Article: $3.3 million rail upgrade gets chop

[Fares_Fair]

Article: $3.3 million rail upgrade gets chop
Sunshine Coast Daily, p8
Wednesday June 27, 2012
by Patrick Williams

[Stillwater]

Beerburrum to Landsborough upgrade by 2012 - CANCELLED
CAMCOS rail to Caloundra by 2015 - CANCELLED
CAMCOS rail to Maroochydore by 2020 - CANCELLED
Start on CoastConnect busway - CANCELLED
Landsborough to Nambour by 2026 - CANCELLED
Nambour DDA upgrade - CANCELLED
Maroochydore bus interchange - DELAYED

Temporary platforms, 44 per cent of so-called train services are buses, dance of the trains, unreliable train timetables, poor connections with buses, towns moribund for years because of lack of action on rail realignment.

Sunshine Coast .... home to We of the Never Never Happens
Successive state governments have shredded the QR reputation locally

[Jonno]

meanwhile..

Road Deaths - INCREASING
injurries in Road Accidents - - INCREASING
Congestion on Roads - INCREASING
Drain of State Funds trying to outbuild congestion - INCREASING

[ozbob]

Will be a lot more costlier to not do it ...  so much for LNP looking after the Sunshine Coast ...

[Stillwater]

Cancelled DDA upgrade for Nambour featured on Seven Local News at 6.08pm, quote from SC rail advocate Jeff Addison

[Stillwater]

Sunshine Coast Council going ahead with 'park and ride' facilities across the coast (further enshrining car-based travel), including several such facilities along the Bruce Highway.  Faced with no action on the SCL, commuters are transferring to cars, forcing the council to adopt the park/ride plan.

[SurfRail]

No prizes for guessing whether Peter Wellington is sitting on the government benches...

[Stillwater]

The LNP consider him the 'enemy' who betrayed them and gave government to Peter Beattie.  What's remarkable is the extent to which politics drives 'gifts' or money and projects to the Sunshine Coast, rather than need -- from both sides of the political divide.  The LNP is taking their Coast supporters for granted.

[Fares_Fair]

Novels we would rather not have to read...

Sunshine Coast, death by a thousand cuts.

[Arnz]

I noticed Nicklin covered Nambour and most areas by the Landsborough-Nambour alignment. 

Whether the LNP looks after the other areas of the coast remains to be seen (eg the Maroochydore Bus Station being delayed - which is partially the fault of the last government - instead of cancelled). 

If they cancel or significantly downscale the Sunshine Coast University Hospital on the other hand, would have devasting consequences for the LNP.  I can't see most voters going to Labor either, so most likely a strong figure running as an independent in a "Hospital Broken Promise" scenario would have a field day against the LNP with that, as well as pointing out Labor's past misdeeds.

[Stillwater]

The LNP does not make a distinction between transport and other infrastructure - it is all 'infrastructure'.  It knows that the SC University Hospital is the Number 1 infrastructure item for the Sunny Coast.  (It has ripped money from the hospital budget, but hopes the private sector will contribute more.)

When people complain about a lack of spending on Landsborough-Nambour track, the LNP says 'yes, but we are spending billions on essential infrastructure for the Sunshine Coast.'

[Fares_Fair]

QUESTION ON NOTICE
ASKED
WEDNESDAY, 6 JUNE 2012

Answer due : Friday, 6 July 2012

231
MR WELLINGTON ASKED THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (MR EMERSON)—
With reference to the Minister's answer to my question yesterday in relation to the disability access improvements scheduled for the Nambour railway station—
When is the work scheduled to commence and how long will the site be identified as a construction site?

[Fares_Fair]

And the answer will be ...

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Nicklin for the question.

The detailed design for the construction works, including the new lift for Nambour, has been completed. 

However, as part of the State Government savings directive currently underway, it was determined by the Queensland Rail Limited (Ltd) Executive Leadership Team (ELT) that the Nambour DDA Upgrade project was not to proceed as part of the 2012/2013 Capital Plan.  This means that Queensland Rail will not progress with the tender process and construction activities as previously planned and designed.  This project will be revisited once appropriate funding is identified and made available in the future. 

[ozbob]

A talkback called asked the Premier a question about rail DDA compliance  .  About 9 minute 40 seconds from end of this session.

The answer is interesting.

===================
Click --> here!

612 ABC Brisbane Mornings with Steve Austin

100 days of Campbell Newman's government

03 July 2012 , 11:45 AM by Amanda Dell

The LNP government swept to power in March and promised a range of reforms.

How does the Premier think his government has achieved in its first 100 days?

Campbell Newman spoke with Steve Austin from Mackay.

[ozbob]

And the answer will be ...

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Nicklin for the question.

The detailed design for the construction works, including the new lift for Nambour, has been completed. 

However, as part of the State Government savings directive currently underway, it was determined by the Queensland Rail Limited (Ltd) Executive Leadership Team (ELT) that the Nambour DDA Upgrade project was not to proceed as part of the 2012/2013 Capital Plan.  This means that Queensland Rail will not progress with the tender process and construction activities as previously planned and designed.  This project will be revisited once appropriate funding is identified and made available in the future.

But QR is happy to waste money on beautifications that contribute nothing to DDA compliance.  Construct platforms that are not compliant, in short 'botch-ville' ... 

[SurfRail]

That's a reasonably civilised response, if a bit bloody-minded.

[Fares_Fair]

When you spend almost $300k per year on temporary platforms...

[somebody]

When you spend almost $300k per year on temporary platforms...

Aren't these at other stations besides Nambour?

We haven't actually had an answer to the QoN yet have we?

