The Sunshine Coast Case : Rail duplication Beerburrum to Nambour

[Stillwater]

Agree, this could be all part of the smoke screen of government when you are not actually achieving anything -- always point to what is going to happen in future.  The year 2031 always seems to be a busy year, given the number of projects scheduled to occur then.  It was Anna Bligh, as Premier, who proposed fast rail to the Sunshine and Gold coasts 'in about an hour', if you recall.  We can expect more 'pseudo announcements' like this in the current political climate.

I understand that the current Premier made some firm commitments about the SCL upgrade when she was Transport Minister in a Labor Government.

What's been proposed now is duplication to Landsborough North only and line upgrades to Nambour. 

[ozbob]

Hopefully this will happen hey?

#2tracks

[ozbob]

SundayMail --> http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/premiers-35b-plan-to-get-state-moving/news-story/2259065c83fa9bc0afaab98d7308bf06

[Stillwater]

Looks like we could be in federal election mode soon.  Malcolm Turnbull should not even consider paying the electors of Fisher and Fairfax a visit without making a pledge to part fund the Beerburrum-Nambour track duplication.  What's that smell .... boiling tar.  Oh look, those chooks have no feathers ....

[Stillwater]

Beerburrum-Nambour track duplication is listed on Building Queensland's website:
http://buildingqueensland.qld.gov.au/projects/beerburrum-to-nambour-rail-upgrade-project

The site confirms that duplication will be to Landsborough North, in the first instance, with track improvements further north to Nambour.  The site contains these words: "The business case will be presented to government for consideration before an expected decision in 2017.  If approved and funded, the project will proceed to procurement."

It would appear that the business case for CRR has priority.  The CRR business case will be ready in mid-2016.

[tazzer9]

why only to landsborough?   The NCL is incredibly sub standard for such a busy mainline, especially between beerburrum and gympie.  The only parts which arent awful are the eumundi and gympie bypasses.  Duplication and realignment needs to happen to at least nambour, and at the bare minimum serious curve easing and upgrades between nambour and gympie with a few of the shocking sections further north fixed.   

[SurfRail]

Because they can fix up to Landsborough without doing anything really expensive like tunnels or viaducts.  Up to Nambour is needed but north of Landsborough is where it starts getting exxy.

[tazzer9]

I'm okay with building things in stages, but not announcing things and planning them as entirely separate sections.   Because once up to landsborough is done, we will need to go through the entire political cycle again, so up to nambour wont be built until at least 2031 at best.   The line is already stuffed now.   QR spends something like $200 per train on maintenance of the caboolture to nambour section of the ncl.  Freight trains spends something like an extra $1000 per train just in fuel costs alone.   Lost potential revenue due to short trains, extra wait times and extremely slow travel on that section would be in the several thousands of dollars per train.   Thats just for that one section.   The sooner we build it the better, we could easily raise the track access costs, everyone would have more money. 

[HappyTrainGuy]

As has been said once you get north of Landsborough the alignment gets really expensive. And there are other options that can be considered with easy federal funding. These being the inland rail link + Surat Basin link which would have the potential to bypass the NCL from Brisbane to Gladstone. If its built dual gauge you can effectively eliminate the majority of freight traffic from Brisbane and eliminates the current restrictions placed on freight traffic (lengths/using the suburban network). There is also the added benefit of freight coming from nsw/beyond to run express to/from Gladstone. Turning the Nambour line into a shuttle service north of Landsborough while focusing on getting trains going to the coast. Money could then be spent on increasing the passing loop lengths/changing the priority of traffic between passenger and freight trains ie extend the loops north of Nambour and between Nambour-Landsborough give priority to the longer freight trains until such a time that Landsborough-Nambour can and needs to be duplicated and realigned.

It's not all clear cut and there are many ways to go.

[Fares_Fair]

Interesting point HTG
I have not seen any documentation or reports that mention this proposal, that's not to say it isn't one - just that I haven't come across any info on it.
The Surat Basin (Rail) Link is a predominately privately funded venture and was intended to be single narrow-gauge with passing loops.

From the Govt website -->  http://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/assessments-and-approvals/surat-basin-rail.html

Proponent:
Surat Basin Rail Pty Ltd, as agent for and on behalf of the Surat Basin Rail Joint Venture, comprising ATEC Dawson Valley Railway Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Australian Transport and Energy Corridor Limited), Xstrata Coal Surat Basin Rail Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Ltd) and QR Surat Basin Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of QR National Limited).

