SEQ - Western rail loop

[ozbob]

Recent events have highlighted the need for a western rail loop to skirt Brisbane.

A media release 12 Dec 2007 was the start point --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=341.0

A letter to the editor was published in the C-M

Published Courier Mail December 15

The derailment at Petrie has again highlighted the increasing congestion problems of mixing freight and suburban passenger rail services.  As Citytrain services are ramped up it will become very difficult to provide around the clock access for freight trains on the present railway network through Brisbane.

Consideration should be given to building a western rail loop which could be used for freight trains, essentially independent of the suburban network.

A possible general route would be Caboolture, Dayboro, Fernvale, Ipswich, Bromelton.  Bromelton is ideally situated for a major freight interchange distribution centre as it is on the standard gauge railway from the south.  It is interesting to note that both Dayboro and Fernvale were once serviced by Queensland Railway branch lines.

Now is the time for the real big rail decisions and investment.

The route suggested was merely a start point for discussion.  A letter to the editor has been published today in the C-M Dec 17 from Ray of Redbank.  Ray suggests a better route would Caboolture to Kilcoy and down the Brisbane valley to Ipswich.  A great suggestion too.

Please comment on your suggestions for a possible route.  A western rail loop will be needed to allow freight to bypass the CBD axis, this will be more critical as Citytrain services are increased.

Cheers
Ozbob

[ozbob]

Media Release 12 December 2007

SEQ:  Western freight rail loop needed!

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport has called for some radical rethinking of our rail freight movements through Brisbane.  A western rail loop from roughly  Caboolture, Dayboro, Fernvale, Ipswich and then across to Bromelton would allow freight movements independent of the suburban rail network, and also provide additional opportunities for passenger movements.

Robert Dow said:

"The derailment at Petrie has again highlighted the increasing congestion problems of mixing freight and suburban passenger rail services.  As Citytrain services are ramped up it will become very difficult to provide around the clock access for freight trains on the present railway network through Brisbane.

"Consideration should be given to building a western rail loop which could be used for freight trains, essentially independent of the suburban network.

"A possible general route would be Caboolture, Dayboro, Fernvale, Ipswich, Bromelton.  Bromelton is ideally situated for a major freight interchange distribution centre as it is on the standard gauge railway from the south.  It is interesting to note that both Dayboro and Fernvale were once serviced by Queensland Railway branch lines.

"It is now the time for the real big rail decisions and investment," said Robert Dow, spokesman for RAIL Back On Track.

Contact:

Robert  Dow

Administration
admin@backontrack.org RAIL Back On Track
http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

It is going to be increasingly difficult to secure freight paths to the north on the existing Northern line.  Will become even more constrained when Cross River Rail opens.

My foam thoughts are for a western rail bypass to join the inland freight line before Calvert. 

I was bubbling this in 2007, the time might be now right! 

Recent events have highlighted the need for a western rail loop to skirt Brisbane.

A media release 12 Dec 2007 was the start point --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=341.0

A letter to the editor was published in the C-M

Published Courier Mail December 15

The derailment at Petrie has again highlighted the increasing congestion problems of mixing freight and suburban passenger rail services.  As Citytrain services are ramped up it will become very difficult to provide around the clock access for freight trains on the present railway network through Brisbane.

Consideration should be given to building a western rail loop which could be used for freight trains, essentially independent of the suburban network.

A possible general route would be Caboolture, Dayboro, Fernvale, Ipswich, Bromelton.  Bromelton is ideally situated for a major freight interchange distribution centre as it is on the standard gauge railway from the south.  It is interesting to note that both Dayboro and Fernvale were once serviced by Queensland Railway branch lines.

Now is the time for the real big rail decisions and investment.

The route suggested was merely a start point for discussion.  A letter to the editor has been published today in the C-M Dec 17 from Ray of Redbank.  Ray suggests a better route would Caboolture to Kilcoy and down the Brisbane valley to Ipswich.  A great suggestion too.

Please comment on your suggestions for a possible route.  A western rail loop will be needed to allow freight to bypass the CBD axis, this will be more critical as Citytrain services are increased.

Cheers
Ozbob

[aldonius]

Be interesting to see how this compares to doing Toowoomba-Gladstone.

Getting in to Dayboro from the north is a huge pain and there's nowhere on the surface to go once you're south of Samford. So with Inland Rail establishing a new corridor from the west to Bromelton, I think the Brisbane Valley route is probably the most viable. East of Kilcoy it's probably better to go to Beerwah than Caboolture.

