Richlands to Springfield Central - Stage 2

[#Metro]

Cool, so making things sound cheaper by leaving them out of the costings.

Saying you want 1000 spaces and we need, it but then citing a cost for  building much less less than that.

Ironically, this is the same strategy used to reduce the Cross River Rail project cost. Push the costs off the balance sheet into the future!

[Gazza]

^Yes,
Effectively Mufreight did exactly what he attacks the Govt  for doing...Taking things out of the scope of the project to "save money" and expecting the money to fall out of the sky to pay for the rest.

In this case, he's said he wants 1000 spaces, but then costs for a pissweak 280...less than a third, and then uses spin like "The additional spaces would be built for minimal cost" rather than making the effort to  calculate cost the land across the road and the price of the spaces built on top of it, which actually is approaching $4 Mil. No small amoutn.

Of course, he's not going to give a figure any higher than the inital basic $5 Mil, because that would be unpalatable for his argument.

[#Metro]

I've got it all sorted boys. We can build it now!! 



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Zimbabwe_%24100_trillion_2009_Obverse.jpg

[ozbob]

Springfield Central will have serious parking issues with folks coming up from the Ripley Valley and further out ...  they will be forced to Springfield
- parked out, to Richlands parked out ...   

It is farcical ...  Councillors, citizens, everyone wants some expansion of the park and ride, we are not looking at inner suburbia here.

Does 'everyone' include the local state member of parliament that would've voted in some form or another for this project and its lack of parking spaces?

The local Member for Bundamba is on the record as supporting more parking spaces, over a long period.  As for both Crs Morrison and Tully.

http://citywestnews.realviewtechnologies.com/?iid=29338&startpage=page0000005  for example 2009.

The Councillors and Ms Miller are still trying to get some additional parking, and might well succeed with a bit more support.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

24th October 2012

Parking concerns Springfield Railway

Greetings,

In today's Satellite newspaper an article on the failure to set up Springfield Railway properly with adequate park n' ride has been highlighted.

See --> Springfield rail line being set up for ' failure '    http://backontrack.org/docs/sat/sat_24oct12_p8.jpg

What is concerning is the response from TransLink justifying the lack of adequate park and ride at Springfield and Springfield Central as being similar to Ipswich which has 120 car parks.

Ipswich might have 120 official park and ride car parks but in actuality it has a lot more than that.

At Ipswich there are some 120 open air spaces on railway land then there are a further three levels of parking in the same building that houses the actual station itself which would accommodate a further 600 plus spaces we then cross the road to the Ipswich Mall underground car park where there are a further five levels of parking of which three are almost exclusively used by commuters which accommodate another 760 spaces on those three levels.  It is a false hood to justify the lack of parking on the Springfield line as being similar to Ipswich.  Springfield is nothing like Ipswich.   Personnel from TransLink would be well advised to actually go and get informed local knowledge.

Cr Paul Tully, longest serving Councillor in Queensland has summed up the lack of adequate park and ride at Springfield Central as:

http://division2news.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/new-springfield-central-railway-station.html

Ipswich Planning spokesman Paul Tully described the failure to provide more than 100 parking spaces at the new Springfield Central Railway Station as "extreme short sightedness".

"Even Mr Magoo could see the need for at least 500 spaces.

Cr Tully said the local bus service feeding into Springfield Central was unreliable and inadequate.

"The state government should look at the Perth to Joondalup railway line which is a world class example of a good rail network with large numbers of commuter carparks at each rail station.

"The people of Springfield, Augustine Heights, Brookwater, Bellbird Park and Redbank Plains are being punished for voting Labor at the last state election," Cr Tully said.

Yes, indeed, Springfield railway is being set up for failure.

Best wishes
Robert

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

Some example  park and ride spaces at stations.  Source  http://translink.com.au/travel-information/network-information/park-n-ride

Richlands 650, Springfield 200 and Springfield Central 100.  Darra has 206 'official spaces' probably an additional 400 to 500 cars in the streets around there any week day.  It is worsening too I have noted.

