News & Discussion: Regional Transport

[Heardy_101]

It is also to the best of my knowledge that the MG Council are very anti-rail, as they have their own plans for the corridors, and Scotts have been causing issues for anyone wanting Rail as well.

[claybro]

Mr Scott himself being a trucking man was not keen on rail, although K&S (a scott comapny) from memory had an intermodal set up at the Mt rail yards sometime in the 1980's. Goods transferring on containers to/from local trucks for transport. The resistance of many on the council and local residents is remembering the days of shunting in the railyards, which were situated virtually in the heart of the city causing relative traffic chaos as the line cuts the city in 2. A more modern approach with the shunting/goods yards at the Western industrial end of the city, but the line and the central rail station still used as a through line would remove these concerns. The current council having just spent millions on the attractive but useless Main Corner project seems to want none of it sighting cost as a major concern. Meanwhile in typical SA fashion, depate rages about what to do with the useless track of land adjacent to the existing line which cannot be encroached upon as it is owned by the railways. Once again a vital economic lifeline sits rotting in SA but ironically the Vics seem to see the potential in it all.

[Heardy_101]

Oh the irony!!

It's funny.

SA was the only other state to sell it's Railways to the Feds (Tassie being the other). Short term, no problem, but long term, as is evident, SA got the shortest of the short straws and got screwed over. Big time. Meanwhile, the other states that didn't take up Gough Whitlam's offer, namely Victoria, still to this very day, have thriving railways both Passenger and Freight wise and some lines that they closed are being re-opened again.

The difference is, Victoria have kept their lines, whether they be used, disused or dismantled, for future use. SA on-sold them to local councils as Cycle paths, with little or no room for possible rebuild.

[[Shuz]]

I've always wondered why the SE doesn't just secede to Victoria already?

[Heardy_101]

I see what you did there.

It's funny, they may as well use the Victorian timezone, 6am on MG is waaaaaaaay different to 6am in Port Augusta!

[claybro]

I've always wondered why the SE doesn't just secede to Victoria already?

And herin lies A problem left over from Federation. The states go cap in hand to Canberra begging for funding for various projects, and compete furiously with each other. Victoria would love to secure our most productive rural region, and our state government, focusing only on mining up north probably couldnt care less. As many say, Mt Gambier might as well be in Victoria, but it should be viewed as an econmic region in it's own right.Mt Gambier has the potential to become the largest centre in the whole of SE and Western Vic and this would encourage some flow back west instead of always East. Improving access to the SE and Western Vic from Adelaide would ensure Adelaide gets some spin off from the economic activity, and encourage some Westward thinking by those in Western Vic. otherwise the SE will just become another appendage of Melbourne.

[skyliner]

Even when I lived in MG they were much more linked up to Vic than SA in the business world. My father often expressed it was like MG was ignored and forgotten. There was even entertainment of that area separating as a new state in past times - even had a name for it.I only ever saw one map of this - a long time ago.(tells you how much they felt ignored).

Heardy, do you know the group name that is looking at developing the SE lines? They seem to have the idea - esp. if linking up to Vic rail.

As far as Portland is concerned, it appears not to be connected. Lines west of Melb. stop at Warrnambool. At least some of the northern lines are standard AFAIK as they link up with the Adelaide - Melbourne line. Many re opened after closure of broad gauge line.

[claybro]

So here we have SA's most viable, populous and attractive regional city, alongside a viable rail corridor, near a large port just over the border also connected to it by a still viable rail corridor, also near a large interstate regional population. The possibilites are really unlimited, except by the reluctance of the state Government.As has been posted here previously, Perth and Kal. are linked over 700km by fast rail, so why cant we. I also dont get the constant issue with which guage the old lines are, as most of the infastrucure is 80+ years old, very delapidated and would require a virtual rebuild to get it up to standard, therefore the current guages become largely irrelevant.

[Hooligan]

South Australia's true second city is Whyalla. Not Mount Gambier.

[claybro]

South Australia's true second city is Whyalla. Not Mount Gambier.

Given what criteria? Mt Gambiers population has been larger than Whyalla for some time now with a wider industrial base and closer to other regional markets. Having said that, as this is about regional rail, I also believe a regional fast train to Port Augusta and Whyalla is necessary support growth in those cities.

[Heardy_101]

You know, if the ARTC got off it's bum, the Adelaide - Port Augusta run could easily be 160km/h (for passengers, freight would still be restricted). In AN days it was about 120-125 I believe (mind you, the trains and locos back then never had the need to reach those speeds, nor were they really able to)

[rhino]

The South Australian govt has always been reluctant to support the idea of a Victorian connection to Mount Gambier via rail, for the very realistic reason that Portland is a much closer port to the South East than Port Adelaide is, and connecting the SE to Victoria by rail would be advantagous to Victoria. Of course, in reality, it would also be advantagous to South Australia as the cheaper SE products can be taken to the open market, the better for the region, which happens to be a South Australian region.

As for Heardy's comment that the Victorian Government is keen to connect Mount Gambier to their network, bollocks. They have had 18 years to do this, and have never shown any real interest in it, despite the positives for their own port (Portland). If they are really interested, what's stopping them?

When the Adelaide-Melbourne mainline was standard gauged in 1995, the SA govt of the day said they would throw $10million towards rebuilding the Mount Gambier line if anybody could come up with the rest of the money required. $10million was no-where near enough to do the job, mind you. And nobody else put their hand up, thanks, I imagine, to one Alan Scott who controlled not only the bulk of the trucking business in the South East, but also a big slice of the media down there. As far as I am aware, that $10million offer is still on the table, but it is only a drop in the ocean in today's money, with regard to what is needed today to bring that line up to an operating standard where rail can compete with road for business.

The best thing that could happen for rail in the the region is for the woodchip port that was once proposed for Cape Jaffa to be built, but the local Jaffarites didn't want their lifestyle ruined by an industry which would have brought employment to the area, so they built a marina instead. Imagine a port at Cape Jaffa, and what that would have done for the rail system in the South East. The line from Nackeroote to Kingston would likely have been rebuilt and extended to Cape Jaffa, which would also have been a closer grain port than Port Adelaide, and could have trains servicing it from silos and more modern grain transfer facilities at Keith, Bordertown, Wolesley, Kaniva, Nhill, Frances and Nackeroote as well as woodchips and logs from further south. But one day the land around that marina might be all sold, and people might go there to live, and the locals can he happy about their decision.

[claybro]

I guess it's the old chicken or egg debate which comes first?. Does growth follow the rail, or does the rail follow the growth. Whatever, it is very evident that the preference for road based transport instead of rail has proven to be a disaster for regional growth, employment and developement, not to mention the crumbling highways through over use and the rural road toll. One has to only look to Victoria, where once declining regional cities are experiencing a boom due to faster access by new regional trains.

[[Shuz]]

Build it and they will come.

[Maximus]

Well, I'm back from an internet-free Christmas and I've only just read through the recent pages in this thread. I'm certainly no expert, but rail has always made sense to me and I certainly agree with most of what's been posted.

Heardy, a word of advice, though -- from someone who's worked in government for a while: You're never going to get good 'cut-through' with a message as long as your original post. It's an unfortunate reality that politicians and public servants have short attention spans. They need the key points in an easily-digestible format. Yes, the details are important, but not so much in the first instance. I'd suggest you keep your future correspondence concise, 'punchy' and relevant, and that way you'll have the best chance of being heard.