It's a 210-kilometre railway in the Surat Basin that will connect the Western Railway system near Wandoan to the Moura Railway system near Banana.

Key features:
60-metre-wide corridor (within the Surat Basin Infrastructure Corridor State Development Area), wider at passing loops; and significant cuttings and embankments
•single narrow-gauge track
•up to eight passing loops

The open-access railway line, often referred to as the 'Southern Missing Link', will enable thermal coal to be transported from the Surat Basin to the proposed Wiggins Island Coal Terminal at the Port of Gladstone.

Surat Basin Rail project Coordinator-General's report on the environmental impact statement was released in December 2010.

[HappyTrainGuy]

At the time it had a lot of spruking that the federal government would chip in an extra few million for additional planning to build it dual gauge spec with more potential funding coming from the Federal Government during construction (ie dg sleepers but only laying narrow gauge rail so conversion to DG was easy later on) as part of the inland rail project.

I'll try to find some more info and get back to you.

Edit: Here are some mentions. What i did find interesting was this little snippit for the project.

The rail infrastructure includes a single narrow gauge track with up to eight passing loops, capable of accommodating trains up to 2.5 kilometres in length, providing open access arrangements to multi-users.

Now that would open up the freight network! Haha. If only.

Media Release: 
Mark Vaile Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services
Thursday 19 July 2007
BOOSTING THE CAPACITY OF
THE SURAT BASIN COAL LINE
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
for Transport and Regional Services,
Mark Vaile, has announced a radical plan to boost the capacity of the railway line
that will link the planned coal mines in
Queensland's Surat Basin to the Port of
Gladstone.
The Surat Basin Railway consortium
is about to carr
y out the detailed
engineering and financial planning
that is needed to build the line, after receiving
an unconditional exclusive
mandate from Queensland.
The Australian Government
will provide up to $3.5 mi
llion to extend the planning
work to consider the economic and financia
l viability of dual
gauging the line. A
dual gauge line would be able to handl
e huge standard gauge coal wagons as
well as the smaller narrow gauge
equipment used by Queensland Rail.
"Queensland's coal lines are struggling to
keep up with the international demand
for the state's coal. One of the reasons is that Queensland coal trains are narrow
gauge: they run on rails that are 3 f
eet 6 inches apart," Mr Vaile said.
"The interstate rail system and the Hunter
Valley coal line to the Port of
Newcastle use standard gauge, where the ra
ils are 4 feet 8½ inches apart. 
"As a result, a typical Queensland coal
wagon can only carry 83.75 tonnes of
coal. In contrast, a typical standard gauge
coal wagon has a 30 tonne axle load
and can carry 97 tonnes. A typical Queensland coal train has 122 wagons, so a
standard gauge train of the same length
would be able to haul an additional
1,600 tonnes of coal.
"My vision is that the Surat Basin Ra
ilway should be dual gauged so it can
handle both standard gauge and narrow gau
ge trains. It would enable
Queensland to reap the productivity gains
of using standard gauge coal wagons.
It could also be expected to result in lower coal freight rates, because it would
give interstate train operators a fair
chance to compete against QR for coal
contracts.
"As a first step, the Australian Governm
ent will provide funding to the planning
work so it can cover dual-gauging the line from Gladstone through to the planned
Wandoan mine and then to Toowoomba.
The dual gauge track could be
extended later to the massive Fe
lton deposit near Pittsworth. 
4
For personal use only
"The funding is subject to an agreement t
hat the Australian Government will have
the option of becoming an equity partner
in the development of the line upon the
consortium reaching successful financia
l close. The Government will decide
whether to participate after the planning
work is completed and will only become
involved if the line is covered by an open access regime.
"We are already in the process of invest
ing $389 million to
boost the capacity of
the Hunter Valley coal li
ne following our lease of the line from New South Wales
in 2004. We are similarly interested in
investing in new infrastructure in
Queensland to improve the efficiency of
its coal network," Mr Vaile said.
The Government's funding for
the planning work is also
contingent on each of the
consortium partners making a matching c
ontribution to the planning work and
meeting key benchmarks. 
The consortium partners are the Australian Transport and Energy Corridor,
Industry Funds Management, Queensland Rail, Xstrata Coal and Anglo Coal. 
A detailed fact sheet about the dua
l gauge plan is attached. Media
organisations can obtain high-reso
lution images of the maps and
photographs for publication by em
ailing bill.mckinley@dotars.gov.au
Media contact:
Tim Langmead
02 6277 7680 / 0421 584 990





A privately built inland railway linking Toowoomba with Moree in NSW could be completed by 2013, the transport company seeking its construction says.

