Cross River Rail Project

[Stillwater]

We now know where some of the $50m budget for the CRR Delivery Authority is being spent.  The delivery authority budget has a small hollow log for advertising/media that, no doubt, will be raided for the ALP election campaign.  This will be an election issue -- CRR versus LNP's Metro.

Is anyone else confused by reference to 'Boggo Road' station for CRR?

I have recollections of a survey of locals who preferred the Park Road name.

[SurfRail]

^ That may have been when they built the busway - they had a survey as to whether Park Road should have been renamed, and it lost.  The busway station was named Boggo Road anyway, and the CRR stop has always had that as the provisional name.

[dancingmongoose]

Anyone else get that fancy 'project newsletter' in the mail yesterday?

Sure did (Although it was in Wednesday's mail).

Overkill much? Whoever is in charge of Govt PR/spin really needs to be replaced. I am confused as to what they were trying to achieve with this? :conf

Not sure what the newsletter looks like, but I do know Struber are in charge of the marketing. Link to CRR project at the bottom of the page: http://struber.com.au/marketing/

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

5th March 2017

CRR and Brisbane ' Metro ' are an integrated public transport solution

Good Morning,

It is now appropriate to join Cross River Rail and the Brisbane ' Metro ' Bus Rapid Transport plans together conceptually and promote the integrated public transport solution they are for Brisbane and SEQ. Both projects are integrated from an operational perspective, CRR and  ' Metro'  should not be seen as competing projects, but as two elements of a single public transport solution.

Presenting both projects in this light will be seen by many, including the Federal Government and Infrastructure Australia, as the correct path now to public transport resilience, capacity, and hence successful delivery and outcomes.

It is sad that the LNP seem to be the only major player that does not understand the need for Cross River Rail.
[ LNP Opposition Media release  STATEMENT: Brisbane Metro http://www.timnicholls.com.au/statement-brisbane-metro/ ]

The LNP has previously stamped their public transport credentials as very mediocre with such absurd proposals as the ' Cleveland Solution ' and the ' Bus and Train ' tunnel. The are consigning themselves to irrelevancy once again.

Best wishes
Robert

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

[ Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12687.msg188914#msg188914 ]

[ozbob]

Sunday Mail 5th March 2017 page 9

All stops pulled for for new Metro Cross River Train

[ozbob]

Hey Tim @TimNichollsMP @LNPQLD
Cr @Schrinner is on board the bi-artics + CRR.
Are you?#qldpol
Quote from https://t.co/UARFbvlJCP pic.twitter.com/q85FfriVZv

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) March 5, 2017

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 6th March 2017 page 15

An integrated transport solution

[BrizCommuter]

Sorry, blatant cross-posting, but still relevant in this thread.
Is Tim Nicholls out of touch over Cross River Rail?
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/is-tim-nicholls-out-of-touch.html

[ozbob]

BrizCommuter:
Is Tim Nicholls @TimNichollsMP Out of Touch?
> https://t.co/yqHNKMq9eJ#qldpol #qldvotes@LNPQLD @QLDLabor @QldGreens pic.twitter.com/IYN2LszWpI

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) March 7, 2017

[BrizCommuter]

^ thanks for tweeting. Very good readership of that blog post so far!

[ozbob]

^ thanks for tweeting. Very good readership of that blog post so far!

[Monster]

^ thanks for tweeting. Very good readership of that blog post so far!

Nailed it as usual Briz, I can just picture TN squirming when those points are put to him. And they SHOULD be (just not on a glossy brochure, ok?  )

[kram0]

Sorry, blatant cross-posting, but still relevant in this thread.
Is Tim Nicholls out of touch over Cross River Rail?
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/is-tim-nicholls-out-of-touch.html

Absolutely at this present time, and the fact he keeps criticising the Labor governments CRR plan while offering no insight into his own plans makes him and the LNP look even worse.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Cross River Rail 'really' will happen, Trad assures cynical Queenslanders

Acting Premier Jackie Trad wants to tell cynical Queenslanders that the government "really" is making Cross River Rail happen.

Speaking at a Property Council of Australia breakfast on Thursday, Ms Trad said the project had moved forward considerably in the past 12 months.

"I know many of you will be cynical, having seen past incarnations of this project come and go no further than the drawing board, but we are really making it happen," Ms Trad said.

