24 May 2012: Queensland: Call for rail representation on Bruce Highway 'fix-it'

[ozbob]

Media release 24 May 2012

Queensland: Call for rail representation on Bruce Highway 'fix-it' team

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org), a web-based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers, wants the membership of the state government's Bruce Highway Crisis Management Group widened to include representation from the rail sector (1).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"RAIL Back On Track welcomes the state government's decision to form a Bruce Highway Management Group to report within six months on works to improve safety and alleviate flood problems and traffic congestion along this important transport corridor.  However, we believe its membership and objective is too narrow and excludes the proper examination of rail-based solutions for moving freight along Queensland's eastern seaboard.

"The government has failed to realise that an investment in rail is an investment in road and that the cheaper, more effective, solution often is to improve rail's efficiency through realignment and longer passing loops (points where trains pass each other) rather than building costly road bypasses around towns.  The two must be weighed up against each other, but the way this committee has been set up does not allow such comparisons.  The government has said we want road solutions only.

"Through its support for duplication of the railway track between Beerburrum and Nambour, even the RACQ acknowledges that an investment in rail improves road travelling conditions.  One 1500-metre train can take 100 semi-trailers off our roads.  During last year's floods, trains were able to get through largely on a flood-free alignment, but rail's capacity constraints were very evident.  At several points along the NCL, they are severe.  Without investment from the federal and state governments, rail can't present as the viable and cost-effective alternative.

"The amount of rail freight carried on the North Coast Line (NCL) is set to more than double over 20 years.  Provided capacity is improved, the freight carrying capacity of the NCL will expand from an estimated 4.5 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) in 2013 to 5.5 mtpa in 2020.  Failure to plan for longer freight trains travelling at faster speeds along the NCL will mean more trucks will have to take up the slack.  Safety will be compromised even further, despite the improvements to the Bruce Highway.

"On a per net tonne-kilometre (ntk) basis, moving freight by rail is between 13 and 23 times safer than shifting it by road, according to the Australasian Railways Association (2).  And there are some cargoes, such as chemicals and explosives associated with Queensland burgeoning mining and agricultural sectors, that should not be moved by road.  What community wants those things trucked past their houses and schools, no matter how improved the highway might be?

"All we are saying is that there is a balance to be struck between investment in road and rail, but the current membership and charter of the Bruce Highway Crisis Management Group doesn't achieve that balance.  From the outset, it's biased only to road-based solutions, which are not always appropriate.

"Since the former Queensland Government hived off rail freight to a privatised QR National, our government has lost focus on steel wheels on track as a viable, and valuable, means of solving the state's freight transport needs.

"Restore the balance is what we are saying, be prepared to invest in rail-based solutions where they are proven to be more advantageous than road, and test the theory by putting one or two rail experts on the Bruce Highway Crisis Management Group."

References:

1. http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=79009

2. Australasian Railway Association http://www.ara.net.au/site/index.php

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

Discussion --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=8376.0

[Fares_Fair]

Provided capacity is improved, the freight carrying capacity of the NCL will expand from an estimated 4.5 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) in 2013 to 5.5 mtpa in 2020.

Does anyone know what document this quote comes from please?

Found it !

COAG National Infrastructure Audit
Queensland Input – Part A – 30 June 2008
p52.

[Fares_Fair]

