Cross River Rail Project

[#Metro]

Great, looks like another business case and new flythrough video needs to be done.

So many new jobs in public relations and communications created.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Editorial: Labor mediocrity on show with Adani and Cross River Rail fails

QUEENSLAND has long prided itself as a frontier state. Far from the purview of the federal government and distinct from the Sydney-Melbourne duopoly, this vast and diverse state has forged ahead regardless through its unique entrepreneurial spirit.

Few challenges have been viewed as too tough.

Labor premier William Forgan Smith built the Story Bridge during the Great Depression to create jobs.

Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen opened up coalmining opportunities to spawn a generation of prosperity.

And the Beattie government attracted major companies to Queensland through a raft of tax agreements, much to the chagrin of leaders in other states.

Sadly, the pioneering zeal that has served us so well appears to be fading, disparaged as an anachronistic, colonial approach.

In its place has emerged a process-driven and mulish mindset where sectional interests hold great sway and performing well at the blame game is a prerequisite in politics.

The stalled Carmichael coalmine and the limbo land in which the Cross River Rail project finds itself are just two examples. But they are also the two most critical projects on the to-do list of the Palaszczuk Government.

Indian miner Adani's announcement that it was postponing an investment decision on the Carmichael mine amid a factional brawl within Labor is a bitter blow for regional Queensland.

No other issue has so greatly exposed Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's lack of gravitas within her own ranks.

Months of negotiations with Adani representatives over royalties were scuttled by an 11th hour intervention by Deputy Premier and Left faction leader Jackie Trad.

In truly unruly scenes, Left faction ministers publicly condemned the proposal before a Cabinet discussion took place and restated Labor's pre-election rhetoric opposing taxpayer-funded aid for Adani.

Ms Palaszczuk will wear the Carmichael delay like an albatross around her neck at the next Queensland election.

The Government has flicked the switch to salvage mode – both for itself politically as well as the Carmichael mine – by talking about region-wide royalty agreements for all future miners in the Galilee Basin and other areas.

However, this will not shift what will be the pervading atmosphere in regional Queensland from now until the election that inner-city Left MPs scuttled their employment prospects.

The disconcerting thing about the Adani delay is the deal that was on the table seemed nothing special.

Royalty relief in the early years while the mine builds up production, which would have been caught up at a later time, seemed sensible.

In fact, the deal seemed downright judicious for a state facing a dearth of major investment opportunities and stubbornly high unemployment.

Would Forgan Smith, Bjelke-Petersen or Beattie have surrendered so meekly in the face of some internal discord? Unlikely.

Yet despite enjoying similar popular appeal, Ms Palaszczuk has wilted at the sight of a fight, surrendering the pursuit of the great good of job creation in the face of the self-serving incursion of her deputy.

Meanwhile, Ms Trad should be focusing on her infrastructure portfolio, given she has so far proved as incapable as her predecessors of pushing forward the Cross River Rail project.

Ironically, her hand in scuttling an Adani deal may have only made affording the significant ongoing costs of a new underground passenger rail link into Brisbane's CBD more difficult.

Different incarnations of the 10.2km rail link between Bowen Hills and Woolloongabba have been bandied about for years to avoid the crunch point when rail demand exceeds the ability to deliver services.

Yet while untold millions of dollars have been spent by successive governments keeping transport planners employed to scribble lines on maps, commuters have been kept waiting.

It is worth noting that a previous foot-stamping episode ensured that the entire portfolio responsibility for Cross River Rail was brought under Ms Trad, yet this has so far delivered naught.

The Federal Government is either not enamoured with the project's business case or is playing politics with the timing of any commitment they might make.

If Cross River Rail, the state's "No.1 infrastructure project", is as critical as the Palaszczuk Government purports, then surely it is incumbent on it to lock in an alternative funding arrangement.

Not only has Ms Trad failed to convince Canberra of the merits of Cross River Rail, she has so far failed to convince her colleagues of alternative funding arrangements.

If the Government goes to the next election with little more than a blueprint to bemoan the lack of federal funds for the project, then it would be rightly chastised by voters.