The Australian Transport and Energy Corridor (ATEC) chairman, Everald Compton, said the $700 million railway would be a massive boost to inland towns and rural areas.

ATEC is seeking a mandate from the state governments of Queensland and NSW to build the 400km railway.

The proposed Border Railway would be a direct inland link between Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as coal ports on the Queensland coast.

It would join the existing rail network at Moree and pass through North Star on the way to the border crossing at Yelarbon and pass through Inglewood and Millmerrran.

At Toowoomba, it would connect with the Surat Basin railway to Gladstone, due to be completed in 2012.

"This project is now unstoppable," Mr Compton said.

"We have been doing our homework, we have found the best route for the railway and we know how to do this. This has been discussed for the past 11 years."

ATEC will submit its case to the governments in March and expects a decision by September.

The inland railway would be built as dual gauge in Queensland. This means using three strands of steel, enabling both standard gauge and narrow gauge trains to use the track.

Mr Compton said ATEC had negotiated with the federal government for a $120 million grant to pay for the extra steel and river crossings at the state border.

"Being dual gauge makes this a truly nation-building project," he said.

ATEC is part of a private consortium formed last year to build the dual gauge Surat Basin line to Gladstone.

Mr Compton said more than 2,000 of the 3,000 trucks using the Newell Highway between Brisbane and Melbourne every day could be taken off the road once the rail link was completed.

"We have neglected our rail system too long," he said.

"This will be an enormous boost to rural communities."

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh today welcomed the news that the rail link was progressing.

"A nation-building project such as that proposed deserves careful consideration," Ms Bligh said.

"The Border Railway has the potential to open up new transport and mining opportunities.

"I congratulate ATEC on having the courage to progress their idea and look forward to seeing their business case."

AAP

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> New pipeline of rail projects needed to improve Brisbane passenger train network

The multibillion-dollar project to create a second river rail crossing, which includes a 5.9km tunnel, has had several versions over the past six years but is yet to proceed due to a lack of funding.

What ideas and projects do you think will drive jobs and economic activity in Queensland?

Two major rail projects, the Moreton Bay Rail Link and the duplication of the Helensvale to Coomera track on the Gold Coast, are under construction and due to be completed by July and late next year, respectively.

Advocacy group Rail Back on Track says although the Cross River Rail is needed, there are other projects that could improve efficiency.

"There needs to be a whole new pipeline of projects that are achievable that the Government needs to get on and do," spokesman Robert Dow said.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said Cross River Rail was crucial to future projects.

"But none of these projects will be possible without the critical Cross River Rail to enable capacity as those lines bring commuters into the Brisbane CBD."

The duplication of the North Coast line between Beerburrum and Landsborough was promised by the Newman government through its controversial asset sales package and was estimated to cost $532 million, but Labor has committed to progressively upgrading it.

Mr Hinchliffe said a business case for duplicating the North Coast line was being developed and a decision expected next year.

Engineers Australia infrastructure spokesman Chris Warnock said the duplication of the North Coast line would improve both freight and passenger rail services.

"It is the Achilles heel for the whole freight rail network," he said.

Opposition transport spokesman Scott Emerson said duplicating the North Coast line was essential to improving passenger rail in the southeast.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 20s

State needs to 'get on with rail projects' > http://www.couriermail.com.au/goqld/new-pipeline-of-rail-projects-needed-to-improve-brisbane-passenger-train-network/news-story/3deabf50145711cb3aa2861e7cba831e ... #qldpol #2tracks #SunnyCoast

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

24th April 2016

Track amplification Beerburrum to Landsborough North

Greetings,

Upgrading the Sunshine Coast Line, next stage from Beerburrum to Landsborough North, must be a key priority from here.  Expertise built up on the MBRL project can be moved onto this project?