Queensland Government – Department of Infrastructure and Planning
Page 51 of 110

Poor  ride  quality  on  non-urban  sections  of  the  Bruce  Highway  which  creates
increased transport costs;
and Capacity constraints north of Brisbane.
The priority road project that has the greatest impact on these challenges
is:
Bruce  Highway  Stage  1  –  Cooroy  to  Gympie:  Proposed  new  four  lane  highway.
Stage 1 includes duplication of Cooroy Bypass, Federal to Traveston section due to
inundation  by  the  proposed  Traveston  Crossing  Dam,  and  a  new  alignment  from
Traveston to Gympie.  The total cost is about $3.3 billion. The total committed funding
of  $700  million  comprises  the  Queensland  Government's  2008-09  budget  funding  of
$500  million  from  2009-10  to  2012-13  for  relocation  of  the  two  lane  Bruce  Highway
around  Traveston  Crossing  Dam,  and  an  AusLink  2  Federal  election  commitment  of 
$200 million  for planning and acquisition. $2.6 billion remains unfunded.
Bruce  Highway  (Brisbane  to  Cairns):  Continue  to  upgrade  the  Bruce  Highway
between Brisbane and Cairns.  This project will build on the AusLink2 investment to
raise the Bruce Highway to minimum national standards, and will include widening and
strengthening the road to at least 8 metres in key areas, improving flood immunity and
addressing key road safety issues.
5.6.2     Rail – North Coast Line
The predominantly single track North Coast Line operates at 20 tonne axle load with
maximum freight train speeds up to 100kph, but with severe restrictions due to poor
curvature  along  the  route  (particularly  Caboolture  to  Cooroy  and  Ingham  to  Cairns),
and extensive level crossings and adjoining land uses (particularly north of Townsville)
limiting safe train speeds.
Capacity  is  constrained  by  running  times  on  single  line  sections,  crossing  loops
nominally  limited  to  700  metres,  and  the  mix  of  traffic  and  operating  characteristics.
Rail  sizes  vary  from  41  to  60kg/m,  with  the  bulk  of  the  line  now  either  prestressed
concrete sleepers (Caboolture to Townsville) or steel sleepers (north of Townsville). 
The  most  severe  congestion  exists  between  Caboolture  and  Nambour  (due  to
competition with Sunshine Coast passenger services), in the Home Hill to Townsville
area  during  the  May–November  sugar  season,  and  in  the  Brisbane  area  with
passenger  services  having  priority  over  freight.  The  duplicated  section  between
Gladstone and Rocklands also shares with the pre-dominant Blackwater coal system.
The  rail  corridor  has  had  substantial  upgrades  over  the  past  two  decades  under  a
number of major projects, involving timber bridge replacements, bridge strengthening,
partial  re-alignment  and  regrading,  and  track  re-construction.  However  the  corridor
remains  non-commercial,  with  insufficient  freight  volume  to  support  the  long  corridor
length. 
The  corridor  has  suffered  from  lack  of  a  competitive  rail  freight  operation  from  the
southern  states,  with  extensive  back-loading  of  North  Queensland  produce  (fruit,
vegetables)   being   road-freighted   to   southern   markets.   While   the   Brisbane   -
Rockhampton section is electrified, only the Gladstone - Rocklands section is used by
coal traffic. This line is used mainly for passenger traffic.
The  North  Coast  Line  competes  with  the  road  transporters  delivering  from  the
southern manufacturing and distribution centres, offering cheap back-loading for fruit
and vegetables to southern markets. Upgrade of the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane rail
corridors  under  the  current  AusLink  commitments  may  address  the  slide  in  modal COAG National Infrastructure Audit
Queensland Input – Part A – 30 June 2008
Queensland Government – Department of Infrastructure and Planning  Page 52 of 110
share  for  north  bound  traffic,  and  promote  more  on-rail  traffic  heading  north  of
Brisbane and back-loading from North Queensland to the south.
Infrastructure   assessment   has   suggested   that   the   current   North   Coast   Line
infrastructure  can  support  a  growth  of  rail  freight  of  2-3%  per  annum.  If  the
infrastructure  is  'sweated'  to  the  maximum  and  if  there  are  increased  above-rail
efficiencies,  growth  of  rail  freight  may  be  closer  to  the  upper  limit—3%.  If  freight
transport  growth  was  sustained  at  more  than  3%  per  year,  there  is  concern  that
