Turkeys. What are they saying? "We don't want $150m for Townsville, we want only $100m."?
Curtis Pitt's comments are contradictory. He says the Townsville rail project does not have a completed Business Case (and therefore should not be funded), yet the State Government argues that CRR (no Business Case) should be funded by the feds. At every opportunity, Madam Trad screams through bright red lips: "SHOW US THE MONEY". All this episode shows is that Queensland is woefully behind in preparation of business cases for major infrastructure projects. It's an own goal for Curtis Pitt.
A sports stadium for Townsville is a Labor State Government commitment that it should go ahead and fund, and build.
The project that the feds have committed funding to is the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor (TEARC).
In promising federal money for this project, Mr Turnbull has been reading the Queensland Infrastructure Plan, which identifies the Port of Townsville re-development as a high priority, with the Townsville State Development Area strategically located in close proximity.
These words are from the Dept. of Transport and Main Roads website:
“The region surrounding the Mount Isa rail system produces 75 per cent (by volume) of Queensland’s non-coal mineral output, including copper, lead, zinc and fertiliser, which are also the primary exports from the Port of Townsville. TEARC is expected to improve access for bulk freight traffic to the Port of Townsville by providing a direct and uninterrupted corridor.
“TEARC will be a new 8 kilometre rail link from the North Coast Line near Cluden, through the State Development Area, and to the Port of Townsville. TEARC will be a double track configuration and will require a fixed bridge over the Ross River. The main benefit of TEARC is enabling 1400m trains providing substantial savings in train operating costs and passing loops (relative to 1000m train operations which requires more passing loops to handle more frequent, shorter trains for the same freight task). Contestability of Townsville Port
versus Abbot Point is a factor of rail haul distance, train lengths and shipping size. The haul distance is 180 kilometres further to Abbot Point. Train lengths are currently constrained to 1000m for the Mount Isa System and 650m for the North Coast Line. Port of Townsville is constrained to fully laden Handymax and Panamax ships7 whereas Abbot Point, with its deep harbour, can handle significantly larger Capesize ships. The economies of scale gained by using 1400m trains for TEARC and Panamax ships from deepening the Port of Townsville is competitive with Abbot Point.”
It sounds as though Malcolm Turnbull is thinking strategically when it comes to federal investment in Townsville.
More information:
http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects/Name/T/Townsville-Eastern-Access-Rail-CorridorThis project has arisen out of several studies, among them:
Communicating the Imperative for Action (Infrastructure Australia 2011);
Mount Isa Line Rail Infrastructure Master Plan 2012 – Consultation Draft, Nov 2011 (Queensland
Rail 2011);
Mount Isa System Rail Infrastructure Master Plan (QR Network 2009);
Mount Isa System Information Pack (QR Network Access 2007);
Port Development Plan 2010–2040 (Port of Townsville 2010);
Townsville Port Eastern Rail Access Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate (Maunsell 2008); and,
Townsville Port Access Impact Assessment Study – Environmental Assessment (Kinhill 2000).
The Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor supports the viability of the Queensland North-West Mining Province and Mt Isa – seat of the Katter Barrons.
