Libs ramp up priority for freeway - TheAge

Based on the last post, I could see this coming. A bit more today, in The Age.

A CONTROVERSIAL freeway through inner Melbourne and a new underground rail line have again topped the state's wish list for funding from Canberra, with the Baillieu government saying it wants to proceed with a series of major transport projects first proposed by Labor.

The government today will unveil its submission to the federal government's advisory body Infrastructure Australia. It marks the first release of the Coalition's transport proposals since coming to office last November.

However, the submission does not say when any of the projects detailed would be built, or what they would ultimately cost. Premier Ted Baillieu said yesterday he did not want to make these predictions until more planning had been done.

The government has backed an 18-kilometre ''inner urban freeway'' that would link the Eastern Freeway in Clifton Hill to the Western Ring Road in Sunshine. The freeway would travel via CityLink and the Port of Melbourne. It is based on a plan put forward by Sir Rod Eddington in 2008 in a report for the Brumby government. Sir Rod is now chairman of Infrastructure Australia.

This freeway plan was partially adopted by Mr Brumby's government later in 2008, when it announced plans for WestLink, a $2.5 billion tunnel linking the inner west to the port.

Public transport advocates attacked the road tunnel plan, which has been in limbo since Labor's defeat last year, saying it would only add to road congestion.

Federal Greens MP Adam Bandt vowed to fight ''tooth and nail'' to stop the freeway gaining money from Canberra. State Labor MP Richard Wynne - whose electorate the freeway would slice through - also attacked the idea. ''When Eddington first looked at this freeway, it was neither economically or environmentally sustainable. It's the same today,'' he said.

But the government's submission to Canberra argues booming traffic on the West Gate Bridge and Hoddle Street means the project is now justified. It has requested $30 million to fund a two-year planning study. ''This is a once-in-a-generation project that would transform the way people move around Melbourne,'' Mr Baillieu said.

The government's submission says the private sector may help fund construction of the freeway, raising the possibility it may be a toll road.

The submission also puts a new rail tunnel under inner Melbourne back on the agenda. Labor's 2008 blueprint detailed a plan for a 17-kilometre track from Footscray to Caulfield via Parkville, with its first stage to cost $4.5 billion. Its future was put in doubt after the election but the Baillieu government is now seeking a further $130 million for pre-construction work. While the new proposal follows much the same route as Labor's plan, it will stretch only nine kilometres...

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/libs-ramp-up-priority-for-freeway-20111116-1njco.html#ixzz1du7EHKrg

Note that there's little detail about the route, and therefore what could be at risk. The previous government had categorically said that JJ Holland Park was safe. With the prospect of the car tunnel on the agenda, I suppose it depends upon its route and how they intend to create it.

Even the more recent plans for the rail tunnel showed that the park would be safe.

For both of these, however, there's the potential disruptions to the surrounding areas during construction to think about. With the train tunnel, I'd personally view that as a short-term pain, for long-term gain. With the car tunnel, as with other roads built to 'save' the city from traffic, I believe it will fill up with traffic, just like the others, and make any arterial which its exit ramps spill onto, even worse. The 'booming traffic on the Westgate and Hoddle Street' is the product of the Monash Freeway works, and EastLink, respectively. The tunnel would certainly help through-traffic, but usage patterns show the vast majority of users would be getting on/off at some point near the city. And most of them are commuters. And many of them are driving because of the poor/non-existant public transport options.

Here we go again?

Of course, there's no mention of use of the park, but it appears the East-West link road tunnel could be back on the agenda, if the new state government listens to Sir Rod Eddington (Infrastructure Australia), and VECCI.

...The east-west road tunnel is also seen as crucial to give Melbourne another river crossing and another east-west route. The tunnel would connect the Eastern Freeway with the Tullamarine Freeway and Western Ring Road.

Mr James said the North-East Interconnector was also important. This freeway would join the Western Ring Road to EastLink, creating the ''missing link'' in a total metropolitan ring road.