Cross River Rail was first announced by then-transport minister Paul Lucas almost a decade ago, and has been, in its various incarnations, in planning stages ever since.

In 2013, the Newman government substituted Cross River Rail for its own project, the Bus and Train tunnel.

With the Palaszczuk Labor government winning the election in 2015, Cross River Rail is back on the table.

Ms Trad said the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority would be created later in March.

Its immediately priority would be to secure funding, start pre-construction activities, prepare for early works and plan for procurement activities.

"We have said we are determined to see shovels in the ground this year, and we mean it," Ms Trad said.

Ms Trad said the government was working to get the necessary approvals in place, with the environmental impact statement for the new alignment out for public consultation.

"The approval of the Cross River Rail environmental impact statement remains in place, but the request for project change process provides a welcome opportunity to revisit the consultation process," she said.

Ms Trad said she was determined to work with Brisbane City Council and its Metro project.

"Cross River Rail is a major investment and we want to make sure we get the best return on our investment," she said.

"That can only be achieved by working together, not competing."

"[I think that] was always going to, I think, become a catalyst for some challenging conversations," Ms Trad said.

"It's two kilometres from the city, it's a place where a significant interchange station for Cross River Rail has always been earmarked for the past six years."

Ms Trad said she wanted the Go Print site to be mixed-use development.

"In the same way that we look at the Mayne rail yard, how can this site so close to the city be used to stable trains when what we really need to do is house people?"

Ms Trad said Brisbane had thrived through unlocking old industrial land and promoting transport-oriented development in South Bank, Albion, Newstead, Toowong and Northshore Hamilton.

"And Cross River Rail is the catalyst for this continuing even further - driving economic development across stations across the region," she said.

Ms Trad said the south-east Queensland cities of Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane would be closer together.

"For the first time, these cities will become genuine choices for companies looking to set up in the south-east, and for people looking for more affordable lifestyles, but wanting to access jobs in Brisbane," she said.

Meanwhile, Ms Trad said she and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk had recently written to federal Assistant Cities Minister Angus Taylor to express their "very keen interest" in pursuing a City Deal for south-east Queensland.

Ms Trad said the south-east Queensland region remained well-positioned to become Queensland's next City Deal.

The Townsville City Deal was signed on December 9.

"We know the City Deal in Townsville has produced some fantastic results for the Townsville community and also the north Queensland region, so we want to replicate that here in south-east Queensland," Ms Trad said.

Work on a City Deal for south-east Queensland formally began in 2015, with a Gateway One report completed by KPMG in October 2016.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said it would mean south-east Queensland becomes one.

"We've got to make sure it's a whole region, when people travel they don't really care who the mayor is, they're looking at lifestyle and City Deal will create the lifestyle we need," Cr Pisasale said.

[nathandavid88]

I'll remain cynical until I see a shovel (or TBM) in the ground.

[#Metro]

Look Everyone! Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!

[Stillwater]

During the election campaign later this year, a row of pollies with shiny shovels will line up for the cameras beside a railway track.  That is an absolute given.  That's all that will happen.

Perhaps, in the background, the Premier will flag away the first NGR train as it heads into service for the first time.

A whole raft of PR stunts and activities will occur to disguise the fact that bugger all is happening.

[SurfRail]

[Derwan]

I'll remain cynical until I see a shovel (or TBM) in the ground.

Might be a bit hard considering I (and many others) currently work in a building earmarked for demolition to make way for the TBM launch site...

[ozbob]

Advertisement in Queensland Times 11 March 2017 page 10

[Stillwater]

The PR schmooze brigade will be heading to a shopping centre near you to promote the project that is yet to be given the green light -- a Claytons Cross River Rail.  There have been previous occasions where the state government has put the cart before the horse.  Think about that while sipping on your glass of water from the Traveston Crossing Dam.

It wasn't built you say?  But I have seen the ad, flipped through the pages of the glossy brochure and seen the fly-through ... and thought about the wonder of the horse trails along its banks and the interpretative centre for the Mary River lung fish and the arse-breathing turtle.

Oh well, maybe there could be a CRR ride at Southbank. 

[ozbob]

I. am. a. believer!   

[#Metro]

Cross River Rail is #FakeNews.