Varsity Lakes 300, Robina 894, Nerang 690, Helensvale 877, Coomera 565.

Caboolture 675 ....

Gailes "77" officially lol, but verge parking is basically unlimited

Be kind of bizarre, 100 park and ride at Springfield Central, 400 or so at Gailes.   

Yep, real smart ..

Cleveland 238

East Ipswich 258 ....

Dinmore 490 ...

Oxley 191

[Set in train]

Sent to all outlets:

24th October 2012

Parking concerns Springfield Railway

Good release ozbob. Great to see Cr Tully has been taking notes, airing the WA experiences.

[ozbob]

 

[Jonno]

If you need to build Park n Rides to get people onto trains then you are building/built your City and transport systems wrong.  2 wrongs will never make a right. The money is best spent providing cross city/feeder services, increased frequencies and making suburbs more walkable. 

Springfield Central should have zero offsite parking, TOD developed around it!!!  To do anything else is planning for failure and not long term failure!  In fact most stations should!!!

[ozbob]

Jonno, I hear you however there are locations where park and ride is needed.  The Mandurah line in WA is an exemplar for Springfield.  Praised as one of the best examples in Australia.  They have good feeder bus and proper park and ride support.

Springfield will need better park and ride support.  There will be a need for feeder bus as well, it is getting that balance right.  There are serious logistical issues around Springfield for bus as well of course as TT has explained.

Kind of funny TransLink suggesting folks get on their bikes and they pull the bike path ...  :bi

Mandurah line a clear winner  -->
http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2010/october/october-20-1010/other-top-stories/mandurah-line-a-clear-winner

... The Mandurah railway line, while still the country's newest urban rail line, is now almost three years old.

The line, which has become a touchstone for the industry nationally, is the primary reason behind an amazing 57.5% jump in urban passenger rail travel in Perth in just three years, from 35.8m total boardings in 2006/2007 to 56.4m in 2009/2010.

... "With an extensive feeder bus network of more than 62 routes feeding into the new line, and large Park 'n' Ride car parks, the Mandurah Line has brought the capital city resources of Perth and the coastal resort attractions of Mandurah closer than ever ...

Springfield, as is, is going to be left with an 'empty dance card ... '

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 25th October 2012 page 9

Springfield railway car parks don't compare



Some feedback received, thanks!

Short sighted people running the above project [Springfield Line] have NO foresight. To run a track with a proposed station shown on a plan,of which i have a copy,and do no prep work for the proposed staion shows a complete picture of their incompetence as does the amount of parking facilities at existing stations and proposed stations.GET REAL

Hi.
I read your article in this week's Satellite and am in full agreement. The Richlands station was full to capacity from day one, but the power's that be didn't want to know.
I am one of a group of people who have been chasing the local government and anyone else we could think of to try and get Ellen Grove station built before the line is complete,it makes sense.
If the prefered method of getting to rail stations is by bicycle and bus then Ellen Grove makes sense. The roads are quieter for bicycles and a shuttle bus could serve the whole area with a loop. Even walking to the station wouldn't be to hard, it's all down hill from Forest Lake, then catch the bus home.
We have been fobbed of with all sorts of stories as to why they cant build the station. ' There isn't one planed', We showed them their own plans with the station on. The latest excuse is that there is no money, a hard one to prove one way or another, but they always seem to find some if its perks for one of them.
A station at Ellen Grove would serve a lot of people, Carol Park just over the highway, public housing and lots of industry.
Keep up the good work.
Regards.

[Set in train]

Published Queensland Times 25th October 2012 page 9

Springfield railway car parks don't compare

A great letter to the editor - not only does Translink need to realise this but also the local MPs.

As for these feeder buses, there must be certainty surrounding them, they must meet every service or as a minimum, the first and last services. I am yet to see a feeder bus in Qld that is funded appropriately. Also, the services must be fast. 761 is a poor example, much winding of back streets in Elanora, Currumbin & Tugun before reaching Tweed - it should be a train replacement style service stopping at a major stop in each suburb. 740 is a fast service but only runs 7am - 7pm and doesn't sync well with the trains.

