Sadliers Crossing Railway Bridge

[ozbob]

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/chims/placeDetail.html?siteId=138



http://www.epa.qld.gov.au

[ozbob]

From Ipswich News click here!

Fresh coat of paint to bridge age?s divide

Fresh coat of paint to bridge age?s divide
by Brent O'Neill
7 Aug 2009

State member for Ipswich West Wayne Wendt

ONE of Ipswich?s historic rail crossings is undergoing a facelift.

Workers have begun stripping lead paint off the heritage-listed Sadliers Crossing Rail Bridge.

The structure will be repainted and ready for use by January next year.

The 107-year-old bridge, which crosses the Bremer River between Tallon St in Sadliers Crossing and Dixon St in Wulkuraka, will also be assessed to determine if any structural modifications are required. It is the first time any major changes have been made to the bridge since it opened in 1902.

Ipswich West State MP Wayne Wendt said it was important that works did not hurt its historical significance.

Lead paint would be secured so residents were not exposed to a health risk, he said.

?This is a special bridge which has been enjoyed for over a hundred years.

?We are aware of that and we will make sure we don?t damage anything we shouldn?t,? Mr Wendt said. ?It?s certainly necessary. It was getting to a stage where it was going to cost us a lot more money (if we didn?t act).

?There?s actually a lot of work, making sure everything is secure. It will be like a new bridge when it?s finished.?

[ozbob]

The maintenance on this bridge is over due.  So over due  that there will be a closure for passenger services between Ipswich and Rosewood.  Freight will still run.  Bus between Ipswich and Rosewood, Sept to January.  It might be finished sooner depending how things go.  

[ozbob]

From QR Citytrain click here!

Major Track Work from Ipswich to Rosewood: Monday 28 Sep - Monday 4 Jan
line

From Monday 28 September 2009 to Monday 4 January 2010, all QR Citytrain services between Ipswich and Rosewood stations will be replaced by bus services.

Buses will stop all stations between Ipswich and Rosewood, with a connecting train service to Brisbane City.

Buses will run instead of trains to connect services.

Delays of up to 30 minutes may be experienced.

For further information call TransLink on 13 12 30 available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

[ozbob]

Update on Rosewood Ipswich. The notice has disappeared from the QR Citytrain web site. There might be changes ...

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Times click here!

Commuters face three months of rail misery

Commuters face three months of rail misery

Zane Jackson | 29th August 2009

COMMUTERS on the Ipswich to Lowood train line will be forced to catch buses and endure delays as QR closes the track for three months to repaint the Sadliers Crossing Railway Bridge.

QR announced on its website yesterday afternoon that the work would be done from September 28 to January 4, 2010 - drawing a furious response from Ipswich City Councillor David Pahlke, who said he was ?flabbergasted? with the decision.

?This will affect thousands of people over a given week in my division,? Cr Pahlke said.

?I can't believe it, I really can't - there's been no consultation with myself, with the council, or with the community. None at all.

?This is pretty drastic stuff - it's unbelievable and ludicrous that passenger trains will be put off for three months while freight trains can continue.?

The statement on QR's website said services would be delayed by 30 minutes due to three months of maintenance to the bridge.

?Buses will stop all stations between Ipswich and Rosewood, with a connecting train service to Brisbane City,? the statement said.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said she was extremely disappointed with QR's decision to announce the closure on its website and said she would stop the repainting if possible.

?At my request this closure will not proceed until I can be fully briefed,? Ms Nolan said.

?I want commuters to know I will do everything in my power to see if there are options others than closing the service.

?It may be that this is the only way it can go ahead, and that the line will have to be closed, but we are exploring all possibilities.

?I am extremely unhappy QR have made this decision and announced it by just putting it on their website.?

Robert Dow from train lobby group Rail Back on Track said the repainting of the bridge would take longer than normal because workers would have to ensure the old lead-based paint was properly secured.

?Our view is that the repainting has to be done, but it could have been done progressively over the past few years,? Mr Dow said.

?This will be a big shock to commuters who didn't see it coming.?

