Richlands to Springfield Central - Stage 2

[ozbob]

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CR PAUL TULLY Goodna ‏@PaulTully 4m

Magnificent aerial photo of Springfield Central with the Railway Station and Centenary Hwy in the foreground,... http://fb.me/4ziQB0HvE

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Orion expansion brings 700 retail jobs to Ipswich

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Mater Hospital at Springfield will open on Wednesday

THE opening of the Mater Hospital at Springfield Central has arrived and the great news it has come two months ahead of the scheduled date.

The new $85 million, 80 bed hospital, which has been built at Health City, will welcome its first patients tomorrow.

The multi-storey facility includes theatre spaces, inpatient wards, a day surgery unit and a cancer care centre.

It also features 15 medical oncology treatment bays, which will be run in partnership between Mater and Radiation Oncology Queensland.

The new state-of-the-art hospital was announced with much fanfare on May 25, 2013.

Mater Springfield director Fritha Mackay said she could not believe the grand opening had finally arrived ...

[ozbob]

Sources have suggested that Ellen Grove has been rezoned and significant townhouse development is to occur.

Might be time to press for the station once again.  At least signalling is ready and some very basic earthworks.

[BrizCommuter]

Queensland Times --> Mater Hospital at Springfield will open on Wednesday

THE opening of the Mater Hospital at Springfield Central has arrived and the great news it has come two months ahead of the scheduled date.

The new $85 million, 80 bed hospital, which has been built at Health City, will welcome its first patients tomorrow.

The multi-storey facility includes theatre spaces, inpatient wards, a day surgery unit and a cancer care centre.

It also features 15 medical oncology treatment bays, which will be run in partnership between Mater and Radiation Oncology Queensland.

The new state-of-the-art hospital was announced with much fanfare on May 25, 2013.

Mater Springfield director Fritha Mackay said she could not believe the grand opening had finally arrived ...

Just a shame that hospital staff have to endure a 30 minute counter-peak service to get to and from work by train. And Sunday mornings, lets not even go there. Not surprisingly, most staff probably just drive instead.

[ozbob]

 

[ozbob]

Well. I have had some discussions with the powers to be about the mediocrity of bus west, lately.

I am very hopeful that we will see some improvements.

Remember this: When a one hour service is puled, it means two hours .. got it?

[SurfRail]

What scope is there for ICC to start co-funding services in your view Bob?

[ozbob]

What scope is there for ICC to start co-funding services in your view Bob?

Possible.  When the final transport plan is released (should be soon) might be a window of opportunity.

ICC does put in a bit for community transport of various guises already.

I understand that TransLink is going to look at the Western region services.  They acknowledge there are some issues.

[nathandavid88]

I don't know if there's any chance of this happening, but I would love to see improved connections between Browns Plains and areas like Forest Lake and Springfield. I think there could be definite benefits, not only in a PT sense but also socially, by better connecting Logan and Ipswich.

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> $6 billion plan to build 10,000 apartments in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD Land Corporation has unveiled plans for a 10,000-apartment complex worth more than $6 billion.

If it goes ahead, the medium-density project would change the face of the City Centre North area adjacent to the railway station and transit hub.

The Springfield Land Corporation is looking for expressions of interest from development and capital partners to make the vision a reality.

Chairman Maha Sinnathamby said the apartments represented part of his future vision for Springfield to become a city of its own.

"The City Centre North apartment project represents an exciting next step in the evolution of Greater Springfield, as an alternative to the Brisbane CBD, providing greater housing and work choices to the diverse mix of Greater Springfield residents across age cohorts and market segments," he said.

There are currently just over 30,000 people living in the area known as greater Springfield, however this number is now expected to increase to 86,000 by 2030.

Twelve billion dollars has been invested into the suburb, with about $600 million in construction work being carried out each year.

The suburb has attracted significant investment in recent time through the construction of the Springfield Rail Line, the Mater Private Hospital, and also the Orion Lagoon.

[#Metro]

It is quite amazing he has been able to develop this himself. The land would otherwise just be trees.

[nathandavid88]

Not only has he been able to develop it, but he has been able to develop it well. A damn sight better than similar projects like Yarrabilba and Greater Coomera, in my opinion. Maha Sinnathamby really has made a satellite city in the true sense of the word.

