Article: Boost for rail tunnel

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From the Melbourne Age click here!

Boost for rail tunnel

Boost for rail tunnel
April 5, 2013  Josh Gordon and Adam Carey

The Gillard government is set to announce funding for Melbourne's $9 billion metro rail tunnel, placing it at odds with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who has said he will back the east-west road link if elected prime minister.

Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said the rail project - involving a nine-kilometre tunnel between South Kensington and South Yarra with five stations - was ready to build, foreshadowing a significant contribution from the Commonwealth.

''Melbourne Metro has been identified as a project of national significance,'' Mr Albanese told Fairfax Media. ''We have already delivered $40 million to get it shovel-ready, and future funding is being considered.''

The comments provide the strongest indication yet that the Gillard government is preparing to stump up the cash for the project, which is now at the top of Infrastructure Australia's priority list. The tunnel is expected to increase the capacity of Melbourne's rail network by 20 to 30 per cent and eventually carry up to 60,000 passengers an hour.

In contrast, Mr Abbott has pledged $1.5 billion to begin work on the east-west link - a proposed 18-kilometre road connecting the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road via the Tullamarine Freeway and the Port of Melbourne. No business case for the road has yet been released, and details on the cost and design remain vague.

Asked if he was prepared to put up cash for the rail project, Mr Abbott suggested federal governments should not be in the business of funding urban rail projects.

''The Commonwealth government has a long history of funding roads,'' Mr Abbott said. ''We have no history of funding urban rail and I think it's important that we stick to our knitting, and the Common-

wealth's knitting when it comes to funding infrastructure is roads.''

But Mr Abbott's comment that funding urban rail was not a federal responsibility was rejected by Professor Peter Newman, an Infrastructure Australia advisory board member.

''Fifty-five per cent of Infrastructure Australia nation-building money went to urban rail on merit,'' he said.

Professor Newman said the Regional Rail Link in Melbourne, the Gold Coast light rail, rail electrification in Adelaide and planning for the Cross River Rail in Brisbane had all been funded from the first round of Infrastructure Australia's nation-building program.

''The rigorous processes that we've set up are not about picking winners,'' he said.

Mr Abbott's suggestion that he would not provide funding for the rail tunnel also puts him at odds with the Napthine government, which is believed to have asked the Commonwealth to contribute about three-quarters of the $9 billion cost. Transport Minister Terry Mulder said the state government had consistently argued that the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel was the state's most significant public transport project and the east-west link was the most significant road project.

''We will continue to vigorously pursue federal government funding for this important infrastructure development,'' he said.

The Napthine government last week released its 20-year plan for Melbourne's rail network, with Melbourne Metro as its heart.

Sydney University's Professor David Hensher, a member of Infrastructure Australia's peer review committee on public transport, said Mr Abbott's comments were disturbing.

''Infrastructure Australia was set up to provide advice on how the federal government could best support investment in infrastructure in general,'' he said.

''To now say that they shouldn't fund railways is moving away from the generality of the commitment.''

He said Infrastructure Australia's role was to identify the best-value projects, rather than those likeliest to attract voters.

Australasian Railway Association chief executive Brian Nye said Mr Abbott's comments indicated he ''simply does not understand public transport''.

''Comments today that an incoming Abbott government would cut all urban rail funding should send shivers down the spine of commuters everywhere,'' he said.

Mr Nye said the use of public transport had almost doubled in Australian cities during the past decade.
ROAD

EAST-WEST LINK
An 18-kilometre road connecting the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road, with connections along the way to the Tullamarine Freeway, the Port of Melbourne and Geelong Road. Business case not yet released, so traffic projections and exact route unclear. Will almost certainly be tolled, with sections of tunnel and above-ground road.
Infrastructure Australia assessment: Real Potential (third-highest of four ratings)
Expected cost: Unclear but likely to cost about $10 billion.
Abbott has promised $1.5 billion and wants it started within 18 months.
RAIL

MELBOURNE METRO
A nine-kilometre rail tunnel between South Kensington and South Yarra, connecting the Sunbury and Dandenong rail corridors via Melbourne's CBD, with five stations. Expected to deliver 17 extra city-bound train services an hour in peak periods. With 140,000 passengers expected to use it during the morning peak by 2030, the new line would boost the capacity of the Melbourne rail network by 20 to 30 per cent.
Infrastructure Australia assessment: Ready to Proceed (top rating of four)
Expected cost: $9 billion.

Poll: Is a rail tunnel better than a road tunnel?

Yes 85%
No 15%

Total votes: 2096.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/boost-for-rail-tunnel-20130404-2h9wq.html#ixzz2PW9X9D9R