Xi'an opens first metro line

[colinw]

By the time this has been done, a 200km Metro system will have been delivered in just 12 years from starting construction of the first line. Brisbane would be lucky if we could do that in 120, if ever.

Comparison of the schedule for delivery of the 50.5km long Line 3 compared with the much shorter CRR project here is rather instructive.

In the same time span I'm sure the QLD Government will deliver 200km of glossy spin documents promising all sorts of things by 2031 or later, but delivering absolutely nothing here & now.

Railway Gazette International -> Click Here

26 September 2011

CHINA: The first of three metro lines under construction in Xi'an was officially opened at midday on September 16, with large crowds turning out to take a ride.

Designated Line 2, the 20·5 km line runs south from the North railway station to Qujiang International Conference & Exhibition Centre, serving 17 stations. There is a fleet of 14 trainsets, with services operating at 9½ min headways from 06.30 to 21.30.

Construction began in September 2006 and has cost 10bn yuan. The tunnels were bored by TBMs from Chengdu CSR Tunnel Equipment, and are located at a depth of 12 m to 20 m to protect monuments including the city's historic bell tower and walls. Styling of the trains and stations draws on inspiration from the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties when Xi'an was the capital city.

A 5·8 km southern extension of Line 2 with four more stations is under construction. The 32 km east - west Line 1 is scheduled to open in stages in 2013-16, and work on the 50·5 km Line 3 began in May with opening scheduled for the end of 2015. A six line network totalling 200 km is planned by 2018.

[Stillwater]

Don't worry, they will have the simulated 'drive-though' ready for the next election, so you can vote while enthused by what could be in the construction pipeline.  Bear in mind, this government has now started planning for 'beyond 2031'.  That means an even longer wait for major transport infrastructure projects.  If we keep them in power, they might start planning for 2041!

I wonder how long one of those big newsprint rolls is when unwound and spread flat?  They could run that through a printing press and print two thick lines on it, then roll it across the landscape to indicate where a new railway track, or metro, might go .... maybe in 2035.  :conf

[O_128]

You know I have had with Australia, Heres how my construction company will run

1. Bare minimum wage but all employees get good holidays, overtime, and bonuses for early completion
2. all materials directly imported from china - Sorry but australians have priced themselves out out the market
3. performance reviews, if your not working you are sacked - my parents live near the light rail route and i counted 23 out 45 workers standing around doing nothing and this is on a daily basis.

if Xi'an can open metro lines but a world class city can't than there is something seriously wrong with the country.

[BrizCommuter]

if Xi'an can open metro lines but a world class city can't than there is something seriously wrong with the country.

Xi'an is a damn site more "World Class" than Brisbane!

[SurfRail]

You know I have had with Australia, Heres how my construction company will run

1. Bare minimum wage but all employees get good holidays, overtime, and bonuses for early completion
2. all materials directly imported from china - Sorry but australians have priced themselves out out the market
3. performance reviews, if your not working you are sacked - my parents live near the light rail route and i counted 23 out 45 workers standing around doing nothing and this is on a daily basis.

if Xi'an can open metro lines but a world class city can't than there is something seriously wrong with the country.

Your construction company would run alright...into the ground.  You cannot expect to pay Australian labourers "minimum wage" and attract competent people unless you import them in breach of immigration laws.  The superannuation, leave entitlements, OH&S obligations, relatively transparent and corruption-free contracting and tendering system etc make it a damn sight of a better place to work than China, where human labor and life is somewhat cheaper for people at the pointy end.  Good luck importing cement, timber, rails and other items too, all of which can be had reasonably cheap anyway.

The problem is not wages or materials - Europeans can build this infrastructure as well, and their working environment can be even more lax than ours at times.  The problem lies squarely with governments and the big contractors living off of them, which has the natural effect of inflating cost.

[O_128]

You know I have had with Australia, Heres how my construction company will run

1. Bare minimum wage but all employees get good holidays, overtime, and bonuses for early completion
2. all materials directly imported from china - Sorry but australians have priced themselves out out the market
3. performance reviews, if your not working you are sacked - my parents live near the light rail route and i counted 23 out 45 workers standing around doing nothing and this is on a daily basis.

if Xi'an can open metro lines but a world class city can't than there is something seriously wrong with the country.