[SurfRail]

As for these feeder buses, there must be certainty surrounding them, they must meet every service or as a minimum, the first and last services. I am yet to see a feeder bus in Qld that is funded appropriately. Also, the services must be fast. 761 is a poor example, much winding of back streets in Elanora, Currumbin & Tugun before reaching Tweed - it should be a train replacement style service stopping at a major stop in each suburb. 740 is a fast service but only runs 7am - 7pm and doesn't sync well with the trains.

You're kidding, right?  The 761 could only run faster if you didn't stop it at The Pines, which would completely defeat the point of it.  Believe it or not, but people on the Gold Coast use public transport to travel locally!

740 - agreed.

[somebody]

761 would be effectively faster if it coordinated with the train at Varsity Lakes rather than Robina.  The operating hours isn't good either, nor Christine Ave

[SurfRail]

761 would be effectively faster if it coordinated with the train at Varsity Lakes rather than Robina.  The operating hours isn't good either, nor Christine Ave

It should go via Scottsdale, and the 765 shouldn't go to Varsity station at all.  The 765 only goes there so they can save a marginal amount of money by using it as the late night connection to Burleigh for people who are too thick to understand that they need to change at Robina.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

27th October 2012

Re: Parking concerns Springfield Railway

Greetings,

The Springfield Railway is shaping up as another classic Queensland Transport failure.  No where near adequate park and ride and the myopic decision to not build Ellen Grove Railway station greenfield.

Axing of the bicycle path is just more evidence of the flawed car centric mentality that pervades TMR.

Some feedback received, thanks!

http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=3940.msg111378#msg111378

Short sighted people running the above project [Springfield Line] have NO foresight. To run a track with a proposed station shown on a plan,of which i have a copy,and do no prep work for the proposed staion shows a complete picture of their incompetence as does the amount of parking facilities at existing stations and proposed stations.GET REAL

   

Hi.
    I read your article in this week's Satellite and am in full agreement. The Richlands station was full to capacity from day one, but the power's that be didn't want to know.
    I am one of a group of people who have been chasing the local government and anyone else we could think of to try and get Ellen Grove station built before the line is complete,it makes sense.
    If the prefered method of getting to rail stations is by bicycle and bus then Ellen Grove makes sense. The roads are quieter for bicycles and a shuttle bus could serve the whole area with a loop. Even walking to the station wouldn't be to hard, it's all down hill from Forest Lake, then catch the bus home.
    We have been fobbed of with all sorts of stories as to why they cant build the station. ' There isn't one planed', We showed them their own plans with the station on. The latest excuse is that there is no money, a hard one to prove one way or another, but they always seem to find some if its perks for one of them.
    A station at Ellen Grove would serve a lot of people, Carol Park just over the highway, public housing and lots of industry.
    Keep up the good work.
    Regards.

Best wishes
Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

24th October 2012

Parking concerns Springfield Railway

Greetings,

In today's Satellite newspaper an article on the failure to set up Springfield Railway properly with adequate park n' ride has been highlighted.

See --> Springfield rail line being set up for ' failure '    http://backontrack.org/docs/sat/sat_24oct12_p8.jpg

What is concerning is the response from TransLink justifying the lack of adequate park and ride at Springfield and Springfield Central as being similar to Ipswich which has 120 car parks.

Ipswich might have 120 official park and ride car parks but in actuality it has a lot more than that.

At Ipswich there are some 120 open air spaces on railway land then there are a further three levels of parking in the same building that houses the actual station itself which would accommodate a further 600 plus spaces we then cross the road to the Ipswich Mall underground car park where there are a further five levels of parking of which three are almost exclusively used by commuters which accommodate another 760 spaces on those three levels.  It is a false hood to justify the lack of parking on the Springfield line as being similar to Ipswich.  Springfield is nothing like Ipswich.   Personnel from TransLink would be well advised to actually go and get informed local knowledge.

