RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Quote from: Stillwater on July 20, 2023, 05:34:26 AMI really did choke on my cereal when I read on the Q2032 site that the Queensland Government regards the Sunshine Coast as 'THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN OF SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND'.

https://q2032.au/map?region=sunshine-coast

More gloss, more hype from a state government clearly in election mode.

^  I cannot locate anything on transport on 2Q32  ...  guess it must be an afterthought.

It is a p%ss poor website, doesn't even have a search function.

Mediocrity is strong with this   

The Australian --> Brisbane 2032 Olympics boss flags nuclear-powered Games $

QuoteNuclear power from cutting-edge small modular reactors must be considered for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics if organisers are to meet a contractual obligation to make the multibillion-dollar event "climate-positive", Games boss Andrew Liveris has warned.

Defying Labor's entrenched hostility to nuclear energy at both the federal and state levels, Mr Liveris insisted SMRs had to be in the mix and "we shouldn't eliminate any pathway to get to climate-positive". ...

The Australian --> Olympic challenge: how will Comm Games fallout hurt Brisbane 2032? $

QuoteWhen Brisbane secured the right to hold the 2032 Olympics two years ago, time was very much on its side. The Queensland capital joined Los Angeles in having the luxury of 11 years to plan and prepare.

But any sense of complacency – that it was business as usual for the organisers – bit the dust this week after the Victorian government did the unthinkable and canned the next biggest multi-sports tournament going, the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Don't be fooled by claims that Daniel Andrews' hatchet job has no implications for Australia's third Olympics. The Victorian Premier's rationale that the Commonwealth Games were "all cost and no benefit" on the back of a $4bn-plus blowout in the state's projected spend will shake confidence in the Brisbane set-up if costs there also balloon.

History says there is every chance this will happen. ...

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/commonwealth-games-cost-debacle-has-implications-for-brisbane-2032-olympic-games/news-story/328148a7e13ead3bb2a324447a59ee2a

Quote... "It is essential that there is an integrated transport plan for the 2032 Olympics – the most decentralised Olympics ever delivered – that focuses not only on venues but also connections between them. Key projects like the Beerburrum to Nambour Rail Upgrade (on the Sunshine Coast), Logan to Gold Coast Faster Rail and the Coomera Connector (motorway) must be progressed so that athletes aren't playing to empty stadiums outside of Brisbane." ...

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1682400399884689409

Based on the failure to properly plan and THEN IMPLEMENT proper sustainable transport solutions by a succession of Queensland Governments, there is not much hope for the 2032 Olympics.  I have not much confidence. The article in the Australian hits the nail right on the head.

Mega-shambles looms ...

I think a key piece of information was they needed 1500 buses to move athletes, staff, and spectators to and from the regional hubs.

That's more buses than were registered in Victoria. And as we know, the low fares on the regional train network V/Line has caused a capacity problem.

How were people going to fit on the train, given that existing passengers couldn't fit? It wouldn't surprise me if extra train purchases would have been required.

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1682395710225022978

The fact that the Queensland Government has signed up for 'climate positive games' raises the question of what is an Olympic Games specific cost and what is not. To power the Games with green energy, the state government has committed to building the Lake Borumba pumped hydro project at an eye-watering cost of $14 BILLION.

So, the idea that the 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games will cost just $7 billion is a bit of creative accounting.

The Lake Borumba pumped hydro project is yet to get its environmental approvals in place. The water there is home to the same critters whose habitat was threatened by the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam. It was stopped on environmental grounds. Is that the same fate for Lake Borumba pumped hydro? And what then?

The government has not released the BCR for the mega-dam project in the Mary Valley, raising the question whether the situation is this: Labor is against nuclear power. Therefore, at whatever cost to the taxpayer, we will throw money at green power (pumped hydro). Fourteen billion dollars is a lot of money!

The pumped hydro project (near Imbil) will require a construction workforce of 2000. The nearest 'big smoke' town is Gympie, which is suffering a housing and rental crisis. It is still recovering from floods and does not have vacancies in the existing housing stock. Some temporary on-site accommodation is being provided - under one scenario, to become an education camp/ recreation camp attached to Education Queensland after the dam is built.

