The Sunshine Coast Case : Rail duplication Beerburrum to Nambour

[Arnz]

I've also noted that there is a hourly gap between the 9:36am and 10:36am City/Ipswich trains from Landsborough, and in the afternoon there is also a hourly gap between the 2:37pm and 3:37pm Nambour trains from Central.

So I'm guessing they at least laying the ground work for the weekday hourly off-peak frequency when more NGR becomes available.

[Arnz]

I think the rail bus removal is reasonable, poorly utilised.  The ' cuts ' are rail-bus as rail service stepped up in quality and frequency.

Agreed on that part. 

Also noted the railbus cuts were mainly the Caboolture-Landsborough and Landsborough-Nambour short running services, which IMO were pretty much pointless and more often than not, the short running railbuses were air-parcels, never getting anymore than 2 people at the most.

[Fares_Fair]

I think the rail bus removal is reasonable, poorly utilised.  The ' cuts ' are rail-bus as rail service stepped up in quality and frequency.

Agreed on that part. 

Also noted the railbus cuts were mainly the Caboolture-Landsborough and Landsborough-Nambour short running services, which IMO were pretty much pointless and more often than not, the short running railbuses were air-parcels, never getting anymore than 2 people at the most.

I agree completely regarding the rail buses, air parcels indeed. 
Their removal accounts for 25 out of the reduction of 34 weekly services.
That leaves 9 services gone in the week (There's an extra service just on Friday night into the City)

The new rail buses take even longer than before, now up to 3 hours 7 minutes - due to long waits at Caboolture station.

[Arnz]

There are also 2 new AM inbound services. (1 leaving at the end of the peak period) and one just leaving after peak period and is the first off-peak service of the day.

[Stillwater]

Even the RACQ gives SC Line duplication its No.1 top priority.

RACQ SUBMISSION TO QLD GOVT, August 2013

Priority one: expand the use of rail freight

RACQ supports greater use of rail freight. Where it is efficient to do so, moving freight from road to rail can have safety and congestion benefits.
The goal to get more freight on to rail is good, but a caveat is that existing rail problems need to be fixed. For example, before more freight is pushed on to the North Coast Line, the track between Beerburrum and Nambour should be duplicated. As noted in the Strategy, the performance and reliability of the North Coast Link as a freight route is impacted by limited path availability, flood risks and the competing demands of passenger services.

In Queensland, freight volumes are expected to more than double over the next decade and significant increases in passenger travel are also expected. The existing road space and transport infrastructure will not expand to this extent, so the transport network will need to run more efficiently. However, even with efficiency improvements, large increases in road and rail capacity are required. Without action to upgrade existing freight routes, productivity losses from flooded roads, congestion and crashes will be exacerbated.

[Fares_Fair]

Current Weekday services southbound from Sunshine Coast = 150 per week
Current Weekend services southbound from Sunshine Coast = 14 Saturday, 12 Sunday

[Fares_Fair]

Current Weekday services northbound to Sunshine Coast = 160 per week
Current Weekend services northbound to Sunshine Coast = 11 Saturday, 12 Sunday

[Fares_Fair]

Proposed mid-2016 (when Moreton Bay Rail Link opens) Weekday services southbound from Sunshine Coast = 136 per week
Proposed mid-2016 (when Moreton Bay Rail Link opens) Weekend services southbound from Sunshine Coast = 14 Saturday, 12 Sunday

[Fares_Fair]

Proposed mid-2016 (when Moreton Bay Rail Link opens) Weekday services northbound to Sunshine Coast = 140 per week
Proposed mid-2016 (when Moreton Bay Rail Link opens) Weekend services northbound to Sunshine Coast = 11 Saturday, 12 Sunday

[ozbob]

Twitter

Jeff Addison ‏@Jeffrey_Addison 4h

Article in #RailDigest by Dr Phillip Laird, University of Wollongong, NSW.

#2tracks



Article > available as attachment:

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

9th November 2015

Re: Government must set timetable for Nambour track duplication and CAMCOS rail corridor to Caloundra

Good Morning,

Please find attached a copy of an article in the latest Railway Digest November 2015 page 4

Further work is needed on Queensland's North Coast railway line

Best wishes,
Robert

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


Article > available as attachment:

Media release 6 October 2015



Government must set timetable for Nambour track duplication and CAMCOS rail corridor to Caloundra

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, says the Sunshine Coast faces unprecedented traffic congestion due to increasing population growth and the development of the Aura town centre at Caloundra South.  It has called on the state government to commit to a definite timetable for constructing dual railway tracks to Nambour as a priority and eventually building a rail spur to Caloundra along the CAMCOS rail reserve.