Past governments, those that embraced Queensland's frontier mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, would have struck a deal on the Carmichael mine and found a way to fund Cross River Rail.

All the Palaszczuk Government has done is combobulate an argument that others are to blame while celebrating its own mediocrity.

[ozbob]

Trad lashes out over Cross River Rail snub - https://t.co/Ql4uTNJoJq pic.twitter.com/gSOo3BKAKi

— Rail Express (@RailExpressNews) May 23, 2017

[Stillwater]

Spot on CM! 

[Stillwater]

What do Adani and Cross River Rail have in common?  Both have been Trad upon.

As the Left-Right split in State Labor becomes obvious, the Right leaked to the media today the fact that the concessional royalties deal with Adani for the Carmichael coal mine, crucial to its development, had been offered to the Indian mining company two months ago, in writing, by the Under Treasurer, Jim Murphy.  It was a deferral royalty arrangement – light payments as the mine starts up, heavier as it reaches full production.  Adani doesn't escape paying the royalties.  The offer is a change in the payment schedule.

At the 11th hour, Jackie Trad and her Left faction have scuttled the deal.  Adani has postponed its final decision on the mine going ahead.  No royalties will be paid; no royalties available to the state for major infrastructure projects Ms Trad wants funded, such as CRR.

Ms Trad has sought that Adani be cut no special deals – that it be subject to the full scrutiny of all the necessary processes, without exception.  Why?  Because she is chasing The Green vote in her vulnerable inner-city seat, based on West End.  Meanwhile, central and north Queensland are crying out for the $16b investment and the flow-on effects of additional investment in the Galilee Basin by other players that will piggy-back their proposals off the Carmichael Mine.  This project will be a shot in the arm for places such as Townsville, Bowen and Mackay.

If Adani's Carmichael Mine does not go ahead, there will be a backlash against Labor in the handful of seats it holds in the bush.  Most likely, it will lose some seats, and government as a result.  Ms Trad would have thrown some of her colleagues under the bus.  However, Ms Trad may just hold onto her seat, in Opposition.  An LNP government is likely to cut a far more generous deal than Labor has on the table.  And an LNP Government would be in power to, once again, unpick CRR and come up with a new or modified project – or place it on the backburner in favour of Brisbane Metro.

Ms Trad is playing a very risky political game.  Her Left faction wants to kill off the Adani mine, shutting down the revenue stream that would fund new infrastructure projects.  Meanwhile Labor Right is being lobbied by the Property Council and other business interests not to use a betterment tax or 'value capture' model to fund CRR, as they want to maximise profits (to them) of new development around CRR stations.

In contrast to her 'maximum scrutiny' and 'no deals' stance on the Carmichael Mine, Ms Trad wants precisely that from Infrastructure Australia and the federal government regarding its financial backing of CRR – a backdoor political stitch-up in which she does not want all the ins and the outs of the CRR Business Case to be disclosed.  A pig in a poke offer to the feds.

The Business Case currently with IA is for an earlier version of CRR, not the one currently being worked upon by the Coordinator-General, still.  Just as she wants to unstitch the deal with Adani, Ms Trad and her government continue to fiddle with the CRR project and its funding model.  Recent requests from IA for additional information relate to the changes that have taken place since the original project Business Case was lodged.

Ms Trad cries foul.  Other states that are seeking federal funding for their projects have completed those projects – no more fiddles.  There are no more uncertainties over them, as there is over CRR due to Mr Trad's ongoing intervention in the project.

What she's doing is a slap in the face for the 'independent' CRR Delivery Authority.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Congested roads of more concern to southeast Queenslanders than Cross River Rail, poll finds

THE much-vaunted Cross River Rail is rated a top ­priority by only a third of southeast Queenslanders, new research reveals.

Despite being pushed by the Palaszczuk Government as the state's clear No.1 infrastructure project, a poll shows that residents in the region rate it just seventh in terms of importance, behind a long list of road upgrades.

As the state and federal governments squabble publicly over funding for the $5.2 billion proposal – including a river tunnel and underground stations – it was regarded as extremely or very important by 35 per cent of respondents in the poll, commissioned by a consortium of peak bodies.