Nothing is really happening with CRR. It's not news.

Trad can get back to me when the project is "funding ready".

[Stillwater]

^^ we should encourage use of the phrase 'funded and ready'.

'Shovel ready' means at the point where a series of shallow holes can be dug (as for a photo opportunity).  That's it.  Let's face it, that is all that the politicians are interested in, especially around election time, which is about to hit us soon enough.

A 'shovel ready' project that is not funded is a non-project.  Ms Trad is feeding us an altered reality .. or 'alternative facts'.  Yes, as it stands, the CRR project is a case of 'fake news'.

[#Metro]

How does something stay news for 7+ years? It doesn't!

News is about things that have happened or are developing now.

Public servants shuffling paper around in the business case and a nice animation is not news.

BINGO Stillwater!

A 'shovel ready' project that is not funded is a non-project.

What do you think about the satirical mock-up?: #FleeQLD

[BrizCommuter]

How does something stay news for 7+ years? It doesn't!

News is about things that have happened or are developing now.

Public servants shuffling paper around in the business case and a nice animation is not news.

BINGO Stillwater!

A 'shovel ready' project that is not funded is a non-project.

What do you think about the satirical mock-up?: #FleeQLD

We as a group should be trying to support it, not make a mockery of it.

[ozbob]

We support CRR of course.  I think some folk are somewhat cynical these days.  Almost 10 years now of CRR coming ..

[ozbob]

The landslide win for ALP in #wavotes sends some strong messages for Queensland.

Labor has a good plan for PT improvement in WA.  Time to pull the digits out here in Queensland.

No doubt if CRR is not actually commenced soon, could be very costly coupled up with #railfail.

[Stillwater]

Support the project, not the cynical way the government is weaving a PR campaign around it.  The direction of effort should be co-operation with private sector financiers and the federal government, so why blanket advertisements in newspapers and a local shopping centre blitz?  Of course, people will want to know how CRR will affect them, and that needs to be factored into the process, but it should occur only after the money is in the bag and all approvals have been gained.  These things should happen at the point when the project is 'ready and funded'.

Another important principle is at play here.

Governments may use taxpayer money to provide general information, or for the public good -- hence quit smoking campaigns, remember to immunise your children etc.

There is a fine line between PR that informs and PR that promotes the government of the day in  the guise of an advertising campaign that uses departmental funds or, in this case, funds from the admin. bucket of the CRR Delivery Authority.

We should be wary also of this tactic -- a stepping up of government advertising in the lead-up to an election.  What happens is that the government books advertising slots, on TV especially, for health campaigns and the like, thereby securing advertising time on favourite programs, or during the news etc.

At the time when an election is to be held, the ads are pulled (in keeping with convention) and the vacant slots are taken immediately by the government, in this case the ALP.  By the time the LNP knocks on the doors of the advertising agencies, the only slots available are after midnight, during the re-runs of I Love Lucy or Lost In Space.

[#Metro]

Cross River Rail 'really' will happen, Trad assures cynical Queenslanders

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/cross-river-rail-really-will-happen-trad-assures-cynical-queenslanders-20170308-gutztn.html

Acting Premier Jackie Trad wants to tell cynical Queenslanders that the government "really" is making Cross River Rail happen.

"It won't happen overnight, but it WILL HAPPEN"

[James]

We support CRR of course.  I think some folk are somewhat cynical these days.  Almost 10 years now of CRR coming ..

Cynicism which is 100% warranted. The Queensland government has the capacity to borrow money, raise taxes, sell assets, or cut jobs in order to fund CRR.

CRR can happen tomorrow if Jackie Trad wants it to, she's just too busy playing politics. Same old same old really. Wheel out glossy brochures during an election year, raise the profile of the project using government advertising and then go to the election screaming about how the LNP has no plan etc.

We are all a bit over it.

[#Metro]

Cynicism which is 100% warranted. The Queensland government has the capacity to borrow money, raise taxes, sell assets, or cut jobs in order to fund CRR.

CRR can happen tomorrow if Jackie Trad wants it to, she's just too busy playing politics. Same old same old really. Wheel out glossy brochures during an election year, raise the profile of the project using government advertising and then go to the election screaming about how the LNP has no plan etc.

We are all a bit over it.

