Ipswich region

[ozbob]

^

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 14m

@qldgovmedia G'day. Police outpost at Redbank rail not listed. Is this to remain? Thanks. // @scottemersonmp

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Police railway squad is end of line for unruly travellers

A RAIL union has backed the development of a $500,000 police rail squad base at Ipswich train station as antisocial behaviour continues to affect commuters.

Six officers will man the outpost and focus their attention on the Rosewood line, the site of many incidents in recent years.

In July 2012 a train driver had to bring a service to a halt after being overcome by fumes from youths sniffing glue next to the driver's door on a late-night service.

In another serious incident in November 2012, a commuter had urine tipped over his head, which again forced the train to stop.

Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees state secretary Greg Smith welcomed the additional rail squad members.

Mr Smith said while instances of glue sniffing on Rosewood trains had reduced, antisocial behaviour like dumping rubbish and verbal abuse of passengers remained rife.

He said train drivers and guards didn't feel their own safety was threatened by the misbehaving youths, but worried passengers were at risk on later evening trains and services after the end of the school day.

"What will be required is for those police officers to get out there and ride the trains.

"It's no use sitting in the station there," he said, "they need to be out and about covertly or in uniform.

"We welcome the move to have extra police in the railway squad and welcome the move to have them based in Ipswich."

Ipswich MP Ian Berry was joined this week by Transport Minister Scott Emerson and Police Minister Jack Dempsey to inspect the new station's site at Ipswich station.

Mr Emerson said Ipswich was an ideal spot to post rail squad members as it allowed officers to focus on the outer Ipswich and Rosewood line, while the Redbank team could focus on inner Ipswich stations and the Springfield line.

[ozbob]

^

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 14m

@qldgovmedia G'day. Police outpost at Redbank rail not listed. Is this to remain? Thanks. // @scottemersonmp

^ no response ...

I understand from some earlier discussions, rail squad at Redbank is to remain, well it was then.

[petey3801]

Judging by the ending of that last article, I would say Redbank will be staying, but then again, there is that much confusion around this state, who knows?!

[mufreight]

They are so concerned with security and fare evasion that the fare gates have one gate permanently open and the ticket barriers unattended for most of the time.
Those evading fares now know that they no longer need to get off the train at East Ipswich they can ride through to Ipswich and walk unchallenged through the unattended open gates, if someone is manning the barrier they simply get back on the train and go either to Thomas Street or back to East Ipswich.

[ozbob]

The open gate at Ipswich ..



QPS outpost site



Photographs R Dow 2nd June 2014

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> $150 million renewal: The future of our city heart

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Work starts on business case for Norman Street Bridge project

A DETAILED socio-economic assessment is set to be carried out on Ipswich's "single biggest infrastructure project", the proposed Norman Street Bridge linking North Ipswich and East Ipswich across the Bremer River.

Ipswich City Council infrastructure boss Cr Cheryl Bromage said now that the planning and community engagement phases of the Norman Street Bridge had been completed, the council would like to secure funding for its design and construction.

Cr Bromage said, given the scale of the project, it was not something the council and ratepayers could fund alone. When the Queensland Times revealed details of the project last July, Cr Bromage estimated stage one would cost $190 million, with $320 million needed for the whole scheme.

"A funding partnership across all three levels of government is essential to see the project come to fruition," she said.

"Council has approached both the federal and state governments and, although both are supportive of the project's need and benefits, the Norman Street Bridge needs to compete for funding against many other worthwhile projects across Australia in a somewhat constrained national fiscal environment. To justify public sector involvement in the bridge project, council will now prepare a business case .

"The first step in this process is to undertake a detailed socio-economic assessment of the project and funds have been allocated in council's 2014-2015 budget for this assessment.

"This assessment will involve identifying the economic and social benefits of the Norman Street Bridge to the future prosperity of the city (in particular the Ipswich City Centre) - against not doing the project.

"Elements such as travel time savings, reduction in traffic congestion and crashes, enhanced access to the emerging northern part of the CBD, access during times of emergency, commercial development opportunities, business confidence and the uplift in property values will be quantified as part of the socio-economic assessment."

Cr Bromage previously said a feasibility study recommended the ultimate long-term route to link Downs St with Brisbane Rd via Lawrence St, Norman St, Jacaranda St, Wattle St and Hamilton St, with new bridges over the Bremer River and the railway line at Booval.

An interim stage one approach was also identified, under which the new bridge could be constructed connecting Downs St and Chermside Rd with Jacaranda St staying a two-lane road.