Brisbane City Council's proposed $1 billion high-frequency Metro network was prioritised by 54 per cent of southeast Queenslanders, putting it third behind upgrades to the M1 Pacific Motorway and Ipswich Motorway.

Infrastructure Association of Queensland chief executive Steve Abson said the results highlighted people's concerns over transport congestion.

The relatively low level of importance placed on Cross River Rail "probably says there is more work to be done in ­selling the congestion-busting component of it".

"It does not mean the Government has got its priorities wrong,'' he said.

Statewide, healthcare infrastructure, such as hospitals, child and aged care, is in greatest demand, followed by major roads and highways.

Investment in renewable energy ranked third, supported by 71 per cent of the 1000 people polled – nearly triple the 24 per cent wanting coal and gas-fired power stations prioritised.

And the Adani mega-mine, railway and port project, which split the Government this week, drew surprisingly low support – prioritised by less than 40 per cent of people, even in north and central Queensland.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Opinion: Doing nothing on Cross River Rail not an option for minority Labor Government

BACK in March 2010, Queensland premier Anna Bligh stood on the Brisbane River bank as a tug boat pushed geotechnical equipment under Captain Cook Bridge.

The stunt was to highlight early survey works for Cross River Rail, a project aimed at resolving what was seen as a looming crisis in demand for inner Brisbane rail services by 2016.

"This project will be the single largest transport project ever undertaken in Queensland's history," the premier harrumphed.

"It has the potential to transform our rail network and the potential to see the capital city Brisbane truly come of age."

Cross River Rail, at that stage, was an $8 billion behemoth running 19km between Salisbury in the city's south and Wooloowin in the north, with the first new CBD station in a century.

Nothing has happened in the seven years since then.

Nothing but a whole lot of politics, anyway.

The state foot-stamped about a 75 per cent Commonwealth contribution for a while, before the floods of 2011 meant it couldn't afford its own end of the deal, causing a two-year delay.

Infrastructure Australia nominated CRR as the nation's No.1 project in 2012.

And in its death-throes, the federal Labor government committed in the 2013-14 Budget to a $715 million grant and to fund 50 per cent of the capital cost portion of a proposed public-private partnership.

The Newman government then reworked and scaled back the project into the comically named BaT (Bus and Train) tunnel.

And the Palaszczuk Government has gone back to Cross River Rail but has reached a stalemate with the Turnbull Government over funding.

With $800 million of state money on the table, that leaves a $4.6 billion funding gap for the project that had downsized to a 10.2km route from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills.

Various so-called "value capture" methods have been proposed in the detailed business case, including a ticket levy, car park levy and benefited area levy.

However, these would likely only allay significant ongoing costs – estimated at $4.4 billion over 30 years – rather than the upfront capital required to actually get the thing built.

With a state election looming and the Palaszczuk Government so heavily tied to making CRR happen, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad is now actively considering other funding arrangements.

There really are few viable options.

Funding the gap through a public-private partnership arrangement, debt funding the entire project, diverting spending from other areas or a combination of all three.

Each of these options has fiscal implications that could adversely impact Queensland's precarious credit rating.

Yet, adopting a "do nothing" approach will only reinforce the prevailing stereotype that the minority Labor Government has achieved zilch during its time in office.

The deadline for when CRR is needed has now been pushed somewhere beyond 2021 by the introduction of the European Train Control System, set to more safely manage increasing services.

Ms Palaszczuk doesn't want to be yet another premier left high and dry on the Brisbane River bank as far as Cross River Rail is concerned.

Steven Wardill is The Courier-Mail's state affairs editor

Where to now for Cross River Rail? > https://t.co/6RLZRCQzsm #qldpol

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) May 26, 2017

^

Nailed it @stevenwardill ...
Utter shambles manifest in public transport administration, management and delivery in Queensland ..#qldpol https://t.co/5iTRbgjviE

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) May 26, 2017

[Stillwater]

There are alternative for politicians to do to pass the time of day, apart from catching the superfast lift in the Tower of Power to ground level and walking down to the river to imagine where CRR might pass beneath.   (Maybe this Premier's next trick would be to call a media conference to unveil a marker on each bank, showing the alignment of the tunnel.)