"The start on construction of a new city called Aura at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast will be a game-changer for the entire region.  It will affect how and where people shop and will contribute to increased car-based transport activity that threatens our lifestyle," RAIL Back on Track Sunshine Coast spokesperson, Jeff Addison, warned today.

"Let's not forget also that, in addition to the 50,000 residents of Aura, another 20,000 people will be housed at Palmview.  It is a recipe for transport chaos, made worse by the state government's silence about any solutions, apart from road-based solutions financed largely by the federal government.

"It may be more affordable to buy land at Aura, but the trade-off will be increased transport costs for residents, as theirs will be two-car households where people will be forced to get behind a steering wheel to move outside the town centre and to find jobs elsewhere on the Sunshine Coast or, most probably, choke the Bruce Highway to Brisbane.  There is a very real danger that Aura residents won't relate to the Sunshine Coast at all.  They will be living in a smart urban centre that would empty during the day, as the bread-winner takes the car south, leaving their spouse and children isolated in a weird social welfare utopia.

"Clearly, the state government has approved Aura in isolation without considering its impacts upon the wider Caloundra region.

"The new city with its huge new retail hub will become a disposable income sponge, soaking up the household spend of a much wider area beyond Aura itself and threatening the viability of Caloundra's traditional Bulcock Street shopping precinct.  Aura will assume the Caloundra town centre role, leaving Bulcock Street with slim pickings and empty shops.  Certainly it will be much easier for people from the Blackall Range to shop for big-ticket items and source professional services at Aura, not Caloundra," Mr Addison said.

"The focus of this new development has been on the design elements within the borders of Aura with scant regard to the wider implications and impacts as Aura residents travel outside their city the size of Gladstone.

"While Stockland, the developer, has made a significant contribution to 'infrastructure costs' such as drainage, parks and roads, the infrastructure plan does not include a commitment to building a transit centre shown in its promotional video.  Most likely that is because the state government will not stipulate a timetable for augmented rail and feeder bus routes servicing Aura.

"Its only commitment to transport infrastructure at Aura is $55 million for an East-West Arterial.  That's it.

"Today, RAIL Back on Track calls upon the state government and Deputy Premier Jacki Trad, the Transport and Infrastructure Minister, to spell out a clear and unequivocal timetable for duplication of the Sunshine Coast Railway line to Landsborough in order for Aura residents to access trains to Brisbane from the Beerwah and Landsborough stations.  Augmented parking will be required to prevent commuters parking their cars all day in both towns, hogging frequent parking spots and affecting shopping convenience.

"While fast and frequent buses linking Landsborough and Caloundra via Aura will provide adequate public transport services in the interim, during the early stages of the Aura development, the state government must now start serious consideration about scheduling a start on building the CAMCOS rail spur to Caloundra and then to Maroochydore.

"CAMCOS rail would draw Aura residents to the rest of the Sunshine Coast, linking to the proposed light rail network.  As planned, Aura might as well be called 'North Caboolture'.  For all intents and purposes, it will be a satellite suburb of Brisbane, not integrated with Caloundra and the Sunshine Coast.

"Crucial to CAMCOS is the Beerburrum-Landsborough rail track duplication.  The project has environmental approval, the plans have been drawn and it remains 'shovel ready'.  It makes sense for the Queensland Government to call for expressions of interest from qualified consortiums to construct it, especially as rail track equipment, specialised workforce and expertise is released from the Moreton Bay railway line, now nearing completion.

"Beerburrum-Landsborough rail realignment and duplication would provide jobs transferable from the mining sector, which is experiencing a severe downturn.  Many of those mining workers are fly-in fly-out employees based on the Sunshine Coast," Mr Addison said.