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest Springfield Edition 9th March 2016 page 3

Passengers rate convenience of rail

[achiruel]

Does anyone know if Darra-Springfield Central is suitable for 140km/h running with NGR rolling stock?

[mufreight]

understand the answer is yes, the NGR sets are geared for 140kph

[petey3801]

Darra to Richlands, no (100km/h max, although its' mostly 90).
Richlands to Springfield Central, yes (for the most part).

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Greater Springfield thriving as population and projects boom

When  Greater Springfield residents filled in their answers to the Census five years ago, construction of the rail line from Richlands to Springfield had not even begun.

There was no Mater Private Hospital, Orion Lagoon, GE Building or Event Cinemas. Robelle Domain parklands had been open for three months, Ashley Barty had just won the junior Wimbledon title, and 161 students had enrolled at the new Springfield Central State High.

According to the 2011 Census data, the combined population of suburbs Brookwater, Augustine Heights, Springfield Central, Springfield Lakes, and Springfield was sitting at 20,310.

Roll forward five years and Greater Springfield's population has just ticked over 34,000, according to the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

As the city prepared to take the big survey again on August 9, the Springfield News looked at just how far the city has come in such a short time.

Councillor David Morrison (Division 1) has been a Camira resident for more than three decades and said many years of planning was delivering results.

Cr Morrison counted the opening of two rail stations, the duplication of the Centenary Highway, Bunnings, the beginning of construction of AVEO Springfield and the announcement of the five-star $750 million Dusit Thani development among the city's achievements.

"Things I would like to see happen is the extension of rail from Springfield Central to Redbank Plains, the Centenary Highway — Logan Motorway interchange upgraded, and more international corporations establishing themselves in Springfield Central," Cr Morrison said.

Springfield Land Corporation communications officer Michael Lyons said the city's sustainable growth was driven by health, education and information technology.

"Over the past five years more and more people are calling Greater Springfield home, to take advantage of the jobs growth and amenity which includes a guaranteed 30 per cent green space and a range of affordable housing," Mr Lyons said.

"Education is a particular draw card for the area with 10 schools, a major university campus and other learning opportunities meaning that, at about 44 per cent, the student to resident ratio remains just about the best in Australia.

"The arrival of the Orion Lagoon, massive expansion to the inner business district retail area and the dual track rail line to Brisbane has seen Greater Springfield become a destination for visitors outside of the development."

Mr Lyons said investment in Greater Springfield was $600 million per annum.

"Over the next five years Greater Springfield will continue to deliberately lead by example as an integrated multigenerational and multicultural community."

• Investment in projects to date: $12 billion

• Estimated cost on completion: $85 billion

• Total land area: 2860ha

• CBD land area: 390ha, or twice the land area of Brisbane CBD

• Approval for over 2.6 million square metres of mixed use space in the CBD

• Estimated current population 34,000

• Planned 2030 population: 138,000 (52,000 workers).

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> More people using public transport in Springfield

THE people in one of the nation's biggest growth corridors are ditching the car for a train ticket and keeping cars off our already congested roads in the process.

The recent TransLink Tracker quarterly report found in the first six months of the 2015-2016 financial year, an increase of more than 12% or 500 passengers a day had been recorded on the Springfield rail line, compared with the same period the previous year.

In the first six months of this financial year the line recorded a growth of nearly 100,000 trips, with more than 850,000 trips starting or finishing at Richlands, Springfield and Springfield Central stations in that time.

The rail line has been a welcome addition following the construction of the Mater Private Hospital, Orion stage two, Orion Lagoon and the numerous new businesses and schools in the region.

The report also points out that customer satisfaction results are also excellent for the Springfield line.

Rail Back on Track administrator Robert Dow said while he was pleased to see so many people taking advantage of the facilities, there was still more that needed to be done.

Mr Dow said he would like to see an earlier service introduced to help cater for shift workers and students.

"The first train to leave Springfield Central is 5.39am, which we think is fairly late when you look at all the other major train lines," he said.

"For a comparison, the first train that is scheduled to depart Kippa-Ring on the draft timetable is 3.46am. Even Beenleigh has their first train at 4.18am."

While 97% of trains arrive in Springfield on time, Mr Dow said more work needed to be done to make sure the feeder buses were just as efficient.

Mr Dow is also pushing for the line to be extended from Springfield Central to include the suburbs of Redbank Plains and Ripley.