Or the politicians could go to Wulkuraka and watch 15 brand new trains sit idle.  They could go to the TMR offices and pull from those big flat drawers (or computer screen, lol) the plans for the SCL duplication.  Maybe take a packed lunch and catch a train to Petrie and watch as trains pass through an inefficient and flawed signal system.  Or catch the train further north and feel it creak and lurch from the dual tracks to the single track and steam train alignment at Beerburrum, through the most scenic part of the network to Eudlo, getting off at the short platform temporary railway station and head to the general store for a coffee, then wait more than an hour for a return train or a bus that calls itself a train.  Then hope like crazy that the effects of the coffee work through the body roughly at the point where there is a toilet in close proximity.

Why not go to the library and read endless reports of imaginary railway lines and big infrastructure projects that the pollies want another level of government to pay for? Watch a public servant calculate a BCR.

Or maybe the pollies could take a steam train excursion up the Toowoomba Range and launch the 'Toowoomba Flyer' regional fast train proposal and fly-through as part of the 'Connecting Toowoomba 2086' plan.  If they were especially proactive, they could announce a feasibility study.  Fly in a helicopter along the CAMCOS corridor.  Except on Fridays, when the helicopter might not turn up, be cancelled due to 'operational issues' or might have to fly somewhere else.

There are endless things a pollie could do relating to transport in Queensland short of actually doing anything practical, for the benefit of the travelling public.

[#Metro]

Maybe The UN can pay for Cross River Rail. 

[ozbob]

 

Cross River Rail means MORE for #QLDers supporting the @QLDMaroons with improved transport networks right across the SEQ #CrossRiverRail pic.twitter.com/tDjXfyKASQ

— CrossRiverRail (@CrossRiverRail) May 31, 2017

[Stillwater]

More of those inane tweets. 

[ozbob]

#CrossRiverRail will boost transport connectivity and capacity throughout SEQ. pic.twitter.com/mIrs222EeM

— CrossRiverRail (@CrossRiverRail) June 5, 2017

[ozbob]

^

Here is the real McCoy ...

The Metro Tunnel will free up Melbourne's biggest bottleneck. Find out how by watching our video pic.twitter.com/YyqU7EEhLz

— Metro Tunnel (@metrotunnelvic) June 5, 2017

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

16th March 2017

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

Good Morning,

It is now appropriate to join Cross River Rail (CRR) and the Brisbane ' Metro ' Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) 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 BRT ' Metro'  should not be seen as competing projects, but as two elements of the 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. Both projects will provide the economic stimulus that is needed.

It is sad that the  Queensland 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 Queensland 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.  They are consigning themselves to irrelevancy once again unless they come on board with the integrated public transport solution that CRR and the BRT ' Metro ' now promises for SEQ and Brisbane.

Best wishes
Robert

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

References:

1. Cross River Rail --> https://www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/

2. Brisbane ' Metro ' -->  https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro

LM: 'Connecting Brisbane' shows that while #BrisbaneMetro & Cross River Rail are individual projects, they're part of an integrated network pic.twitter.com/EYbuQztC4W

— Team Quirk (@Team_Quirk) June 5, 2017

[ozbob]

^ excellent!

[ozbob]

6th June 2017

Media Statements
Deputy Premier, Minister for Transport and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning
The Honourable Jackie Trad
Tuesday, June 06, 2017

Connecting Brisbane – to reduce congestion and deliver jobs

A roadmap for the future of Brisbane's public transport is set out in a new State Government-Brisbane City Council strategy, Connecting Brisbane, whichwill secure Brisbane's future as a new world city through a modern, high-frequency mass transit system.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Jackie Trad, who today joined Lord Mayor Graham Quirk to launch the strategy, said that it centres on the vital and complementary Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro projects.

"We are bringing together the vision of the Palaszczuk Government and Brisbane City Council in a strategy that will lay the foundation for us to transform transport and tackle congestion in Brisbane and the wider region, as well as drive economic growth," Ms Trad said.

