The North-West Rail Link

[somebody]

Well, if you're going to do that you can also achieve high frequency to everywhere by running one line express to the branching point. Perth does this.

Re the starburst effect, other places in the world sucessfuly run lines that converge reliably (Eg the Paris RER) but I guess we can't use these sort of operations in oz because 'were different' and because I used Paris as an example, and we all know how much you like Paris,.

Lines that never branch is an ideal operational scenario, but we have legacy networks in Australian cities that make this difficult, unless you were to do a new inner city tunnel to correspond with each new suburban line.
Bear in mind a modern railway can have trains running every couple of minutes right down to 90 secs, so you could have say 3,  1. Min frequency lines converging comfortably.   

Only on the Armadale/Thornlie line.

Perth is actually an example of a largely un-branched network AIUI.

[somebody]

SMH Article: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/transport-planners-have-a-onetracked-mind-20110517-1eriz.html

Transport planners have a one-tracked mind
Jacob Saulwick
May 18, 2011

All change...new plans for the north-west rail link. Photo: Adam McLean

THE state government is racing ahead with a plan for its centrepiece north-west rail link that would require all trains from the new line to run through Chatswood and onto the crowded North Shore line.

On Transport NSW's own figures, this would allow it to run as few as two trains an hour from the north-west to the city before it had to start cutting other services on the north shore.

Early plans for the link, a 23-kilometre stretch of track from Rouse Hill to Epping, allowed for trains to run from Epping to the city both via Chatswood and south through Strathfield. This would spread the load across the crowded CityRail network.
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But a call for tenders to design the project, made public late on Friday by the state government, shows the present plan is to run all trains via Chatswood. The tender documents describe plans for a 15.5-kilometre tunnel straight from Epping station almost as far as Kellyville.

If the tunnel does not also resurface at Epping, trains would then be simply funnelled onto the underground Epping to Chatswood line. They would not have the opportunity of diverting to the main northern line to Strathfield.

A transport consultant, Sandy Thomas, said: ''It is the classic case of charge in and do the engineering before you've got the operational concepts right.''

The former government's submission to Infrastructure Australia last August included plans for trains to surface near Cheltenham, north of Epping. This would have allowed four trains an hour to run from the north-west to Strathfield and four to Chatswood.

However, transport bureaucrats appear to have dropped the plan for trains to resurface at Cheltenham.

A briefing note in February signed by the director-general of Transport NSW, Les Wielinga, for the former transport minister John Robertson said Transport NSW's most recent plan was to run all services from the north west through Chatswood.

Just two trains an hour would be able to run straight from the new line to the CBD under this plan, because the Harbour Bridge can only accommodate 20 trains an hour, and 18 slots were already filled.

The note said: ''The addition of the north-west rail link to the existing network and under the existing operating plan would therefore enable only two services per hour on the North Shore line into the CBD in the peak, given that 18 of the maximum 20 paths are already utilised.''

The Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, has not explained how she would fit the extra trains from the north-west onto the network, or how she would fit an extra 135 express services promised at the state election.

Ms Berejiklian said she would announce the final scope of the project at the end of the year.

''There are various options available to integrate the [north-west rail link] into the network and provide commuters with an adequate number of trains per hour at opening.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/transport-planners-have-a-onetracked-mind-20110517-1eriz.html#ixzz1QptBas66

All NWRL trains will go via Macquarie Park.  I for one am very much in favour of this.  Multiple ways to get from A to B is something which CityRail has really done wrong over the years.

[SurfRail]

"Cross River Rail" (St Leonards to Redfern) would solve the capacity issue - short of that, you will have to dig into the Shore services north of Chatswood.

[somebody]

"Cross River Rail" (St Leonards to Redfern) would solve the capacity issue - short of that, you will have to dig into the Shore services north of Chatswood.

Or return the upper northern line to via Strathfield, but that would eat in to the Western Line's paths.

[ozbob]

From the Daily Telegraph click here!

North West rail link is finally rolling

North West rail link is finally rolling

   Kate Sikora
   From: The Daily Telegraph
   July 14, 2011 12:00AM

DESIGNING the long-awaited North West Rail Link will begin next week after the state government announced the project's first major contract.

