Article: Rail loses out to roads on spending

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Rail loses out to roads on spending

Rail loses out to roads on spending
Clay Lucas
April 27, 2011

ROAD building has received four times more federal, state and local government funding over the past decade than new rail projects, a report to be released today says.

The report, by the Australian Conservation Foundation, says Victoria's investment in rail and light rail - measured as a percentage of the state's economic output - has been among the lowest in the country. Of all the states, only Tasmania spent less - largely due to it having no commuter rail system.

Using figures from the federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport, the Tax Office and the Bureau of Statistics, the ACF found that Australia's public transport sector is a poor cousin to roads when it comes to funding. Since 2000, local, state and federal governments in Australia have spent 4.3 times more on the construction of public roads and bridges than on public railway construction, the report says.

The study includes data showing each state's 10-year average for spending on roads, versus its spending on other transport, as a percentage of gross state product.

In Victoria over the past decade, as patronage on public transport has boomed - in part because of a spike in oil prices in 2006 - money continued to be pumped into roads, the report finds.

''Notorious for poor spending on public transport, Victoria has spent just 0.11 per cent of gross state product on railways, harbours and bridges in the last decade. Nearly three times as much has gone on road construction in the same period,'' it says.

The NRMA warned last month that only the strong Australian dollar was protecting motorists from the price of petrol at the bowser rising to $2 a litre.

A surge in commuters leaving their car at home because of rising petrol prices and catching the train or tram would further stress Melbourne's overburdened rail and tram systems.

The ACF's Monica Richter said governments across Australia continued to prefer road building and to ''reward'' car drivers.

''We need governments to tip the scales,'' she said. ''Two-thirds of the transport budget should be spent on public and active transport and one-third should be spent on roads.''

Using figures from the federal Transport Department on road construction and comparing them to data from the Bureau of Statistics, the group found that $11.3 billion was spent nationally on road construction in 2008-09.

This contrasted with $3.3 billion spent in 2008-09 on rail construction nationally.

In Victoria, spending on rail will be boosted over the next five years with a $5 billion, 47-kilometre rail extension from Southern Cross Station to near Lara, giving V/Line trains their own path into and out of Melbourne.

This is easily the most expensive rail project ever undertaken in Victoria.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/rail-loses-out-to-roads-on-spending-20110426-1dv3x.html#ixzz1KebYJbwj

[#Metro]

The problem here is we are measuring the wrong thing.
We are measuring $ when we should be measuring utility/mobility.

A lot of money is going to be spent on the regional rail link. Everyone else on the metro network will not see much change...

... and don't forget bus!