Melbourne Metro tunnel

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Metro rail tunnel in mothballs

Metro rail tunnel in mothballs
May 7, 2013 - 3:50PM Adam Carey

    opes pinned on road link
    Winners and losers
    Analysis: Gain outweighs pain

Victoria's biggest public transport project has been sidelined, with just $10 million committed in the 2013-14 state budget for the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel.

The funds will go towards further planning for the multibillion-dollar project, a nine-kilometre tunnel beneath the city centre which has been identified by the state's rail planners as the only effective way to create significant new capacity on Melbourne's urban rail network.

It is forecast that peak-hour trains will become increasingly overcrowded without it, to the extent that passengers will be left behind on platforms.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien said the government was committed to the rail tunnel but that more planning was needed before work could start.

The decision not to set a start date on building the tunnel is also a major setback for other proposed rail extensions around Melbourne.

Planned new lines to Melbourne Airport, Doncaster and Rowville have all been made conditional upon building the Melbourne Metro first.

By contrast Victoria's other major transport project, the east-west link, has had a major breakthrough with $294 million allocated over the next two years towards starting construction. The government says the eastern section, between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink, will be built first at a cost of $6 to $8 billion and that the road will be tolled. Federal and private funding will still be required to help pay for the new road, it says.

Elsewhere in the budget,  a project of level crossing removals will gather pace, with $402 million committed, $350 million of which is to remove three level crossings in Springvale and Mitcham next year, and $52 million to plan for the removal of four level crossings in Ormond, Blackburn, Bayswater, and St Albans.

But two significant transport projects have been jettisoned. A plan to divert trucks off residential streets in the western suburbs by building off-ramps from the West Gate Freeway has been scrapped.

The government says the $380 million truck action plan - first proposed by the former Labor government - has been superseded by the east-west link, even though the eastern section of the road will be built first. Residents say the trucks are a hazard to health and safety.

A project to rejuvenate the town centre of Broadmeadows and its run-down railway station has also been discontinued.

Both of these scrapped projects were in safe Labor seats. By contrast, the Frankston railway station precinct will be revamped at a cost of $13.8 million, in a boost for public transport users in the seat of independent MP Geoff Shaw.

No funding has been allocated to the construction of Southland station on the Frankston line - an important 2010 election promise. The government says it will build the station but cannot announce funding because it is in commercial negotiations with the shopping centre's owner.

Another election promise - placing protective services officers at every railway station - is progressing, with $41 million allocated in the budget for building new station facilities for the guards.

This outstrips the money contained in the budget for new trains  - $34.8 million as part of a $178 million outlay on eight new trains.

Elsewhere in the budget:

    Expenditure on myki operations and customer service is set to jump, from $12 million in 2012-13 to $27.4 million. A further $102 million will also be spent on new myki infrastructure such as readers and vending machines.
    Extending V/Line services to Drysdale on the growing Bellarine Peninsula will be investigated at a cost of $300 thousand.
    Cycling gets $10 million funding, $5 million of which will go towards the Darebin Creek trail and $2.5 million for the bike share scheme.
    A long-running project to install a digital train radio system across Melbourne to improve train communications and safety has been delayed again and is not expected to be completed until late next year.
    New priority bus lanes between Ringwood and Tullamarine along the yellow orbital bus route have also been delayed until late next year.
    Bus patronage across Melbourne declined significantly after making strong gains in previous years. There were 108.6 million passenger trips in 2012-13, down from 123.2 million the previous year. Patronage is expected to drop further still in 2013-14 to 99.7 million.
    Tram patronage also decreased to 179 million passengers for the year, a significant drop from 191.6 million and well below the forecast 200.9 million.
    Metropolitan train patronage increased slightly, from 222 million to 228.3 million.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/metro-rail-tunnel-in-mothballs-20130507-2j573.html#ixzz2SaM7nPqB

[ozbob]

http://www.ptua.org.au/2013/05/07/budget-2013/

Transport group slams government 'obsession' with east west toll road

May 7th, 2013 (Media releases)

Government has one chance to redeem itself on public transport, says PTUA

The state government has "abandoned reason for madness" in committing to a $15 billion road project in the face of falling GST revenue, declining car use per capita and mounting private sector toll-road failures, the Public Transport Users Association said today. Meanwhile there is no commitment to any major city-shaping public transport initiative in suburban Melbourne, including those put forward in the lead-up to the 2010 election.