It is a priority because:

- all advice to government is that it should be built, without exception
- transport efficiencies are enhanced
- positive socio-economic benefits flow
- travel time savings are won for passenger rail and rail freight
- the environment benefits by having freight moved on rail, transport costs are decreased
- the construction industry benefits, jobs are created
- the Queensland economy is enhanced
- while this is to be tested in the new business case, past business analysis says the project will generate more dollars than it costs to build.  It actually costs more not to build it.

The only variable left is politics.  Politics is holding up the duplication of the Sunshine Coast Line. This project has been shovel ready since 2009!

Best wishes
Robert

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

Reference:

Couriermail --> New pipeline of rail projects needed to improve Brisbane passenger train network

[Stillwater]

The latest blunt advice to government re the SCL duplication is that 'doing nothing is not an option'.  That's like a reputable doctor telling someone that unless they undergo life-saving surgery they will die.  In fact, further advice to government is that the state's major rail freight operations along the eastern seaboard to Cairns are 'in danger of being reduced to irrelevancy'.

It makes you wonder just what's needed to move a government, of whatever political persuasion, to act on this issue.

Indeed, the variable is politics -- and the line passes through a string of state and federal seats.  Perhaps there will be some movement between now and 2 July.   

[ozbob]

Sunshine Coast Daily --> North Coast rail project fights for traction

RAIL advocates are fearful duplication of the North Coast rail to Nambour is in danger of being bumped further back in the priority queue for major infrastructure projects by the $5.2bn Cross River Rail project and upgrades to road networks on Brisbane's southern flank.

Rail Back on Track advocate Jeff Addison said the North Coast line was an achievable infrastructure project that would improve passenger and freight movement for a fraction of the cost of other projects.

Mr Addison said governments at state and federal level needed to appreciate it was costing more money not to do the upgrade affecting freight delivery through the whole rail network through to Cairns.

"The business case they are doing now will not be ready until mid-next year,'' he said.

"But the Cross River Rail case will be delivered in June this year."

Advocates will attempt to make the upgrade of the North Coast line a federal election issue in the Fisher, Longman and Fairfax electorates but said the implications stretched right up the east coast.

Mr Addison said it was frustrating to have a Prime Minister as a public transport advocate and to see Queensland governments negotiate with their federal counterparts for things like the Gold Coast light rail but do little to advance a project whose need was universally recognised.

Last November's Ranbury Report delivered to the state government on North Coast Line Capacity Improvement had described it as severely undercapitalised.

Mr Addison said the report had found there was no "do nothing" option if rail was to have a future in the Sunshine Coast-Brisbane corridor.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads in January revealed a new business case for duplication of the Beerburrum to Landsborough section of the North Coast line won't be ready for consideration by the State Government until mid-2017, after which funding for the project will be assessed against other priorities.

[Stillwater]

Would the delay in preparing the business case be linked to federal-state concepts of 'value capture'?  We should also wonder about the delay in preparing the South-East Queensland Regional Plan (population distribution strategy), which the State Government put on hold during the local government elections for fear that this would become and unnecessary distraction.

Are Stockland, the developers of Aura (Caloundra South), going to be hit with a compulsory contribution tax should the first stage of CAMCOS be built to Caloundra?  Is the SG contemplating concessions to developers (such as any new housing estates at Mooloolah and Eudlo) in exchange for a contribution to duplication to Nambour?

The Sunshine Coast Council should be getting its digit out and do a complete town plan revamp for Nambour, in anticipation of rail duplication.  In the way these things move, starting a town plan review now is necessary, even if dual tracks won't arrive in town until beyond 2026.

For starters, that part of the Civic Centre housing the newsagency should be bought up and pulled down, opening up the revamped station (works under way) to the major shopping precinct.  The Nambour station platform is going to move -- a section to the north (near McDonalds) will be closed and the platform extended south, behind Coles.

With a bit of imagination (and there is none in QR), it is possible to liaise with McDonalds to have a 'back window' to the platform, where rail passengers could purchase coffees etc, also a better walkway would link directly into the Coles complex, making it far more convenient for people from the SC railway towns to have easy access to the facilities there.  Such a walkway would open up greater connectivity for the town either side of the railway tracks.

But as if all these things would happen.  Why, it would require liaison between QR and the council.  No, never!