Stage one would require the Fiveways to be reconfigured and Glebe Rd closed at that intersection.

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Junction in Goodna to get lights

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Berry vows Herbert Street Bridge will not close

[red dragin]

Queensland Times --> Berry vows Herbert Street Bridge will not close

Another council reaping rewards from the extra rates from development but sticking it's hand out when it comes to infrastructure.  :conf

[ozbob]

The QPS outpost is finished at Ipswich











Photographs R Dow 1st October 2014

[ozbob]

The QPS outpost is finished at Ipswich



Photograph R Dow 1st October 2014

^

Queensland Times --> Safer train travel with new rail squad station

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> $92m in foreign cash flows in for Ipswich land

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> New $530m project to build 2000 homes at Deebing Heights

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Ipswich wins dual tourism gold in state awards

IPSWICH won dual gold medals at the 2014 Queensland Tourism Awards with Ipswich City Council and the Workshops Rail Museum recognised for their outstanding work in the sector.

The Workshops Rail Museum in Ipswich was named the best heritage and cultural tourism experience in the state.

Ipswich City Council won the visitor information and services award, backing up earlier gold medal wins by the Ipswich Visitor Information Centre in 2011 and 2013.

The museum also won a bronze award in the tourism attractions category.

The Workshops Rail Museum opened in 2002 as part of the Queensland Museum Network and has been offering unique experiences for visitors ever since.

These include multi-media exhibitions, steam train journeys, guided tours of Queensland Rail's heritage railways and a popular major events program.

Museum director Andrew Moritz highlighted how the museum catered to all age groups.

"It's wonderful to be able to provide a great experience for our visitors, whether it's seniors reconnecting with the romance of rail, introducing the love of rail to a new generation through Thomas the Tank Engine, or providing an authentic heritage experience for our school visitors," Mr Moritz said

Well done!!   

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Redbank Plains crying out for new rail line before 2031

A NEW railway line and station for Redbank Plains is not planned to be completed until 2031 by the State Government but two Ipswich councillors insist it needs to be built sooner to service demand.

This week the success of the two stations at Springfield and Springfield Central was highlighted in the QT with passengers embracing the new service.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Transport and Main Roads Scott Emerson has confirmed the department has "preserved a corridor for future rail transport between Springfield and Ipswich however funding has not yet been allocated to deliver a rail extension due to the debt left to us by the former Labor government."

"Current planning suggests the rail extension will not be required before 2031 however the department will continue to monitor any increase in passenger demand," the spokesperson said.

The corridor goes through Redbank Plains and loops through Ripley and back to Ipswich.

But Cr David Morrison and Cr Victor Attwood said the rail extension is needed much sooner than 2031.

"I think 2031 is far too far away," Cr Attwood said.

"When it was first mooted, when we were doing the Ripley Valley master plan, it was meant to have been done within 10 to 15 years.

"I would have thought by the early 2020s is the latest it should have been completed by.

"The whole idea of that rail link was to link Springfield, with south Redbank Plains and Ripley and back through to Ipswich.

"My view is the sooner they build it the better. There is certainly a demand for it.

"By extending it through Ripley it will be a major benefit to the city and the ecomic growth of the region. Ripley is going to be home to 120,000 people."

Cr Morrison, who has seen the benefits of the Springfield station in his divisiosn, said the extended line was needed in the immediate future due to growth.

"For three quarters of last year Redbank Plains, as a suburb, had more new lot approvals for building than Springfield Lakes.

"Normally Springfield Lakes has the most approvals.

"Anyone who drives down School Rd in Redbank Plains will be surprised at the development down there. And a percentage of the car parks that are being filled at Springfield Central station now would be from people driving down from Redbank Plains."

... A spokesperson for the Minister for Transport and Main Roads Scott Emerson has confirmed the department has "preserved a corridor for future rail transport between Springfield and Ipswich however funding has not yet been allocated to deliver a rail extension due to the debt left to us by the former Labor government." ...

Time to move on and deliver wannabee governments ... 

[#Metro]

How much money does Ipswich city council want to contribute to construction and studies? Is the density approved going to be decent? Otherwise buses can go in.

Some of these questions need to be turned back to the council. Nothing for nothing.

[ozbob]

ICC is switched on.  They were really the driving force behind Springfield rail ... no doubt the extension will follow sooner than later.  Watch this space ...

