11 Nov 2021: Fast Rail, a must do for SEQ

[ozbob]

Fast Rail, a must do for SEQ

11th November 2021

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers has thrown its weight behind calls to establish a fast rail network in SEQ before the 2032 Olympics.

SEQ has been waiting too long for fast rail. It's an idea that has huge public support, but so far has had piecemeal support from government

The sad reality is, no matter if you are travelling from the Gold or Sunshine Coasts, rail services are slower than driving, and if you live in Toowoomba, you don't have regular rail at all. There is just not enough emphasis on making SEQ public transport fast.

Cross River Rail and the Sunshine Coast line duplication are the two main bottlenecks that needed to be solved to make fast rail possible. These will both be done by 2025 so there's no credible excuse for not building fast rail.

Fast rail is generally accepted to mean rail speed up to 200km/h. We are not talking about high speed rail which is speed > 250 km/h.

Too much money has been spent in recent years on upgrading motorways, and in the case of the Coomera Connector, building a new motorway parallel to an existing one. When we have a need to work towards net zero emissions, this approach doesn't make sense.

EVs (Electric Vehicles) are still going to take years to become the majority, so this policy of expanding roads is only going to worsen pollution until then and cause car dependency and more road congestion even with a majority of EVs.

We could be expanding and speeding up our electric rail network right now, reduce emissions immediately and give everyone a fast way to get around, completely immune to congestion.

There is a long list of potential rail projects across SEQ that have been spoken about for years, are all viable right now, but continue to flounder. Other states are going forward with fast rail (1, 2).

Increasingly, various levels of government are weaponizing funding disputes between each other in order to delay projects, and this needs to stop. Its completely unfair on ordinary citizens who just want these things built.

What needs to be done to achieve Fast Rail in SEQ?

- Ensure the new fleet of trains being built in Maryborough are future-proofed with the capability to run at 160km/h or more.

- Quadruplicate the Gold Coast line between Beenleigh and Dutton Park, by providing a new pair of tracks rated for high speed. These tracks must avoid any sharp slow turns and give Gold Coast trains a clear run into the city.

- Build a rail spur from Beerwah to Maroochydore via the long promised CAMCOS corridor, with tracks rated for fast rail.

- Upgrade tracks from Rosewood to Toowoomba as part of the Inland Rail Project, and run fast passenger trains up the range using the proposed new tunnel.

- Build rail along the "Trouts Road"  North West Transport corridor from Alderley to Strathpine to give trains from the Sunshine Coast a clear run into the city.

- Extend the Gold Coast Line to Coolangatta.



Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org


References:

1. A fast rail future for NSW https://www.nsw.gov.au/a-fast-rail-future-for-nsw

2. Geelong to Melbourne Fast Rail https://infrastructurepipeline.org/project/fast-rail-to-geelong

[ozbob]

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