[ozbob]

If nothing else the typo (Lowood) brings back some happy memories of pleasant train trips through Lowood and on to Yarraman.   How useful that line would be now, particularly to Lowood and further on to Esk.  Now a rail trail.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2706171882_10fc8f9401.jpg

A double header cattle train on the Brisbane Valley railway during the late 1960s.
a C17 class locomotive and the lead supported by a PB15 class locomotive.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mythoto/2706171882/

[ozbob]

Interesting that there seems to be now a mood to see what can be done in terms of maintaining services between Ipswich and Rosewood rather than a closure.  I suppose the major issue is that the power needs to be shut down which would restrict the passenger operations.  If only running one track operations there would be some delays.  Diesel hauled shuttles?  ?  

[O_128]

just a question is the ipswich to rosewood stretch dual track?

[ozbob]

Yes, dual.  Plan was to close down one track across the bridge to allow one side to be completely stripped, inspected repainted etc. 

It would not be possible to maintain a timetable under those circumstances, hence the bus plan I guess.

[Arnz]

Rail services could easily been scaled to 2-hourly on the Rosewood line during the bridge maintenance (assuming the lack of patronage in the off-peak/weekends).  Would only require 1x 3-car unit for the service.

[Auryn]

Unless it's during peak services (6am until 8, then 3pm until 7), the Rosewood to Ipswich services currently only use 1 train. It leaves Rosewood at 11.42 and gets into Ipswich at 12.00, then returns, leaving Ipswich at 12.08 and getting into Rosewood at 12.27, then leaves at 12.42 and so on. In the peak periods, it doesn't go more than every half hour.

It runs this way on the weekend as well.

Although, frequently, it passes freight and coal trains going either way.

[ozbob]

Welcome Auryn.  Yes, with the political heat we might just yet see a compromise.  Keep the sparks going during peaks, run the 2000 Rail Motor outside peaks     Shut down at weekends, use bus.   That might work.

The plan might be to remove the electrical fittings etc. during the maintenance, this would stuff that grand plan of running the sparks during the peaks.  Don't know how they intend to do it with respect to the fine details.

[ozbob]

On the '2008 Easter Tour of the Network'  see http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=645.0

I photographed this bridge at Annerley:



With the lead paint a similar operation might be envisaged for Sadliers Crossing bridge.

Hence the problems I guess.

[Auryn]

Thank you.

Actually, I don't think keeping the peak services would even make much of a difference - they still aren't as frequent as on other services.

I am curious as to whether they would make the train at Ipswich wait for passengers from Rosewood and beyond, or if we would just have to wait until the next train.

[ozbob]

My guess is trains departing Ipswich would leave as timetabled during peaks.  Outside the peaks they might hold them for a late running bus, one would hope so.  With the frequent shutdowns on the Ippy at the moment they are getting good with the bus coordination I have noted.  Also QR have been putting on extras between hour gaps leaving Corinda on a Sunday morning as well to assist commuters for example.  We can only hope ...

[Arnz]

Welcome Auryn.  Yes, with the political heat we might just yet see a compromise.  Keep the sparks going during peaks, run the 2000 Rail Motor outside peaks     Shut down at weekends, use bus.   That might work.

I'd have to ask what would be the point of that?  I'm not sure of the costs of opening and shutting down sparks, but i'd guessing it may be somewhat costly if its done everyday. 

Personally I think its either leave one line open with reduced Rosewood off-peak service, close down sparks on weekends with mini-buses substituting, or follow the current QR plan of replacing with buses all-together for the few month maintenance.

[ozbob]

I'd have to ask what would be the point of that?

Purely political.  Note the Minister's and Councillor's comments as reported in the QT.  There will be pressure.  The reality is I don't think it will happen as clearly they need to de-energise the bridge, and path for the freight needs to be provided.

The fact remains that a failure to consult the community before the posting of the service change such as significant as this was a bit slack.

[mufreight]

The line between Ipswich and Wulkuraka is double track and services could be run through that section as single line as there are crossovers at both Ipswich and Wulkuraka.
The three car 2000 set is currently operational and it would be possible to operate an hourly shuttle service between Rosewood and Ipswich with this railmotor set which would enable a total overhead power shutdown, it is a 5 minute section between Ipswich and Wulkuraka and even allowing do a further five minute delay because of single line working it would still leave sufficent paths for the operation of other services such as coal, grain,cattle and general freight with minimal disruption to the work in stripping and repaint the structure of the bridge.
There could be total shutdowns on the Sunday and bus subsutition on those days.
As a back up a shortened set of SX cars could be used if required, and most of the time it would be possible to operate the shuttle using only two of the 2000 class railcars allowing maintenence to be carried out on the third car.
Unfortunately it seems that in these times the railways are losing sight of the fact that they are involved in a service industry and that they operate a railway.

