NEWS ARTICLES
The Land, 28 Feb 2008
The Land, 28 Feb 08
Grain haulage derailing
Sun Herald, 17 Feb 08
Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, 22 Jan 2008, Page 2
Cyclists peddle the Murwillumbah Line
Press Release for Northern Star
Not Happy John (Howard) / Kevin (Rudd) or John (Watkins)
13.11. 07
President of the Tweed Rail Society, Phil Mackenzie is not happy with the performance to date of either of the major federal parties or with the NSW State Government, and as a result, is more determined than ever to keep the issue of the Casino to Murwillumbah line alive in the upcoming federal election. Candidates at recent forums have so far not presented any credible solutions, committed any funding whatsoever, don’t fully understand the requirements needed to reinstate rail services, have not illustrated just what type of services will operate on the line, or even have any real idea as to who might actually operate on the line.
As a result of the above, Mr Mackenzie is now calling on a newly elected Federal Government, irrespective of political persuasion, to immediately invest in an updated engineering assessment of the condition of the rail line and associated infrastructure. This assessment should be carried out by an independent consultancy not by RailCorp in order to ascertain just exactly what is required in terms of funding and materials to reinstate the line. This report will also prove one way or another if the $75 mill touted by John Watkins last year was accurate (and subsequently withdrawn on the 1st Nov 2007 by the Minister).
“This assessment should be the commencement of a process to see the return of rail services, passenger and freight on the Murwillumbah rail line”. Mr Mackenzie said. “I’ll bring in the consultants in if the feds commit the funding. In addition the Tweed Rail Society wishes to secure the management of the Casino locomotive depot, currently being vacated by the lessees. This will give the society a permanent and secure base for intended operations on the Murwillumbah line and will create opportunities for both tourism and training in the region.
Further, Mr Mackenzie is calling for a targeted percentage reduction of road freight (local and long distance) to be progressively moved onto rail. Just a 3% reduction / year over 10 years in long distance road freight transferred to rail will save countless lives, even truckies lives, and reduce pressure on hospitals and other medical facilities, not to mention suffering of the bereaved from road fatalities. The Murwillumbah line would be capable of handling this freight traffic transfer once upgraded and would thus ensure the viability of the line.
Rail has only been given a pittance in promises in the lead up to the federal election when compared to the billions promised to be spent on roads. All that is required to reopen the Murwillumbah line is in the order of $60 mill. Spread over 3 years that is just a paltry $20mill per year. Compare that to $2.6 billion committed to the Pacific Highway alone and it blatantly clear to see the disparity between road and rail.
The benefits of a decent regional rail are enormous and cannot be underestimated. The issues of climate change and peak oil need to be planned for now not in 10 or 20 years. Low income and people without motor vehicle access need decent transport options not piece meal ones. A good transport network assists people to find work, reduces dependency on social security, brings tourism dollars in the region and develops community cohesion. All this is in addition to the safety issue on our roads.
The Tweed Rail Society is linking forces with other community transport action groups such as Coast to Coast 100, in order to push the cause for safer roads and better use of the rail network. This campaign will carry on till both the state and federal governments finally get the message from the community as to what we want as apposed to pressures applied to governments by big business.
Mr Mackenzie concluded by saying that “In the lead up to the federal election constituents should get behind this campaign and lobby their candidates for real commitment for rail in the region, not, ifs, buts or we’ll look at it later. The electorate is urged to vote for the minor parties in lieu of the failure of the 2 major parties to properly commit to the Murwillumbah line.”
WATKINS WITHDRAWS FUNDING FOR THE MURWILLUMBAH LINE
(OR THE FUNDING THAT NEVER REALLY WAS!)
1.11.07
The Northern Star, Tuesday, October 9, 2007, p.7
Survey for commuter rail service
Southern Cross University has released the results of a study conducted into the communities desire for a commuter service on the Murwillumbah line. In brief the results were very positive for such a service and confirms similar results of a survey that the Tweed Rail Society carried out approximately 2 years ago.
To view the S C U results go to Southern Cross University Media site. for direct access to article posted on 19/3/07 go to
www.scu.edu.au/news/media.php?item-id=8868action=show-item&type=M
RailCorp Strikes Again –
with another brain dead decision.