Cr Paul Tully, longest serving Councillor in Queensland has summed up the lack of adequate park and ride at Springfield Central as:

http://division2news.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/new-springfield-central-railway-station.html

Ipswich Planning spokesman Paul Tully described the failure to provide more than 100 parking spaces at the new Springfield Central Railway Station as "extreme short sightedness".

"Even Mr Magoo could see the need for at least 500 spaces.

Cr Tully said the local bus service feeding into Springfield Central was unreliable and inadequate.

"The state government should look at the Perth to Joondalup railway line which is a world class example of a good rail network with large numbers of commuter carparks at each rail station.

"The people of Springfield, Augustine Heights, Brookwater, Bellbird Park and Redbank Plains are being punished for voting Labor at the last state election," Cr Tully said.

Yes, indeed, Springfield railway is being set up for failure.

Best wishes
Robert

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

Some example  park and ride spaces at stations.  Source  http://translink.com.au/travel-information/network-information/park-n-ride

Richlands 650, Springfield 200 and Springfield Central 100.  Darra has 206 'official spaces' probably an additional 400 to 500 cars in the streets around there any week day.  It is worsening too I have noted.

Varsity Lakes 300, Robina 894, Nerang 690, Helensvale 877, Coomera 565.

Caboolture 675 ....

Gailes "77" officially lol, but verge parking is basically unlimited

Be kind of bizarre, 100 park and ride at Springfield Central, 400 or so at Gailes.   

Yep, real smart ..

Cleveland 238

East Ipswich 258 ....

Dinmore 490 ...

Oxley 191

[mufreight]

Cool, so making things sound cheaper by leaving them out of the costings.

Saying you want 1000 spaces and we need, it but then citing a cost for  building much less less than that.

Infantile.

In other news, the construction contract for Cross river rail has been awarded to the Mufreight consortium, and is being built for $20 dollars*

*Note, does not include tunnels, tracks, sleepers, stations, overheads, signalling, extra trains, resumptions. 

all staff and equipment is already on site if built greenfield.

Bull! , at the Ellen Grove work site you have the stuff required to build the track and the overheads and civil works and thats it.

Where is the staff and equipment to ashphalt a car park? The plumber for the toilets, drinking fountains, station building roof drainage etc? The electrician (One who deals at the commercial/domestic scale, not H.V traction) for station lighting, networking, comms, car park CCTV etc etc?
These guys are not on site.

Picking up where we left off.
Those guys are effectively on site, they are on project otherwise who is carrying out the works at Springfield and Springfield Central?
As to the costings well allow $1million for each of the platforms built using a simple prefab design that could be duplicated on all of the stations that are proposed for the duplication of the NCL, another $1 million to construct the subway, the ramps and stairs that still leaves $2 million for the station facilities and the initial car park.
It is ironic that once the station is built that the value of the land adjoining the station in Considine Street would rise in value dramaticly making the cost of the resumption for the rest of the car park at least double what it would be if the land were to be purchased now.
The key cost factors are the differences between constructing the station greenfield as against the costs of constructing the same facility on an in service line, as an example the cost of constructing the subway greenfield without track over it as against the costs of constructing the same subway in the same place under a line in service is estimated at being half the cost of a later construction with no disruption to the operation of services as there would be to construct it under traffic.   

[SurfRail]

^ Certainly there would be very few who will argue with the proposition that it is cheaper to build it now, particularly when it is most likely a station will be built there eventually.

[Set in train]

You're kidding, right?  The 761 could only run faster if you didn't stop it at The Pines, which would completely defeat the point of it.  Believe it or not, but people on the Gold Coast use public transport to travel locally!

761 to include a stop at The Pines of course, just not all the stops in between it and getting off the highway and reaching the Gold Coast highway, then it travels the back streets of the bird sanctuary and the Tugun/Bilinga service road when it should have one stop for Tugun and 80km/h express to airport along the GC Hwy instead of the service road. Talk about the slow boat to China! The service is going to the airport, not a funeral home!