[ozbob]

Queensland Times published a short piece in today's paper correcting the typo from Saturday.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbane mX 2nd September 2009 page 6

Rail closure questioned

Rail closure questioned

State Transport Minister Rachel Nolan has issued a please explain to Queensland Rail over a proposed three=month closure of the Ipswich/Rosewood line.

QR announced on its website last week the line would be shut down from September 28 to allow for repainting of the Sadliers Crossing rail bridge.

It would mean passengers would have to be ferried by bus between Wulkuraka and Thomas St stations, add an additional 30 minutes to trips.

Nolan said she was disappointed QR had announced the shutdown without it being "signed off by normal channels".

It may be that this is the only way it can go ahead and the line will have to close, but we are exploring all possibilities," she said.

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Times click here!

trains to keep rolling

trains to keep rolling

Zane Jackson | 7th September 2009

PLANS to close the Rosewood to Ipswich train line for three months while Queensland Rail repairs the Sadliers Crossing bridge have been scrapped, Transport Minister Rachel Nolan has revealed.

Ms Nolan said she was angry with Queensland Rail management after an announcement about the closure was made on its website on Friday, August 28 - without consulting her or the public.

Plans to close all passenger services on the bridge from late September to January next year have been dropped, Ms Nolan said. Peak-hour trains would run as normal, with all work to be done during off-peak hours.

?I felt that if the closure could be kept to off-peak periods, then it would avoid impacting the vast majority of passengers, particularly those commuters getting to and from work,? Ms Nolan said.

?I asked QR to rethink their plan with that in mind and, to their credit, they've delivered a solution which I consider an acceptable outcome.

?I understand the importance of the lead-removal project and I appreciate the difficulties involved in scheduling maintenance work on a rail network, but I always felt a more suitable solution was possible.?

Bus services will provide connections outside of peak times between Ipswich and Rosewood, while city-bound rail services departing Ipswich will continue as normal.

The details of what trains would be affected would be made public in local advertising, notices, announcements at stations and media releases, Ms Nolan said.

Figures from QR reveal 246 passengers use the Rosewood to Ipswich line to travel to Brisbane between 6am and 9am, while 102 passengers use the train to travel from Brisbane to the Ipswich/Rosewood line between 3.30pm and 6.30pm.

Division 10 councillor David Pahlke said he was glad Queensland Rail was looking at other options but was surprised he was not consulted earlier.

?Bureaucrats have got to understand that we don't operate in a vacuum, and ministers and members need to know what happens,? he said.

?I would like those options to be put to the general public and if they are workable options then I think they should be adopted.?

Commuters at Rosewood Station said they were extremely unhappy with the original decision to close the line for three months.

?I think it's terrible. They will lose a lot of business, because people will have to drive or will take the McCafferty's bus, otherwise they would be half an hour late to work,? Laidley resident Robyn Bachmann said.

[ozbob]

 

On behalf of rail commuters everywhere and particularly the Rosewood line punters thank you Minister Nolan and QR Passenger for reviewing the closure arrangements.

Well done!!

[bladesplace]

Oooh! That's great news for long suffering Rosewood commuters. Well done to all involved to get that compromise! 

I'm somewhat surprised at the level of patronage on this line though.. only 246 passengers in the morning peak?!    How underutilised is this line?!

[ozbob]

Those figures are a bit misleading.  Reports at the last Ipswich CRG mentioned car parking is swamped at Rosewood by 6.30am.  Many folks are on earlier services, the first service leaves Rosewood around 4.16am.  Between 6am and 9am there are only 4 services.  So relative loadings are good.  The low peak PM figure reflects the lack of services!  There is a huge gap from 4.38pm to 5.51pm weekdays.

[O_128]

The person in the article obviously didnt rea the entire announcement that buses would replace trains!

[ozbob]

From QR Citytrain

Major track work from Ipswich to Rosewood: Monday 28 Sep - Monday 4 Jan

From Monday 28 September 2009 to Monday 4 January 2010, major maintenance will be carried out on Sadliers Crossing Bridge on the Ipswich to Rosewood line.

During this period delays of up to 20 minutes may be experienced on peak passenger services between Ipswich and Rosewood stations.