"When Sir Rod Eddington looked at the East West road he could only find benefits worth 45 to 73 cents for every dollar spent," said PTUA President Tony Morton. "Sir Rod is a self-declared fan of the road, but even he couldn't get the numbers to stack up for it. That's because this project is a big fat dud and an appalling waste of public money."

Dr Morton challenged the government to publish the 'business case' that is claimed to justify the project. "We're itching to learn what the government now knows that Sir Rod didn't," he said. "Until we hear to the contrary, we can only assume there's a sweetheart deal to be done with the private sector. Very probably with inducements contrary to the public interest, like restricting what public transport improvements future governments can make, or putting tolls on existing roads."

"It is likewise uncertain just where future budgets are going to be raided to scrape together the money, given today's budget only allocates 5% of the cost," Dr Morton said. "As a minimum, it's likely to mean no more money for level crossing separations such as Clayton, Glenroy or Werribee, let alone new rail extensions to the suburbs that resonated so much with the voters who elected this government in 2010. But the real danger is that it's not just about transport: we might have a narrow surplus this year, but for the next decade we'll be taking more money off schools and hospitals to fund this thing."

"The government is trying to solve problems that Citylink was supposed to solve a decade ago," said Dr Morton. "And they're doing it the same way with the same likely outcome, and that's more congestion. What will it take before politicians stop doing the same thing over and over and telling us to expect different results?"

Dr Morton demanded the government come clean on how it plans to upgrade public transport. "On Doncaster rail, the Coalition got up before the last election and said 'we'll find the funds and then build it – we are committed to proceeding'. Were they speaking with forked tongue? Did they mean no more than that a future government might build it in 20 years? Please, Mr Napthine and Mr Mulder – come clean on what your intentions are, or people will assume you were lying in 2010 and had no intention of building these train lines at all."

"The government has a pathway open to it, to keep its promises to the Victorian people," Dr Morton said. "It's just not the one in PTV's network plan. There is one measure that will remove all the capacity-related bureaucratic objections to new rail lines, and help deliver these new rail extensions in the lifetime of this government. But it's not a $9 billion Metro tunnel – it's called high-capacity signalling."

Dr Morton pointed to a $4.5 million allocation in the budget for a pilot project on the Sandringham line. "This is ultimately what will transform our rail network," he said. "It already exists in dozens of other cities, including Paris which has very similar infrastructure to ours, and allows between 50 and 100 per cent more trains to run on the same tracks."

"The key is to fast-track this initial demonstration, then roll it out on the rest of the system," said Dr Morton. "London is doing it now on a network almost the same size as ours at a cost of half a billion dollars. [1] Compared to the cost of the East West tollroad, this is small change."

Dr Morton commended other minor budget initiatives to boost the train fleet, build new stations at Southland and Grovedale, upgrade infrastructure on the Frankston line, and expand off-peak services on the Dandenong line to run every 10 minutes during the day. Improvements to suburban bus services were also welcomed. "These kinds of second-tier improvements should be seen right across the system, and they're just as affordable as all those run-of-the-mill road network upgrades," he said.

"All the same, we saw patronage collapse by 10% on buses and 7% on trams just in the last year, so the government needs to act now to stop people walking away from services that are no longer adequate to meet demand."

The PTUA said the community would watch the Sandringham trial closely, and would be prepared to demand more be done in next year's budget. "Incremental improvements to infrastructure and services are all good, but what we haven't seen in any budget from this government is commitment to a major city-shaping public transport project in suburban Melbourne," he said. "And they have just one more year to prove themselves on this before the next election."

"This government will not get away with making promises on public transport and then spending all the serious money on roads. Now that we've started the process to build high-capacity signalling, this is the opportunity for the government to put its money where its mouth is and commit to one new rail extension in 2014. Whether it's to Melbourne Airport or Doncaster or Rowville or Mernda, we need to see some action before the next election." [2]

NOTES

[1] Transport for London's new signalling system for the London Underground has a budget of £354 million (AU$530 million) and includes 310km of lines, 113 stations, 191 passenger trains, 49 engineering trains and six heritage trains that run on the system. The system is being delivered by Bombardier: cn.bombardier.com/press_release_06142011.htm
For comparison, Melbourne has 372km of lines, 200 stations and approximately 250 trains (including V/Line and freight trains that use the urban network).