[tazzer9]

Food for thought, thinking more long term.  A few sections of between nambour and Gympie north are going to be rebuilt to accommodate higher track speeds and if any sense prevails, it will be duplicated to form a passing lane like situation.  These upgrades would be mainly for freight but with other trains taking advantage of it. It's just a matter of time. 

However should the duplication be sent to yandina as soon as possible, taking away the parking strain in nambour.  There is a reason why they always try and put a station or two after the main regional centre.  (geelong line for example).  IMHO, yandina is a far better terminating location than nambour. 

There is a report stating that if caboolture to nambour was fully duplicated and upgraded with serious track upgrades between nambour and gympie, QR would save $300 per train and the freight  train operators would save in excess of $2000 per train (that excludes the savings by using less but longer trains).  I heard it takes something like 4 hours to go from gympie to caboolture for a freight train during the day. 

[SurfRail]

Ideally, I would like to see a situation where we have, in the off-peak:
- 4 trains per hour to Caboolture
- Every second train (2tph) extending to Nambour
- Every second train (1tph) extending to Cooroy
- Cessation of the 649 rail bus
- Extension of the 605 and 615 to Australia Zoo during operating hours
- Additional 630 and 631 services

[ozbob]

612 ABC --> Back on track to your destination

29 April 2016 , 4:19 PM by Halina Baczkowski

Have you thought about catching the train to your holiday spot?

It's often a laborious journey to get to your destination, especially when you're stuck in traffic.

Rail Back on Track Sunshine Coast Spokesperson Jeff Addison joined 612 ABC's Kelly Higgins-Devine to talk alternative travel methods.

[ozbob]

^

Thanks 612, Kelly and FF for stepping up to the plate!  Excellent interview. 

[Fares_Fair]

Thank you Kellie and 612 ABC Brisbane for the opportunity to discuss Sunshine Coast to Brisbane transport. 
Callers after the interview lamented the time it takes to use public transport to get to Brisbane, one gentleman asked "Have you ever tried to get from Caloundra to Brisbane on a Sunday?"

[Arnz]

^

The ironic part is that in some cases (depending if connecting to a express train or a Caboolture shuttle), it's faster to get back from Caloundra to Brisbane via Public Transport, due to the usual Sunday traffic (Southbound) crawl on the Bruce Highway back to Brisbane.

The downside is the 90 minute frequency.

[verbatim9]

Thank you Kellie and 612 ABC Brisbane for the opportunity to discuss Sunshine Coast to Brisbane transport. 
Callers after the interview lamented the time it takes to use public transport to get to Brisbane, one gentleman asked "Have you ever tried to get from Caloundra to Brisbane on a Sunday?"

Great interview there it tells it how it is. Duplication Landsborough ASAP would be a smart move to get more people on trains. And Family Go Card pass for weekends and public holidays as well as caps for these days for infrequent users during the week to encourage uptake of PT intercity use on weekends and public holidays.

[ozbob]

Sunshine Coast Daily --> Bruce, rail top Coast's budget wishlist

UPGRADES to the Bruce Highway and duplication of the Beerburrum to Nambour rail link are key shared wishes ahead of the Federal Budget to be brought down tomorrow night.

The big ticket items are considered essential to the Sunshine Coast's continued economic growth.

In the case of the Bruce Highway, Sunshine Coast Chamber of Commerce president Michael Shadforth said upgrades were needed to remove barriers to Brisbane residents choosing the region for the short-breaks and day trips essential to a sustainable tourism industry.

Mr Shadforth warned the Turnbull Government against treating the Sunshine Coast as politically "safe" saying the region had consistently missed out on its fair share of infrastructure spending.

"We are Australia's ninth largest city and should be treated as such,'' he said.

"We need the necessary infrastructure to grow jobs and the economy.''

Mr Shadforth said upgrading the Bruce was critical but so too was the undersea internet cable link and the decentralisation of government departments.

He said for three weeks in a row gridlock on the highway had generated bad press for the Sunshine Coast.

The Bruce Highway and the Beerburrum to Nambour rail upgrade rated one and two on the State Government's wish list and third and sixth on that of the Queensland Chamber of Commerce and Industry which put the rail link behind the Brisbane Cross River Rail link and the Port of Brisbane dedicated freight rail connection.

The peak business body is confident the budget will prove a "pork-barrelling bonanza" for the Sunshine State.