"It is a blueprint that will free up the bottlenecks and increase mobility around the region through two cornerstone public transport projects – Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro.

"This will create a system of high-quality, affordable and connected public transport that will also deliver jobs and grow our economy as our region grows.

"Together these projects will redesign the public transport system to allow faster, more frequent transit through better integration of rail, metro and the busway network.

"It will transform Brisbane from having a radial network, with buses and trains making journeys into the city centre, to an integrated 'turn up and go' high-frequency with improved connections and reduced duplication.

"This strategy also shows how Cross River Rail and Metro will provide the long term backbone for the next wave of medium and long term infrastructure projects to improve transport for the whole of South East Queensland.

"But to realise this opportunity, first we need to ensure both Cross River Rail and Metro are delivered – we simply must solve the choke points at Merivale Bridge and Victoria Bridge that are strangling our network."

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the business case for Brisbane Metro, released last week, confirms the project is a cost-effective solution that unlocks the potential of the existing busway infrastructure and lays the foundation for future growth.

"Right now, buses carry two of every three public transport patrons in Brisbane. Our existing bus infrastructure is already at capacity in a number of areas and cannot cope with the continued forecast growth of our city," he said.

"Brisbane Metro will provide significant benefits for both the city and the region, complementing the Cross River Rail project and existing heavy rail services.

"Connecting Brisbane shows how Brisbane Metro will be part of a long term plan for a broader metro network as extensions are made to the busway network and will be integrated with Cross River Rail and other existing rail.

"The proposed modern, high-frequency mass transit system will connect people to where they want to go and at the times they want to travel."

The reforms will pave the way for future extension and improvement of the network, particularly in linking the identified growth corridors and areas.

Connecting Brisbane's plan is consistent with the federal government's Smart Cities Plan to support productive, accessible, liveable cities that attract talent, encourage innovation, and create jobs and growth.

For more information: www.dilgp.qld.gov.au/connecting-brisbane

ENDS

[ozbob]

Connecting Brisbane – a roadmap for the future

> http://www.dilgp.qld.gov.au/infrastructure/connecting-brisbane.html

The Connecting Brisbane strategy (PDF 8.6 MB)

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/QldLG/status/871973563976228864

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland govt 'dogging' Canberra for Cross River Rail funding every day before budget

The Queensland government will make a last-ditch appeal to the federal government for Cross River Rail funding ahead of next week's state budget.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt said there were still "opportunities between now and next week, frankly, for the Turnbull government to have a very close look at what they can do".

The $5.4 billion rail project missed out on specific funding in the federal budget, handed down in May.

The Queensland budget was due to be released in one week.

Speaking to the Queensland Media Club on Tuesday, Mr Pitt said the Queensland government would be "dogging them every day, quite frankly".

"We'll be having a very close look at what's possible," he said.

"We will make a call next Tuesday as to what is going to happen."

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad was due to head to Sydney this week to talk with her federal counterparts and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk would be at COAG on Friday.

The Queensland government had stated previously it could not complete the Cross River Rail project alone.

Mr Pitt also confirmed the budget would take a $1.1 billion hit to the bottom line as a result of damage from Cyclone Debbie.

The number is revised from earlier estimates of in the "billions", which were based on Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

"It's going to be a very, very large item in the budget," he said.

"You're not just talking about rebuilding bridges, rail bridges. You're talking about rebuilding communities."

Addressing the audience on Queensland jobs, Mr Pitt described the state's trend unemployment rate of 6.4 per cent as "stubborn".

He also took aim at youth unemployment in the regions and said the challenge was to share growth around the state.

Mr Pitt said job creation was the single most important issue for anyone, wherever they lived in Queensland.

"What you should expect to see [in the budget] are projects which will create direct jobs, ones that will again give local communities the confidence that investments are happening in their region, which will then spur on more investment and more opportunities for job creation," he said.

"We really believe that this is an important budget and I'm not saying that because it's the last budget before the election."

There have been several statements from Mr Pitt and Ms Palaszczuk that the next budget would be a "jobs budget" – and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey described it as a "jobs bonanza budget".