ENDS

Contacts:

Jeff Addison
Sunshine Coast Region Spokesperson for RAIL Back On Track

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

References:

1. Caloundra South
http://www.stockland.com.au/residential/caloundra-south.aspx

2. Sunshine Coast and Caboolture line upgrades
http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Travel-and-transport/Rail/Rail-infrastructure-upgrades-in-south-east-Queensland/Sunshine-Coast-and-Caboolture-lines.aspx

3. The Sunshine Coast Case : Rail duplication Beerburrum to Nambour
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=6647.0

4. Caboolture to Maroochydore Corridor Study
http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects/Name/C/Caboolture-to-Maroochydore-Corridor-Study.aspx

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow now

. @TurnbullMalcolm Selfie on an ICE ! Qld ICE that is,  single line north of Beerburrum #qldpol #auspol

[STB]

Lol...as a relative young-un / GenYer....that's not a classed as a selfie Ozbob.

[ozbob]

^ good as ...   

[Stillwater]

Maybe RailBOT could produce a certificate making the PM an honorary member (or patron?).  Invite him along to the end of year get-together! 

[ozbob]

Twitter

Jeff Addison ‏@Jeffrey_Addison 10m

The mysterious NCL Action Plan...

Anybody know where it is?

Does it even exist?

#2tracks



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

^

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 9m9 minutes ago Brisbane, Queensland

. @Jeffrey_Addison Where is the ' NCL action plan ' ?

Can it be made available publicly please @jackietrad @TMRQld ?

[colinw]

[#Metro]

An action plan is more action 'plan' than it is 'action' plan! The SCL has had more glossy go-nowhere reports and plans, it makes HSR look bad.

[Stillwater]

It always pays to read the fine print whenever a Queensland Government (of whatever political persuasion) makes comment about duplicating the Sunshine Coast Line.  I particularly like it when an Infrastructure or Transport Minister makes a statement along the lines of: "Today, the government is taking steps to bring forward construction of the SCL by appointing a high-level taskforce of transport experts, logistics personal and from within TMR to look at the problem."  The government is not taking any steps at all to 'bring forward' construction.

And so we should dissect this latest announcement.

"A preliminary NCL Action Plan proposes a 10-year program covering a range of investment initiatives to address corridor deficiencies..."

The keywords are PRELIMINARY, followed by ACTION, and then 10-YEAR, followed by RANGE and INVESTMENT INITIATIVES.

The real possibility exists that there is no action plan because it is preliminary.  It is a discussion within government ... nothing firmed up.  It is a mirage.

The action being referred here is to start the process towards having a plan.

Certain things will happen within a 10-year timeframe.  We should not assume that the first year of the 10-year plan will be next year, or the year after.  The 10-year period referred to could be 2021-2031, remembering the old 2031 year in which duplication was supposed to be completed.  The Newman Government extended this to 2038, so the 10-year period could start in 2028.

In another change of wording, the government now refers to 'duplication to Landsborough and further track improvements to Nambour.'  This is a winding back of duplication to Landsborough only.  The real possibility is that the costs associated with duplication between Landsborough and Nambour will be spent north of Nambour on longer crossing loops and one or two minor track straightening exercises.

The word 'range' is interesting, because it kind of takes us away from 'duplication'.  There is now a 'range of initiatives'.

'Investment initiatives' is government code for 'we don't pay for it'.  BOOT Schemes, private sector investment in the track ... we should expect all these things from a cash-strapped government.  Maybe even local government will be expected to pay, based on the precedent with MBRL and GCLR.

It also sounds like a whole lot of thinking and discussion, but no definitive plan.  The action is within the walls of bureaucracy, not on the ground.  Not anytime soon, it would seem.

Nowhere does the government say 'we will fund' or we will raise such-and-such an amount to spend on duplication over so-many kilometres.  It is all vague, and the government likes it that way.  It is seen to be acting without actually laying one kilometre of duplication track.  Given the years of plans and reports about SCL duplication it is a case of perpetual bureaucratic action worthy of being defined in a fundamental principle of physics.

[ozbob]

It is the old razzle-dazzle plan Mr Stillwater ...     just more plans and razzle dazzle until the next cycle .. 

[Fares_Fair]

A request to the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning for a copy of the preliminary North Coast Line Action Plan (mentioned by Hon Jackie Trad MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning), was met with a "we cannot find it" response by her department.

It was suggested that I make a request to the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
I have done so (last week) and a response will take 15 working days.

I suspect that somewhere, someone is putting together an action plan...

