Hon Peter Slipper MP meeting: Tuesday 21 February, 2012

[Fares_Fair]

Meeting with the Hon Peter Slipper MP, Member for Fisher
Speaker of the House of Representatives

On Tuesday, 21 February, 2012 I met with the Hon Peter Slipper MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to discuss the federal rail issue that impacts our everyday commuting lives.
I did so for 2 reasons, first, his Federal seat of Fisher includes the railway stations from Beerburrum to Eudlo; and second, these stations are all along a single line track where the current bottleneck strangles both freight and passenger services.

Why is it a Commonwealth issue?
It's part of a national north-south freight corridor from Melbourne to Brisbane (which includes the 100km north to Nambour), and Brisbane to Cairns.
It's an infrastructure and economic bottleneck located at Beerburrum, and it impacts upon the entire eastern seaboard from Brisbane to Cairns, food chains up to far north Qld are affected by this bottleneck, as are passenger and freight services.
As such, it comes under the auspices of Infrastructure Australia (IA).

Infrastructure Australia's focus is on assisting Australian governments to develop a strategic blueprint for unlocking infrastructure bottlenecks and to modernise the nation's economic infrastructure.

22 February, 2011, there was a story in The Australian newspaper, titled Freight haulers get own network, by Annabel Hepworth.
In that story, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, announced a draft national land freight strategy.
This strategy proposes the following actions;
1.   Create one national, integrated freight system.
2.   Identify the existing and yet-to-be built roads, rail lines, intermodals, ports and airports which will link together to form a workable, truly national freight network.

As part of this process, consideration would be given to opening up more roads to bigger vehicles, establishing dedicated freight routes and separating passenger trains from freight trains.


Remember:       "One 1500 metre freight train can carry the load of 100 semi-trailers, leaving our roads safer and our air cleaner."
Quote by:            The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, 2011.
                         Minister's introduction, p1.
Source:           http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/aa/releases/2011/May/SecondAnniversaryofEconomicStimulusPlan.pdf


Herein lies a key to help unlock the Sunshine Coast rail fail.
Hopefully more to come ... stay tuned.

[somebody]

Why is it a Commonwealth issue?

Because the Federal Government don't give the states enough money to run themselves without Federal interference in everything.

[Fares_Fair]

 

[colinw]

Meanwhile in the Magical Land of Queensland Government:

http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=79294
http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=79293
http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=79292

Exactly the same lame "shotgun media release" tactic that the former ALP Government used to use, putting words in the mouths of local Government representatives & sundry others. All that has changed is that it is BLUE slagging off at RED now.

[Fares_Fair]

From the last statement:

The LNP Government has tasked the Department of Main Roads to compile the engineering-based Crisis Action Plan to address the Bruce Highway. It will be completed within the first six months of the Newman Government.

I wonder if anything like this (Crisis Action Plan) has been tasked for the Sunshine Coast rail network  er, I mean single line track.

[colinw]

Ok, so where is our engineering based action plan for the NCL (and the suburban rail system), to avert the looming capacity crisis?

Oh wait, there isn't one!*

* = or maybe the action plan for the NCL is the Bruce Highway action plan ... i.e. let the freight go by road.

[Fares_Fair]

Ok, so where is our engineering based action plan for the NCL (and the suburban rail system), to avert the looming capacity crisis?

Oh wait, there isn't one!*

* = or maybe the action plan for the NCL is the Bruce Highway action plan ... i.e. let the freight go by road.

I fear that is the case, yet it contradicts the Federal Government plan to separate passenger and freight rail services, announced on 22 February 2011 by the Hon Mr Albanese.
The former government knew this and failed to act.
The new government is yet to respond.

[colinw]

That's what I'm worried about.

Since the QR/QRN split, the Government appears to have developed a huge "blind spot" regarding any further need to invest in rail beyond the boundaries of Caboolture & Rosewood.

NCL upgrades, and the Toowoomba range re-alignment (Grandchester to Gowrie) have just plain dropped off the radar.

Its like, having divested half of QRN, the Government has washed its hands of non-urban rail.

Thus we have the situation where major highway upgrades are being talked about as "urgent priorities" - Bruce Hwy, Toowoomba Range 2nd crossing, while the adjacent rail lines are forgotten and struggle on with 19th century alignments & limitations.

Imagine what it would be like if the road to Toowoomba was still on the alignment it had in the 1860s (when the rail opened).