AECOM Australia, leading the same consortium behind the South West Rail Link, will test the track's layout, how it can connect to CityRail links, and how many Harbour crossings will be needed.

But it is understood the option to extend the Epping-Rouse Hill link to the Richmond line will not be studied.

The Daily Telegraph said last month the government had considered taking the $7 billion line to either Schofields or Riverstone stations.
There are also plans for a new stabling yard at Rouse Hill.

Read more: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/north-west-rail-link-is-finally-rolling/story-e6freuzi-1226094210625

[colinw]

Rail Express -> NSW Gov pushes ahead with North West Rail Link

The NSW Government has delivered on its election promise in allocating $314m to the controversial North West Rail Link.

The rail link is the centrepiece of Premier Barry O'Farrell's plan to transform Sydney's rail network, however the government has so far been unsuccessful in lobbying the Federal Government to defer $2.1bn in funding from its Parramatta to Epping rail link.

Intent on going ahead despite the lack of Federal Government support, O'Farrell announced $314m in its 2011-12 budget for the rail link to connect Sydney's Epping and Rouse Hill, of which $222m would be spent on acquiring land for the corridor.

The government also announced $292m to continue construction of the South West Rail Link, which includes 10.5km of twin track between Glenfield and Leppington.

Minister for transport Gladys Berejiklian said the two rail links were the government's key transport initiatives in a budget that delivered a $13.1bn investment for the state's transport and roads.

"This budget confirms the NSW Government is getting on with the job of rebuilding this state by delivering the public transport services and new infrastructure desperately needed by the people of NSW," Berejiklian said.

"What we have ensured is a generous level of investment that allows work on the North West and South West rail links to quickly progress. This investment illustrates to industry and the Sydney community our unwavering, rock solid commitment to building these projects."

Other highlights of the NSW 2011-12 budget include:

• $103m to expand light rail, with the funding to go towards the inner west
light rail extension and to examine the feasibility of running light rail through the CBD and from the CBD to both the University of NSW and University of Sydney.

• $152m to buy and upgrade rolling stock, including $130m toward
99 new carriages for outer suburban services, $15.1m for rolling stock
enhancements and $7m for the internal emergency door release program.

• $105.8m for infrastructure to meet the needs of new Waratah trains.

• $110m to roll out electronic ticketing which will start with ferries in late
2012.

$12m over four years to boost community transport services
and to set up an accreditation scheme for the sector.

• $76m to deliver commuter car parks and public transport interchanges,
including delivery of four new car parks and seven interchanges currently under construction.

• $159m for the Country Regional Network, including $57.5m for
new sleepers on tracks, $10.3m to renew bridges and $3.7m to convert
jointed rail to continuous welded track.

• $197.9m for reliability improvements under the Rail Clearways Program.

• $102m over four years to provide more express rail services.

[colinw]

The Sydney Morning Herald -> North-west rail line costs revealed in emails

EVERY new passenger trip on the north-west rail link will cost the state about $80, correspondence prepared inside the NSW Treasury and released by the state opposition says.

The email, from senior Treasury official Rodney Forrest to the general manager finance at RailCorp, Peter Crimp, asked Mr Crimp to assess assumptions Treasury had made about the per passenger cost of journeys along the proposed line.

''In 2021 the CityRail network is forecast to have approximately 391 million total trips,'' the email, dated July 29, says.
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''If the assumptions are sound the NWRL may carry only an additional 9 million new rail passengers (excluding 19 million passengers who may divert from other lines) representing only around 2.15 per cent of total forecast rail patronage ... The cost per trip may be around $80 per new passenger (or $30 for every passenger), compared with the 2010 average cost per passenger of $10.61.''

Asked about the contents of the email by the opposition transport spokeswoman, Penny Sharpe, the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, fiercely defended the government's commitment to build the line, previously estimated to cost $8 billion.

''Are you suggesting at all that we shouldn't build the north-west rail line? There are hundreds of thousands of people who live in the north west who do not have access to mass transit systems,'' Ms Berejiklian said yesterday.