[ozbob]

Should be a good show this  ...

[Stillwater]

Your request is being actioned, FF.

[Fares_Fair]

North Coast Line rail duplication is literally going backwards under this Labor Government.

They (Paul Lucas MP, then Labor's Transport Minister) proclaimed it (section from Caboolture to Nambour) "one of the weakest links in the Queensland Rail network" in Parliament back in 2006.

Now, 9 years later they have created (or are currently creating in response to my request 😃) a PRELIMINARY inAction Plan to address it, I'm sure it will make for another great glossy brochure...

The LNP were actually going to build it to Landsborough using proceeds from Asset LEASES.

This rail infrastructure inactive government (except where federal money can assist viz. Moreton Bay Rail Link & GC Light Rail) has taken us from shovel ready construction back to a preliminary plan.

[petey3801]

North Coast Line rail duplication is literally going backwards under this Labor Government.

They (Paul Lucas MP, then Labor's Transport Minister) proclaimed it (section from Caboolture to Nambour) "one of the weakest links in the Queensland Rail network" in Parliament back in 2006.

Now, 9 years later they have created (or are currently creating in response to my request 😃) a PRELIMINARY inAction Plan to address it, I'm sure it will make for another great glossy brochure...

The LNP were actually going to build it to Landsborough using proceeds from Asset LEASES.

This rail infrastructure inactive government (except where federal money can assist viz. Moreton Bay Rail Link & GC Light Rail) has taken us from shovel ready construction back to a preliminary plan.

If you honestly think that the LNP were going to do the duplication without doing up all the reports, studies, BCR etc. again (just like what is happening now), then I have a wonderful bridge that you might be interested in buying...

[Fares_Fair]

Yes, and the reason is they would have had the money.. it was all set to go ($532m Beerburrum to Landsborough only).
That said, there was no promise or timeline for beyond Landsborough.

Under the current circumstances, they just don't have the money - or the will to do it.

[petey3801]

There was no firm timeline under the LNP either. No mention of whether or not they would need to redo the studies (it has been some years now since they were done, so it's certainly not surprising that they need to be redone).

It certainly wasn't the 'We'll start building it the day after the election' thing that you seem to think it was.

[Fares_Fair]

Actually there was a timeline announced.
No studies were intended to be redone, or needed to be.

[Stillwater]

This is the statement Anna Palaszczuk made in the parliament on Tuesday 2 August 2011 in response to a question from Mr Peter Wellington, the Member for Nicklin.  At the time, Ms Palaszczuk was the Minister for Transport and Multi-Cultural Affairs.

Mr Wellington:

With reference to the continuation of the duplication and upgrade of the railway line from Caboolture to Nambour— What is the anticipated cost of completing the railway line duplication and rail upgrade?

Ms Palaszczuk:

I thank the Member for Nicklin for the question.

In the South-East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program 2009-2026, the estimated cost for duplication of Caboolture to Landsborough is $673 million and the estimated cost for duplication of Landsborough to Nambour is $1.8 billion. Duplication of the section between Caboolture and Beerburrum was commissioned in April 2009.

Under the South-East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program 2010-2031 the expected timeframe for delivery of duplication of Beerburrum to Landsborough is by 2019-2020 and the expected timeframe for delivery of the Landsborough to Nambour duplication is by 2030-2031.

Should not Beerburrum-Landsborough track duplication work be starting now in order for completion in the 2019-20 financial year?  Why have plans if you don't implement them?  Why is it that, in the case of the SCL, the planning is a complete fail, ensuring that the plans have to be redone and costs recalibrated constantly?

[petey3801]

Actually there was a timeline announced.
No studies were intended to be redone, or needed to be.

Can you point me to a link to this timeline please? Also, when was the last BCR, business case and complete costings etc completed for the duplication? If it was back before the LNP got in (ie: over 4 years ago), then it needs to be redone. So much has changed in that time that it would actually be quite irresponsible of a Government to start building something based on a budget and figures that were made several years ago. Hence why CRR is also being taken back through that same process. Both projects need to be done, but the costings etc need to be current for it to be done too.

[Fares_Fair]

Nicola Ryan
Mix FM radio station

Twitter: 13 January 2015 at 10:46am
Duplication of sunshine coast rail line would be completed by 2019. LNP election promise.