A TransLink spokesperson said authorities would continue to monitor the demand for an earlier service, but said those requiring an earlier train use Redbank or Darra station instead.

TransLink says it is also keeping an eye on future rail extensions, but won't give a definitive answer on when this might happen.

" ... said those requiring an earlier train use Redbank or Darra station instead ... "

[ozbob]

^

Queensland Times 20th July 2016 page 1

NO STOPPING SPRINGFIELD

[ozbob]

River 949 have booked an interview after 8am.  Thanks for the interest! 

[ozbob]

The real problem with buses and the rail timetable relates to fact it was set up under the Newman Government.  They restricted services. Compare to the much improved bus and rail timetable for MBRL - done under the ALP.

TransLink has been happy to continue the mediocrity wrt Springfield.  It is time that Springfield was given proper bus services and an improved rail timetable.

Nonsensical spin does not hide reality.

[ozbob]

River 949 have booked an interview after 8am.  Thanks for the interest! 

Thanks Campo and Marnie for the opportunity and the support for earlier services!

[#Metro]

And to think that the Springfield line was going to be single track until RBOT kicked up a stink about it... 

[ozbob]

^ yep, and the station at Springfield Lakes (now Springfield) was not going to be built either. 

TMR is anti-rail  ...  we need PTQ!!!

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Overflowing carpark is an "accident waiting to happen"

ELLEN Circuit residents are sick of an overflow of Springfield Central commuters using their street as makeshift train station parking.

One fed-up mother said the narrow street, adjacent to the station, had cars parked bumper-to-bumper along both sides from 7am, Monday to Friday.

She was concerned that if alternative parking was not provided, the jam-packed street would become an "accident waiting to happen''.

"My main concern is that many children use our street before and after school times, and I'm worried that if cars continue to park and block vision that a child may end up hurt," she said.

"My husband's work vehicle­ is also unable to fit through our own street due to the cars parking there."

When the end-of-the-line Springfield Central Station opened in December, 2013, only 100 Park'n'Ride spaces were allocated for commuters, until 400 new parking bays were opened in 2014.

Springfield News observed cars parked on medium strips, footpaths and over yellow lines at Springfield Central Station last Wednesday morning.

A TransLink spokesman said no parking fines had been issued at Springfield Central train station this year.

He said Queensland Rail station staff currently placed letters advising patrons when their vehicle was illegally parked.

"Queensland Rail customer satisfaction results show Springfield line customers are some of the most satisfied of all rail users across the network and current service levels meet the needs of passengers," the spokesman said.

More mindless spin from TransLink.  Fix the feeder buses for fuk sake!!

[ozbob]

The Springfield rail situation makes me rather annoyed.  TransLink and Government ' talk up ' Springfield railway success in the TransLink Tracker (Q2 2015-16) then leave it stranded with late starts and a non effective feeder bus network.  Bunch of hypocrites.  More the reason we need a champion for public transport, a real authority, bring on PTQ !

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

22nd July 2016

Why feeder buses and rail timetable for Springfield Central is a failure

Good Morning,

The Couriermail Quest has again highlighted the parking fiasco associated with Springfield Central railway station.

Couriermail Quest --> Overflowing carpark is an "accident waiting to happen"

When the Springfield railway opened, the then Newman Government through service restriction made sure that the buses servicing the new rail line were mediocre and the train timetable was less than optimal.

Nothing has happened since, so now we have a great big mess!

A late response from TMR was to increase the car park at Springfield Central from 100 to 500 spaces overall.  But this in effect does little other than encourage more to drive.  There is no reliable way to get to and from the station.  The 522 bus is a joke.  It does a scenic tour between Goodna and Springfield Central and TransLink attempts to spin this as a feeder bus?  It is unreliable, journey time is too long and frequency is overall poor.

We cannot keep expanding car parks so that we have suburbs that are just car parks.  We need to put in place proper feeder bus networks.  Fixing up the feeder buses in and around Springfield would be a great start.

Additionally the late start of trains on weekdays at 5.39am is anti-public transport. 

TransLink's response to this was  " ...  those requiring an earlier train use Redbank or Darra station instead ... "

What a stupid meaningless spin response.  TransLink is encouraging more parking rage, more congestion, more forced car travel. [ Queensland Times --> More people using public transport in Springfield ]

The Springfield line needs additional departures at 5.09am and 4.39am. The Ipswich line also has a relatively late start at first service 4.37am.  Ipswich also needs a new weekday departure at 4.07am.

