Failing to Plan or planning to Fail?

[glossyblack]

Hi all,
How do we make sense of any transport issues whenevery issue seems to based on Brisbane. Inmy time alone I ahve seeen the GC line closed then reopened, the Pialba branch closed and possibly (with luck ) replaced by some form of rail. Rockhampton once had a tram network close and now needed. Every coastal city is plagued by deisel buses being brought online as though the cost of fuel is going to bottom out tomorrow.
What has happened at the Goldie is sure to be repeated everywhere, it's already happening (sometime) on the Sunshine Coast. Then we'll have the Maryborough - Hervey Bay corridor, the Bundaberg  - Bargara area, Rocky- Yepoon - Townsville area (already big enough for a major light/heavy rail network) and then Cairns to say nothing of the Ipswich - Toowoomba corridor, which needs tilt electrification now and a suburban network for Toowoomba.
Are the people in George St ever going to figure out (a) that Brisbane is only part of Queensland not the entire State? and (b) do we have to wait until the deisel fuel bill for regional Queensland is far dearer than providing effective electric based rail.
Brisbane and the Goldie are lessons that have not been learned, still building roads and tunnels that are full and congested the day they are opened. It's time Queensland, particularly Brisbane wakes up to the fact that everyone can't have and in the future will not be able to afford a car, both financially and environmentally.
It's seems that the old adage "the only lesson we have learned from history is that we have learned nothing" is true.

[mufreight]

Perhaps more an acute case of myopia and expediency.

Of interest is the recently released Queensland Transport material relating to the base case for 2026

It is anticipated that in the 18 years covered by the base case projections that because of the population growth in the Ipswich Region that there will be a 130% increase in trip demand from the Ipswich region to the Brisbane CBD.

Then it becomes interesting in the same information release it continues that Public Transport patronage is assumed to grow at 2.7% compounded per annum.
Seems that the experts who made this forcast are somewhat deficent in their mathametics skills as 2.7% compounded over 18 years falls far short of their own prediction of a 130% passanger trip increase.

A figure that becomes even more laughable when the 10.9% in passanger journeys on the Ipswich corridor over 2006/2007 is considered.

A point that most fail to consider is that unlike the Gold Coast and Ferny Grove lines which are now basicly commuter lines the North Coast and Ipswich lines carry more than significant volumes of freight and in the case of the Ipswich line COAL.

What is needed and needed now is not only more trains, but more track to run them on.  This is acknowledged by the current track amplification projects underway. unfortunately unlike the duplication between Coobolture to Landsbrough with the next stage through to Nambour now being planned the track amplification between Corinda and Darra and presently being built as three tracks rather than the four that Queensland Transport's own traffic predictions of both passangers and freight indicate will be needed within the next eighteen years.

How long will the long suffering commuters on this line have to wait for the completion of the quadruplication from Corinda commenced in the 1950's so that it will be able to provide the levels of service that they and the state are entitled to expect.

A good subject for discussion with your local government representative when you have the opportunity prior to the next election when you discuss with him/her their retirement plans.

One can but ask, Cheers.

[ozbob]

Queensland Transport has distinguished itself in terms of a complete failure to grasp the reality of current and future transport needs.  Fixated on roads and buses it uses flawed data as mufreight has demonstrated in the preceeding post to justify its bizarre studies and glossy brochures. 

The fact that the south-east is in transport meltdown escapes them and is proof of government and QT failure.

Two perfect examples of mediocrity in grasping reality.

1.  The failure to build the Gold Coast railway as a double mainline from the outset.  This is one of the classic transport planning failures of the modern era. It is one of worlds best examples of bad examples!

2.  Their total obstinacy, myopia and loss of contact with reality in their plan to eventually build the railway line to Springfield but NOT build the stations at Ellen Grove and Springfield Lakes till some years after the line is operational.  To catch a train you need to get on the train at stations QT.

We must continue to document the flawed data Government, QT and Translink use to justify their failures.

Here endeth the sermon!

[ozbob]

 

From Courier Mail click here!

Queensland needs a plan

Queensland needs a plan
Article from: The Courier-Mail

By Dennis Atkins

April 12, 2008 12:00am

TRAVEL is a great opportunity to reflect on what's happening at home; to look at the ways you do things and work out new approaches.

For the past two weeks Anna Bligh has been on her first trade mission as Premier, jetting through China, Japan and India while the colleagues she left behind in Brisbane provided less the appearance of government than an episode of The Three Stooges.