Nicola Ryan ‏@NicolaRyan86  · Jan 13 
Duplication of sunshine coast rail line would be completed by 2019. LNP election promise.
10:46 AM - 13 Jan 2015


It was also reported on ABC radio.
See SW post #697 in this thread.

I was told by the member for Glass House, Andrew Powell MP, that works would begin immediately after the election, and I tweeted that response.
It was also reported by local media View News.





It is far more irresponsible to be doing nothing, negligent in fact given the 50,000 people Caloundra South situation.

[petey3801]

Duplication of sunshine coast rail line would be completed by 2019. LNP election promise.


It was also reported on ABC radio.
See SW post #697 in this thread.

I was told by the member for Glass House, Andrew Powell MP, that works would begin immediately after the election, and I tweeted that response.
It was also reported by local media View News.

Fair enough, i'm stilll highly sceptical that it would be done, but rightio.

It is far more irresponsible to be doing nothing, negligent in fact given the 50,000 people Caloundra South situation.

Bulls##t. Like I asked before, when was the last costing done for this project? 2011? 2009? Circumstances change enough during the construction phase of a project as it is, let alone working off costings that were done several years ago. Do you form your household budget from the cost of living from 5 years ago? No? So why should the Government build a massive piece of infrastructure using costings from several years ago?

Edit: Fixed coding

[Fares_Fair]

Duplication of sunshine coast rail line would be completed by 2019. LNP election promise.


It was also reported on ABC radio.
See SW post #697 in this thread.

I was told by the member for Glass House, Andrew Powell MP, that works would begin immediately after the election, and I tweeted that response.
It was also reported by local media View News.

Fair enough, i'm stilll highly sceptical that it would be done, but rightio.

It is far more irresponsible to be doing nothing, negligent in fact given the 50,000 people Caloundra South situation.

Bulls##t. Like I asked before, when was the last costing done for this project? 2011? 2009? Circumstances change enough during the construction phase of a project as it is, let alone working off costings that were done several years ago. Do you form your household budget from the cost of living from 5 years ago? No? So why should the Government build a massive piece of infrastructure using costings from several years ago?

Edit: Fixed coding

$532m was the proposed cost for the works from Beerburrum to Landsborough, as the LNP announced on 13 January 2015.

It was originally $298 million when the Labor party first promised it in 2006.
Labor then reneged on their promise in April 2009 when work stopped suddenly at Beerburrum without any explanation.
Labor promised it to be at Landsborough by mid-2012!

Those are the cold hard facts.

[Stillwater]

The project engineering surely would stay the same -- unless the government has given new instructions to change the scope.  In terms of global budgeting therefore, just apply inflation rate to the last costing (in 2013).  For example, $532m in 2013 dollars would be $570m today -- that's what you budget for.

It would be irresponsible to say the project would cost $532m today, but allowing for $570m in forward estimates would be reasonable.

The state government is not good at estimating costs of major infrastructure, agreed.

Its usual practice is to adjust the project by staging it -- only building two-thirds or three quarters of what was proposed.  This usually throws the BCR out of whack -- less benefits for same cost.

[ozbob]

The EIS has expired, WEF 9th November 2015.  So I guess it is all moot now.

There seems little momentum anywhere to drive this, other than the strong supporters here and on the Sunny Coast.  Has the Sunshine Coast Daily continued the campaign?  No, seems to have dropped it.

All the APN regional newspapers have their own issues of late, moving to the subscription model etc.

I am forming the view that the only way to drive publicity is to get some single issue candidates to stand in local seats.   Yes, it costs and is a big committment, time wise.  But it is the last recourse.

Print media is declining, digital is increasing but the ever increasing use of fire-walls limits impact to the a large degree.

> http://www.thenewspaperworks.com.au/digital-sales-on-the-rise-abc/

I saw a headline during this week that suggests that hard copy newspapers could stop publishing Monday and Tuesday paper editions to further save.  Brisbanetimes is only digital of course.

Some interesting observations:

> http://www.crikey.com.au/2015/02/13/print-circulation-circling-the-drain-is-it-time-for-drastic-measures/

It is a touchy subject for some in the industry, but we are not seeing the same depth and balance that we once did IMHO.

New strategies are needed.

[petey3801]

Duplication of sunshine coast rail line would be completed by 2019. LNP election promise.