He nominated channel deepening and EastLink as two of Labor's proudest achievements. ''EastLink has been a fantastic boon for the east … property prices have risen dramatically,'' he said...

http://www.theage.com.au/business/industry-wants-fast-moves-from-baillieu-20101129-18dw3.html

State Government releases more info on the WestLink road tunnel

3 proposals. Another study. More here.

The Age - Houses to go in plan to divert trucks

Herald Sun - Residents triumphant in first WestLink stoush

In 2008, Sir Rod Eddington's report into Melbourne's transport problems called for an east-west road tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road. And, while the controversial Eddington proposal is still on the agenda, the Government has no plan to build it.

Herald Sun - Tunnel to ease the squeeze

Herald Sun - John the builder of poll strategy


Pic from the Herald Sun


No further specifics on the rail tunnel, and where it is likely to head down (at some point after Footscray station and before South Kensington is all we know).

Funding plea puts east-west tunnel back on agenda - Melbourne Leader

A BRUMBY Government submission to Canberra shows Spring St is actively pursuing a road tunnel from Kensington to Clifton Hill, residents claim.

The project was first mooted in the 2008 Eddington report, but community backlash forced the government to back away from any immediate plans when it released its $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan later that year.

However, a Spring St submission to the Federal Department of the Environment indicates the tunnel would follow the completion of the $3.5 billion Westlink project, which is expected to begin in 2013.

The submission was seeking the department’s permission to proceed with the project linking Western Ring Rd with Kensington via Sunshine Rd and a new tunnel under Footscray.

The document refers to Westlink as the “immediate priority” in a “three-stage” proposal to build an 18km link between Melbourne’s western suburbs and the Eastern Freeway in accordance with the Eddington Report.

The east-west tunnel was a cornerstone of Sir Rod Eddington’s report, titled Investing in Transport...

Read the rest here - http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/funding-plea-puts-east-west-tunnel-back-on-agenda/

The stream of angry residents converging on the suspected site
of where the tunnel would come out.

Freeway not worth cost

More proof of how well the State Government does its sums with respect to their transport plan.

THE economic case for the Brumby government's top transport project is in tatters, with its own figures revealing benefits barely a third of its multibillion-dollar price tag.

The WestLink freeway, a six-lane road under Footscray and through Sunshine West, was estimated to cost $3.5 billion when the state asked Canberra to fund it in October 2008.

But a confidential submission to the Rudd government reveals estimated economic benefits that would flow from building the freeway of just $1.14 billion. This included travel-time savings of $700 million and a reduction in crash costs of $11 million.

Canberra knocked back funding despite Victoria declaring last year the freeway was its ''number one priority project'' for federal funding. The Age understands a core reason was the poor economic return on building the road.

The cost of the project has since blown out to $5 billion, although Roads Minister Tim Pallas is pressing ahead with the freeway despite not having the money to build it.

Read the whole article here - http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/freeway-not-worth-cost-20100520-vovs.html

Déjà vu

Almost two years ago, a fight began in earnest to Save Holland park from destruction (certainly temporarily, but potentially for all time) by its use as a staging area for the development of the East-West tunnel, a recommendation from the oft-called 'Eddington Report'.

The idea was that the park could be used as the major construction point to create the tunnel. Through overwhelming community support, in addition to support from our representatives at all three levels of government, (and a little help from the Global Finanical Crisis probably didn't hurt), the proposal was defeated.

In its Victorian Transport Plan, the East-West Link tunnel was not an option, and it was specifically stated that JJ Holland Park would be left as is.

However, there have been some stirrings of another spectre.

The Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel Stage 1 - (link to official site) - plans to provide a new rail link from Footscray, underground to the Hospital/University district north of the CBD, linking with the City Loop at Flinders St, and potentially Melbourne Central, and eventually going to Domain and Caulfield as part of Stage 2.