[aldonius]

I live in hope for this line (the Springfield-Ripley portion at least). ICC is switched on, Sekui is too. Wouldn't surprise me if they put in some cash, perhaps in exchange for dev rights over the Ripley stations.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stillwater]

  Could part of this rail corridor also serve a reinstated railway line to Boonah?   

[HappyTrainGuy]

Could part of this rail corridor also serve a reinstated railway line to Boonah?   

[ozbob]

Could part of this rail corridor also serve a reinstated railway line to Boonah?   

Don't think so.  I think if they manage to get rail to Ripley will be an achievement in itself.

[ozbob]

I live in hope for this line (the Springfield-Ripley portion at least). ICC is switched on, Sekui is too. Wouldn't surprise me if they put in some cash, perhaps in exchange for dev rights over the Ripley stations.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yo.  Springfield didn't wait a 100 years hey?

[SurfRail]

Very telling that Kippa-Ring really only started to happen when MBRC was created.  Big councils have bigger clout.  Ipswich is naturally big enough by itself.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Very telling that Kippa-Ring really only started to happen when MBRC was created.  Big councils have bigger clout.  Ipswich is naturally big enough by itself.

Ain't that the truth. And not to forget they still threw this little doozie out into the public domain a few years ago with their intentions clearly stated.


It might be in the 20 year plan but at least they went through the progressive details of how it will transform into it over said period. It's a shame its been on hold for a few years but hey at least the reason for the delay is a good one (MBRL/North Lakes).

[ozbob]

Redbank Plains rail could well become a hot local election issue for #qldvotes ... 

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times

http://www.qt.com.au/news/the-ripley-railway-delay-is-shocking/2500845/

Delay to Ripley railway is shocking, says Tully

IT WAS beyond belief to read that the State Government has delayed the extension of the Springfield railway line to Redbank Plains for another 16 years (Queensland Times 3/1).

The original proposal was to have stations at the end of Keidges Rd, Augustine Heights and School Rd, Redbank Plains with a further extension to the fast developing Ripley Valley.

Deferral of any plans until 2031 is a shocking indictment on the State Government which is treating the people of Ipswich as second-class citizens.

The Premier Campbell Newman has spent more than $100 million in pork-barrelling his own electorate of Ashgrove in the past three years but he cannot find a brass razoo to fast-track the Springfield rail line extension.

CR PAUL TULLY, Division 2, City of Ipswich

[#Metro]

Well Mr Tully, you come up with some cash, and the State Gov't will come up with the railway.
Much could be done in Ipswich with buses as well.

No free lunch!

[Stillwater]

I admit a soft spot for Cr Tully.  The older he gets, the more he channels the ghost of Ozzie Knoblanche, his predecessor.

[ozbob]

Cr Tully is my local councillor. Since moving to Goodna in 2011 I have got to know him reasonably well.  Everything I have raised with him has been done.  Cr Tully is Australia's longest serving councillor (35 years) and is quite a history buff as well.

[Old Northern Road]

Stations at Keidges Rd and School Rd wouldn't really be that much closer to most of Redbank Plains than Springfield Central. Needs to be built before 2031 though as I'm sure Ripley Valley will be developed long before then.

[hU0N]

Could part of this rail corridor also serve a reinstated railway line to Boonah?   

Boonah, perhaps not. But I still kind of agree with you. Thinking about the Ripley extension as an extension of the Richlands branch seems like such an arse about way to approach it.

I mean, it'll be (I guess) twenty or thirty years before the need for this extension fully arises. And by then, the character of that demand will have shifted from the overwhelmingly push demand seen today towards a net pull demand driven by a string of new or expanded activity centres (principally Ipswich CBD and Sprinfield Central) with a combined economy up to 30% or 40% of the size of the Brisbane central area today. Provided of course, the targets of the current land use and economic development plans are met.

Against that reality, trains through the Ripley Valley are far more likely to function as public transport for Ipswich or public transport for Springfield Central than as public transport for Brisbane. Put another way, future commuters of the Ripley Valley are perhaps more likely to commute to Ipswich or Springfield, rather than Brisbane. So thinking of Ripley Valley trains as an extension of the Brisbane - Indooroopilly - Darra - Springfield service, which implies through-routing Ripley trains through Springfield towards Darra, is not really necessary. And it's not even the most useful through-route that can be imagined, because areas between Springfield and Indooroopilly already enjoy reasonable connectivity to the two principal activity centres in the Western Corridor (ie Springfield and Ipswich). The only additional connectivity it will provide is Ripley to Indooroopilly and beyond, which isn't the main game after all.

