Article: Rail reform must start with passion

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail 10th April 2013 page 19

Rail reform must start with passion

[ozbob]

Well said Gary!

[#Metro]

Good article; With regards to land I actually think while some sale might be OK, I would use long term leasing arrangements. If one looks at central station, that's TOD, with a hotel above it. There's no income stream coming from that AFAIK. Railway services are ongoing operational expenditure, so in my mind, you need a $$$ source that is renewable. Sales are non-renewable... leases are.

[petey3801]

Good article; With regards to land I actually think while some sale might be OK, I would use long term leasing arrangements. If one looks at central station, that's TOD, with a hotel above it. There's no income stream coming from that AFAIK. Railway services are ongoing operational expenditure, so in my mind, you need a $$$ source that is renewable. Sales are non-renewable... leases are.

Agreed 100%. The Dutch Railways (NS) for example, running trains is only a small part of their business, the majority of their income comes from real estate (ie: leasing shop space at stations etc). This gives them more funding to put on more services, keep better maintenance etc. QR, and Australian railways in general, simply haven't seen the light on this as yet.. Exemplified by the little newsagent at Petrie closing down not long back to due QR supposedly pushing them out through large rent increases!

[SurfRail]

QR is easily the worst in Australia at retail offerings.  Adelaide would be but their stations outside the CBD are so basic there is little if any point, and what they have done with Adelaide Station (the casino and the subway arcade) is quite reasonable.

[ozbob]

I pushed the angle, value capture and making use of the stations, rail and bus, commercially during the interview on 4BC last Sunday morning.

Great to see it mentioned in this piece today too.

[ozbob]

Article online now --> here!

[somebody]

Not one mention of faster or more frequent services.  All he calls for is more tracks + property development.

Exactly why does Ipswich need 4 tracks to run a half hourly service, or even a quarter hourly one?

[mufreight]

Not one mention of faster or more frequent services.  All he calls for is more tracks + property development.

Exactly why does Ipswich need 4 tracks to run a half hourly service, or even a quarter hourly one?

In practice it probably does not, but in a previous post on another thread I seem to recall that you suggested that there are express services at a six minute frequency on this line during the peaks without the all stations services and you have failed to consider out of service services and freight services

[somebody]

In peak hour, in the peak direction, yes there are.  I don't see that there is any issue with the peak direction service though other than the slow timetable.

[mufreight]

In peak hour, in the peak direction, yes there are.  I don't see that there is any issue with the peak direction service though other than the slow timetable.

Then your question as to why the Ipswich line requires four tracks answers itself, the number of peak services both express and all stations could not be operated at the current frequency without there being four tracks, what is notable is that as has been proven by a recent signaling failure in the am peak between Yeerongpilly and Dutton Park that there was sufficent capacity to operate the Gold Coast and Beenleigh services via Tennyson and Sherwood as well as the normal Ipswich line services without additional delays.

[colinw]

That article is quite laughable. Electric trains to Kingaroy & Stanthorpe?  Resurrect the Brisbane Valley Line?  Direct trains from Gold Coast to Ipswich via Springfield? Seriously!  If you think QR CityTrain is an over-subsidised unsustainable mess, just implement what Hardgrave wants and see the losses stack up into multi-billions.

Not one mention of service frequency in the article either.

And also this clanger denigrating the Inner City Rail Capacity Study as "So when QR wants $4 billion for the Cross River Rail project, they get on board without question." !!

And you lot are applauding it?

I'm sorry, but I have come to believe that this group has well and truly lost its way.

[ozbob]

There is obviously a lot wrong with the fine detail, personally I am thrilled with the passion angle, and highlighting the years of the not much action.

I don't think anyone is really taking the fine detail to heart.  The passion for rail is a good thing, it has been lost.

[colinw]

Phooey.  Mr Hardgrave was my local Federal member for years.  Not once did he mention rail or public transport in that time.  Not once.

EDIT: obviously I'm in a bl**dy bad mood this morning.  Taking a chill pill & timing myself out. 

[ozbob]

Yes, but lately he has been pushing for rail improvements on the radio a lot.  Possibly a late conversion but better late than never.

I have done a number of interviews with him over the past year, and he has been very supportive.

There are many ways to skin a cat ...

[BrizCommuter]

Agree with the property development bit, but a lot of article was pure foaming.

[SurfRail]

Agree with the property development bit, but a lot of article was pure foaming.

Don't know where my comment went (page may not have loaded correctly) but it was to the same effect.  Absolutely agree.

[SteelPan]

OBVIOUSLY, there are a number of good points in the article!  My rant is simply - how much serious ca$h did the tax revenue rich and long in office Howard Govt of which the article author was part throw at urban rail expansion?  Stuff all in real terms, Howards great blind spot was infrastructure, unlike invading countries on the other side of the planet, that cost us over many years lives and billions - that he could do!

[See, I really do worship no particular political colour!  )

[somebody]

I agree with colinw, BC and SR.