[2] Examples of capacity increases made possible by high-capacity signalling include:

    City to Clifton Hill from 17 trains per hour currently to 30+ trains per hour: allowing for trains every 10 minutes on a new line from Victoria Park to Doncaster plus additional growth of 30% in peak services, including an extension to Mernda.
    City to Dandenong from 16 trains per hour currently to 30+ trains per hour (with level crossing elimination): allowing for trains every 10 minutes on a new line to Rowville plus additional growth in existing Metro and V/Line services.
    City to Broadmeadows from 10 trains per hour currently to at least 16 trains per hour, allowing for additional limited express trains on a new 3km branch line to Melbourne Airport using the flight corridor reservation.
    City to Sunbury from 10 trains per hour currently to at least 16 trains per hour, allowing for additional express trains on a new dedicated line to Melbourne Airport via Albion.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Andrew Lund ‏@andrew_lund 12m

Not much I can see in today's #springst budget that will fix this type of congestion. What say you @michaelobrienmp? http://t.co/7psC80PeMU

[#Metro]

1. Rip out the seats
2. Increase fares during peak hour
3. High-throughput signalling

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Government pins hopes on road link

[ozbob]

I think they might be going a road tunnel to far in Melbourne town ... seems a very generalised revolt underway .. judging by blogs and twitter

The State Government is underestimating the backlash ... 

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Napthine's road rules

[ozbob]

Herald Sun --> Victorians promised new toll road by 2020 in State Budget

[ozbob]

http://vicmps.greens.org.au/content/public-transport-misses-out-budget

PUBLIC TRANSPORT MISSES OUT IN BUDGET
7th May 2013 5:16 pm
07/05/2013

Victorian Greens Leader Greg Barber says public transport services to miss out, overcrowding to become extreme after the State Budget released today.

"The state government predicts tram, bus and V/Line passenger numbers to actually shrink next year. Are they dreaming?" said Victorian Greens Leader Greg Barber

"When you allocate $8 billion to a single road tunnel, it doesn't leave much left over to fix public transport."

"V/Line patronage has been growing fast, up 17% in three years, but there's been close to zero increase in V/Line services over the last three Budgets. There's zero increase in V/Line services funded in this Budget."

"Tram patronage has grown 14% over the last three years. How many more people do they think they can squeeze in? There's zero increase in tram services in this Budget and there was nothing in the last two either."

"An extra ten million metropolitan train trips are predicted, (a 4% increase) but something very close to zero extra services are being provided in this Budget to carry all those extra people."

"With critical levels of overcrowding, as many as 1,000 people squashed on some morning peak trains, the system will collapse if there's a sudden surge in patronage. It's happened before."

"They're claiming a decrease in bus passenger numbers and project that decline to continue. Have they been on a bus lately? Many parts of Melbourne are desperate for a bus service that runs more frequently, later in the evening, or extended to newly built suburbs. Why is there bugger all new bus services in this Budget?"

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Voters will punish those who dither on transport

Voters will punish those who dither on transport

Since the start of this century, in just 13 years, Melbourne's population has grown by 25 per cent.

In that time, its road space and the capacity of its trains and trams have grown by more like 5 per cent. That's the problem. Moving around the city has become more difficult. Voters have become more angry.

Our new Premier, Denis Napthine, and our new Treasurer, Michael O'Brien, don't want to risk Victoria's AAA rating. They know voters are demanding more infrastructure, but even on the relatively rosy forecasts in Tuesday's budget, they can't supply what we want without losing the state's AAA rating.

Our demand for new infrastructure is as strong as a six-lane freeway is crowded. But the focus on a AAA rating means the government can afford to give us only a single-lane road. There is congestion ahead.

This budget effectively anoints the east-west link as that single lane.

Just as Jeff Kennett and Alan Stockdale did by bringing in Transurban to build CityLink, Napthine and O'Brien are turning to the private sector to build - and, mostly, to finance - the eastern leg of the east-west link, which O'Brien depicts as ''a major transformational project for Victoria''.

The big future rail project, Melbourne Metro, has been pushed back in the queue. The budget allocates $224 million in 2013-14 to plan and develop the east-west link - but just $10 million for work to plan the Metro. That's less than it was given last year.

The government's decision to proceed with the east-west link is based on a business case study which will not be made public. We have to assume that it concluded that the future benefits will outweigh the costs, but we don't know. The study assumed there would be no off-ramp to the city, and evaluated the project simply as a tunnel from Collingwood to Flemington.

O'Brien foreshadowed last week that the government would make a cash contribution to reduce the amount that the private partners have to raise from financial markets. He demands that the Gillard government contribute $1.5 billion to the cost: no doubt by coincidence, the exact amount that Tony Abbott has already pledged to provide.

