6 Oct 2010: Rail Revolution: Use Trouts road corridor to escape ...

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Media release 6th October 2010

Rail Revolution: Use Trouts road corridor to escape North West congestion by rail

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has highlighted the importance of the Trouts Road corridor for rail.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The recent RACQ Travel Time survey (1) confirms that some of the worst congestion is the North Western suburbs. For example, Wardell Street, Enoggera, recorded traffic speeds of just 8.6 km/hour. Sicklefield Road, Enoggera, was even worse, with speeds of 4.9 km/hour, just a bit faster than walking pace."

"The Trouts Road Rail line, which featured in the connecting SEQ 2031 draft plan will be an invaluable piece of public infrastructure to residents of the North West because it will allow people in the North West to escape the mess of congestion on the roads."

"To maximise the benefits of Rail as widely as possible, RAIL Back on Track suggests that high standard bus and cycling interchanges be built with rail. Furthermore, wider station spacing would allow higher average speeds for faster journeys." (2)

"A 'world-class' bus rapid transit feeder bus network to rail generally would allow for seamless interchange. In this way, people could access the benefits of rail from street stops in low-density suburban areas many kilometres from the stations in much the same way that buses round up passengers in the suburbs and feed into the busway system."

"Indeed, this is what Perth, and places overseas like Toronto are already doing." (2)(3)(4)

"An idea to consider would be combining the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast ExpressLink trains into a single service, running through the Cross River Rail subway and then into a tunnel under Enoggera Road to emerge into the Trouts Road Corridor, bringing the benefits of 9-car trains and the potential for even faster, and more direct journeys to this suburban congestion hotspot." (5)

"Further investment in rail is required in order to allow the rail system to be converted to full metro-style operation in the future, to stimulate transit oriented development, to allow all residents to escape congestion on roads, and to decisively break with the 'car-first, people second' ideology that has dominated transport decisions in Brisbane since the 1960s."

"Train frequency in south-east Queensland is at worlds worst practice (6). The failure to properly utilise the network we already have is compounding congestion issues. The Rail Revolution cannot come soon enough!

References:

1. RACQ Travel time survey, http://www.racq.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/57729/Travel_Time_2010.pdf

2. The Challenge of Expanding Perth's Rail System, Public Transport Authority of WA
http://rtsa.com.au/assets/2009/06/rtsa240408peter-martinovich-pres.pdf

3. Viva (bus rapid transit)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viva_%28bus_rapid_transit%29

4. http://www.ptua.org.au/myths/parkride.shtml

5. Trouts Road Corridor
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=3625.0

6. SEQ: Poor train frequency is penny wise but pound foolish http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=4505.0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org