Gympie North ICE trains now showing their age - need refurb pronto

[Stillwater]

^ It's scary, Colinw -- you and I having the same dream.

Yandina area pop:        8000
Eumundi area pop:       2500
Noosa Hinterland pop:  18,000  (Cooroy, Pomona, Cooran, Kin Kin)

In total, more than 28,000 people, not including Gympie.
28,500 is about the same population as Hervey Bay.

[QueenslandRail]

This is the official Queensland Rail account. We've been asked on Twitter to respond to the below reply on this thread:

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Re: Gympie North ICE trains now showing their age - need refurb pronto

« Reply #17 on: February 24, 2015, 07:40:11 PM »

Quote




Quote from: Stillwater on February 24, 2015, 05:53:07 PM

^ What is the latest on the train stabling facility south of Nambour -- at Woombye, wasn't it?




Yes, here's the latest below.
I have requested a response via email (sent 10:05pm and 10:09pm respectively on Friday 20 February, 2015) from both Queensland Rail and from TMR on this.



Dear Fellow Residents and Businesses of Woombye,

This is a Call to Arms requesting your help and assistance.  We need your signatures please on our Community Submission objecting to the Proposed Rail Stabling here in Woombye.

How can you help?  Residents of Woombye and members of the Woombye Community and Business Association (WCBA) will be door knocking over the next two weekends asking for your support.  (and signature)  Please sign a copy and we will then lodge all completed Submissions with Jackie Trad MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport.

DID YOU KNOW Queensland Rail has confirmed  - The proposed railway stabling yard in Woombye will see 48 train carriages parked under 9-15 metre tall lights with their air-conditioning motors running all night?
•   All train air-conditioning units are left to run all night on up to all 48 No. carriages.  They do not turn them off as it has been found to be better for maintenance according to QR.  The community gets to deal with both noise and light pollution.

DID YOU KNOW Queensland Rail has confirmed  - There are NO employment opportunities to the Woombye Community from the Proposed Rail Stabling.
   
DID YOU KNOW Queensland Rail has confirmed  - The facility is specifically designed as a night time facility for the cleaning of electric trains during a proposed 30 year timetable. It will run every night, every week, for 30 years.
•   A group of concerned Woombye residents visited  QR's Redbank Facility on the 07.12.2014.  Our local councillor, Cr Jenny McKay, also gave of her time to attend this night time visit to Redbank.  QR have confirmed Redbank is a state of the art facility, and Woombye would be built to the same standards. (See photo attached)

DID YOU KNOW Queensland Rail has confirmed -
•         The facility's design and functionality standards would be achieved with concerns from the Woombye Community over light and noise being minimally addressed by QR.


KEEP WOOMBYE AS WE KNOW IT!
This proposed facility is inconsistent with the social and geographic character of Woombye. You can make a difference.
•   SIGN the submission addressed to Jackie Trad MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport. Residents of Woombye and members of the Woombye Community and Business Association (WCBA) will be door knocking over the next two weekends asking for your signature.

•   Lobby Peter Wellington MP by phone, email or in person. Contact details are Ph 5441 6933 and Email Nicklin@parliament.qld.gov.au or visit his office in Currie Street Nambour.

•         This is a state issue.  With your community support, we can push to have the previous government's rail stabling proposal reviewed and ultimately quashed. 

•   Lobby Jackie Trad MP by Ph (07) 3255 3615 Email South.Brisbane@parliament.qld.gov.au or visit her office Suite 1/90 Vulture Street, WEST END, QLD, 4101.


Lastly, the flood map also attached is of the proposed site here in Woombye.  The mapping comes straight from Sunshine Coast Council's Website, highlighting the site is  a high flood-prone one.  Members of the general public can access Council's flood mapping from their website.

For more information you can contact me on the number below.  If anyone can assist with door-knocking in your own street, it is appreciated.  Call me!

Regards,

Name removed
Number removed
Member of W.A.R.S (Woombye Against Rail Stabling, a subgroup of the WCBA)




« Last Edit: February 24, 2015, 07:48:03 PM by Fares_Fair »


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Response from a spokesperson for Queensland Rail:

The New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) project will see an extra 75 new suburban six-car trains added to the South East Queensland City network, meaning an increase in capacity of 30 per cent and more rail services, including North Coast services.

This increase in fleet capacity must be matched with stabling capacity, located strategically to limit empty running of trains and optimise the use of rail infrastructure across the City network.

The Woombye stabling yard will accommodate a maximum of 4 six-car trains at any time and will be delivered along with three other new stabling sites at Elimbah, Banyo and Robina.

These four sites, along with the Kippa Ring stabling project, will allow Queensland Rail to accommodate the 75 new suburban train sets (NGR).

Queensland Rail and The Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) are working closely with the NGR design team to investigate options that will limit light and air conditioning usage while NGR trains are stabled overnight to reduce impacts on the Woombye community.

Lighting within stabling yards is necessary to ensure that employees using the yard at night can undertake activities safely and to ensure the security of the stabling yard.

The stabling design team will continue to investigate all technologies, such as targeted LED lighting, to minimise light spillage outside of the stabling yard.

Queensland Rail also remains committed to tree planting on site as a screen to improve visual amenity for local residents. Preliminary site works have begun at Woombye to prepare the site for Barung Landcare to undertake tree planting.