But Mr Pitt would not be drawn on a target for the unemployment rate.

"Full employment is about 5 per cent – we're quite a way off that but we believe that we're on the right pathway."

The former LNP government set an ambitious target of a 4 per cent rate over six years, but former treasurer Tim Nicholls later described it as a "stretch target", and said there were factors beyond Queensland's control in the international market.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane Metro, Cross River Rail linked in new pitch for federal funding

A NETWORK of turn-up-and-go train and bus services will carry commuters around the southeast under a new plan to sell Cross River Rail to the Commonwealth.

Called Connecting Brisbane, the plan details new interchanges at hubs such as Chermside, Indooroopilly, Upper Mt Gravatt, Altandi and Browns Plains that will stop people wasting time and clogging already-busy services having to transit through the city.

The report notes the current network's downfall is that it's geared for travel into the city, rather than around the southeast.

New interchanges will allow people to make trips like Forest Lake to Springwood, Sandgate to Ashgrove and Toombul to Wynnum, which currently aren't possible without backtracking.

Additional trunk routes, including to Springfield, the Sunshine Coast, the airport, Manly and Carindale, have been identified for high-frequency services that would encourage people to ditch their cars.

It says Cross River Rail will allow Gold Coast train services to increase from a maximum of eight an hour during peak to 12.

The plan was prepared in direct response to the Federal Government questioning how Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro would be integrated in assessing whether it help fund the $5.8 billion underground rail line.

Infrastructure Minister Jackie Trad said the southeast would grow by two million people in the next 20 years, and would need both projects.

"We have clogged arteries, we have a clogged aorta and in order to unclog it we need both Metro and Cross River Rail," she said.

"And we need buses and trains working together so we can deliver a high-frequency, reliable public transport network for the people of Brisbane."

The document says population growth in Brisbane's surrounds will be significantly higher than jobs growth there, leading to hundreds of thousands more workers needing to travel into the city for work.

By 2040, it's predicted more than two in five Brisbane workers will live in surrounding council areas.

Meanwhile, Treasurer Curtis Pitt is holding out hope the Commonwelath will pledge funds for the Cross River Rail project ahead of next week's State Budget, but refuses to reveal his contingency plan.

And he stopped short of ruling out borrowing money to fund the project should it not get federal funds.

"I think there are still opportunities between now and next week frankly for the Turnbull Government to have a very close look at what they can do," he told the Queensland Media Club lunch in Brisbane today.

He said Ms Trad would be travelling to Sydney to try to drum up federal support.

[kram0]

Hi Bob, have you received any correspondence from the state LNP on there plans for CRR or thoughts on Labor's plan?

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> LNP council and Labor govt merge to solve Brisbane's traffic bottlenecks

Brisbane's ability to deliver high-frequency and reliable public transport to cope with a predicted population boom has been revealed.

On Tuesday Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Jackie Trad stood alongside Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk to show how their different transport projects could work simultaneously to tackle congestion.

The state government's $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project would provide a 10.2 kilometre rail link connecting Dutton Park to Bowen Hills with new services to stations including Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street, Roma Street and the Exhibition showground.

Brisbane City Council's $944 million metro project would provide high-frequency services across two lines including Eight Mile Plains busway station to Roma Street busway station and RBWH busway station and UQ Lakes busway station.

"Today we're announcing the release of Connecting Brisbane – a study into how we unlock the Brisbane public transport network," Ms Trad said.

"We know that in order to have a world-class city we need a world-class public transport system and that's why we've been extremely pleased to work together on what we believe will be the best outcome for public transport here in Brisbane.

"Over the next 20 years Brisbane will grow by some 2 million people right across the south-east Queensland region and if we're going to bust congestion and make sure people can move around the region as quickly and as efficiently as possible we need to deliver both Cross River Rail and Metro."

The Connecting Brisbane strategy outlined a blueprint of how the two public transport projects would free up the city's bottlenecks and increase mobility around the region.

"This strategy also shows how Cross River Rail and Metro will provide the long-term backbone for the next wave of medium and long-term infrastructure projects to improve transport for the whole of south-east Queensland," Ms Trad said.