FWIW.

[ozbob]

QR is easily the worst in Australia at retail offerings.  Adelaide would be but their stations outside the CBD are so basic there is little if any point, and what they have done with Adelaide Station (the casino and the subway arcade) is quite reasonable.

Many of the dank Melbourne stations generally have snack food shops, papers etc.  Always get steamed dim sims, which is nice! 

[colinw]

And of course when did it become the federal govts responsibility to get people to work in state capitals?

Since the overwhelming majority of taxation revenue in this country became a Federal thing (1940s - income tax moved from State to Federal as a wartime measure, never returned).  In the USA, States & Counties can levy sales taxes, etc., to directly fund transit development. In the absence of Federal funding we need that ability.

Since the Federal Government established Infrastructure Australia to (supposedly) de-politicise funding decisions for major infrastructure that is beyond the ability of States to fund. (Abbott seems disinclined to stand by that, and would appear to be prepared to throw out IA or at least IA's independent decision making).

Since the Federal Government made it its business to become a major contributor to urban freeway projects, which by your reasoning should also be purely the business of the States.

And because it is the right thing to do!



EDIT: and I am wholeheartedly sick of the way that rail has become so politicised.

[ozbob]

Indeed Colin.

This is a good analysis of the double standards of Abbott et al ... 

--> http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/04/09/has-the-coalition-already-broken-a-promise/

[#Metro]

Many of the dank Melbourne stations generally have snack food shops, papers etc.  Always get steamed dim sims, which is nice!

I meant much bigger leases, for longer that would allow tower development etc and an ongoing stream of income.

Good on Hargraves for writing that piece. He may not be expert, but that's just the kind of support that we need - middle ground support.

[#Metro]

I have to say, I wonder if CM would be interested in an opinion piece by Robert Dow? Could be done during the BCC bus review?

[colinw]

+1

Great suggestion LD.

[Old Northern Road]

Sounds to me that this guy is trying to blame everything on QR. I assume he agrees with Tony Abbott that the federal government shouldn't investing in urban rail.

Anyone who thinks you can fund new train lines by selling air space above train stations in an extremely low density like Brisbane is a fool (not that I expect a right wing shock jock to have a brain in his head). It's expensive to build over stations and is only worthwhile where land is very valuable. Most train stations in Brisbane are located in suburban sprawl or in industrial areas. Not to mention all the NIMBY outrage.

[#Metro]

Anyone who thinks you can fund new train lines by selling air space above train stations in an extremely low density like Brisbane is a fool (not that I expect a right wing shock jock to have a brain in his head). It's expensive to build over stations and is only worthwhile where land is very valuable. Most train stations in Brisbane are located in suburban sprawl or in industrial areas. Not to mention all the NIMBY outrage.

Victoria has it's ICON development in the suburbs. I don't think QR has really tried to do TOD. But another potential conflict with BCC again... such a problem doesn't exist in Melbourne with it's fragmented councils.

[Golliwog]

Get BCC and QR onside and working together. I remember looking through the new proposed City plan (or whatever they're calling it) it has proposed medium density (can't recall exactly what, but 5-8 storeys is ringing some bells? Could just be late and miss-remembering though) along various parts of the Lutwyche Rd corridor, however where it got close to Windsor station, it was only on the opposite side of Lutwyche Rd that the proposed increased density existed. Windsor station would have to be one of the easiest stations to build over, it's already in a cutting so an upper concourse/shopping level would be nearly at street level for most of it, with residential/offices going up from there.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Anyone who thinks you can fund new train lines by selling air space above train stations in an extremely low density like Brisbane is a fool (not that I expect a right wing shock jock to have a brain in his head). It's expensive to build over stations and is only worthwhile where land is very valuable. Most train stations in Brisbane are located in suburban sprawl or in industrial areas. Not to mention all the NIMBY outrage.

Victoria has it's ICON development in the suburbs. I don't think QR has really tried to do TOD. But another potential conflict with BCC again... such a problem doesn't exist in Melbourne with it's fragmented councils.

Carseldine was intended to be a proper TOD but that changed to incorporate a busway beside the station. Its local development powers have now been given back to the BCC so don't expect much for the future. Outside the BCC they have looked at TODs before. QR had taken TODs into its planning along the MBRL. The MBRC has worked with QR and wants to turn Strathpine into a TOD with a dedicated bus/train interchange. QR have already given the MBRC future track layouts and extensions for a quad to the north/NWTC which includes rough dimensions. They have also worked with translink in developing the bus interchange too. The park and rides will be removed for the bus interchange and extra platforms. Industrial land to the west would be resumed. The council building will be rebuilt to 5 stories I think it was. The local library would also be incorporated into the new building and I think something about council some offices at Caboolture being relocated to Strathpine. Access to the east across Gympie Road will be better. Bray Park and Lawnton have also been taken into consideration for a TOD. That was all undertaken something like 4-5 years ago now.