Some peak services will be replaced by buses and will stop all stations between Ipswich and Rosewood stations.

Off-peak services will be replaced by buses and will stop all stations between Ipswich and Rosewood stations with connecting services to Brisbane City. Delays of up to 35 minutes may be experienced for these times.

For further information visit www.translink.com.au or call TransLink on 13 12 30 available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

QR and TransLink apologise for the inconvenience and thank passengers for their patience during this time.

PDF Timetable --> here! External Link

[ozbob]

Some impact on the 539 as well.

Route 539 (Rosewood to Helidon) will run to a temporary timetable from 28 September 2009 due to track work on the Ipswich to Rosewood line.

Passengers will see changes of up to 20 minutes, Monday to Friday, to allow for connections with altered services. There will be no change to weekend timetables. Buses will wait for the rail connection where required.

Route 539 will revert to the normal timetable once the works are complete, expected to be no later than 4 January 2010.

TransLink apologises for any inconvenience caused.

View the temporary route 539 timetable - effective 28 September 2009.  External Link PDF

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Times click here!

Timetable signals happy outcome

Timetable signals happy outcome

23rd September 2009

FOLLOWING its previous ill-fated edition, Queensland Rail has posted a revised timetable for the Ipswich to Rosewood line on its website.

Last month, QR surprised many people - including Transport Minister Rachel Nolan - by announcing the line would close for three months while the rail bridge at Sadliers Crossing was repaired.

Angry with QR for not keeping her in the loop, Ms Nolan scrapped the closure.

Yesterday, she was happy a solution had been found to keep some passenger trains on the rural line, particularly in peak periods.

?I've pushed very hard to ensure peak services are retained,? Ms Nolan said.

Robert Dow, from train lobby group Rail Back on Track, said QR had made the best of a bad situation.

?From the commuters' point of view it's a good outcome. The maintenance work has to go ahead and commuters are going to be inconvenienced, but it's good that some peak services have been maintained,? Mr Dow said.

?At least they do have some services and very innovative bus services in parallel.?

However, Rosewood-based councillor David Pahlke, who was also unhappy about the closure announcement, remained far from satisfied.

?No one consulted me,? Cr Pahlke said.

?I haven't heard from QR. I haven't heard from the State Member. I think they work in a vacuum, QR.?

? See the timetable at www.citytrain.com.au.

[ozbob]

Work has commenced on the bridge.  Revised timetable --> http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?id=125

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Times click here!

A win for commuters as bridge work starts

A win for commuters as bridge work starts

Zane Jackson | 29th September 2009

MAINTENANCE work on the Sadliers Crossing rail bridge started yesterday with rail commuters travelling to and from Rosewood in off-peak hours forced to use a bus replacement service.

QR had initially planned to replace every service between Ipswich and Rosewood with buses from September 28 to January 4, 2010, but now trains will continue to run during peak hours.

Robert Dow from train lobby group Rail Back on Track said the intervention of Transport Minister Rachel Nolan to ensure peak hour trains were not replaced by buses was a win for commuters.

?After the initial mishandling by QR, the situation now is good for commuters travelling from Rosewood,? Mr Dow said.

?The maintenance work has to go ahead and some commuters are going to be inconvenienced, but it's a good outcome that most peak rail services have been maintained while the bridge is worked on.

?The additional bus services will also assist in minimising inconvenience.?

A revised timetable for the Rosewood to Ipswich line, which shows what services will be replaced by buses, is available at www.translink.com.au.

TransLink advises that peak hour services could experience delays of up to 20 minutes, while off-peak services replaced by buses could be delayed by up to 35 minutes.

Mr Dow said a long-standing gap in train services from Ipswich to Rosewood between 4.38pm and 5.51pm had been addressed in the temporary timetable.

?That peak hour gap has been a problem we've pointed out for some time, so it's good to see they have done something about it,? he said.

A TransLink spokesman said QR would revert back to its previous timetable when the work was complete, but did not rule a permanent service between 4.38pm and 5.51pm in the future.

?TransLink will review services on the Ipswich-Rosewood line in line with other service priorities across the entire TransLink network,? he said.

[ozbob]

Letter to the editor Queensland Times 3rd October 2009 page 15

Bus service not good enough



Very frustrating when this happens.  Maybe the buses should stop and 'honk' for stragglers.  Also suggest folks get a go card. The buses probably don't have go card equipment ...