Instead, a useful through route is one that connects existing and future residential to Springfield and on to Ipswich CBD (or vise versa) that currently has limited or inconvenient connectivity to the western corridor activity centres. And while I'm no expert, it seems that through routing Ripley trains through Springfield via Greenbank to Flagstaff would be, ultimately, a much more useful through route than an Ipswich-Ripley-Springfield-Darra-City pattern.

What do you all think?

tl;dr - Ripley trains should continue through Springfield to Greenbank and Flagstaff instead of through Sprinfield to Richlands and Darra.

[SurfRail]

 

Leaving aside the fact that there is no corridor for this, by the time anybody can afford to install a rail connection between Springfield and points east there will be be considerably greater pressure on other parts of the network and limited funding to deal with them.

There is currently zero public transport between Springfield and anywhere in the Mt Lindesay area.  Run some buses first when there is any point in doing so and worry about rail later.

[hU0N]

Corridor is, I think, a really easy problem right now. The Springfield line and proposed Flagstone line both pass through the edges of the Greenbank Army camp. A Springfield to Flagstone line could do the same, there are no major topographic or land use obstacles yet.

Yet being the key word. Once the Ipswich/Springfield CBDs are built out, we will be locked into whatever rail setup we provide for today. And I think that in a world where Ipswich/Springfield are a more significant trip generator for the Western Corridor region than even the Brisbane CBD, in that world, continuing an Ipswich - Springfield rail service through into the Springfield - Darra service wouldn't even be a third best option. Unless of course a lack of planning and corridor preservation meant that was the only option.

[SurfRail]

^ It's certainly something worth looking at, don't get me wrong. 

If you end up with Ripley to Brisbane services, you will get the inevitable (and frankly quite understandable) push to run expresses from the outer end of the line to Brisbane.

I suspect a possible outcome in the next 10-20 years, with the right infrastructure to support it, might be:

- 8tph all stations Ripley to Darra, then Indooroopilly, then Milton etc

- 8tph all stations Rosewood/Wulkuraka/Ipswich to Darra, then Indooroopilly, then Milton etc

- 8tph all stations Redbank to the city

Would require

- extra stabling

- extra trains

- ATP and bi-di signalling

- electrify fourth track Darra to Oxley

- reconfiguring between west of Darra and east of Milton to allow more efficient operation by avoiding flat crosses - moving to up-up down-down between Oxley and Milton with expresses/freight on the outside tracks and inserting the appropriate cross-overs where needed (some grade-separated)

- station upgrades complementary to the reconfiguration (eg going from 4 to 2 platforms at most stations by putting a DDA compliant centre island between the inner pair at local stops and keeping the double island config for Indooroopilly and Toowong) - would work especially well at Taringa

- construction of the southern freight line so nearly all freight is off the Ipswich line

The infrastructure would still be good for 4tph or better from Ripley to Springfield and then branching further east.

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Ipswich prepares for population explosion

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Resort to bring hundreds of jobs

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Premier Palaszczuk's Ipswich "priority"

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Where did Ipswich's historic signal cabin go to?

IT'S three storeys high, a true piece of Ipswich's rail heritage and no one noticed it had gone.

Built in the 1880s, the railway signal cabin and turntable behind the cinemas at Ellenborough St is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.

Its disappearance weeks ago is a mystery to the Mayor, the local councillor and the state member.

Ipswich City Council has requested information from Queensland Rail on the whereabouts of the towering structure and plans for its future but are still waiting on a reply.

A Queensland Rail spokeswoman yesterday confirmed the historic signal cabin had been moved to the Ipswich Railway Workshops but plans for its future were not clear.

"To ensure the preservation of this historic signal cabin, Queensland Rail has worked with the Queensland Heritage Council to safely relocate it to our Ipswich Railway Workshops site," the spokeswoman said.

"The age of the cabin and its location meant it was required to be moved to assist in its preservation.

"Queensland Rail is working to ensure it can be appreciated by generations to come."

Member for Ipswich Jennifer Howard said she was not informed of the decision to move the building offsite until Cr Antoniolli questioned her about it.

Mayor Paul Pisasale said he was not informed of the move.

Inner-city councillor Andrew Antoniolli said the iconic building would have been an appealing heritage element of any future development on the site.

"I don't think anyone knew anything about it being removed until after it had gone," Cr Antoniolli said.

"It was done under a great deal of secrecy.

"If it is not going to be utilised in Ipswich it would be nice to know what QR's intentions are because it is a significant part of Ipswich's rail heritage.

"It is part of Ipswich rail heritage that should be preserved for future generations."