The Kensington Association, in their newsletter reports :

Agenda Item 6 – Victorian Government Transport Plan

Matt Hammond reported on a recent meeting where several matters relevant to Kensington were raised. The plan includes a new set of rail lines from North Melbourne to Footscray to increase the capacity of the route for country trains. The tracks would be sited on the Dynon Road side of the existing lines, therefore there should be little impact on Kensington. However, the route of the proposed new Footscray-Parkville-Domain underground metro railway is potentially of concern. It appears that the route may be overground from Footscray to South Kensington, then branching into an underground tunnel portal at South Kensington, posing a similar threat to the aborted East-West road tunnel project. Depending on track alignment, it is possible that a proposal requiring the use of Holland Park as a tunnel entrance, or compulsory acquisition of some housing in South Kensington for the rail tunnel entrance could be reasonably envisaged. It was agreed that the Association would maintain a watching brief on the transport plan.

(My bold)

We will be watching this too. And we suggest you do likewise. The official site does not mention anything yet. The State Government, through Bronwyn Pike's direct influence, categorically stated that JJ Holland Park would remain untouched. However, we do all know how governments change their minds. And the current state government do not have a good track record with listing to the wishes of the public.

(NOTE: The recent tree removal within JJ Holland Park is for the expansion of the Soccer pitch, and has nothing to do with the above).

Tunnel vision on track - news.com.au

THE $38 billion transport package will revolutionise the way you move around this city. It will also change the way goods are moved.

Train travel will become quicker and less prone to disruptions with construction of a $9.5 billion tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield.

Stations are expected in the university and hospital precinct in Parkville, at the Domain interchange and possibly in the CBD.

The project is designed to carry about 40,000 passengers an hour.

Metlink chief executive Bernie Carolan said the tunnel was essential in ensuring the delivery of reliable commuter train services into the future.

Inner network problems needed to be fixed before extensions, such as to South Morang, could be fixed, he said.

The $1.5 billion Tarneit link, from Sunshine to Werribee, is designed to improve metropolitan and country services.

V/Line services to and from Geelong will be more reliable because they won't get stuck behind suburban trains.

You might be more likely to get a seat in future thanks to an immediate order for 20 trains and a further order for 35 next-generation trains.

Quicker trips to and from Doncaster can be expected with enhanced bus services.

But don't expect a quick, seamless drive from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink any time soon.

Another of Sir Rod Eddington's major recommendations, an east-west road tunnel, has proven to be more politically difficult than the rail tunnel.

But relief is in sight for motorists with a $240 million upgrade of the West Gate Bridge, revealed by the Herald Sun last week, to provide a medium-term alternative.

A further reason to delay the east-west road tunnel will be a plan to build flyovers along Hoddle St.

Motorists will also get an easier run through the notorious Springvale Rd level crossing at Nunawading, rated the worst in the state for safety, which will be replaced.

What is less obvious is a growing problem around the ports area: more capacity to move freight around is desperately needed.

Resident anger is building around the inner-western suburbs as truck numbers increase.

The solution is the first stage of Sir Rod's road tunnel, underneath Footscray to the ports, and better connections to Hyde St and Footscray Rd, allowing trucks to bypass residential areas.

Read the original article at news.com.au

Do we tunnel east to west?

RACV's pro-tunnel statement, in today's Herald Sun.

THERE has been widespread speculation the east-west road tunnel will not be included in the State Government's transport plan.

The RACV has a clear view that a road tunnel from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink, with an extension to join the Western Ring Rd, is an essential part of a rational and comprehensive transport plan for Melbourne's future.

The West Gate-Monash corridor is being upgraded, including five lanes each way on West Gate bridge with an active emergency management system in place, but Melbourne is now totally reliant upon this route.

If something happens along it - especially given it serves the Port of Melbourne - the entire metropolis grinds to a halt.