"But to realise this opportunity, first we need to ensure both Cross River Rail and Metro are delivered – we simply must solve the choke points at Merivale Bridge and Victoria Bridge that are strangling our network."

Ms Trad said it didn't matter what project was built first, but the metro would likely be delivered more efficiently and quickly than the complicated Cross River Rail.

Cr Quirk said bringing improved public transport to Brisbane needed co-operation between state and local governments to interconnect bus and rail transportation.

"In that context they [the commonwealth] want a single plan, they want to know there is co-operation between the two levels of government – state government and local government – and that's what this report is about, making sure that that is evidence based, that it's a report that shows the connectivity and how each system will work to form a good outcome for the city," Cr Quirk said.

The 40-page Connecting Brisbane report contains two main reform tasks.


    Provide infrastructure, particularly at the core of the transportation system, to unlock existing capacity and overcome current constraints and avoid congestion
    Improve services with a network providing more frequent, integrated services on a 'turn up and go' high-frequency trunk network supported by feeder services

The full report can be viewed here.

[ozbob]

Hi Bob, have you received any correspondence from the state LNP on there plans for CRR or thoughts on Labor's plan?

No nothing direct.  The LNP have been rather disparaging towards CRR of late, but they have not said publicly what they would do.

If the LNP should return to Government I don't think they would proceed with CRR.  Be something else. So I think it is essential that the state budget next week allocate funding for commencement of the project this year. 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/871995778776137728

[kram0]

Hi Bob, have you received any correspondence from the state LNP on there plans for CRR or thoughts on Labor's plan?

No nothing direct.  The LNP have been rather disparaging towards CRR of late, but they have not said publicly what they would do.

If the LNP should return to Government I don't think they would proceed with CRR.  Be something else. So I think it is essential that the state budget next week allocate funding for commencement of the project this year.

They are useless and will lose traditional right voters (myself 85% of the time) with this ridiculous stance on a project that will benefit many and create jobs!! I might email them direct.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

6th June 2017

Connecting Brisbane

Greetings,

RAIL Back On Track is delighted that the State Government and the Brisbane City Council have joined together to present Cross River Rail and the Brisbane Metro as  Connecting Brisbane - a roadmap for the future described as:

" The vision is for a high frequency public transport 'trunk' service with feeder services, that promotes the complementarity of the Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro projects."

http://www.dilgp.qld.gov.au/infrastructure/connecting-brisbane.html

We suggested this was the case last March and congratulate BCC and the State Government for transcending party politics and positioning both projects for delivery.

Connecting Brisbane is not only talking the walk but is walking the walk!

Best wishes,
Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

16th March 2017

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

Good Morning,

It is now appropriate to join Cross River Rail (CRR) and the Brisbane ' Metro ' Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) 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 BRT ' Metro'  should not be seen as competing projects, but as two elements of the 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. Both projects will provide the economic stimulus that is needed.

It is sad that the  Queensland 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 Queensland 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.  They are consigning themselves to irrelevancy once again unless they come on board with the integrated public transport solution that CRR and the BRT ' Metro ' now promises for SEQ and Brisbane.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
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References:

1. Cross River Rail --> https://www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/

2. Brisbane ' Metro ' -->  https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro

[Stillwater]

Is this where Infrastructure Australia was pushing the state government -- the 'sticking point' being referred to by the PM and Co? ..... Seeking to know how Metro and CRR worked in tandem?  .... The Missing Link?

[ozbob]

Is this where Infrastructure Australia was pushing the state government -- the 'sticking point' being referred to by the PM and Co? ..... Seeking to know how Metro and CRR worked in tandem?  .... The Missing Link?

Personally I think if ' Connecting Brisbane ' had been finalised quickly once Brisbane Metro (BRT) crystallised, it would have been Fed funded in part already I reckon. Crikey we could see it was the go last March.  Still, better late than never I guess.   

[Jonno]

Is this not just a subset of Connecting SEQ that should have been delivered by now?....except for political fighting!