[Set in train]

What month/quarter is the Springfield line expected to open? 2013 is too general for my liking.

[petey3801]

What month/quarter is the Springfield line expected to open? 2013 is too general for my liking.

According to the Trackstar alliance guys from our tour earlier this year, they're planning on having services running before Christmas next year. With all the good weather since, that timetable may have been brought forward somewhat (especially considering most of the overhead is complete from Richlands to the Logan overpass, and it looks like they're nearly ready to put wires up on the Springfield side of the Logan too for quite a distance).

[SurfRail]

You're kidding, right?  The 761 could only run faster if you didn't stop it at The Pines, which would completely defeat the point of it.  Believe it or not, but people on the Gold Coast use public transport to travel locally!

761 to include a stop at The Pines of course, just not all the stops in between it and getting off the highway and reaching the Gold Coast highway, then it travels the back streets of the bird sanctuary and the Tugun/Bilinga service road when it should have one stop for Tugun and 80km/h express to airport along the GC Hwy instead of the service road. Talk about the slow boat to China! The service is going to the airport, not a funeral home!

It's not intended to be solely about the airport. 

The southern leg of the 761 replaced what was previously the 765/old route 11 which ran all the way from Robina to Tweed (and to Kingscliff before TransLink).  The 765 nows runs to the Pines and terminates there, the 761 picks up the leg south of it.  There are very few stops between Varsity Lakes and The Pines, certainly fewer than on any Brisbane Transport express route I can think of over a comparable distance (even on most of the busway system).

Few if any would actually use the 761 to get to the Airport from north of The Pines (I do because it happens to work for me).  I'd suggest more people would be using the 761 to get from the Airport to somewhere along the stretch south of Palm Beach than to connect with a train, which is why it needs to travel along Golden Four Drive.

The patronage would suck without the additional stops. 

[ozbob]

The Stage 2 Richlands to Springfield Project team will be holding public information sessions on Thursday 1 and Saturday 3 November 2012 at Orion Springfield.

Members of the community are invited to stop by and view the displays to find out more about the project, including the recently announced Centenary Highway Upgrade and new stations at Springfield and Springfield Central.

Staffed displays:

Orion Town Centre

1 Main Street, Springfield Central (outside the customer service kiosk)
   
Thursday 1 November, 2012 2pm – 8 pm

----------

Saturday 3 November, 2012 10am – 2pm

----------

Unstaffed displays:

Springfield Fair Corner of Springfield Parkway and Topaz Road, Springfield

(outside Coles)
   
Thursday 1 November – Friday 30 November, 2012
   
During opening hours

[ozbob]

Twitter

ABC Radio Brisbane ‏@612brisbane

Much-awaited Ripley development (100,000 residents) going ahead - http://bit.ly/Pk126G

[SurfRail]

Ripley will be a lot better than the other satellite cities, provided they get the railway there sooner than it got to Springfield.  The design will be a lot more permeable to PT, and the developer has a better reputation for layouts than Delfin/Stockland etc.

[mufreight]

Ripley will be a lot better than the other satellite cities, provided they get the railway there sooner than it got to Springfield.  The design will be a lot more permeable to PT, and the developer has a better reputation for layouts than Delfin/Stockland etc.

The logical thing would be for the line to Ripley to be constructed as a continuation of the present Springfield line construction at least as far as Ripley if not to complete the circle to link back into Ipswich.

[SurfRail]

Ripley will be a lot better than the other satellite cities, provided they get the railway there sooner than it got to Springfield.  The design will be a lot more permeable to PT, and the developer has a better reputation for layouts than Delfin/Stockland etc.

The logical thing would be for the line to Ripley to be constructed as a continuation of the present Springfield line construction at least as far as Ripley if not to complete the circle to link back into Ipswich.