The Eddington east-west project will provide an essential alternative to the West Gate-Monash corridor and this will "future-proof" Melbourne long-term.

---

• Prof Nicholas Low: The case against a tunnel
• John Ferguson: Labor starts after stalling
• Editorial: Premier needs to get moving

---

This project will also significantly reduce traffic through Parkville, the inner north and upper part of central Melbourne, improving the amenity for workers and residents in these vital areas. And there will be less delay to both traffic and public transport travelling north-south.

RACV is aware some commentators have said there is not enough through traffic to justify the tunnel.

We do not agree and are aware that the Eddington team reviewed previous studies, including the northern central city corridor work and came up with a contrary analysis.

The RACV is strongly urging the State Government to deliver the Eddington blueprint for this project in its entirety and not just "cherry-pick" selected parts suiting interest groups.

We have proposed a comprehensive suite of road and public transport projects and initiatives that are integral to getting Melbourne moving properly.

The key longer-term issues include strategies for land use, new outer road and public transport corridors on Melbourne's west and north, consideration of cross-town heavy and light rail options within 10km of the city.

We need a dedicated airport rail link, too.

The transport priorities we need delivered in the next decade include:

FINISHING the Metropolitan Ring Rd. The end at Greensborough must be joined to the Eastern Freeway and EastLink to provide a proper route around Melbourne.

BUILDING the east-west rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield.

MAKING key public transport and road improvements in the outer growth suburbs (see RACV's Connect Outer Melbourne report at racv.com.au)

GOING ahead with the Tarneit rail line from west of Werribee, and joining the northern group of rail lines, to serve Wyndham and relieve V/Line congestion.

RELIEVING a blockage at the Frankston end of the Monash and EastLink freeways by building a bypass link to the Mornington Peninsula.

RACV has also proposed a ramp-up of the SmartBus network to cover the Doncaster corridor. New rail to South Morang and Epping must go ahead.

We're urging the Government to ensure that all these critical projects are in the transport plan and especially the complete east-west tunnel project.

A plan without this key project will not sufficiently ease Melbourne's congestion or improve life in the inner suburbs.

Brian Negus is RACV general manager public policy

Tunnel project might not see the light of day

ROYCE MILLAR and CLAY LUCAS

THE toll tunnel centrepiece of Sir Rod Eddington's $20 billion vision for better links across Melbourne is in trouble, with road builders and operators shying away from big projects.

ConnectEast, which operates the EastLink tollway, yesterday confirmed it had its hands full making its new Ringwood-to-Frankston tollway a success.

EastLink traffic volumes and revenue are well below forecasts, with shareholders believed to be unenthusiastic about ambitious new ventures. Chairman Tony Shepherd made this clear at the annual meeting last week and said again yesterday: "ConnectEast is a single-purpose entity, and at this point we are solely focused on establishing EastLink's operational systems and on growing our traffic levels. We have no plans to invest in another road."

Transurban, which runs CityLink, has slashed job numbers in Melbourne and mapped out a debt-averse future. Under new chief executive Chris Lynch, the once active road builder will consider only "sure things".

While Transurban has not ruled out a bid for an east-west toll road, insiders told The Age the company had no intention of pursuing new Melbourne projects in the near future.

The credit squeeze has tightened dramatically since Sir Rod's report earlier this year in which he recommended a tollway beginning in Clifton Hill and ending in Footscray.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Certainly what we like to see in the paper, but hey... I'm not relaxing until there's a fat lady singing. I would also hope that the State Government would listen to other reasons why the tunnel should not go ahead, so that if they can get funding, where that money would be better spent.

Tollway alternative part of new roads plan

Clay Lucas and Jason Dowling

A NEW tollway would traverse either semi-rural Warrandyte, or run through the heart of Heidelberg, under controversial plans being devised for the State Government's transport strategy.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet is working with VicRoads on the project, which would see a new tollway connect the Metropolitan Ring Road — which finishes in Greensborough — to either the Eastern Freeway or EastLink.