The government has said it would release a cost estimate of the project, a 23-kilometre line stretching from Epping to Rouse Hill, by the end of the year.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/northwest-rail-line-costs-revealed-in-emails-20111025-1mi4u.html#ixzz1bpsnpAmb

[O_128]

The Sydney Morning Herald -> North-west rail line costs revealed in emails

EVERY new passenger trip on the north-west rail link will cost the state about $80, correspondence prepared inside the NSW Treasury and released by the state opposition says.

The email, from senior Treasury official Rodney Forrest to the general manager finance at RailCorp, Peter Crimp, asked Mr Crimp to assess assumptions Treasury had made about the per passenger cost of journeys along the proposed line.

''In 2021 the CityRail network is forecast to have approximately 391 million total trips,'' the email, dated July 29, says.
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''If the assumptions are sound the NWRL may carry only an additional 9 million new rail passengers (excluding 19 million passengers who may divert from other lines) representing only around 2.15 per cent of total forecast rail patronage ... The cost per trip may be around $80 per new passenger (or $30 for every passenger), compared with the 2010 average cost per passenger of $10.61.''

Asked about the contents of the email by the opposition transport spokeswoman, Penny Sharpe, the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, fiercely defended the government's commitment to build the line, previously estimated to cost $8 billion.

''Are you suggesting at all that we shouldn't build the north-west rail line? There are hundreds of thousands of people who live in the north west who do not have access to mass transit systems,'' Ms Berejiklian said yesterday.

The government has said it would release a cost estimate of the project, a 23-kilometre line stretching from Epping to Rouse Hill, by the end of the year.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/northwest-rail-line-costs-revealed-in-emails-20111025-1mi4u.html#ixzz1bpsnpAmb

Get over your selves opposition, you were going to build the line as well. How much does it cost per new road? hmmm

[SurfRail]

I think it would be best to completely disregard any opinion the NSW Treasury has on any subject for the next 3 years, especially with respect to any transport questions.   What have they done recently to demonstrate any credibility?

Maybe the state will realise that most NSW Treasury prognostications are complete horsedust and they will start recovering from the idiotic level of public administration that has prospered over the past 20 years due to that malignant little growth on the government's underbelly.

[somebody]

I think it would be best to completely disregard any opinion the NSW Treasury has on any subject for the next 3 years, especially with respect to any transport questions.   What have they done recently to demonstrate any credibility?

Maybe the state will realise that most NSW Treasury prognostications are complete horsedust and they will start recovering from the idiotic level of public administration that has prospered over the past 20 years due to that malignant little growth on the government's underbelly.

Ouch.

In this case I think they are about right.  This line is all about modal switch, from buses to trains rather than generating new PT trips.  Once you include the new harbour crossing, which must be built if this line is built, the economics of it seem pretty laughable IMO.

[colinw]

That's a big harsh. I think you will find that this project will increase public transport uptake in the Northwest quite markedly.

I still worry about the capacity impacts across the Harbour Bridge 'though. Building NWRL without a 2nd harbour crossing would be like building the Flagstone line without CRR.

[colinw]

The Sydney Morning Herald -> $8b rail link gets the green light

December 12, 2011

THE O'Farrell government has resisted pressure to dramatically reduce the cost of the north-west rail link by replacing part of it with a light rail line.

An announcement about the final route and cost of the line is expected this week, possibly as early as today.

It will confirm the line as a 23-kilometre extension to the heavy rail network from Epping to Rouse Hill in north-west Sydney.
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The cost of the project, which will involve a 15-kilometre tunnel, the largest built in Sydney, will be about $8 billion.

Under pressure from its infrastructure adviser, Infrastructure NSW, the government has looked at a number of ways to reduce the heavy cost of the line, which was the main reason the former Labor government repeatedly baulked at building it.

One proposal was to build only half the line, to the Hills Centre, as an extension of the CityRail network.

The government could then have built a tramway for the other half of the line between Rouse Hill and the Hills Centre.