CCIQ Director of Advocacy Nick Behrens said there was no question Queensland would be the key federal election battleground presenting a significant opportunity for it to secure vitally needed infrastructure spending.

Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt quantifies that expectation saying on population alone this state should receive $1 billion of $5 billion that will be allocated for public transport infrastructure.

"If NSW and Victoria receive the lion's share of a suggested $5 billion for public transport infrastructure in the Federal Budget, then Queenslanders will have every right to feel drastically short-changed," Mr Pitt said.

"Queensland should not be penalised for the simple fact that the Palaszczuk Government is keeping its election commitment not to sell our revenue-generating government-owned corporations.

"The LNP in Queensland has supposedly changed its tune on asset sales since the state election so there is no policy for selling off income-generating assets in Queensland, and we shouldn't be punished for that.

"It was the Abbott-Hockey government that changed that approach and tied funding to asset sales.

"Scott Morrison has a clear choice — either he allocates a fair share of federal infrastructure funds to Queensland in tomorrow night's Federal Budget or he abandons our state.

"If we are short-changed then every Queenslander will not have to wait long to tell him and the Prime Minister how they feel about being starved of their fair share of funds for essential projects."

Mr Pitt said a good place to start would be restoration of the 2014 Budget's $18bn in cuts to health and education.

But state Member for Caloundra Mark McArdle warned against an addiction to more money for health saying it needed to be spent more wisely with an eye to challenges to come 20 to 30 years down the track from the burden of disease.

"Our aged care health burden will compound,'' Mr McArdle said.

"We need to think smart with the money we get. Use of new technology and better models of care are simple to say but difficult to deliver."

Sunshine Coast Business Council chair Sandy Zubrinich is less concerned about big ticket infrastructure projects as she is in the budget's capacity to deliver confidence.

"I'm hoping it's not just an election budget but something that is more substantial, thoughtful and sensible and can demonstrate the economic context of its initiatives,'' she said.

"I have confidence Malcolm Turnbull can pull it off.

"I'm not looking specifically at what the Coast gets but whether the Budget instils confidence in families, the market and business.''

Ms Zubrinich said there was a lot of uncertainty in the economy. What was needed was not the injection of momentary boosts but measures that would see everyone benefit from a strong economy.

Ted O'Brien, who will contest Fairfax for the LNP, said jobs, infrastructure and a fair go for the region were his hopes for tomorrow night.

Tax incentives for small business which dominates the Coast's economy were essential as was the need to "imbed" the government's innovation agenda in the budget.

In terms of infrastructure Mr O'Brien said the Bruce Highway was the number one priority. He would also like to see programs that could unlock private capital to help fund big ticket infrastructure projects.

[Stillwater]

Sunshine Coast Line duplication ... what people say:

Doing nothing is not an option
Rail freight operations on the SCL and NCL in danger of becoming 'an irrelevancy' without considerable investment
Essential to the SC's continued economic growth
needed for a sustainable tourism industry

   

[Stillwater]

Clive Palmer has announced that he will not recontest the seat of Fairfax at the upcoming federal election.  That means the seat where the majority of the SCL duplication will occur is up for grabs.  A perfect opportunity for the major parties to promise $600 million (or half that amount, shared with the state) for the Beerburrum-Landsborough North duplication to proceed. 

[Stillwater]

Revealed on ABC local radio Sunshine Coast today ....

Anthony Albanese coming to SC in late May.  Driving up the Bruce Hwy in the afternoon, staying at Kawana for the night, heading back the next morning.  Will be experiencing traffic congestion first hand.  Might make an announcement?

[tazzer9]

Revealed on ABC local radio Sunshine Coast today ....

Anthony Albanese coming to SC in late May.  Driving up the Bruce Hwy in the afternoon, staying at Kawana for the night, heading back the next morning.  Will be experiencing traffic congestion first hand.  Might make an announcement?

Make him catch SEQ's so called world class public transport.   We could even chip in for him to catch the commuter tilt train to nambour so it costs the taxpayer nothing. 
By the time he arrived in nambour he would have come up with an in depth policy for upgrading the NCL. 
or we get him to catch the gympielander so he arrives late due it breaking down, scaring him by driving the train backwards because there is another passenger train who wants to use the platform at palmwoods, or telling him how much carbon emissions idling DEL's put into the air when sitting in tiny passing loops. 

[aldonius]

What was that time Albo said a thing about every freight train equals this many trucks off the road?