Secrecy surrounds the Government's transport statement, due out in November.

But Government sources have told The Age the transport team is working on economic analysis of three route options for a major new tollway.

The routes are:

• From Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway, running through Heidelberg; or
• From Greensborough to EastLink in Ringwood, with the road running via Eltham and Warrandyte; or
• Sir Rod Eddington's $9 billion road tunnel route from Clifton Hill to Footscray.

Roads Minister Tim Pallas met financiers Babcock and Brown last month to discuss funding possibilities for new tollways.

The State Government has recently polled residents in Eltham and Warrandyte on their support for a new road link, which would traverse some of the city's most environmentally sensitive areas.

And Government emails obtained by The Age show VicRoads is determined to retain land in Greensborough set aside for the ring road connection.

Nillumbik Council, which covers much of the area a new tollway would run through, opposes the project. Cr Greg Johnson said locals would fight a new freeway connection through the area.

As opposition leader in the 1990s, Premier John Brumby ruled out building a freeway along the proposed Nillumbik route.

"The ALP opposes this road on environmental grounds, and because of the enormous disruption it would cause to property owners whose homes would be demolished," Mr Brumby wrote in a 1995 letter.

One roads industry source said there was still an appetite to build major toll roads, despite the turmoil on financial markets.

And ConnectEast director Max Lay, a former senior VicRoads bureaucrat, said big toll road projects were "seen as a safe harbour for long-term investments".

News of the road plan comes as the Greens today launch their new $14 billion transport plan — along with a marketing campaign targeting Mr Brumby's support for new road infrastructure.

Under the Greens' People Plan, detailed in an extensive new website at www.thepeopleplan.org.au, Melbourne's public transport system would be expanded dramatically. The plan includes new train lines to Doncaster, Mernda, Rowville and Melbourne Airport.

There would also be a major new CBD metro system, with new train stations built in the CBD at Kings Way and St Kilda Road, in the inner north at Parkville, Carlton and Fitzroy, and elsewhere.

And in an attack ad devised by South Melbourne ad agency Cyclone, Mr Brumby is portrayed as a mole, tunnelling to create "a profit plan for political survival".

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

One person's discussion of the Greens' 'The People Plan' is here - http://reubenville.blogspot.com/2008/10/greens-transport-plan.html

Strategy to ease the squeeze - theage.com.au

Clay Lucas, Jason Dowling and Ben Schneiders

Waiting: The city seen from South Kensington station yesterday. Photo: Joe Armao

UP TO 20 new six-carriage trains will be ordered to ease overcrowding on Melbourne's rail system.

The $300-million-plus order will be a key plank of the State Government's coming transport statement.

As part of the statement, due by November, the Government is also set to order at least 60 new trams to replace the old Z-class fleet that was commissioned in 1975. Secrecy surrounds the transport statement, which the Government has been working on for several months, as commuter anger over the struggling system becomes a political liability.

But The Age believes the Victorian Transport Plan — the Government's fourth "long-term" transport statement since 2002 — is also set to:

• Implement public-private partnerships across the train network in which developers build new railway stations in return for the right to build above the stations.
• Consider abandoning the contentious $7 billion Footscray-to-Caulfield rail route proposed by infrastructure adviser Sir Rod Eddington, and instead make better use of an under-used 80-year-old train tunnel running beneath Footscray's Bunbury Street.
• Announce a construction timetable for the $500 million Frankston bypass, now the subject of an environmental study.
• Bring forward the Government's $660 million orbital SmartBus program, to be completed in 2010, an election year, rather than the planned 2012.
• Dramatically upgrade bus services to Doncaster on the Eastern Freeway.

The Government also is moving towards backing the first stage of Sir Rod's proposed $9 billion road tunnel, which would go from Melbourne's inner west to CityLink.

This road option would result in hundreds of homes in either Yarraville or Sunshine being compulsorily acquired.