Public transport in SEQ is falling apart.  And still the fools spin and dance on in George ...

Best wishes
Robert

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

[ozbob]

Latest: 'Why feeder buses & rail timetable for Springfield Central is a failure'
> https://t.co/S7VEQPsu3G#qldpol pic.twitter.com/ZkWbdhUILe

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) July 21, 2016

[ozbob]

Great example of compound transport failure now commonplace in SEQ sadly@AnnastaciaMP @StirlHinchliffe #qldpol
>> https://t.co/S7VEQPsu3G

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) July 21, 2016

[tazzer9]

There are three serious flaws in the spingfield line IMHO.
First of all is the timetable, the lack of early services and lack of 15 minute off peak services.   The springfield line is 2nd only to the ferny grove line for being able to run frequent off peak services. It joins a quadruplicated track.  There are no excuses for this.

The 2nd major flaw is rostering almost anything on the service.  I get that alot of services that head to springfield in the afternoon become either ferny grove trains and airport trains when they return to roma st.  But all springfield services should be run using smu260 and imu160 units.   I understand the 100/120/160/260's all get priotry for the gold coast and sunshine coast lines.  This will change after NGR but it should be a priority now.

The 3rd is they should have built the rail line about 300m westwards so they could accommodate 4 x 6 car trains for stabling purposes.  something they could do now fairly easily.

Something that could also be investigated is having a 3 car shuttle service to Darra during the weekends and late nights and early mornings.  With all weekend services going to ipswich for a 15 minute frequency. 

[SurfRail]

^ 15 minute headways to Ipswich isn't presently achievable even if they wanted to, especially on weekends.  Too much of the black gold in the way.

[nathandavid88]

^^ This, but also why should Springfield weekend travellers be forced to change at Darra, when every other major line in the South East gets a one seat journey into Brisbane? 

Also, why exactly should Springfield services all use the 160/260s?

[ozbob]

The longer term plan is 15 minute Kippa Ring <> Springfield Central (Ripley), express pattern on Ippy peak and off peak.

Richlands to Springfield Central is ~140 km/h EMUs cannot achieve that.  In an ideal world 160s/260s would be on it only but the way they allocate trains does not permit that presently.  Anyway, it is kind of fun when an EMU ' hits the wall ' between Richlands and Springfield .. lol

[nathandavid88]

^^ Isn't the Gold Coast Line south of Beenleigh ~140km/h as well? That's more what I was getting at.

[SurfRail]

The timetable and comfort ramifications are a bit more pronounced on the Gold Coast.

Clearly EMUs do get used though - I have been hearing plenty pull into Robina after hours (closer to midnight) in recent weeks.

[tazzer9]

^^ This, but also why should Springfield weekend travellers be forced to change at Darra, when every other major line in the South East gets a one seat journey into Brisbane? 

Also, why exactly should Springfield services all use the 160/260s?

Because people would rather have a two seat journey than have nothing at all. 
The 160/260's is because of the line speeds of up to 140, AND because of the all stop nature of the service between darra and the city. 

^ 15 minute headways to Ipswich isn't presently achievable even if they wanted to, especially on weekends.  Too much of the black gold in the way.

A coalie would average a similar speed to an all stops spark between ipswich and darra.  Train paths would be much simpler if they added some passing loops for freights along the Ipswich line.   Could easily be built in mind to be incorporated into future quadding, even if it was just the low hanging fruit of quadding darra-wacol. 
A big game changer would be a suitable extended passing loop between murrarie and hemmant. 

[SurfRail]

The priority should really be the Ebenezer to Bromelton line.  With that in place the arse falls right out of case for track amplification anywhere between Darra and Rosewood, and 15 minutes to Ipswich would become a doddle.

What they really need to do is electrify the fourth track from Darra to Corinda and add a fourth platform at Oxley. 

[HappyTrainGuy]

Clearly EMUs do get used though - I have been hearing plenty pull into Robina after hours (closer to midnight) in recent weeks.

Their quite loud in the dead of night aren't they. Its amazing how far you can hear them late at night when breaking from max speed.

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 25th July 2016 page 21

Better feeder buses needed for starters