Your construction company would run alright...into the ground.  You cannot expect to pay Australian labourers "minimum wage" and attract competent people unless you import them in breach of immigration laws.  The superannuation, leave entitlements, OH&S obligations, relatively transparent and corruption-free contracting and tendering system etc make it a damn sight of a better place to work than China, where human labor and life is somewhat cheaper for people at the pointy end.  Good luck importing cement, timber, rails and other items too, all of which can be had reasonably cheap anyway.

The problem is not wages or materials - Europeans can build this infrastructure as well, and their working environment can be even more lax than ours at times.  The problem lies squarely with governments and the big contractors living off of them, which has the natural effect of inflating cost.

theres plenty of people who would do a better job for less money,half the issue seems to be the gov will pay whatever they are told is a good price.

[SurfRail]

theres plenty of people who would do a better job for less money,half the issue seems to be the gov will pay whatever they are told is a good price.

Half correct.  Costs go up to meet the contractors' own needs, particularly where the market is cosy (eg big boys like Leightons, Baulderstone, Thiess, John Holland etc) and a history of poor infrastructure delivery stymies the government's ability to plan and deliver things efficiently.

However, there are manifestly not plenty of companies hanging around who will supply the same product for half-price, or they would be getting the work to begin with and everybody else would need to adjust their own bids.  If you pay half-price, you generally get crap. 

(From what I was told for instance, GoldlinQ was definitely not the cheapest GCRT bidder, but their plans were qualitatively much better.)

[colinw]

Heh.  No need to run around violating workers' rights and winding back a century of hard won freedoms!

The point of posting this article was to highlight the disparity between planning & implementation practices in Australia and much of the rest of the world.

Obviously prices here WILL be higher - smaller market, strong currency, higher wages, etc. But I can't help feeling that there is a lot of gold plating going on with rail projects. Just look at the cost of the Epping to South Morang rail extension in Melbourne!

[Golliwog]

Meanwhile, in Shanghai:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/at-least-240-injured-in-china-train-collision/story-e6freonf-1226148399024

At least 240 injured in China train collision
From: AAP
September 27, 2011 8:06PM


A CRASH between two metro trains in the Chinese city of Shanghai has injured more than 240 people, the subway company says, according to the state Xinhua news agency.

Most of the injuries were minor, the subway company said.

The crash on line 10, one of the city's newest subways, happened when one subway train rear-ended another this afternoon.

It occurred after the Shanghai Shentong Metro Group blogged that the line was having delays due to equipment problems.

The company said the accident, which comes after a deadly high-speed train crash in July that shook public confidence in China's rail system, was likely caused by a signal failure.

The accident snarled traffic downtown as police set up road blocks to clear the way for ambulances, and hundreds of onlookers gathered to watch as passengers were escorted out of the subway.

Some of the injured were carried away by stretchers.

Shanghai, a city of 23 million, has rapidly expanded its subway system in recent years and some lines have seen problems with faulty signalling, windows shattering, doors not opening properly and poorly trained train operators.

[colinw]

That's the other side of the coin. If you expand too fast, you have problems. It happens elsewhere too - Madrid has had issues with poorly constructed tunnels, and part of Line 7 remains closed until remedial works are performed.

[O_128]

That's the other side of the coin. If you expand too fast, you have problems. It happens elsewhere too - Madrid has had issues with poorly constructed tunnels, and part of Line 7 remains closed until remedial works are performed.

Ahhh that explains the breakneck expansion of the SEQ network, we only duplicated to Beerwah so we can test it for 10 years, before being 100% sure that it was safe to continue.

[colinw]

ROFL. Hardly in the same category as Shanghai, which from opening of the first line in 1995 has built the longest metro network in the world.

Actually, I'm fairly sure the Government does not think it is safe to continue duplicating the NCL, because if they do it will result in more people using trains.

[SurfRail]

Actually, I'm fairly sure the Government does not think it is safe to continue duplicating the NCL, because if they do it will result in more people using trains

[somebody]

Actually, I'm fairly sure the Government does not think it is safe to continue duplicating the NCL, because if they do it will result in more people using trains.

And that might increase complaints.  Can't have that, can we?

[Fares_Fair]

Actually, I'm fairly sure the Government does not think it is safe to continue duplicating the NCL, because if they do it will result in more people using trains.

And that might increase complaints.  Can't have that, can we?

It would lessen the complaints from Sunshine Coast commuters I can assure you. 

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[somebody]

On a per commuter level, yes.  But what if 3 times more people use it and each one complains half as much?