People's Question Time August 2010.

[ClintonL94]

"People's Question Time is your chance to ask the Premier and Ministers about issues that matter to you."

In this issue of PQT, people have the opportunity to ask the state government on Cross River Rail, 'Do the Bright Thing', State Budget 2010-11,
jobs, training and skills reform and disability and community care services.

Submit your questions on cross river rail and more here: http://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/government/peoples-question-time/2010/qld-issues.aspx

PQT is on next Wednesday 18 August 2010, 12-1pm.

Cheers,
Clinton.

[#Metro]

Sunshine Coast Line upgrades! 

[ozbob]

I have been invited to attend this session as part of the 'audience' ...

Please send your questions into the link Clinton has posted.  If you wish also post here.

[ozbob]

I attended this session  as planned. The panel comprised the Premier, the Treasurer, Minister for Transport and the Minister for Main Roads.

Very broad topics discussed.  I was fortunate in being able to ask a question from the floor.

The question I asked of the Premier and Minister for Transport was after a short preamble "When can we expect a high frequency rail service on our network?" (around 33 minutes in).

There is a video, podcast and transcript available --> here!  

In the responses the Premier mentioned coastal rail services as well.

[ozbob]

Transcript of rail questions:  (from http://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/government/peoples-question-time/2010/assets/pqt-08-08-10-transcript.doc)

ROBERT:  Good afternoon, Robert Dow, Rail Back on Track.  Premier, you mentioned that we're getting one new three car train a month, we think that's wonderful that we are.  In some ways it's actually been raining Rail these past few weeks but I'll cut to the chase, a very direct question perhaps to yourself and the Minister for Transport, when can we expect a high frequency rail service on our network?

PREMIER:  Well I might leave some of the technology of that, the answer to the Minister but Robert thank you for the question, thank you for the ongoing interest that your organisation takes in our rail network.  This is one of the reasons we took, as I said the hard decision about what do we want to own, not just now but what assets to do we want to own in five years time, ten years time, and frankly I want to see more rail out there into more suburbs that currently aren't serviced by rail.  The more we can put people on trains, the more that we will relieve some of the congestion on our roads, and frankly the better it will be for our environment.  So the better the rail system is, the more reliable it is, the better the experience is for passengers and the more suburbs it gets to and the more trains that are on the track to increase the frequency of service, the better that will be for the entire community.  It is actually a green initiative in my view.  We can't do that if we are borrowing money to increase the rail network for Rio Tinto and BHP.  Those guys are big enough to do it themselves.  That's what they do in other parts of the world, and we want to let them get on with doing their commercial stuff so that we can do exactly what you're talking about, improve the network, not just here in the South East but also provide better passenger right up the coast.  So I might ask in terms of the fast, the frequency.

R.NOLAN:  Thanks Robert.  I understand your point as really being about how regularly the trains come and particularly through the day more than in peak time.  So to add to the Premier's point, we have very substantially increased the numbers of trains in recent years.  So for instance on the Ipswich line there have been five new peak morning trains rolled out on that line in the last two years, which means that people now have a much more frequent service than they did a little while ago.  To get to added frequency through the day you need two things; more lines and more trains.  I agree with you that having trains that are sufficiently frequent, that people don't particularly have to worry about a timetable is how you'll get tremendous take up through the day.  And we've done that on the bus services where we've rolled out bus services that come so frequently that you don't need a timetable.  The next real place where I think we'll get a very significant step up in terms of day time frequency will be on the line between Kippa-Ring and Springfield, because what we're doing right now is in our State budget just a few weeks ago we announced that we would extend rail out to Springfield, so that's a whole new spur line and it's being built at present.  And in the Federal Campaign, again just two weeks ago the Premier and the Prime Minister announced that together we would extend rail from that main line up to Caboolture out to Redcliffe, to Kippa-Ring.  And what that means is that to service those lines, we will now have trains that go basically from Redcliffe to Springfield and that will add a whole bunch of extra frequency for all the places in between through the day because there will be the Ipswich Caboolture line and the Springfield Kippa-Ring line, which essentially will double frequency in between.  So that's a detailed answer but the point is we do really understand why frequency makes it more convenient.  That will be the next place where frequency is really stepped up and we will continue to look for opportunities in other places as well.

MODERATOR:  Okay well while we're on this issue of rail services, we've received a number of questions on the Cross River Rail project from Barbara and Peter and Jay of Fairfield asks "Why do you need to make a Cross River Rail project through areas that will affect thousands, the elderly, the disabled, new families, new people to the area.  Why can't you use industrial areas like Moorooka since it's more open or further out like near the airport or Logan?"

