News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Trains

[monotonehell]

2014-Oct-24

The Advertiser can reveal Federal Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Warren Truss has written to the State Government advising it of the shock move. A furious State Goverment has condemned the cut as an "act of bastardry" that will kill off the project.

Premier Jay Weatherill on Tuesday said he had "reconfigured" the long-promised upgrade and would start work by the end of this year, with completion expected in 2015. He spruiked it as one of the "first steps" towards ensuring his 30-year transport vision became reality.

Mr Truss' five-sentence letter to SA Transport and Infrastructure Minister Mr Koutsantonis, sent yesterday, says funding earmarked by federal Labor before the election will not be delivered.

"The Australian Government is focusing its investment priorities on rail freight projects and the delivery of roads and highways to improve productivity and safety for all road users," he writes.

"I understand you have been working to progress your proposal to electrify the Gawler line.

"I am writing to advise you of my decision to withdraw the remaining Australian Government funding from the Gawler Line Modernisation project."

Removal of Federal Government funding effectively means Mr Weatherill must find an extra $76.2 million from an extremely tight State Budget to finish the project, or abandon the project.

About 10,000 passengers use the line each weekday when operational.

Mr Koutsantonis yesterday said he first learnt of the move from The Advertiser.

"Ripping this out is a complete act of bastardry on the people of the north," he said.

"The Prime Minister's personal discussions with the Premier were that if we'd gone out to tender, they would be honoured. "This is a breach of that promise.

"We've gone out to tender on Gawler, we had an agreement with the government of the day.

"They are killing this project and breaking the hearts of everyone in the north."

[Mr Smith]

Jay Weatherill and Labor just simply do not get it then do they? Tony Abbott has explicitly stated and made it clear, time and time again, that so long as he is Prime Minister, his government will not invest in urban rail projects.

Labor understand perfectly, Tony Abbott is an arsehole completely obsessed with expensive road projects and cars.

No change in government in history has withdrawn funding for projects promised and agreed to by a previous federal government.
Traditionally anything where contracts had been signed for construction and/or agreements made with state governments.
This is to prevent debacles like half finished road bridges with rebar sticking out the end, and the like.

What has happened is any SA public transport project, where the money hadn't been physically handed over, has been sabotaged.
This has not happened however in queensland, NSW etc, where there is a Liberal state government.

Quite frankly, I have to agree with Tony Abbott, but in part. For small-scale projects such as the electrification of the Gawler line, which if I recall, was estimated to cost around $150-$250m to complete, is not a matter for Federal Government investment. That is a project which I believe the State can, and should, bear the cost itself. And they can, easily.

You sir are an idiot.
The state government have spent the better part of $2 billion on rebuilding the rail network from the dirt up! For the Federal government to chicken out, at co-funding the final step of electrifying the lines and ordering new trains, when the amount involved is a petty $78m is bloody childish.

Instead we have a state government saddled with more debt, given the only other choice was to get sued for breach of contract.
This has happened for the Tonsley line signalling/pointwork where it was virtually finished, the Tonsley line Bus interchange which hadn't even started, and the Electrification to Salisbury where plans had been drawn up.
The Tonsley projects and the Electrification to Salisbury was particularly insulting, as in several previous discussions with the Liberal Federal Government they had agreed to fund any previous agreements for transport projects, and yet one day after a story on either project appears in the news, its "oh but we said we wouldn't fund public transport".
End result, of the $300 deficit the state has now, just over $100m of that is a direct result of the Liberal Party sabotage of passenger rail projects.

This is not election promises I am talking about, these are projects agreed to by the previous Labor Federal Government, weeks or months before the caretaker mode kicked in. Small sums of money that only an idiot would argue over.

How about checking a few of your own facts chief - the sate deficit for this year is projected at >1 BILLION, thanks to this financially incompetent state ALP administration

[Waewick]

2014-Oct-24

The Advertiser can reveal Federal Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Warren Truss has written to the State Government advising it of the shock move. A furious State Goverment has condemned the cut as an "act of bastardry" that will kill off the project.

Premier Jay Weatherill on Tuesday said he had "reconfigured" the long-promised upgrade and would start work by the end of this year, with completion expected in 2015. He spruiked it as one of the "first steps" towards ensuring his 30-year transport vision became reality.

Mr Truss' five-sentence letter to SA Transport and Infrastructure Minister Mr Koutsantonis, sent yesterday, says funding earmarked by federal Labor before the election will not be delivered.