We will know soon if Infrastructure Australia thinks it is worth funding at this point. I hope the Gillard government sticks to its principles and insists that it will only fund projects that have passed cost/benefit analysis - a solid principle which Abbott has impetuously abandoned.

The only published analysis of the east-west link was the Eddington report's 2008 conclusion that the costs would double the benefits. This is an inexact science, and the Napthine government is confident that its version of the project will be different. Apart from reducing the cost via a government contribution, it envisages that commercial redevelopment above the tunnel will pay for a fair slice of the cost.

I think we should welcome that decision, so long as it is not achieved regardless of cost or process.

If the road is built as announced, without off-ramps to the city, it will reduce traffic in the inner suburbs, not add to it. Melbourne is a spread-out, low-density city in which most traffic is driving from one suburb to another. We need freeways to improve inter-suburban access, just as we need a Metro to improve access to the city and inner suburbs.

The budget gives us just one of them. And the reason is that the government is more committed to preserving its AAA rating than it is to meeting our infrastructure demands.

This year's infrastructure investment will not be the record we have been promised. We are now promised record spending in nominal terms for the next two years, until the 2014 election - after which it will fall off sharply, sliding to just 0.8 per cent of the state's output by 2016-17.

The government and its advisers think this is enough. I suspect the voters will take a different view.

The government's concerns are valid. If Victoria does provide the infrastructure the city's growth requires, the state's debt would rise, and the ratings agencies would strip away our AAA rating. That would mean we would pay higher interest rates on our debt - O'Brien says Treasury estimates this at more than $150 million a year. It's money we could use for other things.

But time wasted at level crossings waiting for the boom gates to rise costs us too. Time wasted in traffic jams, or on trains so crowded you can only stand, is a less obvious cost than higher interest bills, but just as real. On one estimate, congestion already costs Melbourne $2 billion a year. On these budget settings, that will grow.

Voters don't give a AAA rating to governments that put a low priority on infrastructure.

The Brumby government lost office in part because it was slow to respond to the surge in the city's population. Ted Baillieu lost office in part because he failed to roll out the infrastructure to match the city's booming population growth.

The Napthine government is investing in other things, for now. In 2013-14, thanks to federal funding for the regional rail link, it plans to invest more on rail than road. There are big hospital redevelopments in Bendigo and Box Hill, a host of road and rail projects around Geelong, Ballarat and south-west Victoria, though conspicuously less in regions with fewer marginal seats.

On the budget's own figures, that won't last. And that is the risk to the government, and us.

Tim Colebatch is The Age's economics editor.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/voters-will-punish-those-who-dither-on-transport-20130507-2j5p1.html

[somebody]

Vic 2011-12 Metro rail contract expense: $886m to carry >220m
Qld 2011-12 Qld rail contract expense: $835.5m to carry <60m

Isn't privatisation awful.  And aren't Qld rail good?

[#Metro]

^ And they have just announced massive upgrades to the lines to see 10 minute services ALL DAY ALL WEEKEND

Do you have figures for Sydney and Perth?

[somebody]

Cityrail+Countrylink = $3.8bn for ~300mil journeys   http://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/257/11_Volume_Eight_2012_Rail_Corporation_New_South_Wales.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y
Transperth = $700mil for ~70mil journeys  http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/portals/0/annualreports/2012/financial-statements/statement-of-comprehensive-income.html

[#Metro]

TransPerth appears to be more efficient than QR by quite a distance

[ozbob]

QR is certainly no star, but I think there is more to it.  Maintenance and network costs may not be included in some of the figures others might well be.  QR has been paying an access fee for themselves as well.  Crazy accounting as well.

[somebody]

Yes, and people are arguing for "infill stations"?

I don't think TP Trains have more than double the patronage of QR.

[#Metro]

Yes, but there are very few long distance services per day. TransPerth carries more pax than QR does also, and has twice the frequency.

[somebody]

TransPerth ... has twice the frequency.

Except when/where it doesn't!

[ozbob]

http://claylucas.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/greens-vow-to-try-to-stop-east-west-tunnel/

Greens vow to try to stop east-west tunnel

Email to Collingwood resident sent by Adam Bandt on May 8:

Yesterday the Victorian Government sidelined plans for a revamped Melbourne Metro and allocated $294 million in the Budget to build the East West Tollway.

This follows a promise by Tony Abbott to put up $1.5 billion to push this tollway through our community.