current NCL infrastructure may not enable rail freight to grow at the same rate, thereby
resulting in the freight growth over 3% per annum "spilling over" to road transport. 
The Queensland economy has been growing strongly at rates in excess of 3%. As part
of  a  Brisbane-Cairns  corridor  freight  task  analysis,  a  growth  parameter  of  3.1%  per
year  was  applied  and  the  total  inter-regional  freight  task  on  the  average  corridor
segment was forecast to increase from 5.5 Mt in 2003 to 7.7 Mt in 2013 to 9.4 Mt in
2020.  If  Queensland  records  growth  rates  in  excess  of  this  assumed  rate,  it  can  be
expected the total freight task will exceed this forecast, as shown below.   
Under  the  growth  scenario  (where  rail  captures  105%  of  its  current  mode  share)
annual  interregional  rail  volumes  were  forecast  to  increase  from  3.18  million  tonnes
per annum in 2003 to 4.50 million tonnes per annum in 2013 and 5.5 million tonnes
per annum in 2020. Identified North Coast Line capacity constraints in accommodating
this forecast demand are:
     The  metropolitan  system,  where  there  are  a  limited  number  of  commercially
attractive train-paths available through the metropolitan network.
     The  prevailing  crossing  loop  length  of  650-700  metres,  compared  with  the
operation  of  1300-1500  metre  trains  on  some  other  parts  of  the  AusLink
Network. This limits the ability to provide an efficient channel for exports through
the ports serviced by this line. 
     While deviations have been constructed as part of line upgrades, the horizontal
alignments and vertical grades between Nambour and Bundaberg remain poor
and  are  a  major  impediment  to  attaining  any  further  improvement  in  transit
times and train length. 
     Uncompetitive  rail  transit  times  (nearly  50%  longer  than  road)  tend  to  be  the
result  of  low  operating  speeds  due  to  poor  alignment  between  Landsborough
and  Bundaberg,  and  to  other  factors  such  as  ageing  timber  bridges  and  the
prevalence of level crossings. 
     Rail's freight service reliability (on time arrivals) is thought to be 40-50% worse
than  road  reliability  from  Rockhampton  north.  The  availability  of  rail  freight
service (train or slot on train available at desired departure time) is only about
40% that of road. 
The priority rail project thas has the greatest impact on these challenges:
North Coast Rail Line (NCL) enhancements including:
Freight  operations  are  severely  constrained  due  to  conflict  with  passenger  services
and poor track alignment, particularly between Brisbane and Nambour. 
In addition, the NCL is limited to catering for train lengths of 650m, which could impact
on the potential growth in rail freight transport on the corridor. The operation of 1500m
train lengths will enable operators to gain economies of scale and potentially support a
more competitive rail freight system in the Brisbane-Cairns corridor.   COAG National Infrastructure Audit
Queensland Input – Part A – 30 June 2008
Queensland Government – Department of Infrastructure and Planning  Page 53 of 110
Enhancements  to  the  corridor  will  help  overcome  rail  congestion,  and  improve  the
capacity, timeliness and quality of train services. Projects include:
1.           Caboolture – Beerburrum – Landsborough
2.           Landsborough – Nambour
3.           Lawnton – Petrie – install 3rd track
4.           Operation of 1500m trains.
The  total  cost  is  about  $2  billion  of  which  $80  million  is  committed.  An  additional
required $1.94 billion is unfunded.
Caboolture to Beerburrum is in SEQIPP and is funded; Beerburrum to Landsborough
is  in  SEQIPP,  with  indicative  funding  only  from  2012-13  delayed  due  to  funding
constraints. The Landsborough to Nambour section has been delayed due to funding
constraints till beyond 2025-26. The Lawnton to Petrie section is in SEQIPP, and has
been brought forward to 2011-12 due to its importance – funded by the Queensland
Government for $80 million. The operation of 1500 m trains is not funded.

[Stillwater]

The chickens are coming home to roost as a consequence for a lack of rail focus when seeking transport solutions north of Brisbane.  Rail freight will wither along the corridor, with Labor and Coalition pledging massive amounts for a Bruce Highway solution alone.  http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/truss-pledges-8bn-for-bruce/1846299/