the Port of Brisbane. NTR Consortium is an interest group composed of industry, business, public service, and business leaders. The concept incorporates an intermodal freight hub near Ebenezer, Ipswich, and automated battery-operated trains operating to the Port of Brisbane.

The PortConnex concept has also not yet demonstrated that it is indeed the highest and best project among potential alternatives. Tunnels are extremely expensive, so can only be justified for the very high volume or high value freight in our view. For example, in 2014 the Australian Rail Track Corporation identified two route options to the Port of Brisbane for more detailed study: a direct "long tunnel" from Acacia Ridge to the Port, and a partial-tunnel "eastern freight rail bypass" following the Gateway corridor (the preferred option at the time). Upgrades of the existing corridor and a longer electrified tunnel to Larapinta were rejected. A feature of the concept is double-stacking of the containers, which results in more freight moved per train. No costing of the project has been publicly released to date.

RAIL Back On Track (RBoT), in principle, supports projects that move mass freight movement from roads to rail, particularly long-distance freight. However, our support for any specific project or initiative - public or private - is dependent on objective and rigorous merit evaluation. A project must generate net benefits for investors, community, or both, and be at least as good or better than potential alternative projects.

The main issue RBoT has with this concept is the lack of a rigorous business case, alternatives analysis and economic evaluation. For example, RBoT is not aware of a public costing of the PortConnex concept, however based on a test value of $100 million/km, the 52-km tunnel would cost in the range of about $5.2 billion (published estimate $6 billion). In other words, it would need to generate and return at least $5.2 billion in private benefits (plus an investor premium), or public benefits to be worthwhile.

We have not seen any information that would suggest PortConnex generating that quantity of benefits over the life of the project and its operations. It is our understanding that freight operators are avoiding rail to the Port of Brisbane due to perceived high access fees. Strategically, we also view the hauling of coal in Queensland for export to be a declining industry. The world is moving away from fossil fuels.

Other questions also remain. For example, who are the target investors? The Federal and State Governments or private investors? What are the past or future freight volumes that would use the line? Would any access fees or charges be set at a level attractive enough to shift freight from road to rail?

The PortConnex concept has also not yet demonstrated that it is indeed the best project among potential alternatives. Alternatives include constructing freight rail in motorway corridors such as the Centenary Highway, Logan Motorway and Gateway Motorways similar to how passenger rail is constructed in motorway corridors in Perth, Western Australia. Another alternative is to use a greater proportion of surface rail and a smaller proportion of tunnel. Tunnels are extremely expensive, so can only be justified for the very high volume or high value freight in our view.

Once again, RAIL Back On Track welcome's the NTR Consortium's PortConnex concept. We look forward to the public release of a rigorous business case, alternatives analysis, and economic evaluation.

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

References:

1. Brisbanetimes: Pains, trains and automobiles: The $6b plan to solve Brisbane's Inland Rail woes
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/pains-trains-and-automobiles-the-6b-plan-to-solve-brisbane-s-inland-rail-woes-20221125-p5c1dr.html

2. NTR Consortium
https://nationaltrunkrail.com/frequently-asked-questions/

3. Inland Rail Project
https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/what-is-inland-rail/

4. Alternative routes from "The Case for Inland Rail", ARTC (2015) p10.
https://inlandrail.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/case-for-inland-rail-2015.pdf

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https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1597239401800957952

Toowoomba to Gladstone Inland Rail Extension Business Case

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/toowoomba-to-gladstone-inland-rail-extension-business-case

The Australian and Queensland governments are exploring ways to supplement the planned Inland Rail project through:

assessing links to alternative export hubs
enhancing wider regional economic growth and development.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads and the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts are working together on a business case for a possible extension of Inland Rail from Toowoomba to the Port of Gladstone. This extension will complement the primary Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail route. ...