Article: Monorail may link new Avalon station to airport

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Monorail may link new Avalon station to airport


http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2012/02/27/1226282/148202-monorail.jpg

Monorail may link new Avalon station to airport

    by: Greg Thom
    From: Herald Sun
    February 27, 2012 12:00AM

AVALON airport visitors could soon be riding a driverless monorail linking a new train station to the terminal building.

The $200 million plan would enable commuters to catch a train from Melbourne direct to Avalon for the cost of a zone 2 ticket.

In an Australian first, passengers could then check their bags and obtain a boarding pass at the new Avalon airport station, before taking a five-minute monorail ride to the terminal.

The bold initiative, revealed exclusively to the Herald Sun, would make Avalon the only airport in the nation to boast a monorail and train station check-in facilities.

The concept is one option the State Government is considering in its bid to build a rail line to Avalon by 2016.

It comes amid calls to make Avalon the city's second international airport behind Tullamarine.

Avalon operator Linfox and airport management, have urged Spring St to back the monorail proposal over heavy rail-only alternatives.

They said not only would the monorail be cheaper to build, but offered more flexibility and would help fuel the airport's future growth.

Avalon airport CEO Justin Giddings said the number of passengers using Avalon was expected to grow from about one million a year to more than five million by 2016.

He said a rail link would ensure passengers no longer missed flights because of traffic congestion.

"The airport experience would actually start at the Avalon train station," he said.

The monorail could drop passengers at several stops, including an enhanced retail precinct, and workers at aircraft maintenance facilities.

Mr Giddings estimated a rail service to Melbourne airport could cost commuters as much as $20 a trip, making Avalon an affordable alternative gateway into the city for budget-conscious backpackers, families and tourists.

"By 2016, we'll be the only airport in Melbourne with a direct rail link and (that will) give us a huge advantage."

Transport Minister Terry Mulder confirmed an Avalon monorail was on the table.

"I'll be very interested to see the types of options that the study team comes up with and am happy to consider a monorail or any other viable option that will get the job done," he said.

A monorail is also backed by the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Transport Tourism Association.

[#Metro]

Groan, more expensive concrete fantasies and technological fetishes.

They said not only would the monorail be cheaper to build, but offered more flexibility and would help fuel the airport's future growth.

Cheaper than what? More flexible than what?

The most flexible thing would be to build a bog standard road to the railway station and run a bus. The upshot would be that everyone else could also use the road (taxi, tour operator bus etc) and since everyone brings their own vehicle, no need to buy rollingstock or have maintainence facilities etc.

Also, there is no need for a dedicated spur line to Avalon. Why can't people just get a bus to the bog standard train station and get a train? Spurs split the frequency.

[somebody]

Agree.  Just run a bus.  It's easy.

[Mr X]

What a pointless monorail. Time saved over road = ....? Extra capacity = ....? BCR = -9000