Article: Sign our petition to get rail travel for Algester, Calamvale, Parkinson

[ozbob]

From the Southern Star click here!

Sign our petition to get rail travel for Algester, Calamvale, Parkinson and Acacia Ridge

Sign our petition to get rail travel for Algester, Calamvale, Parkinson and Acacia Ridge

RAIL travel could finally become reality for commuters in Algester, Calamvale, Parkinson and Acacia Ridge. But it might be up to YOU to force the government?s hand.

State Member for Beaudesert Aidan McLindon is pushing the State Government for a low-cost pilot program which would prove how viable train travel would be.

The area is the third heaviest user of buses with more than five million trips a year.

Mr McLindon said the program could be in place in a year using a QLine service running DMU (diesel multiple unit) carriages along the under utilised single-gauge rail line from the NSW border through Beaudesert, Logan, Browns Plains, Algester, Calamvale to the ?break-of-gauge?? at Acacia Ridge before connecting into the Brisbane CBD.

Mr McLindon said the initial pilot program costings were minimal compared to what would be needed to build or convert other rail lines.
?The idea is for a 12-month pilot program to run morning and evening peak-hour services. The infrastructure is in place ,?? he said.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan is lukewarm on the plan. She said the government was ?doing some work?? on the line?s future and examining ?options?? but baulked at an outlay she said would be ?hundreds of millions of dollars??.

A campaign for passenger rail has run since 1996.

[ButFli]

Hold on. The standard-gauge line itself might be under-utilised but when it becomes the dual-guage third road between Salisbury and Roma St it sure isn't. How do they expect to run these DMU's into Roma St and back while competing with Gold Coast services for slots?

I wish them luck but I don't think it can be done.

[stephenk]

Whilst it would great for these areas to have a rail service, there are a few problems with this plan:-

1) The line is standard gauge, and there is limited standard/dual gauge infrastructure from Salisbury to Roma Street, and none beyond Roma Street. Thus either the trains will need be dual gauge (more $$$), or considerable infrastructure enhancements will be needed between Salisbury and Roma St (even more $$$).

2) The peak direction tracks across the Merivale Bridge are already nearing capacity in the am peak. This would add even more pressure on these tracks, and also create timetabling headaches for Gold Coast/Beenleigh Line trains between Salisbury and Park Rd. Alternatively trains could run via Tennyson and use the Ipswich Line into the City, but this would cause timetabling conflicts and possibly capacity issues on the Ipswich Line. Again the only way these issues could be resolved is with considerable infrastructure improvements between Salisbury and Roma St and/or a new inner city rail tunnel.

[STB]

Correct.  My thoughts on it is that before it's even looked at in the first place, you need to increase the track capacity between Salisbury and Bowen Hills.  Throwing another line into the mix on the Beenleigh line will cause far more headaches than it's worth without the those upgrades.

The track between Sailsbury and Greenbank would need to be duplicated, dual guage, electrified and stabling yards (logically at Greenbank) at a minimum.  This line is actually quite heavily used by freights and other diesel traffic and is a key connector between NSW and Qld, so major works like I've mentioned would need to be done for both passenger and freight movements to be accommodated.

I'd probably allocate this as a medium prioity compared with other places in SE Qld.  I believe it certainly will happen eventually, particuarliy when development around Flagstone, Jimboomba and Beaudesert takes off, but keep in mind this is at least 15 to 20 years away at a minimum.

If I had a choice, I'd put stations at Acacia Ridge, Algester and Algester South (to spread the potentially large patronage that it could attract in the area), Hillcrest (make it a major bus/rail interchange for the Browns Plains area and beyond), Berorina Heights, Greenbank and Flagstone.

[O_128]

I'm sorry but what IDIOT decided agianst a quadruplication !!

surley there were even studys back then about maybe opening this line.

[mufreight]

Some very shortsighted veiws are being expressed on this one.
The line is currently standard gauge from Acacia Ridge.
There is sufficent room in the rail corridor for a Queensland narrow gauge line to be built alongside the existing standard gauge line.
If the existing line were to be dual gauged then a choice would have to be made if it was to be electrified so that the line could operate as an intergrated part of the existing passenger network or the operation of double stacked container trains, it is not feasable to do both.
The section of line between Acacia Ridge and Roma Street does not have a sufficent number of paths avaliable for the operation of these additional services unless the new inner city cross river link is built..
If a service such as has been proposed to be operated by DMU units then what gauge?
While such a service is definately desirable it is highly questionable if it is a practical proposal considering the present infrastructure limitations.

[#Metro]

Complicated. Just some ideas (not a very good solution IMHO, but it's a start), not expecting that they will happen but a tentative solution until someone proposes something better...

yep a few DMUs are not going to cut it. this is going to have to wait in line behind the springfield and kipparing lines so an estiamtion of completion say 2200

What about a diesel light rail service? or a dual diesel/electric LRT vehicle, standard gauge.
Pantograph can come down on the freight sections. But if it is that heavily used then a new track might be a better idea. There is a lot of undeveloped land out here, so this would also accord with new land releases to supply more living places to people coming to SEQ.

Proposed route, stage 1:
Hillcrest
Larapinta
Algester
Acacia Ridge
Archerfield
Salisbury
Rocklea
Moorooka
Tennyson (solves Tennyson issue)
Sherwood & Ipswich line to CBD (but could also go via W'Gabba route).

There are some serious constraints...

[#Metro]

Why not just extend the Busway out there?
Or do they need the higher capacity that rail gives them?

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

The state government and BCC are paying through the nose for extra infrastructure to low and medium density suburbs on the edges of the city. Failed planning policies are coming back to bite them (and us) on the bum, cost everyone heaps and threatens other worthy government projects (Health, Schools etc) because all the funding in the Treasury dries up.

If they had allowed higher density buildings near main roads (4-5 storey) it could be so different.

Of course a freeway can't cope with so many people far away.
It is cheap but too ineffective and its value is quickly eroded away.
All freeways lead to the city, and this means interchanges.
Interchanges mean congestion and gridlock.

On another note, the supply of land is fixed.
Building McMansions on further and further away land is an inefficient use of a limited resource.
It puts creeks under pressure (flooding, polluted runoff, illegal dumping), encroaches on prime farmland and floodplains (think West of Rosewood), and wastes energy in ever longer commutes.