{RBoT} understands Anthony Albanese, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, will be visiting the Sunshine Coast in late May. In particular, we understand he will be driving up the Bruce Highway, and expect he will make a funding announcement relating to it.

We invite Mr Albanese to catch the train back down to Brisbane the next day.

For a decade now, the North Coast line has been subject to study after study and business case after business case, all of them with highly favourable benefit-cost ratios. And yet so much of it is still single track on a century-old alignment. As Mr Albanese himself has previously said, {insert rail-favourable quote here}.

The North Coast line runs parallel to the Bruce Highway and is just as much of a vital freight link. If one qualifies for Federal funding, the other must qualify too!

[tazzer9]

The worst part about all these studies, business cases while nothing is done means that some passing loops are getting extended only to be demolished in a few years time

[Fares_Fair]

What was that time Albo said a thing about every freight train equals this many trucks off the road?



{RBoT} understands Anthony Albanese, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, will be visiting the Sunshine Coast in late May. In particular, we understand he will be driving up the Bruce Highway, and expect he will make a funding announcement relating to it.

We invite Mr Albanese to catch the train back down to Brisbane the next day.

For a decade now, the North Coast line has been subject to study after study and business case after business case, all of them with highly favourable benefit-cost ratios. And yet so much of it is still single track on a century-old alignment. As Mr Albanese himself has previously said, {insert rail-favourable quote here}.

The North Coast line runs parallel to the Bruce Highway and is just as much of a vital freight link. If one qualifies for Federal funding, the other must qualify too!

"It is perhaps best summed up by this quote from the (former) Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, when he said: 'One 1500 metre freight train can carry the load of 100 semi-trailers, leaving our roads safer and our air cleaner.'   Economic Stimulus Plan; A progress report (2011, p1)."

[Stillwater]

I wonder whether we can shout Albo a cup of coffee, maybe a muffin if he promises that an ALP government would fund the SCL duplication?   

[ozbob]

Media release 9th May 2016

SEQ: Sunshine Coast Line rail duplication
Doing nothing not an option yet that is the plan

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 called on the State and Federal government to jointly fund Sunshine Coast Line rail track duplication from Beerburrum to Landsborough north in the first instance, then continue onto Nambour.

Jeff Addison, Sunshine Coast Spokesperson for RAIL Back On Track said;

"There is an imperative for the Federal and Queensland Governments to act swiftly towards construction of dual railway tracks between Beerburrum and Landsborough North, and then onto Nambour."

"Rail freight and long-distance passenger services are right now under threat. The North Coast Line corridor that meanders through the Sunshine Coast is considered to be 'severely under-capitalised' according to a report commissioned for the State Government in February 2015 (2). An accompanying document from the TransLink Infrastructure Investment Committee dated 23 September 2015 (3) says; 'The results of the project identified that there is NO "DO NOTHING" APPROACH if rail is to have a future in this corridor.' "

"The economic benefits of these infrastructure projects are profound! Landsborough to Nambour works would generate $4.57 billion in output generation to the South East Queensland economy over the 7 year construction period, and create 2786 jobs at any one point in time."

"Clearly, it is time the State Palaszczuk government and the Federal Turnbull government prove that they are governing for all Australians. The federal seat of Fairfax in which some of these works occur, was the most marginal seat at the 2013 Federal election (53 vote margin)"
"Upgrade of the Sunshine Coast Line has twice been promised by the State, but the Sunshine Coast is yet to see it built."

"We are also concerned that rail construction standards are being reduced which will further disadvantage rail over road freight. Current duplication completed in April 2009 to Beerburrum, was designed for 160kph speeds. We now know that the intention is to reduce design speeds back to just 100kph, and that's not very competitive against an increasingly congested 110kph Bruce Highway."

"The time for taking the Sunshine Coast for granted is over; the time for action is here."

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

2. North Coast Line Capacity Improvement Study – Final Report by TransLink and the Department of Transport and Main Roads
February 2015 (p100)

3. TransLink submission to the Infrastructure Investment Committee
Submission No. 5.1 (p1) 23 September 2015

[tazzer9]

The design speed being reduced.  Is that for general rail (round boards) or passenger MU's. (rectangle boards).   Building it so all trains can theoretically go at least 120km/h should be the minimum.  This is so freight trains never need to slow below 100km/h and speed back up.  120km/h is sufficient for commuter trains but certainly not ideal.   at 120km/h for general rail movements, tilt trains can generally go at 160km/h. 