Flood Modelling at the Woombye stabling site indicates that the site will be unaffected by flooding issues and more detail will be provided once detailed design commences.

We have engaged qualified ecologists who have identified a number of species in and around the adjacent Paynter Creek and Queensland Rail's Environment team is working closely with our Project team to ensure we meet all applicable environmental requirements including those pertaining to the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the Queensland water quality guidelines.

An environment impact statement (EIS) was not required for this project under the relevant legislation; however, all required environmental assessments were undertaken and a Construction Environmental Management Plan will be prepared and implemented for the project.

Queensland Rail remains committed to working with the Woombye community to ensure concerns are addressed. Residents with questions about the project should contact Queensland Rail at stabling@qr.com.au or on free call 1800 783 334.

ENDS

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[ozbob]

^ thanks for the response QueenslandRail.

[MichaelJ]

I hate to sound negative Bob, but why allow Masci to post her polished propoganda here?

Did you know they've started selectively hiding posts now? The person who posted them and their friends can see what has been written but the public cannot.

[ozbob]

I hate to sound negative Bob, but why allow Masci to post her polished propoganda here?

Did you know they've started selectively hiding posts now? The person who posted them and their friends can see what has been written but the public cannot.

I am happy to let QR post a response to a question here from a member who directed this thread in the question.  What happens elsewhere is not something that concerns me.  Here a response in the public forums is public.  It is for readers to decide how they interpret it.

[Stillwater]

This episode would seem to suggest that QR and TMR monitor the chatter on this site.  To influence their thinking further, we should continue to chatter. 

[MichaelJ]

I am happy to let QR post a response to a question here from a member who directed this thread in the question.  What happens elsewhere is not something that concerns me.  Here a response in the public forums is public.  It is for readers to decide how they interpret it.

Fair call. Will be interesting to see what affect it has on discussions.

Thinking about it more, gagging them and denying their right to respond, would make us just as bad.

[James]

QR are welcome to publish their polished responses if they wish to, just a lot of people these days see through the media spin.

At least it is good to see them responding, even if it is a stock response, compared to TransLink which just says 'We will pass on your feedback, which will get lost in our database within 90 days and you will never get any response of value in return.'

[MichaelJ]

Back on trains, they'll need more than 75 6-Car Units to see any notable incremental reach.

Just retiring the EMU Fleet brings them back to 32 8-Car Units. Add the SMU 200 and ICE to that and we're now down to 22 ...

Really should have been more as was suggested.

[ozbob]

If CRR or an equivalent solution is started that will trigger another 25 6-car sets to the 75 sets on order.

[Fares_Fair]

I hate to sound negative Bob, but why allow Masci to post her polished propoganda here?

Did you know they've started selectively hiding posts now? The person who posted them and their friends can see what has been written but the public cannot.

I requested this information via email directly last Friday night to both QR and TMR.
I followed that up with the public posted information here.
I then tweeted this post to both QR and,TMR and asked "What think you of this?"

Please do not denigrate QR for showing initiative and answering the questions asked of them.
It is to be both congratulated and encouraged.
Their response is measured and appropriate to the circumstances.

[MichaelJ]

What QR needs to do is keep the EMU in warm storage as the new unit come online.  My bet on the TAB is that won't happen though because there's minimal storage available.

Sydney Trains saw the light in this respect and kept some of the Silver S Sets, the ones in the best condition as an insurance policy.

[MichaelJ]

I hate to sound negative Bob, but why allow Masci to post her polished propoganda here?

Did you know they've started selectively hiding posts now? The person who posted them and their friends can see what has been written but the public cannot.

I requested thus information vis email directly last Friday night to both QR and TMR.
I followed that up with the public posted information here.
I then tweeted this post to both QR and,TMR and asked "What think you of this?"
Please do not denigrate QR for showing initiative and answering the questions asked of them.
It is to be both congratulated and encouraged.

If it were a tailored response, I'd agree with you but it's not.  Back in the day when Nathan Scholz ran the show, QR provided tailored responses that were well thought-out and not pre-written.  Sadly though, this legacy was not carried forward when Nathan moved on ...

[Fares_Fair]

Hi MichaelJ
I confess I don't understand your concern.
It gives some good background information.
The response shows the claims of 48 train carriages is not correct.
It confirms the flood circumstances are not an issue. I agree with Ozbob (I think) who says words to the effect of; if you can use flood prone land for something like this, why wouldn't you?
It confirms that they are looking at ways to minimise the lighting concerns raised, by possibly using new technology directed LEDs.
It confirms that plants and trees would be used to screen the site.
It confirms plans to address the 'air-conditioning units left on all night' scenario so noise issue can be addressed.

It answers the employment question (albeit during construction) by the use of local indigenous Barung Landcare group already preparing the site for planting.

It adds information regarding environmental impact statements and ecology.

Every point raised in the protest letter has been responded to.
You don't get much better than that.

10/10 Queensland Rail.

[SurfRail]

This episode would seem to suggest that QR and TMR monitor the chatter on this site.  To influence their thinking further, we should continue to chatter. 

Bob made an excellent point recently, which is that this site does get read, by LOTS of people - some with an ability to effect changes, or at least plant the right ideas.

If you want something dealt with, post it.