It was also reported on ABC radio.
See SW post #697 in this thread.

I was told by the member for Glass House, Andrew Powell MP, that works would begin immediately after the election, and I tweeted that response.
It was also reported by local media View News.

Fair enough, i'm stilll highly sceptical that it would be done, but rightio.

It is far more irresponsible to be doing nothing, negligent in fact given the 50,000 people Caloundra South situation.

Bulls##t. Like I asked before, when was the last costing done for this project? 2011? 2009? Circumstances change enough during the construction phase of a project as it is, let alone working off costings that were done several years ago. Do you form your household budget from the cost of living from 5 years ago? No? So why should the Government build a massive piece of infrastructure using costings from several years ago?

Edit: Fixed coding

$532m was the proposed cost for the works from Beerburrum to Landsborough, as the LNP announced on 13 January 2015.

It was originally $298 million when the Labor party first promised it in 2006.
Labor then reneged on their promise in April 2009 when work stopped suddenly at Beerburrum without any explanation.
Labor promised it to be at Landsborough by mid-2012!

Those are the cold hard facts.

AAaaaand you still haven't answered my question, which leads me to believe that the last actual costing was done possibly as far back as 2005/6! Bob's observation:

The EIS has expired, WEF 9th November 2015.

would seem to confirm this. Therefore, absolutely a new workup needs to be done. That's over a decade ago! There has been a massive amount of change since then! GFC, Mining boom, wage increases, major fluctuations of the AU$, etc.etc.etc.

The project engineering surely would stay the same -- unless the government has given new instructions to change the scope.  In terms of global budgeting therefore, just apply inflation rate to the last costing (in 2013).  For example, $532m in 2013 dollars would be $570m today -- that's what you budget for.

That, however, wouldn't take in to account many other things such as wage increases (they're not aligned to inflation) etc. Also, quite possible that new regulations after the 2011 floods may mean different engineering is required in certain areas. Plus, different signalling requirements may be needed, altering the costing (especially as the tech cost would likely depend on the exchange rate, which has changed significantly in the past decade, new tech has come out, etc.etc.), land values have changed and so forth. More to it than simply adding the cost of inflation to a project that was last costed a decade ago!

As much as the project does need doing, basing it on costings from a decade ago and hoping for the best is a sure fire way to end up with massive budget blowouts and is a highly irresponsible way of doing things.

[SurfRail]

Construction costs should actually be trending down at the moment, if anything (although the lack of things being done up here may be the counterpunch because people are gearing up to deal with things in Sydney, Melbourne and other parts).

[Stillwater]

Ms Trad has stated that a NCL 'action plan' is being worked up, but no one has seen it and TMR says it can't find it!  What does that say about Ms Trad and her pollie-waffle?  Why work up yet another plan, why put it through the EIS wringer again if the intent is not to fund the blooming thing?

Because of the pressure that Oz Bob speaks of, governments must be seen to be doing something re the Sunshine Coast Line duplication, and that usually is another report.  It has become an industry.  This project analysis churn holds out perpetual hope that something will be done, when in reality this is a project that is being placed on a 10-15 year time horizon.

Very well, then do the planning 7-10 years from now, with a view to commence duplication in 2025.

These 'action plans' are little more than bids sent off periodically to Canberra in the hope that Queensland's numbers will come up in the Infrastructure Lotto stakes.

[ozbob]

Ms Trad is overseas on a trade mission.  Mr Bailey is acting Transport Minister.  FYI.

Hi @Robert_Dow, @MarkBaileyMP will very ably cover the entire Transport portfolio for the next 12 days.

— Jackie Trad (@jackietrad) November 16, 2015

[petey3801]

Construction costs should actually be trending down at the moment, if anything (although the lack of things being done up here may be the counterpunch because people are gearing up to deal with things in Sydney, Melbourne and other parts).

It certainly is possible construction costs may come down (although to what level compared to 2006 is hard to gauge without the specifics), which would definitely be a good thing for infrastructure projects! But without a proper cost analysis, it is hard to know.

Ms Trad has stated that a NCL 'action plan' is being worked up, but no one has seen it and TMR says it can't find it!

In fairness, if it is indeed being 'worked up', then it probably isn't at the stage where TMR would have their hands on it officially. However, a new EIS, business case, firm timeline etc would be much better than an action plan!