Please sign up to our campaign to stop the East West Tollway and get a 'Trains not Tolls' triangle for your window.

Despite these terrible decisions, we should be heartened by the impact our community campaign has had, with the Premier dropping plans to put the tollway above ground.

However a tunnel will still be a disaster for inner Melbourne and Royal Park with years of construction and permanent on and off ramps and polluting towers through our neighbourhoods.

Get a 'Trains not Tolls' triangle by registering here: http://www.adambandt.com/trains_not_tolls

I want to make clear this fight is not over. The tollway will need billions more in funding to be built and its future is not certain.

The Greens and I will fight this tooth and nail using our numbers in Parliament to stop any attempt by Tony Abbott to ruin our community. We will not forget that Labor Premier John Brumby first proposed this tollway and we will hold Labor to account if they try and join Tony Abbott in funding the tunnel.

Please forward this email on to your family, colleagues and friends.

The future for this city is clean, fast, efficient public transport.

Adam Bandt

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Train radio upgrade hits sidetrack

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Not a cent spent on state's planned Metro rail project

[ozbob]

ABC News --> Road over rail re-opens infrastructure debate

The move to fund the East-West road tunnel over major rail infrastructure has been met with a mixed response ...

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Canberra offers funds for rail tunnel

Canberra offers funds for rail tunnel
May 10, 2013 - 7:04PM

The federal government has offered to put up more cash for the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel, beginning towards the end of the decade, the Victorian premier says.

Premier Denis Napthine said he had received a letter from federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese offering potential funding for the rail project, on top of the $40 million already committed by the commonwealth.

The state government has allocated only $10 million in 2013/14 for the project, in comparison to almost $300 million set aside over two years for the East West Link road.

Dr Napthine said the federal government had offered funding that would flow mostly from 2019, after the first stage of the East West Link had been built.

"What that would give us is the opportunity to do stage one of East West (Link) and then look at this as a key project," he told a budget estimates hearing.

"We want this project.

"We will certainly be taking this very seriously."

Dr Napthine said Mr Albanese should match Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's $1.5 billion pledge for the $6 to $8 billion East West Link.

He said Mr Albanese had said the federal government would equalise the rules for commonwealth road and rail funding and how they impacted on the state's slice of the GST.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien said it was standard practice not to release the business case for the East West Link, as it would flag to commercial bidders how much the government was prepared to pay.

Aspiring prime minister and United Australia Party leader Clive Palmer said the East West Link should cost half of what the government had forecast.

"I've seen these figures about the link here. I had my engineer look at it, and the cost should be between $3 billion and $4 billion," he said.

Mr Palmer said in his experience in developing large projects, tenders submitted to the government were inflated.

"If someone's doing a tender for the commonwealth, they add 150 per cent," he said.

"Fifty per cent for the tax, and 100 per cent for the holiday or their retirement."

AAP

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/canberra-offers-funds-for-rail-tunnel-20130510-2jddi.html#ixzz2SvOynieZ

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Rail or road? Napthine takes us down the wrong route

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Rail tunnel drilling despite budget blow

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Tunnel is in the best interests, but all roads lead to political self-interest

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Greens go for rail over road in funding fight

[SurfRail]

I have moved some posts into a new thread at http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9947.0

[ozbob]

Herald Sun --> Federal Labor have offered funding for a Melbourne rail tunnel but set nothing aside for the East West Link

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Metro rail tunnel faces a long wait for money

[ozbob]

Crikey --> Is the press giving readers unbiased news?

[ozbob]

A surprise NOT!

Melbourne Age --> Tunnel won't fix traffic woes


http://images.theage.com.au/2013/05/25/4437881/dan-20130525183218545043-620x349.jpg

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Poll shows public prefers rail tunnel ahead of road link

[ozbob]

Nine News --> Bandt bill to protect Metro from Abbott

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Risks of east-west tunnel face assessment

[minbrisbane]

Nine News --> Bandt bill to protect Metro from Abbott

That's certainly interesting.  I wonder if it'll get off the ground.

[ozbob]

Twitter

PTUA ‏@ptua 2m

Have you signed the Trains Not Tollroads petition yet? Get on board here: http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/trains-not-toll-roads-yes-to-doncaster-rail-link-no-to-east-west-toll-road ... #MoreTrainsEqualsLessTraffic

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Coalition overruled advice on road links

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Yarra Council vows to fight east-west project

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Railroaded into selling, all for nothing