It is understood this idea was rejected, partly because it would have produced bedlam for commuters needing to transfer between trams and trains at the Hills Centre.

Nevertheless, in committing to the full scope of the project the government will find it increasingly difficult to fund other infrastructure improvements.

Industry sources expect the government to unveil a tender for three multibillion-dollar contracts for the line.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/8b-rail-link-gets-the-green-light-20111211-1oprh.html#ixzz1gGyPdFPp

[O_128]

So NSW can spend 8 billion building a line into suburbia, yet we can't spend that to build a line that will give capacity to our entire network 

[ozbob]

So NSW can spend 8 billion building a line into suburbia, yet we can't spend that to build a line that will give capacity to our entire network  

Rather sad that ...  what if CRR was trumped by NWRL?   Could happen, particularly with the southern biases on the federal cabinet ...

[somebody]

Skytrain cherry on top of North West Rail Link
Jacob Saulwick
December 12, 2011 - 1:37PM

A four-kilometre elevated "Skytrain" will be built between Bella Vista and Rouse Hill as part of the O'Farrell government's signature transport project, the North West Rail Link.

The government announced today it would lodge planning documents for the train line, which is set to cost about $8.5 billion and will take much of the decade to build.

The documents include plans for eight stations along the line, two more than planned for earlier in the year, and an extra 1000 commuter car parks.
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The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, announced the latest scope of the project at a press conference in the north-west suburb of The Ponds this morning.

"The North West Rail Link is the biggest transport infrastructure project in this state since the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge," Mr O'Farrell said.

The north-west line will extend in a 15-kilometre tunnel from Epping to Bella Vista. The rail line will then emerge above ground and on to elevated tracks.

Ms Berejiklian said the Skytrain would give passengers a better journey, as they would spend less time underground. Because it was elevated, it would also minimise disruption to the road network during construction.

Once the line was built, commuters travelling between Rouse Hill and the city would save 20 minutes on their daily return journey, the government said.

The travel time savings would be even greater for commuters travelling between the north-west suburbs and Macquarie Park. A commuter travelling between Cherrybrook and Macquarie Park would save 52 minutes a day, on the government's figures.

The Herald reported this morning that Mr O'Farrell and Ms Berejiklian had rejected a proposal to build only half the north-west line as a rail link, and the rest using light rail.

Ms Berejiklian said the line would cut the number of buses entering the city from the M2 by 66 per cent.

"This is the equivalent of removing a 2.5 kilometre long queue of M2 buses from the centre of Sydney thanks to the North West Rail Link," she said.

The government has promised to start tunnelling by 2014. Once tunnelling starts, the line is expected to take about five years to build.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/skytrain-cherry-on-top-of-north-west-rail-link-20111212-1oqkm.html#ixzz1gHrlCGRL

I love the spin.  Of the apparently 370 buses per hour heading over the bridge in the AM peak southbound, they are going to reduce the part which comes to 79 by 66 per cent.  Actual reduction = 7% (approx).

[colinw]

The Sydney Morning Herald -> Private operator part of new link

December 15, 2011



THE $8.5 billion north-west rail link is set to be designed, built, maintained and partly operated by a private company for up to 30 years, an internal RailCorp memo has revealed.

The memo, from the RailCorp chief executive, Rob Mason, comes just days after the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, announced they had lodged planning documents for the 23-kilometre line.

The memo, obtained by the lobby group Hills Transport Working Group, also appears to confirm that the north-west link is likely to be an availability public-private partnership, in which the government pays private sector operators to maintain the line.

''The draft reference operating model for the project proposes an access model, under which a private sector entity will design, construct, commission, operate and maintain the north west rail link,'' Mr Mason says in the memo.

This will include ''rail and tunnel systems, track, structures and stations for a period of 20 to 30 years''. However, Mr Mason issued a clarifying statement following the release to say that private sector involvement ''specifically excludes rolling stock and train operations'', meaning RailCorp would be likely to continue to run the trains and stations.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/private-operator-part-of-new-link-20111214-1ov6c.html#ixzz1gZ3fhgZH