Absolutely.  All the station sites are preserved in the planning system and have been for a while now. 

Previous government's thinking appeared to be to link Ripley to Ipswich first - not a big fan of this.  An all stations Ripley to Brisbane service would be faster.

Long term I would like there to be 4 stopping patterns to the west:

- All stations to Redbank (call it Line 1A)
- Milton, Indooroopilly, Darra, Redbank then all to Wulkuraka (call it Line 1B)
- All stations to Springfield Central (call it Line 2A)
- Milton, Indooroopilly, Darra, Springfield Central, then all to Ipswich (call it Line 2B)

Depending on how frequent these run, you would probably need CRR Mk 2.  As pie in the sky foamage type stuff, I'd like to see:

- Line 1 using the current route and retaining the merge inbound of Milton with some junction improvements to avoid flat crosses

- Line 2 going via the new tunnel route.

I would suggest (tentatively) diving south of Corinda, with stations at UQ, South Bank, Albert Street, Riverside, Ivory Street, Newstead Riverpark and Oxford Street.  Both routes 2A and 2B serve all stations from UQ to this point.  Route 2B links to the Cleveland line at Murrarie (which becomes the terminus of the line from Park Road) and Route 2A links to Hamilton Northshore and the Doomben line (so that Eagle Junction is the terminus with a new fifth platform).

[Gazza]

Just one thing (I was down again in Springfield yesterday)

With respect to Springfield station having more than 200 spaces, It would have to be multideck, as the park and ride already takes up the whole strip of land (Which is only wide enough for an aisle and a row of bays either side) so 200 seems to be the limit without doing that.
Because the car park is long and thin it means the furthest spaces are a good 300m from the station entrance!

[WTN]

Just one thing (I was down again in Springfield yesterday)

With respect to Springfield station having more than 200 spaces, It would have to be multideck, as the park and ride already takes up the whole strip of land (Which is only wide enough for an aisle and a row of bays either side) so 200 seems to be the limit without doing that.
Because the car park is long and thin it means the furthest spaces are a good 300m from the station entrance!

Yikes! Getting in and out of that carpark during busy times could be slow if there are no ramps on both ends.

Given the bias towards the car for scrapping of the bikeway and upgrading the highway, I thought they might scrap the railway too (or convert the current structures into parts of the highway).

[Gazza]

Yikes! Getting in and out of that carpark during busy times could be slow if there are no ramps on both ends.

To clarify, only a ground level car park is planned at present.

But if the car park were to be expanded  in the future, or we wanted more in the first place then a multideck would be necessary.

[Set in train]

What month/quarter is the Springfield line expected to open? 2013 is too general for my liking.

According to the Trackstar alliance guys from our tour earlier this year, they're planning on having services running before Christmas next year. With all the good weather since, that timetable may have been brought forward somewhat (especially considering most of the overhead is complete from Richlands to the Logan overpass, and it looks like they're nearly ready to put wires up on the Springfield side of the Logan too for quite a distance).

Thanks Petey, good detail to know. 

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail 1st November 2012 page 21

Park 'n' rides to get spaces for another 1200 vehicles

Park 'n' rides to get spaces for another 1200 vehicles
Rose Brennan

MORE than 1200 park 'n' ride car bays will be added to Queensland's public transport facilities by the end of next year.

New sites include Ferny Grove, The Gap, Slacks Creek and Capalaba, but critics have labelled the move at two key locations as insufficient.

Sites opening at Springfield and Springfield Central train stations late next year are part of a $475 million project.

But they have come under fire from local councillors and residents for accommodating only 300 cars between them.

Brookwater resident Peter Napier, 61, expects the Springfield car parks to be full by 8am every day, similar to neighbouring Richlands station, which has 600 car parks. "We were wildly enthusiastic about the train coming to Springfield but we don't want it to be considered a failure because of inadequate parking," he said.

A spokeswoman for Minister for Transport and Main Roads Scott Emerson ruled out any more park'n'ride spaces being added.