Another possibility would be for QR to run 'worker trains' from Brisbane/Sunshine Coast to Traveston, then buses to the worksite.

There is a lot of suspicious trackwork happening at Traveston ATM -- off the mainline. Also, new sections of track are being manufactured on railway land at Pomona. Where is that being moved to?  The maintenance train, normally stationed at Yandina, has been moving back and forth. So, are worker trains already locked in?

And, after the Games, would extra trains stay for additional passenger shuttles between Beerwah/Nambour and Gympie North? Under that scenario, the smallest station in the SEQ passenger rail operations (at Traveston) could become an important cog in the wheel.

A $14 billion dam, new railway line to the Sunshine Coast, track duplication to Beerwah and additional road projects locally ... the Bruce Highway will be full of tradies in their utes heading to the Sunny Coast. Building these mega projects all at once will create a labour shortage, for sure. Wages will go higher and taxpayers will be paying top dollar for stadiums, transport projects etc. ... all being rushed to meet an Olympics deadline.

Workers who otherwise would be building housing will transfer employment to Annastacia Palaszczuk and Partners Pty Ltd for all the ancillary infrastructure being built and which has a scale and function that partially includes in their cost an Olympics component not directly attributable to the Games budget.

Irrespective of which bucket the money comes from, or which level of government contributes, it is the person in the street who pays taxes to the Australian and Queensland governments and rates to the local councils who will pay in the end.

Website: https://qldhydro.com.au/projects/borumba
This article relevant too: https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/no-nukes-in-qld-crisafulli-rejects-dutton-s-plan-20230709-p5dmu3

It is definitely not credible or relevant to tie these costs to the cost of the olympics.

Even transport is not a "cost of the games" and we shouldn't encourage a narrative that says so, if we do we are allowing public transport to be discussed as "should we build public transport infrastructure" instead of "what public transport should we build".
We don't need public transport investment only because the olympics are coming but the Olympics are a change for us to leverage that investment.

"Climate positive games" doesn't completely link with the broader energy reform in response to climate change but rather how the energy for the games themselves is produced and how they account for constructed with offsets etc.

Brisbanetimes --> 2032 boss clarifies nuclear power comments as Games symbols travel SEQ

QuoteThe Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will not use nuclear power to reduce carbon emissions, the organising committee president Andrew Liveris clarified on Saturday afternoon.

Though the Games have a carbon-positive goal, Liveris said he was not advocating for the events' energy infrastructure to be nuclear. ...

Mr Liveris needs to be careful what he says on the record to scribes. Give them a millimetre to twist and they will get a metre.  Shame that this issue detracted from the display of the internationally recognised symbols of the Olympics – the five interlaced Olympic Rings and the Agitos of the Paralympics in Queensland for the first time since the Sydney Olympics closed in 2000.  But then again ... 

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1682738040228438016

https://twitter.com/couriermail/status/1682948267443879936

They should be pay close attention to Paris' use of public transport. Probably the best city in the world for applying appropriate modes to the service needs as well as high quality service on all modes.

Perhaps they should use entirely public transport in each city and see if they learn anything?

Couriermail --> Brisbane homes spared demolition for Olympics developments $

QuoteInner-Brisbane residents will be spared having their homes demolished to make way for the athletics warm-up track for the 2032 Games, the state government has confirmed following vocal protests rejecting the sports field.

Kangaroo Point homeowners will be told on Monday their homes are safe as updated plans for the Raymond Park transformation are released.

Initial plans for the facility where athletes will warm-up ahead of competing at events inside the Gabba during the Olympic and Paralympic Games suggested a number of homes would need to be resumed by the government.

But Deputy Premier Steven Miles has confirmed the government is progressing proposals for a thinner track which will allow the sports facility to fit inside the current dimensions of the park. ...

Couriermail --> Fate of police Roma St headquarters revealed in Qld's 'secret' 2032 Olympics plan $

QuoteQueensland Police's Roma St headquarters will avoid demolition when construction begins on the $2.5bn Brisbane Arena, confidential plans reveal.