Whether it's the stumbling health system, the dysfunctional Citytrain service, the haphazard Go Card transport ticketing, the road congestion that's unchallenged by expensive but seemingly flimsy "future plans" or the general look of truly sub-prime ministerial performance, the Queensland Government is a serious accident waiting to happen.

What's missing from public administration in Queensland is an overall strategic plan, something that Bligh might have considered during her overseas travel.

That the State Government has no strategic plan ? or even any specific plans for those policy areas most sensitive to public opinion ? is a persistent criticism from many senior business figures around Brisbane.

Unflattering comparisons are being made with the Rudd Government in Canberra and state Labor administrations in Victoria and South Australia.

The Rudd Government has let loose a slew of plans covering everything from indigenous housing, schools and health to infrastructure and the federation itself. Some are little more than reviews and the agendas of working groups, but Kevin Rudd and his ministers have managed to frame the debates in a way that provides both direction and a sense of real activity.

John Brumby's Government in Victoria has set itself some significant tasks in the almost 12 months since Steve Bracks retired: unclogging Melbourne's congested roads, drought-proofing the capital, boosting housing affordability, revitalising the state education system and facing the challenges of climate change.

In Adelaide, Premier Mike Rann has made an art form out of setting targets and benchmarking. His strategic plan (which can be found at www.stateplan.sa.gov.au) is being constantly updated, and provides the catalyst for not just a "big picture" vision but also the most localised activity.

The Lennon Government in Tasmania ? despite having its own rolling series of scandals ? has a 2020 vision plan based on community consultation and covering 12 specific goals measured against 143 benchmarks. The Tasmanian plan is even backed by statute with the Tasmania Together Progress Board Act of 2001 giving it some legislative force.

The plan can be found at www.tasmaniatogether.tas.gov.au.

Queensland does have a plan ? the Smart State Strategy ? flagged by Peter Beattie almost a decade ago and given substance in 2005 when a series of goals were set with target dates ending in 2015.

The Smart State Strategy was most recently updated at the end of last October but there is little beyond what was seen in the original plan. And this strategy is just focused on education, research and innovation, as against the comprehensive plans in the other Labor states.

The Queensland Government has been concentrating on its water strategy and now the Premier's office has given greater priority to transport and traffic, something acknowledged by business critics.

However, senior business figures say there is a need for a major statement from Bligh about what her Government stands for and where it's headed.

One business leader made a comparison the Premier wouldn't like, saying the Queensland Government had more in common with Morris Iemma's crisis-ridden administration than the Brumby or Rann governments.

That's a perception the Premier should deal with as soon as she gets back to the office.

[ButFli]

1.  The failure to build the Gold Coast railway as a double mainline from the outset.  This is one of the classic transport planning failures of the modern era. It is one of worlds best examples of bad examples!

It was my understanding that all the groundwork for 2 tracks was done during the initial construction. All the stations have 2 platforms and all the bridges and cuttings are wide enough for 2 tracks. Was this not enough? Why stop at 2 tracks? Why not lay 4 tracks for all new projects?

[ozbob]

Basic work done except for some key bridges.  Much more cost effective to do double track from the outset, the passenger load projections were a gross underestimation.  The Mandurah / Perth line has also had a much higher passenger loading than predicted but they learnt from the GC experience and built it as double (72km) right from the outset.  No going back for costly additional works and disruption as we are witnessing on the GC.


Here is a Translink document (2004) which highlights the lack of capacity on the Gold Coast line (based on 2003 figures) 5 years after it opened to Robina.

Extract from page 4 of the document:

Rail needs to play a central role in getting people who commute to Brisbane to use public transport
rather than drive. Demand on the Gold Coast rail line is expected to double by 2016. However, passenger
loads are already heavy on some peak rail services and there is insufficient track capacity on sections of
the Gold Coast line to increase service frequency in peak periods.

Trackstar alliance, as reported in the Digest have demonstrated that it would be very cost effective to do the triplication project from Corinda to Darra as a quad rather than as a triple with some quad track leading into Darra.

At least the lesson has been learnt on the GC, the line to Varsity Lakes will be double from outset.

It is interesting to note that some of the bridge work on the Corinda - Ipswich was done with a view of extending the quad from Corinda to Ipswich in the 1950s.   Cardiff road bridge is a good example, which has now facilitated the quad track work being done at Darra to the brickworks with out having to rebuild the road bridge.

The proposed triplication Darra to Redbank might be better off as a quad.  It has been noted though that some of the roadworks on Ipswich Highway have encroached into the railway ROW put aside for the 4 tracks in the 1950s.