"Due to the current financial situation we have been left with by the previous Labor government, no more car parks will be added," she said.

By the end of 2013, upgrades to Ferny Grove train station will add 400 spaces and 30 to Narangba train station.

Park 'n rides at bus stops at The Gap will have 85 car parks, 200 at Slacks Creek and 210 at Capalaba.

In August 63 spots were opened at Jindalee bus hub. A park 'n' ride opened at Carindale in July with 300 car parks.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

An open letter to the Premier and Minister for Transport of Queensland

Lack of parking at Springfield and Springfield Central railway stations

4th November 2012

Dear Premier and Minister,

Your tired responses of stating that due to the financial mess left by Labor you are not able to a myriad of things are not acceptable ('Park 'n' rides to get spaces for another 1200 vehicles' Courier Mail 1st November 2012 - see below).  Governments are elected to do things, not spin out mindless rhetoric.

The Springfield railway is a very substantial investment, and to not maximise its utility for the community is mindless waste.

I urge you to reconsider the lack of park and ride facilities at Springfield and Springfield Central.   You can manage to find funds for parking at  Carindale ....

A major temporary parking facility could easily be put in place at Springfield Central, and some additional capacity could be added at Springfield station itself.

Time for action not rhetoric!

Best wishes

Robert

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

========================================

Media release 17th October 2012

SEQ: Springfield, Simpsons' or South-east Queensland?

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 said the Springfield Railway line is being set up for failure (1).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The railway line from Richlands to Springfield is presently being constructed.  Of great concern to the community is the failure to build Ellen Grove station 'greenfield' and limited park and ride facilities planned for Springfield and Springfield Central railway stations (1).  It also appears the planned train frequency on the line will replicate the poor service on the bulk of the rail network."

"The recent decision to not construct the bicycle path from Richlands to Springfield as planned, has just further highlighted the diabolical situation with transport planning in south-east Queensland (2).  It is presently a paradigm for failure and congestion."

"Richlands has 650 car parking spaces, Springfield will have 200 and Springfield Central 100, a total of 950 spaces. Compare this to the Mandurah railway line in West Australia, that has 3700 car parking spaces for a similar demographic and situation (1)."

"A billion dollars is being spent on the railway line but it is being set up for less than optimal usage.  What is wrong with the planners in Transport and Main Roads?  Are they captured by the car-centric congestion chaos paradigm?  No jurisdiction has solved congestion by building more roads.  Optimising public transport will."

"The State Government is distinguishing itself as one that is focussed on achieving transport mediocrity. A major disappointment to Queenslanders."

References:

1. http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=3940.msg110773#msg110773

2. http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=3940.msg110809#msg110809

Contact:

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

=====================================

From the Couriermail 1st November 2012 page 21

Park 'n' rides to get spaces for another 1200 vehicles

   

Park 'n' rides to get spaces for another 1200 vehicles
    Rose Brennan

    MORE than 1200 park 'n' ride car bays will be added to Queensland's public transport facilities by the end of next year.

    New sites include Ferny Grove, The Gap, Slacks Creek and Capalaba, but critics have labelled the move at two key locations as insufficient.

    Sites opening at Springfield and Springfield Central train stations late next year are part of a $475 million project.

    But they have come under fire from local councillors and residents for accommodating only 300 cars between them.

    Brookwater resident Peter Napier, 61, expects the Springfield car parks to be full by 8am every day, similar to neighbouring Richlands station, which has 600 car parks. "We were wildly enthusiastic about the train coming to Springfield but we don't want it to be considered a failure because of inadequate parking," he said.

    A spokeswoman for Minister for Transport and Main Roads Scott Emerson ruled out any more park'n'ride spaces being added.

    "Due to the current financial situation we have been left with by the previous Labor government, no more car parks will be added," she said.

    By the end of 2013, upgrades to Ferny Grove train station will add 400 spaces and 30 to Narangba train station.

    Park 'n rides at bus stops at The Gap will have 85 car parks, 200 at Slacks Creek and 210 at Capalaba.