[300LA]

It's interest that this document has come out at the 11th hour (week before state budget). It doesn't really contain anything ground breaking, moreso, information you'd expect to already be in the business case(s).

It also hints at bus reform (touch wood) which I know is something you guys (RailBOT) having pushing for a while.

[ozbob]

Is this not just a subset of Connecting SEQ that should have been delivered by now?....except for political fighting!

True in part.  But the actual synergy between Brisbane Metro and CRR was not really possible to be demonstrated until Brisbane Metro matured into the correct BRT form.  The failure with the business case for CRR was that the integration was not shown ( and not updated apparently which gave the Feds an out for the last Fed budget ) .

How could it because the business case for CRR was submitted long before Brisbane Metro #2 was finalised.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/RACQOfficial/status/871996443317465091

[#Metro]

Great! It is the right idea, but there is a certain hesitation and vagueness that is imparted into the reader when one reads the document.

Combining the Brisbane Metro and Cross River Rail into a single project means that the BCR of the Metro, which is ~ 2 will uplift the lower BCR of CRR.

Now, what is needed is to combine the CRR + Metro + Bus Reform.

Bus Reform of the Brisbane City Council is cost-neutral. This is very important, as it has huge benefits and very little cost, that will increase the BCR of a combined project even further.

The way BCRs are calculated puts a heavy weight on changes that happen in the near future, and discount benefits that are more distant in the future. If bus reform is taken first, while the planning and construction of the Metro and CRR are taking shape, that will amplify the BCR massively.

You can even throw some TOD rezoning around rail stations by developing a specific TOD zoning to apply immediately over QR stations and around QR stations and or busways. The benefits of that will automatically  be captured by BCC in rates and to a lesser extent, the State Government in land tax and stamp duties. No new tax legislation is required for that, and indeed perhaps BCC could apply a fees and charges discount as it has done with student accommodation to new construction within such zones for a limited period.


So the winning formula is:

Bus Reform + CRR + Metro + TOD = Federal Funding.

New Bus Network Proposal: http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

[Stillwater]

The document reflects a lot of what has been said in this forum over the past two years, if only governments had listened.  Let's hope this is the end result of IA's insistence that Brisbane have a truly integrated transport system rather than bus and train often competing on trunk routes.  Frequent bus where trains don't run and feeder buses where they do finally takes us beyond the 'them and us' (council and QR) debate.  Now for finalisation of CRR business case and, hopefully, an end to those stupid tweets.  I was fully expecting one that said: 'A visit to nana would be a lot faster and more convenient if you were able to travel by CRR.'

[ozbob]

 

[ozbob]

Game. on.

https://twitter.com/nosnikta53/status/872213467440099328

[Stillwater]

Do we believe Jackie Trad when she said the establishment of the CRR Delivery Authority would 'take the politics out of CRR'?  This slogan would have had to have been approved by Labor HQ and many more signs will be appearing in inner-city streets.

Will we see LNP candidates with signs saying 'Only the LNP will deliver Brisbane Metro'?  And then will we have one side of politics, or the other, crying foul when IA and the feds announce funding for either / or?

This is what is wrong with the provision of public transport infrastructure in Queensland - politics layered through the process.

[300LA]

This is what is wrong with the provision of public transport infrastructure in Queensland - politics layered through the process.

Not being familiar with how other states operate, how are they different/better?

[ozbob]

This is what is wrong with the provision of public transport infrastructure in Queensland - politics layered through the process.

Not being familiar with how other states operate, how are they different/better?

All states are politicised to varying degrees, however most are much resilient to the interference due to robust organisational structures eg. PTV Victoria, PTA Western Australia, Adelaide Metro  SA, Transport for NSW.  Here in banana-land TransLink is just a collection of desks at the roads obsessed DTMR, has little authority, resources, competence or resilience.  This is why we are advocating for the formation of Public Transport Queensland.  See this thread here > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12341.0

[HappyTrainGuy]

Another example was translink (but ultimately the state minister passing the buck) being powerless to do anything about BCC/BT refusing to modify its bus network which impacted how trains and other bus operators near or in the BCC areas were run.