Construction of the arena, slated to host swimming and water polo at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics, was expected to result in the demolition of Queensland Police's Roma St headquarters and nearby arrests court.

Documents sent by the state government to prospective developers and designers indicate it will push ahead with plans to build the 17,000-seat Brisbane Arena above the Roma St railway.

They were sent as part of a new market-sounding process – the first significant step in building Brisbane Games infrastructure. ...

Brisbanetimes --> It takes a village: Olympic work fast-tracked to house Queenslanders

QuoteThe Queensland government will fast-track the construction of Olympic athletes' villages to provide short- and medium-term accommodation before the 2032 Games take place.

In what she called a "pre-legacy" of the Games, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told a state budget estimates hearing on Tuesday the construction of athletes' villages in Brisbane, Maroochydore and the Gold Coast would be accelerated. ...

Brisbanetimes --> The billion-dollar blow-out: Gabba cost estimate was rushed, govt admits

QuoteThe projected cost of overhauling the Gabba for the Olympic Games blew out to $2.7 billion in part because the state government rushed its original cost estimate.

The Gabba was nominated as the main Olympic stadium in 2021 when Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a demolition and rebuild would take place at a cost of $1 billion and increase its capacity to 50,000. ...

https://twitter.com/NewsTalk4BC/status/1687365166977941506

Gold Coast Bulletin --> 0lympic Games 2032: Gabba stadium spending plans blasted by Mayor Tom Tate $

QuoteMayor Tom Tate has blasted 2032 Olympic Games organisers and called for a major infrastructure overhaul in a bid to save billions of dollars.

Mr Tate was speaking in Brisbane at a Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport session on preparations for the 2032 Games.

The mayor talked up the legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. ...

I'm sorry, but Tate is just out to turn the Brisbane Olympic Games into the Gold Coast Olympic Games.

Quote from: nathandavid88 on August 22, 2023, 16:03:59 PMI'm sorry, but Tate is just out to turn the Brisbane Olympic Games into the Gold Coast Olympic Games.

Don't threaten me with a good time!

Quote from: ozbob on August 22, 2023, 15:56:31 PMGold Coast Bulletin --> 0lympic Games 2032: Gabba stadium spending plans blasted by Mayor Tom Tate $

QuoteMayor Tom Tate has blasted 2032 Olympic Games organisers and called for a major infrastructure overhaul in a bid to save billions of dollars.

Mr Tate was speaking in Brisbane at a Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport session on preparations for the 2032 Games.

The mayor talked up the legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. ...

Ah, the legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Train services to the Sunshine Coast were massacred by a massive 27% during the events.




.

Quote from: nathandavid88 on August 22, 2023, 16:03:59 PMI'm sorry, but Tate is just out to turn the Brisbane Olympic Games into the Gold Coast Olympic Games.

He's a dill, but I'm not prepared to believe we are getting value for money out of the Gabba upgrade - mostly just out of principle given the compelling evidence that the State and its GOCs have no project management competence left (if there ever was any).

https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/status/1693875814650057065

Brisbanetimes --> Football Australia's stadium push as it blasts Queensland funding own-goal $

QuoteHot on the heels of a hugely successful FIFA Women's World Cup, the sport's governing body in Australia has launched a broadside at the Queensland government's "bias" against the code as it called for a major infrastructure boost.

In a submission to a federal inquiry into Australia's preparedness to host the Olympic Games, Football Australia called for a feasibility study into an upgrade of Perry Park into a 10,000- to 15,000-seat stadium and improved facilities across the state that could be used as Games training venues. ...

InQueensland --> 'We're gonna put on a good Games' - but it might not be at the Gabba, review says

QuoteA federal inquiry into Brisbane's preparedness to host the 2032 Olympics has called for an urgent review of the $2.7 billion revamp of the Gabba stadium.

A Senate committee urged the Palaszczuk government to reconsider the decision to host the event at the Gabba and the massive rebuild in an interim report released on Thursday.

"It may also be unwise and inappropriate for the government to insist that a redeveloped Gabba host the athletics for the Games," the report has found.

The review comes after Victoria withdrew from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games after claims of an estimated $7 billion cost blowout. ...