Here we go again, another rail line or part thereof, to be closed by RailCorp because of so called lack of traffic and cost factors. It appears RailCorp has no Department for Thinking Laterally or anyone who examines a decision in totality. Here is a classic case of incompetence on the part of bureaucracy gone mad in thinking it will save money if it simply closes the line between Kandos and Gulgong. What RailCorp fails to recognise are what will be the consequences of NOT upgrading this rail line.
Currently coal trains from the Wallerawang, Kandos areas operate over the Blue Mountains to unload at Port Kembla. The Western line over the Blue Mountains is a tortuous line with sharp curves and very steep gradients. This must significantly impact on the tonnage each coal train can lift. Load limits on the Western line are approximately half the tonnage limits that Hunter Valley coal trains are capable of lifting utilising similar motive power. Surely the additional economies of scale would be attractive to both RailCorp and the coal mining industries. Further, by hauling double the tonnage with similar horsepower over a similar distance on less congested lines would reduce fuel costs, save significant running and turnaround times as well as being environmentally better in reducing emissions. Additionally, it would reduce noise issues from diesel locomotives with residents living in the Blue Mountains.
The operation of coal trains along the Western line, through Sydney suburbs and then across to the Illawarra line must create a huge amount of wear and tear on those rail lines as well as impacting on the ability of increasing passenger and other freight capacities and operations on those lines.
Would it not be a more sensible and approach to upgrade the Kandos to Gulgong section of the Mudgee line for coal freight traffic and then link it to the Hunter Valley system. In so doing it would eliminate much of the freight and passenger train conflicts that certainly exist on the Western, suburban and Illawarra lines today. Coal trains would also be allowed to operate 24 hours a day from the western coal fields if diverted to the Hunter and would not be restricted during peak hour operations through Sydney suburbs.
Safety and operational considerations also need to be taken into account with coal trains operating in suburban areas. By removing coal trains from Sydney and diverting them to the Hunter system there is a reduced risk of passengers on platforms being injured or killed from these juggernauts flying through a station and someone falling underneath one. Further, there is always the potential for a train derailment anywhere in the system. With western coal trains diverting to the Hunter, this would reduce inconvenience to metropolitan and interurban traffic if a coal train derailed anywhere between Lithgow and Port Kembla.
Passengers using the Western and Illawarra lines are frequently inconvenienced at times due to track maintenance. A significant proportion of this track work must be the result of coal train traffic that constantly pound these rail lines day in day out. By diverting this traffic from the west to the Hunter via Gulgong it would reduce the need for so much track work to be carried out on the Western and Illawarra lines. This cost saving could be as much as the estimated cost of the upgrade of the Kandos – Gulgong section of track now flagged for closure.
Further, by diverting western coal traffic to the Hunter, these coal trains can take advantage of the dedicated coal lines between Maitland and Newcastle. Coupled that with recent upgrades of the Hunter coal traffic system with new signalling and flyovers there is no conflict in that region between coal traffic and passenger and any other freight traffic. ARTC still has significant capacity to cope with additional coal traffic on the Hunter system. Once an additional coal loader is installed at Newcastle it will only strengthen the case for west coal to go via Gulgong to Newcastle instead of Port Kembla.
And what of the future? Is another piece of NSW rail infrastructure going to be allowed to rot into the ground as so often happens these days? The residents of the Mudgee district deserve better. How about a twice a day rail car service to connect with west and east bound XPT services for a start instead of a bus. Once the coal traffic is using the Kandos – Gulgong section of the Mudgee line this traffic would surely pay for any passenger services provided by CountryLink or any other rail provider.
This line also has the potential of being a usefull piece of infrastructure in the event that the inland rail corridor proposal goes ahead. These cross country lines should be kept available for any freight traffic that could be generated from those areas and as secondary capacity lines for the north south rail corridor proposal as rail will then be very competitive against road transport with the economies of scale and significantly reduced transit times between Melbourne and Brisbane. Also rail tourism could also be a significant winner if cross country rail services were introduced between the major centres.
RailCorp needs a collective broom put through it! It is incompetent and inept. NSW is falling into a rail infrastructure black hole. It is still a state in a rail infrastructure decline due to the bureaucratic dunderheads and political masters that are in charge of a decaying system. Victoria, Queensland and even South Australia are moving ahead seeing the advantages of rail.