But with many tollway companies spooked by gloomy financial conditions, it is unclear who would pay for the road project unless the Federal Government steps in...

Read the entire article at TheAge.com.au

My bold.

I wasn't aware of the Bunbury Street tunnel. From the looks of it, it means trains don't have to go through Footscray station, crosses the Maribyrnong River on its own bridge, and then links back up with the train line.

West is best for tunnel - news.com.au

John Ferguson

September 09, 2008 12:00am

A GIANT cross-city road and tunnel network linking west and east Melbourne would be built in stages, with the western suburbs to benefit first under plans being considered by the Government.

The Brumby Government is investigating a strategy to delay the eastern end of the 18km cross-city project.

The Herald Sun believes that senior members of the Government are seriously concerned about a voter backlash over the Eastern Freeway end of the project, which is planned to join CityLink at Parkville.

This aspect of the project is highly controversial because it has enraged politically active voters in key inner-city seats.

It would require the drilling of a massive tunnel under Melbourne General Cemetery.

Sources familiar with the Government's plans said serious thought was being given to backing the west over eastern Melbourne.

Labor was eager to appease its core constituency in the western suburbs, which is groaning under the weight of unprecedented traffic growth, particularly heavy trucks.

The Government has entered the decision-making phase of the Victorian Transport Plan, which will decide whether to back big slabs of the so-called Eddington report into east-west congestion.

The estimated cost of stage one of the west-east road/tunnel project was $2 billion, with two options for the western end of the 18km road.

Both would start on the Western Ring Rd and skirt the southern end of Flemington racecourse.

One would follow a rail line, the other the West Gate Freeway, before hitting the port area.

There is heavy speculation that the Government will not only back a west-east road link, but also a rail tunnel linking Footscray to Caulfield.

The rail tunnel is expected to include a rail freight component, which could potentially open up Hastings as an alternative cargo port.

Read the original article at News.com.au

West is best hey? Voter backlash over Eastern Freeway end hey? Hmm... doesn't the Herald Sun visit the inner west? There will be (already is) a HUGE backlash in the West... Count the green triangles (and other home-made signs).

Eddington critics 'bonkers': Connex chief - The Age

Clay Lucas
July 31, 2008 - 12:32PM

The head of Connex says critics of Sir Rod Eddington's $7 billion proposal to build a rail line running from Footscray to Caulfield are "bonkers".

Connex chairman Jonathan Metcalfe, brought out in March by French parent company Veolia to help secure the 15-year contract to run Melbourne's rail network, said at a business lunch yesterday his company was backing Sir Rod's plan to the hilt.

"There is no really comprehensible alternative," he said. "The idea that Rod Eddington has been hood-winked is fundamentally flawed."

In April, Sir Rod proposed a 17-kilometre rail tunnel running below the CBD at a depth of 50 metres. The tunnel, which would take until 2019 to build, has attracted widespread support from operators, as well as transport and green groups.

But critics, including the Public Transport Users Association and RMIT transport planner Paul Mees, say the existing network can run substantially more trains if more efficient operational practices are put in place and more trains bought.

Mr Metcalfe said they were wrong: "From all of my experience, the idea that the existing network can do all of this and cope is frankly bonkers."

Dr Mees last night challenged Mr Metcalfe to explain why the existing system couldn't carry far more trains.

"Connex puts out lots of invective but where is the analysis showing why we need this rail tunnel?" he said. "The number of trains you can run down a rail track is an engineering question that can be resolved - all that is required is people who don't have a vested interest in the outcome of the question."

In his speech, Mr Metcalfe said Melbourne's rail network had just 26 kilometres less track than the London Underground.

Dr Mees seized on this, saying the London Underground managed to carry more than 1 billion passengers a year compared to Melbourne's 200 million. "And their trains and platforms are smaller than ours," he said.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Rail tunnel gets big union push

MELBOURNE risks becoming a backwater unless the State Government gives priority to improving public transport by investing billions in infrastructure.