[Fares_Fair]

Yes, they are.
That will be the answer from the Minister.

[somebody]

Let's wait at least until the answer is late before we start speculating about what it will be.

[Stillwater]

DDA upgrade at Nambour was a commitment, or so the locals were led to believe.  Very definite statements were made about timing and funding.  The Sunny Coast community has come to accept disappointment, however, given numerous broken promises by Labor, and now LNP, pollies.

[Fares_Fair]

I suggest we begin to keep a record of Sunshine Coast Transport losses (or any wins) as they occur, and the reasons given.
This given the Premier's commitment that the Sunshine Coast would no longer be ignored under an LNP government.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

1. $3.3-$4 million Nambour Station DDA Upgrade postponed by QR under Government directive to reduce capital expenditure.

2. The after 9:00pm, 607 and the 636 bus services as a trial in semester 1, 2012, these cut on 23 June 2012, due to lack of patronage.

3.

[Gazza]

A talkback called asked the Premier a question about rail DDA compliance  .  About 9 minute 40 seconds from end of this session.

The answer is interesting.

===================
Click --> here!

612 ABC Brisbane Mornings with Steve Austin

100 days of Campbell Newman's government

03 July 2012 , 11:45 AM by Amanda Dell

The LNP government swept to power in March and promised a range of reforms.

How does the Premier think his government has achieved in its first 100 days?

Campbell Newman spoke with Steve Austin from Mackay.

It's promising at least, because he identified projects like Newmarket, where the upgrade was cosmetic rather than DDA.
I raised the exact same issue at the CRG (That the $100mil would have been better spent doing fewer stations to DDA, than the current approach of spending the money thinly on minor stuff like landscaping and visual stuff at a lot of stations etc)

[SurfRail]

I raised the exact same issue at the CRG (That the $100mil would have been better spent doing fewer stations to DDA, than the current approach of spending the money thinly on minor stuff like landscaping and visual stuff at a lot of stations etc)

And the excuse they gave was effectively "we needed to change the light bulbs".

[Fares_Fair]

And the answer will be ...

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Nicklin for the question.

The detailed design for the construction works, including the new lift for Nambour, has been completed. 

However, as part of the State Government savings directive currently underway, it was determined by the Queensland Rail Limited (Ltd) Executive Leadership Team (ELT) that the Nambour DDA Upgrade project was not to proceed as part of the 2012/2013 Capital Plan.  This means that Queensland Rail will not progress with the tender process and construction activities as previously planned and designed.  This project will be revisited once appropriate funding is identified and made available in the future.

Close ...

ANSWER: from parliament Website

I thank the Member for Nicklin for the question.

The detailed design for the construction works, including the new lift for Nambour, has
been completed.

In recognition of the state's financial position, Queensland Rail Limited has reprioritised
its Capital Plan for 2012-13. This means that Queensland Rail Limited will not progress
with  the  tender  process  and  construction  activities  for  the  Nambour  station  Disability
Discrimination  Act  upgrade  as  previously  planned  and  designed.  This  project  will  be
revisited once appropriate funding is identified and made available in the future. 

[Fares_Fair]

1882-12      Railway duplication - Nambour to Beerburrum       172        Closes 17/08/2012

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

8th July 2012

$3.3 million rail upgrade gets chop

Greetings,

The upgrade of Nambour railway station to meet Disability Discrimination Act  (DDA) requirements has been stopped.

See Queensland Parliament Question on Notice -->  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=8642.msg103578#msg103578

The Sunshine Coast community was eager to see this upgrade achieved.  Nambour railway station is an important transit hub.

The stalling of the DDA upgrade at Nambour highlights a broader issue as to why works have not been undertaken to achieve DDA requirements (needed by 2021) when stations have been rebuilt, refurbished and so forth.

Recent examples being the failure to raise platform heights at stations such as Oxley and Darra.   It would be have certainly been cost effective to do when construction was occurring.

There is a major issue in Queensland with public works.  They are increasingly being botched.  Massive amounts of money is required to go back and fix what should have been done right in the first place.

Penny wise, pound foolish?  An old saying but in the case of Queensland, cuts right to the heart of failing transport policy.

Best wishes
Robert

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

[Stillwater]

  The question is whether we will see more "reprioritisation of the capital works plan"?  Isn't that what the other crowd did -- got to a point where a major expenditure item was due in 'Conning SEQ 20-something', then decided to bump the expenditure out another 5-10 years by printing a new document?

[Golliwog]

And to make it worse, they bag the previous government out of wasting money by not doing upgrades properly, yet are already showing signs of doing the exact same with some of their upgrades! It's farcical. I think most people would agree that everyone would prefer to see a few less upgrades done, but have the ones they do do done properly and not half arsed to save a few bucks.

For example, I believe in the election there was also some commitment that something would be done with two other intersections on Samford Rd (Blackwood Street and the next set of lights outbound from there). I think most people would gladly wait a bit longer for those to happen and get them to do the Wardell-Imbros Street intersection upgrades properly, rather than cutting a few corners to get it done cheaply now but setting it up so that they'll have to come back later and redo a few parts of it.

[SurfRail]

Eagle Junction for instance is not getting platform raising.

It is however getting a shiny new building and escalators.  Win!

[Golliwog]

Eagle Junction for instance is not getting platform raising.

It is however getting a shiny new building and escalators.  Win!

At the CRG they were at least talking about the current construction being 'Stage 1' though I don't think they gave any outline of when the next stage (which I believe was implied to involve platform raising) was to go ahead.

[somebody]

Maybe non stop the stations and provide bus connections would be a cheaper option <ducks>  :conf