[ozbob]

Yes thanks.  It is something that needs to be considered.  The inland freight line is being dual gauged from Helidon so if a western line joins it west of Calvert access into Kagaru and the port etc. is achieved.

[Marshal]

I'd want to have a very clear idea of where rail freight is going in SEQ before supporting a bypass.
My limited understanding is that we have:
- Bulk (grain and coal) travelling to the port
- Mostly container up the interstate to Bromelton (currently only STC) and Acacia Ridge
- Containers from the NCL traveling to Toll Intermodal at Tennyson
- Cattle travelling from the West and NCL to either Dinmore or Holmview

I think we still have NCL container traffic to the port?
I don't know if any NCL container traffic is going to Acacia Ridge
I know we use to have standard gauge container traffic to the port, but I can't remember the last time I saw one.

There is a clear "break of gauge" effect, with traffic not really running 'through' Brisbane into NSW. I'm not aware of anything running between the Main Western line and the NCL.

So I don't see a bypass doing anything for traffic to and from the port, nor do I see any reason for traffic on the interstate to want to go around Brisbane. A bypass isn't really going to help anything destined for Tennyson either.

So of existing movements, that just leaves NCL freight traveling to Acacia Ridge? It's hard to see value in just that alone, so we'd be looking at how we could increase the market share of rail freight through such a project?

If that is the case, could we achieve the same results by just putting an intermodal somewhere north of Caboolture?

As for Toowoomba to Gladstone, I think such a link could let us significantly reduce the need to run coal and grain through SEQ. That alone will take a lot of pressure off the need for dedicated freight paths amongst the suburban services. If a container port could be set up at Gladstone, how much NCL container rail freight would be able to head there instead of Brisbane?

[Jonno]

Important question is where is freight being moved by truck and if, where and how can it be moved by rail! 

[Stillwater]

About 14 years ago, the then state government undertook an extensive investigation of 'enterprise land' around Noosa and the Sunshine Coast, titled the Sunshine Coast Enterprise Needs Investigation and Bridges Investigation Project (SCENIBIP).

The ninety-two page SCENIBIP Report was commissioned in 2008 by the then Department of Infrastructure and Planning Office of Urban Management.  It predicted that the Sunshine Coast regional population would increase by nearly two per cent a year from 290,000 in 2006 to 473,700 in 2026.  Furthermore, it said that with 183,700 more people expected to be living on the Sunshine Coast in the following two decades, it was essential that sufficient enterprise land be set aside to meet future demand for employment.

The SCENIBIP Report identified 262ha at the Caloundra Regional Industry and Enterprise Area, Caloundra South Aeronautical and Enterprise Area (157ha), Sunshine Coast Airport (up to 115ha), Noosa Hinterland (71ha), Sippy Creek (95ha) and 228ha to the south and north of Yandina as suitable for industrial development and freight transfer operations.

[ozbob]

If it is very difficult for freight to secure paths in and out of Brisbane to and from the north.  This is going to become even more critical when CRR is in use.  A failure to consider what can be done for freight will lead to more more freight going to roads with all the negative effects that implies.

Freight transfer from rail to road north of Brisbane is really just leading to more road congestion and damage to local roads.

The time to act was 10 plus years ago.  Too little too late ... the story of Queensland rail freight.


https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/QTRIPonline/About-QTRIP/State-controlled-transport-and-road-infrastructure

Rail

Queensland Rail manages and maintains approximately 6,615km of track (mainline only, excludes sidings, passing loops and yards) in Queensland.

Transport and Main Roads is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the rail network and works in collaboration with Queensland Rail to deliver key infrastructure investment and network improvements to ensure that the rail network is at the centre of providing safe, reliable, and accessible passenger and freight transport.

The Rail Transport Services Contracts between Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Rail support effective passenger and regional freight rail services across Queensland, and provide a flexible, accountable and transparent mechanism for the government to satisfy its transport policy objectives.

In addition to passenger transport services, the Rail Transport Service Contract provides funding for maintenance, renewal and upgrading of rail assets such as track, bridges, signalling equipment, stations and rollingstock.

Watco East West operate regional cattle rail services, with Linfox providing general freight rail services under separate Transport Service Contracts.

I think I will write to the Rail Division at TMR to inquire about anything constructive they have planned or maybe in planning to increase rail share of freight, particularly north of Brisbane.