That's the stark warning from the peak public transport union in its submission to the Government on Melbourne's transport needs.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union says if it comes down to a choice, the Government must back the $8.5 billion rail tunnel between Caulfield and Footscray before the $9 billion road tunnel linking the Eastern and Tullamarine freeways.

RTBU state secretary Trevor Dobbyn said the situation was urgent, with forecasts indicating rail patronage would more than double in the next 20 years.

"Without it (the rail tunnel) peak-hour road congestion will worsen and Melbourne's international economic competitiveness would be damaged," Mr Dobbyn said.

"It would be seen as a city that has stopped working compared with a city that is expanding its capacity to meet the growing economic and environmental challenges."

The union's call came as government figures showed the city's train system suffocating under the pressure of record passenger growth, with people increasingly being left standing on platforms on the Werribee, Watergardens and Dandenong lines.

Patronage has risen 30 per cent in three years, with more than 189 million trips taken across the train system last year - an average of about 616,000 a day.

The union argues the rail proposals - including the tunnel, the Tarneit loop, connecting the Geelong and Deer Park lines with the Ballarat line, and the electrification of the Sunbury line, put forward by international transport expert Sir Rod Eddington in his East-West Needs Assessment report presented to the Government in March - would go a long way to resolving traffic congestion.

"It will also significantly reduce the pressure for the east-west road connection, with more commuters choosing to use public transport ahead of their cars," Mr Dobbyn said.

Sir Rod predicted in his report the rail network in the west and inner-eastern suburbs was about to hit the wall.

The RTBU, which covers most public transport workers, predicted expansion of the rail network would generate thousands of jobs for its members.

It foresaw increased demand for drivers, station and maintenance staff as construction of up to $10 billion in rail infrastructure was done over the next decade.

The RTBU's argument for investment in rail infrastructure has been backed by Australia's peak industry transport group, the Tourism and Transport Forum.

TTF Australia said that the $8.5 billion rail project was essential.

"Unless bold steps are taken to expand the capacity of the rail network it will simply be unable to cope with the number of people wanting to use it," TTF national transport manager Stewart Prins said.

Premier John Brumby is taking submissions on Sir Rod's report until next Tuesday.

Read the original article at - http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23978757-661,00.html

No margin for error in rail squeeze

Premier John Brumby has defended the State Government's attempts to cope with soaring passenger numbers on Melbourne's rail network.

Speaking on radio 3AW this morning, Mr Brumby said an increase in services on the tram and bus network could help ease the pressure on train operators.

"The system is running at full capacity and if you assume petrol prices or oil prices in the future stay high, there will be increase of demand in the system,'' Mr Brumby said.

"When the system runs 100% capacity there is no margin for error it is likely that the level of breaches could be higher."

Mr Brumby said the Eddington report, which recommends building an $8.5 billion rail tunnel linking Footscray to Caulfield and bolstering already-stretched train services in the west, would also help address the issue.

"Our goal is to make it fit. I haven't got the numbers in front but the objective is to carry increased number of passengers.

"That is what (the) Eddington (report) is all about. That is what the record road investment programmes is all about and record investment trams and buses is all about.''

Leaked tender documents show that by 2011 28% more commuters are expected to use Melbourne's trains but its fleet will expand by only 11%, The Age revealed today.

That equates to a jump in passenger numbers from 198 million this year to 253 million in 2012.

And passengers in regional Victoria are also facing a tight squeeze, with V/Line carrying a record number of passengers - breaking the 1 million mark for the first time in the year to May.

When questioned about the leaked documents on radio 3AW this morning, Mr Brumby admitted rail operators could face lighter penalties for late or cancelled trains.

"The expression of interest document flags is there maybe some flexibility,'' he said.

Numbers have also increased on Victoria's regional rail network, with V/Line reporting a rise of more than 23% in passengers on some lines.