R.NOLAN:  Let me first explain what Cross River Rail is because not everybody will be as well connected.  Cross River Rail is a proposal for a new underground rail tunnel which will essentially stretch from up near the Ekka grounds, under the CBD with a new CBD station at Albert Street, and a new underground station at Woolloongabba, and then the tunnel will come out somewhere on the south side and that's what these people at Fairfield are raising.  Government has not yet made a decision about where the best location for what's called the Southern Portal will be, and is looking at some options.  The Local Member there Simon Finn, is very actively advocating for actually what those Fairfield are saying, that it should come out further south away from the suburb and down towards the industrial areas around Moorooka.  Government is very much listening to what those people are saying.  We have to get the geotechnical studies and those kinds of things right to make sure that what those people want is practical, is possible, but we understand their concern and are listening to them and we'll make a final recommendation about where is the best location for the Southern Portal shortly.  But make no mistake, when Cross River Rail happens, it will hugely expand the capacity of the whole rail network.  It will mean more trains can get through the city, whether you're coming from the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast, it will give us an underground rail network.  It will totally transform rail.

[#Metro]

The premier's answer is fluff. It adds no new information that we don't know already.

Thanks Robert.  I understand your point as really being about how regularly the trains come and particularly through the day more than in peak time.  So to add to the Premier's point, we have very substantially increased the numbers of trains in recent years.  So for instance on the Ipswich line there have been five new peak morning trains rolled out on that line in the last two years, which means that people now have a much more frequent service than they did a little while ago.  To get to added frequency through the day you need two things; more lines and more trains.  

5 trains over 2 years is good, but not good enough to meet Perth standard today.
Trains every 15 minutes is a long way away, even every 20 minutes.
I won't be satisfied until I see trains at least every 20 minutes on all
major lines.

You don't need more lines as a precondition to frequency upgrades, you need to fix the current lines and their bottlenecks.

And we've done that on the bus services where we've rolled out bus services that come so frequently that you don't need a timetable.  

Yes but buses are not trains. It needs to be done to trains.

The next real place where I think we'll get a very significant step up in terms of day time frequency will be on the line between Kippa-Ring and Springfield, because what we're doing right now is in our State budget just a few weeks ago we announced that we would extend rail out to Springfield, so that's a whole new spur line and it's being built at present.  And in the Federal Campaign, again just two weeks ago the Premier and the Prime Minister announced that together we would extend rail from that main line up to Caboolture out to Redcliffe, to Kippa-Ring.

Doubtless that this will increase the frequency, but frequency increases do not require these lines to be finally built as a precondition. The frequency can be increased with or without these extensions.

Brisbane talks about it. Perth has does it.

[mufreight]

The Premier and Minister Nolan are just distributing more mushroom fodder.
Springfield to Kippa Ring well that might be when both of those lines are finally built but Richlands should be able to come on line possibly as soon as the first half next year but Kippa Ring who knows.
Federal money will not be provided for that project until after the 2013/4 election and there is no state funding until after the next State election if then.  Since the line is estimated to take at least three and more realistically four years to construct once the finance is in place that makes it a 2018 maybe completion date.
The increase in service frequency based on Minister Nolan's comments will not take place until that time and then will only apply to the Ipswich line as far as Darra where the Springfield line branches off, so both the Premier and the Minister have in reality committed to nothing other than to give themselves a carefully crafted way out when they again fail to deliver these services having tied them to the completion and commissioning of both the Springfield and Kippa Ring lines.

[#Metro]

On the mark there.
Rail frequency can be increased without waiting for these projects.

I also realised how was this 5 trains calculated?
Is it really two in the morning and two in the afternoon and one peak hour am?
Or maybe it is two trains x 3 car units joined to run as one service and one extra 3 car service?

We do not have to wait until 2026 for a metro. We can have one now by converting the Ipswich line to high frequency trains.

[#Metro]

If we wait for Kippa-Ring, we might not see frequent services for 100+ years.

Don't make excuses. Make INVESTMENTS! 

[somebody]

You don't need more lines as a precondition to frequency upgrades, you need to fix the current lines and their bottlenecks.

Got to agree with this.  And the major fix is to the frequency.

[colinw]

Oh dear, those responses from the senior pollies are very disappointing, and imply that they simply do not understand the need for turn up and go frequencies on the existing lines.

If we rely on new lines for better frequencies, what we are actually saying is that no existing line gets a better service than it does now.

[Jonno]

This is because their departments are telling them "public transport will only increase to 20% of all trips so the current frequencies are servicing this". 

[somebody]

This is because their departments are telling them "public transport will only increase to 20% of all trips so the current frequencies are servicing this". 

If your theory is true (and it probably is), then the cart is before the horse.

[mufreight]

And the Queensland Blight wants to sell off the horse anyway.