    In August 63 spots were opened at Jindalee bus hub. A park 'n' ride opened at Carindale in July with 300 car parks.

[mufreight]

This ongoing bleat as an excuse for doing nothing has worn itself out in terms of credibility, by not constructing Ellengrove now the costs will be considerably greater at a later time and the failure to provide adequate parking at both Springfield Central and Springfield is simply a further example of the stupidity and shortsightedness of the ? transport planners at TMR and in Government.
Not only will the loadings on the Springfield line trains be less because of this shortsighted lack of planning but the numbers of commuters and their cars on the Centenary Highway will be even greater which further adds to the costs.
It is far cheeper to provide park and ride parking than to construct another 7km of dual lane highway.

Quote from the Ministers spokeperson:-
    "Due to the current financial situation we have been left with by the previous Labor government, no more car parks will be added," she said.

[BrizCommuter]

Springfield Line - built to fail?
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/springfield-line-built-to-fail.html

[ozbob]

From the Quest South West News 7th November 2012 page 3

Anger at rail link shortfalls

[ozbob]

From the South West News 7th November 2012 page 3

Don't let Newman leave bikeway out of the cycle

[mufreight]

Little birdies tell that at the present time the Richlands - Springfield project is running well ahead of time and well under budget.
Sufficently so that the station and parking at Ellengrove could be built in the present project and still have the project completed ahead of time and within the budget, this would be the third project that Trackstar Alliance has completed ahead of time and under budget which makes one wonder the reasoning behind Mr Newman, Mr Emerson and the TMR DG Mr Caltabiano being so determined to exclude QR involvement in further projects such as MBRL where the experience and expertise that Trackstar has accumulated could be used to maximum effect to reduce costs.    

[Set in train]

Little birdies tell that at the present time the Richlands - Springfield project is running well ahead of time and well under budget.
Sufficently so that the station and parking at Ellengrove could be built in the present project and still have the project completed ahead of time and within the budget, this would be the third project that Trackstar Alliance has completed ahead of time and under budget which makes one wonder the reasoning behind Mr Newman, Mr Emerson and the TMR DG Mr Caltabiano being so determined to exclude QR involvement in further projects such as MBRL where the experience and expertise that Trackstar has accumulated could be used to maximum effect to reduce costs.    

Great news to read mufreight. Perhaps the pressure needs to be kept up with routine questions to local MPs for updates on how under budget and ahead of time it is - free compared to an RTI application.

But will the saved money be spent on more rail improvements (Ellen Grove, stabling on the line), bikeways, finishing the half baked road duplication or simply banked and kept?

[mufreight]

Little birdies tell that at the present time the Richlands - Springfield project is running well ahead of time and well under budget.
Sufficently so that the station and parking at Ellengrove could be built in the present project and still have the project completed ahead of time and within the budget, this would be the third project that Trackstar Alliance has completed ahead of time and under budget which makes one wonder the reasoning behind Mr Newman, Mr Emerson and the TMR DG Mr Caltabiano being so determined to exclude QR involvement in further projects such as MBRL where the experience and expertise that Trackstar has accumulated could be used to maximum effect to reduce costs.    

Great news to read mufreight. Perhaps the pressure needs to be kept up with routine questions to local MPs for updates on how under budget and ahead of time it is - free compared to an RTI application.

But will the saved money be spent on more rail improvements (Ellen Grove, stabling on the line), bikeways, finishing the half baked road duplication or simply banked and kept?

Most probably not, it will go to pay for Mr Caltabiano and Mr Gommers to sit around and do nothing while the Parliamentry Ethics Committee procastinates and the CMC trys to figure out how to be seen to be doing something while they do nothing and of course there will be the legal costs that will also come out of the public purse.
Anything left after that will go to Newmans money grab, to even suggest that these ACTUAL savings might be used for some practical benefit to the community such as for improved infrastructure you obviously jest.

[somebody]

But there is no cynicism.