Redevelop QSAC and build a True Metro to it! Still use Gabba for Cricket, etc! The M4!!

^^ QSAC has been an ongoing white elephant for years - I doubt it makes enough money to cover its maintenance bill. Redeveloping it (likely at great expense) for the Olympics wouldn't make it any less of a white elephant after that event concludes. If anything, reducing the capacity of QSAC to, say, half its capacity would probably be a better solution for that venue.

As for the Gabba, it can't remain the same as it currently is. Like it or not, the Gabba does have a litany of issues that really need to be addressed - PWD access is patchy, there are no separate change facilities for women's teams, there are issues with mobile coverage in the stadium and the public realm around the stadium isn't exactly pleasant late at night outside of games. We are seeing the venue being overlooked as a host for test matches more and more, in favour of newer venues interstate (eg the Adelaide Oval, Optus Stadium in Perth), so these issues really do need to be addressed.

Couriermail --> 'Bowed to wishes': Claims minister backed politics over oversight $

QuoteFederal Sport Minister Anika Wells "bowed down to the wishes" of Premier and Olympics Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk in allowing plans for an independent oversight body for the Games to be scrapped against the advice of her own department, the Opposition is claiming.

It can be revealed that federal officials previously advocated for the 50:50 funding split for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games to be "contingent on joint governance arrangements including an independent co-ordination authority".

The department took this position to a workshop lead by consultant firm Deloitte, which later advised the Queensland government to drop the proposed independent infrastructure authority in favour of keeping oversight within the premier's department.

But Ms Wells's spokeswoman said the federal government was confident it would be appropriately represented at all levels of decision making, relevant to its funding and responsibilities. ...

Brisbane residents lose faith in city transport ahead of 2032 Olympics | 7 News

Quote from: ozbob on September 25, 2023, 01:49:08 AMBrisbane residents lose faith in city transport ahead of 2032 Olympics | 7 News

Car brain is strong in SEQ!! No thought beyond "Traffic Bad Must Fix with More Roads"

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1706456375650632068?

Brisbanetimes --> What London's 2012 Games can show Brisbane's 2032 Games $

QuoteWhen former London mayor Ken Livingstone first bid for his city to host the 2012 Olympic Games, it wasn't for the three weeks of sport.

"It was for the regeneration of East London," an economist with planning and engineering firm Arup told the Asia Pacific Cities Summit in Brisbane on Friday. ...

Brisbanetimes --> 'A stretch': Can Qld build Olympic venues, infrastructure and houses? $

QuoteThe $2.7 billion upgrade of the Gabba will soon be put out to tender, more than two years after Brisbane won the bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

The Queensland government is set to ask the private sector to bid to transform the Gabba into a 50,000-seat sports stadium with much-improved all-customer access.

It will be the first major infrastructure project directly linked to the 2032 Games and set within a climate of high construction costs that has put other major developments under pressure. ...

Quote from: ozbob on September 26, 2023, 10:00:37 AMhttps://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1706456375650632068?

Hold on...a back-up train plan implies there's actually A train plan......

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/1720003065837957460?t=1zPokdYIkwBdmuuTuKpvhg&s=19

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1721894758854082737?s=20

Couriermail --> Brisbane 2032 Games: 20-year blueprint tackles traffic woes $

QuoteThe state government releases a 20-year blueprint on Friday that will address South East Queensland transport infrastructure for the 2032 Games and beyond.

A commitment to fixing South East Queensland's groaning transport infrastructure for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond has been hailed as a major win for the region's mayors.

A 20-year blueprint, Elevate 2042, will be released by the state government on Friday after more than 14,000 community submissions and input from 500 stakeholders.

The Games legacy plan focuses on connecting people and places as well as sport, health, inclusion, the environment and economy.

Brisbane Lord Mayor and Council of Mayors (SEQ) chair Adrian Schrinner said he was excited to see a focus on transport an integral part of the legacy plan.

"Transforming South East Queensland through enhanced transport connectivity was always the driving force behind our region's ambition to become an Olympic and Paralympic host city and region," he said. ...

Elevate 2042 

The games are on 2032, guess better late than never hey ...