Figures released by V/Line show the Ballarat/Bacchus Marsh and Bairnsdale/Sale lines have recorded a 23.2% rise in patronage in the year to May.

Passenger numbers rose on the Shepparton, Traralgon and Ararat lines by more than 20%, while the Geelong route had a 16.2%. jump.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/no-margin-for-error-in-rail-squeeze-20080624-2vym.html

Sorry, Sir Rod, your rail tunnel plan is just loopy

IT'S been a long time between drinks for advocates of rail in Melbourne. The last new suburban line was the Glen Waverley line, which opened in 1930. It was to be followed by one to Doncaster, but the Depression and war intervened. Since then, plans for links to Monash University, Rowville and Melbourne Airport have also come to nothing.

But things may be changing. A new Prime Minister has begun talking about urban rail and, after decades of decline, patronage is growing again.

Enter Sir Rod Eddington. His report on east-west transport proposes the biggest capital expenditure program in Australian history. Half the $18 billion is for a single road project, which Eddington's own consultant economists suggest has a benefit-cost ratio well below one — which in plain English means it's a waste of money.

The other major project is a rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield, and Eddington has been talking up this aspect. He has criticised, without naming, people who have questioned the need for the rail tunnel. He describes this questioning as "dangerous nonsense", a stance echoed by Melissa Fyfe in The Sunday Age last week.

How could supporters of public transport question the wisdom of spending $8.5 billion on rail? Isn't it time Melbourne put serious money into an underground line to enable more trains to run to the city centre?

The simple answer is that Melbourne has already done just this. That's what the City Loop, which cost $5 billion in today's money, was all about. It's set out in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan, which shows the system was intended to handle much higher volumes of trains and passengers than it carries today. There were to be new lines to places such as Doncaster and Rowville, more frequent services and more expresses.

Annual patronage was supposed to reach 300 million by 1985; in fact, this year it might reach 200 million. The number of suburban trains arriving at Flinders Street in the busiest hour was to jump from 108 in 1964 to 181 in 1985; instead, it's fallen to 95. There was to be an express from Mordialloc every two minutes in peak hour; instead there's one a day.

One reason patronage is lower than anticipated is that none of the proposed suburban lines were built because the loop chewed up all the available funds. The priority now should be to start work on those long-overdue new lines, plus electrifying existing routes to places such as Caroline Springs and Melton.

But Eddington is proposing that nothing be done to serve these areas. He wants to spend all available money on a rail tunnel that will duplicate the one we already have and which won't be finished until at least 2019, giving rail managers an excuse for another decade of inaction.

What reasons does Eddington offer for not utilising the spare capacity on the system? His report does not discuss the issue at all. Instead, it compares Melbourne's rail system with the way it operated in the 1930s, showing that we now run more express services. So what? We run far fewer expresses than the loop was designed to handle, as the 1969 plan shows.

The problems that are clogging the system are set out in a consultants' report that, although available on the Eddington website, is not discussed in his report. The Transport Supply and Demand report shows there are eight in-bound tracks serving Flinders Street: four running via the City Loop, and four "direct". Each is signalled to handle a train every two minutes, or 30 an hour. This would allow a total of 240 trains an hour, but international best practice suggests running at 80% to maintain reliability. That's 192 trains an hour, or twice the current level.

The real problem is not in the Loop at all: it's in the Department of Transport and Connex. The consultants outline the poor operating practices preventing available capacity from being used, ranging from crew changes delaying trains at Flinders Street to poor internal carriage layout slowing boarding. Instead of fixing the problems, Eddington proposes giving the department $8.5 billion to duplicate the Loop, along with an excuse for doing nothing else for a decade.

That's why Eddington has missed the train.

Paul Mees is a senior lecturer in transport planning at RMIT.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/sorry-sir-rod-your-rail-tunnel-plan-is-just-loopy-20080621-2uke.html?page=-1