TransLink do suggest to leave plenty of time.

[mufreight]

Translink advises to allow an additional 30 minutes for the journey but that is for the journey, at the presenr time the replacement bus services are frequently running ahead of their timetabled times which is completely unacceptable, an instruction that buses must not depart any station ahead of time might help.
It would be reasonable especialy over the first few weeks of this bus substution for rail services for the drivers to check that intending passengers who may be waiting in the shade or purchasing tickets from ticket machines, particularly at unattended stations are not left behind, a toot on the horn and an eyeball check would not be unreasonable.

[ozbob]

Headed out to Rosewood this afternoon.  Boarded SMU274/268 at Oxley at 3.31pm.

Boarded a Greyhound Rail Bus express Ipswich to Rosewood, 4.08pm  Rosewood  4.33pm arrival.

Headed back to Ipswich on the 6.07pm all stops bus.  This was a slow trip.  Driver called at every station and stopped.

There is no go card equipment on the Greyhound buses    Came home on EM 04!



















Photographs R Dow 3rd October 2009

[ozbob]

http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?id=90

Ipswich/Rosewood line reopens Effective 11 November 2009

The Ipswich/Rosewood line will reopen on Wednesday 11 November 2009, with work on Sadliers Bridge completed ahead of schedule.

Regular passenger services between Ipswich and Rosewood stations will resume as per the normal timetable. Connecting bus route 539 (Helidon to Ipswich) will also revert to the normal timetable.

Until then, delays of up to 20 minutes may be experienced on peak passenger services between Ipswich and Rosewood stations. Some peak services will be replaced by buses which will stop at all stations and connect with train services to Brisbane. Delays of up to 20 minutes may be experienced.

Off-peak services will be replaced by buses and will stop all stations between and Ipswich and Rosewood stations with connecting services to Brisbane City. Delays of up to 35 minutes may be experienced for these times.

[ozbob]

Mr Dow said a long-standing gap in train services from Ipswich to Rosewood between 4.38pm and 5.51pm had been addressed in the temporary timetable.

?That peak hour gap has been a problem we've pointed out for some time, so it's good to see they have done something about it,? he said.

A TransLink spokesman said QR would revert back to its previous timetable when the work was complete, but did not rule a permanent service between 4.38pm and 5.51pm in the future.

Great the job has been finished in a timely manner.

But no mention of fixing this gap (4.38pm next 5.51pm) with the return to the 'normal timetable' ...

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Times click here!

Bridge work ends seven weeks early

Bridge work ends seven weeks early

Zane Jackson | 10th November 2009

TRAINS will resume services between Rosewood and Ipswich tomorrow after maintenance work on the Sadliers Crossing bridge finished seven weeks earlier than scheduled.

Transport Minister and Member for Ipswich Rachel Nolan yesterday said the repainting work on the bridge finished early thanks to extra QR staff.

?Good weather and the re-allocation of maintenance staff to fast track this project has allowed QR to halve the time needed to repaint the bridge,? Ms Nolan said. ?I?m pleased that QR has been able to do this and it will be the Ipswich commuters that will benefit.?

The bridge ? one of the oldest still in use in Queensland ? had been closed for repainting from September 28.

Off-peak services between Rosewood and Ipswich were replaced by buses during the repainting to allow the bridge?s old lead-based paint to be removed safely.

Ms Nolan also said she was pleased that delays on the Ipswich line after the weekend?s track work ? predicted by Robert Dow from train lobby group Rail Back on Track ? did not eventuate yesterday.

Mr Dow said the speed in which QR did the work should be applauded, but said a peak hour afternoon gap between Ipswich and Rosewood should be addressed.

Mr Dow also called on QR to consider plans to compensate passengers who face regular delays on their train service.

?Most people will think it?s reasonable for a delay ever now and then, but if they become a regular occurrence then passengers should be compensated,? he said.

?Train passengers in Melbourne with long-term tickets receive a free day?s travel if disruptions have caused their service to run below a certain target. A system like that could be replicated here.?

Ms Nolan said there were no plans to introduce a compensation system.

?Our efforts are going into making the system better and that?s working,? she said.

?Further, any such scheme would have to be paid for. While Victoria is used as an example in this case, Victorian public transport is substantially dearer than ours. There, commuters pay 35% of the real cost of transport, in Queensland it?s 25%.?