+1

Not to mention the Sunshine Coast Line who had this baiting trick pulled on them a number of times. Make a song and dance about it and then after the election - the rug gets pulled.

Tired of hearing the words "commitment" and "determined". Just 15% in the bank says it all really.

[aldonius]

At the time when an election is to be held, the ads are pulled (in keeping with convention) and the vacant slots are taken immediately by the government, in this case the ALP.  By the time the LNP knocks on the doors of the advertising agencies, the only slots available are after midnight, during the re-runs of I Love Lucy or Lost In Space.

Pretty sure this tactic isn't quite so total as that. I think I would've noticed a lack of LNP adverts in primetime in 2012.

[Stillwater]

^^ Not as many options for LNP, plus they would have paid more for the slots.

[Golliwog]

The PR schmooze brigade will be heading to a shopping centre near you to promote the project that is yet to be given the green light -- a Claytons Cross River Rail.  There have been previous occasions where the state government has put the cart before the horse.  Think about that while sipping on your glass of water from the Traveston Crossing Dam.

It wasn't built you say?  But I have seen the ad, flipped through the pages of the glossy brochure and seen the fly-through ... and thought about the wonder of the horse trails along its banks and the interpretative centre for the Mary River lung fish and the arse-breathing turtle.

Oh well, maybe there could be a CRR ride at Southbank. 

Cynicism which is 100% warranted. The Queensland government has the capacity to borrow money, raise taxes, sell assets, or cut jobs in order to fund CRR.

CRR can happen tomorrow if Jackie Trad wants it to, she's just too busy playing politics. Same old same old really. Wheel out glossy brochures during an election year, raise the profile of the project using government advertising and then go to the election screaming about how the LNP has no plan etc.

We are all a bit over it.

+1

Not to mention the Sunshine Coast Line who had this baiting trick pulled on them a number of times. Make a song and dance about it and then after the election - the rug gets pulled.

Tired of hearing the words "commitment" and "determined". Just 15% in the bank says it all really.

Pretty sure that part of updating the EIS (and an EIS in general) REQUIRES them to go out and seek community feedback on the plans. So yes it seems a bit over the top, but I doubt they want to be seen trying to sneak it through the back door.

And you can't go get funding without a current EIS that is approved for the project you want to build.

[SteelPan]

Totally AGREE - as all thinking people should - with the Turnbull govt, CRR does little to seriously address the poor state of rail overall in Brisbane....big deal, a corridor, about half of which is in existing corridors, servicing ONE new inner-city station [WOW] and two more stops on the inner-Southside - [in already heavily serviced public transit regions] , then back on to the existing corridor! It's single saving grace, is the serious need for another inner-city rail corridor. But don't kid yourself, this things about a minimal as you can get.

So, BIG deal.....where are the NEW rail corridors criss-crossing the city, to service new areas for generations to come? Again, Brissy people are being sold the "homebrand special".......

[aldonius]

SteelPan: if you want new new rail corridors through the inner city, please find the state an extra 10 billion dollars or so.

[SteelPan]

EASY done.......lease of existing govt assets, to fund nextgen govt assets.  Buy a Yr12 economics/Biz Principles book and it'll explain it to you....using existing capital value to fund additional capital assets.   

Not long ago, the Vic Govt leased, for only 50yrs, the Pt of Melb to a commercial consortium and pocketed close to 10 BILLION for it. The state gets the Port asset back, it will have built in the interim additional inner city rail capacity and all capex spent by the commercial consortium on the Port, becomes an asset for the state!

Tick
Tick
Tick.....

Then, rinse and repeat......



"The Victorian Government is poised to go on an infrastructure spending spree after clinching a record $9.7 billion deal to lease the Port of Melbourne for the next 50 years."

Source:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-19/port-of-melbourne-sold-to-lonsdale-consortium/7857328

[Stillwater]

The leasee will stage its investment so that the Port infrastructure is clapped out at the point that it hands everything back to the state in 50 years time.  Lots of investment up front, none in the last 10 years or so.

[ozbob]

Ten years and ten days ago today, I wrote the first #CrossRiverRail story. Construction still hasn't started. pic.twitter.com/7mkdcD6nlZ

— Cameron Atfield (@CameronAtfield) March 14, 2017