For freight and long distance passenger tarins to be competitive against road, serious upgrades between nambour and maryborough also need to occur.

[Arnz]

^^

The proposed reduced Design speed is north of Landsborough for cost reasons.  For the most part, most of the corridor between Glasshouse Mtns and Landsborough  is already set at 120km (MUs)/140km (Tilts), where the second track only needs to be put next to the existing track.

Beerburrum to Glasshouse Mtns corridor did require alignment, already had partial works and acquisitions done before it was stopped in 2012.  The design speed for that one was the same as Caboolture/Beerburrum with 140km/h (MUs)/160km/h (Tilts).

[Stillwater]

Would it be advantageous, during the federal election campaign, to call upon the qld government to speed up completion of the SCL duplication business case?  The CRR business case should be ready in June 2016, we are told, so nothing should be done to hold up that deadline.  But once the CRR business case is completed (say mid-June 2016) the heat should go on qld government to bring forward SCL business case by six months (currently it will be ready by June 2017 -- too late to be considered for federal funding in 2017-18 budget).

One tactic for the Liberal Party in the seat of Fairfax would be to use the election campaign to 'call upon State Labor to speed up the business case process' and beat Labor around the ears for its tardiness. (Holding position: "We can't even begin to give serious consideration to SCL duplication because Labor has failed to come up with the business case and has failed to submit it to Infrastructure Australia.  A Coalition government in Canberra wants to see that business case as soon as possible so we can evaluate whether it represents value for money against other worthwhile infrastructure projects around the country.  State Labor is failing the people of Queensland on this matter and is hindering the flow of federal funding due to its tardiness in completing pre-construction activities necessary before work can begin.")

Of course, it is still open for the Coalition to announce funding for the SCL "subject to a positive BCR being established through the business case analysis".  Again, this puts pressure on Labor at a state level, short of actually committing the dollars.  Or, Coalition could announce it would give priority to considering funding the rail track only component of the SCL duplication as part of its National Transport Network commitments if state Labor prepares and brings forward a business case where it commits to funding the passenger rail infrastructure, such as stations and car parks.  That is the making of a worthwhile and workable deal consistent with national policies to invest in national freight projects.

If the business case for duplication between Beerburrum and Landsborough North were ready in January 2017, that would allow for evaluation by IA ahead of the 2017-18 budget.  The state government has set aside $22m for business case development, recognising that it is woefully behind other states in the number of projects that have their pre-construction paperwork in place,  and also recognising the poor quality of submissions they are churning out and placing before IA.  At IA, they must be rolling around the floor in laughter at a Queensland Government that has submitted as a priority, ahead of SCL duplication and CRR, the Townsville Stadium proposal that will generate only 21 cents for every dollar of taxpayer funds put into its construction.

What sort of message is Queensland Labor sending to Canberra when it acts in such a farcical way?

[ozbob]

It does seem that Queensland is starting to turn against the ALP ... no real surprise.

In some ways the arrogant  decline of the Blight Govt is now being repeated ...

Queensland is a real basket case, the last three Governments are and were completely out of touch with reality ...

Looks increasingly certain that LNP will get back.  I hope they have learned their lessons ...  we can only hope. 

For the Sunshine Coast Line it might well be the best outcome.

[Stillwater]

Unusual for a motoring organisation the RACQ has put Beerburrum-Nambour duplication of the SCL forward as one of its priorities for politicians to address and fund in the forthcoming federal election.  It also wants further Bruce Highway works.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/racq-demands-highway-work-be-election-priority/3026595

[kram0]

It does seem that Queensland is starting to turn against the ALP ... no real surprise.

In some ways the arrogant  decline of the Blight Govt is now being repeated ...

Queensland is a real basket case, the last three Governments are and were completely out of touch with reality ...

Looks increasingly certain that LNP will get back.  I hope they have learned their lessons ...  we can only hope. 

For the Sunshine Coast Line it might well be the best outcome.

And we should not be at all surprised. Anna2 and Trad have no clue and will go down as the worst state government in QLD history. Newman for all his faults at least had a plan and got some projects started with the money they had.

The sooner this government collapses the better for the economy of this great state.