"The Australian Government is focusing its investment priorities on rail freight projects and the delivery of roads and highways to improve productivity and safety for all road users," he writes.

"I understand you have been working to progress your proposal to electrify the Gawler line.

"I am writing to advise you of my decision to withdraw the remaining Australian Government funding from the Gawler Line Modernisation project."

Removal of Federal Government funding effectively means Mr Weatherill must find an extra $76.2 million from an extremely tight State Budget to finish the project, or abandon the project.

About 10,000 passengers use the line each weekday when operational.

Mr Koutsantonis yesterday said he first learnt of the move from The Advertiser.

"Ripping this out is a complete act of bastardry on the people of the north," he said.

"The Prime Minister's personal discussions with the Premier were that if we'd gone out to tender, they would be honoured. "This is a breach of that promise.

"We've gone out to tender on Gawler, we had an agreement with the government of the day.

"They are killing this project and breaking the hearts of everyone in the north."

I remember that.

but wasn't the actual upgrade delays consistently? I'm not trying to downgrade Truss's letter, but didn't we even get mentioned in the senate for how slow were progressing and that the money should be returned?

[PeFe]

From News.com.au

Jay Weatherill pledges $2.1m to catch fare dodgers on Adelaide trains

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis and Premier Jay Weatherill at Adelaide Railway Station today. Picture: Greg Higgs Source: News Limited

Premier Jay Weatherill and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis at Adelaide Railway Station today. Picture: Greg Higgs Source: News Limited


EXTRA ticket barriers and security cameras at two major train stations would cut fare evasion by a fifth, the State Government says.

Today it pledged $2.1 million for upgrades at the Salisbury and Noarlunga train stations to tackle fare evasion.

Premier Jay Weatherill said fare evasion cost about $3 million a year and if the trial of stricter measures were successful, it could be rolled out across the network.

Mr Weatherill and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis also announced the Government would spend $7.5 million to build a series of new Park ’n’ Ride facilities if re-elected next month.

Scoping studies for seven potential Park ’n’ Rides would be carried out at the following bus or train stations:

• Tambelin (rail, Gawler line)

• Parafield (bus/rail, Gawler line)

• Golden Grove (bus)

• West Lakes (bus)

• Bellevue Heights (bus)

• Wayville (rail, Seaford/Belair)

• Crafers (bus)

The money to build the new parking facilities would come from the $30 million expected to be raised by the Transport Development Levy, which the Government wants to charge on city carparks.

Mr Weatherill said the money pledged to crackdown on fare evasion would include $600,000 for fleet monitoring technology which would enable Passenger Service Assistants and Transit Police to “better target” their enforcement efforts.

“The barriers at the refurbished Adelaide Railway Station have led to a drastic reduction in fare evasion on our rail network but we know that the majority of fare evasion now happens between stations,” Mr Weatherill said.

“By installing new ticket barriers and extra CCTV at the popular Salisbury and Noarlunga stations, we will make further inroads into tackling fare evasion and improve passenger safety.

“The vast majority of commuters do the right thing. But there is still a small minority who think it is okay to rip off the honest fare-paying public.”

http://www.news.com.au/national/south-a ... 6831605663

Noarlunga, Salisbury and Elizabeth should be gated, secure stations with barriers and security to discourage fare evasion. In the mix should be transit-orientated development with apartments and retail to pay for the rebuilding of the stations. Get the private sector to rebuild the stations to modern standards in exchange for the commercialization of the space above and around the stations.
Doubtful...then travel to Sydney and check out Chatswood, Bondi Junction, Parramatta, St. Leonards....and more to come....
Adelaide Metro really needs to think about the commercial potential of the spaces/areas around the train network, reinvigorating these areas as central to the local community.
The "Adelaide" mentality seems to be....build shitty stations in the middle of nowhere discouraging people from using the train network....cars rule......public transport sucks.

[Nathan]

Exactly. Stations should be at the heart of neighbourhoods - with the local shops/high street integrated with the station itself or immediately surrounding it. It then becomes pratical to have the stations staffed (even if it's just one person), barriers, and then the businesses and increased traffic add to the passive security.

[fabricator]

Instead we have a state government saddled with more debt, given the only other choice was to get sued for breach of contract.
This has happened for the Tonsley line signalling/pointwork where it was virtually finished, the Tonsley line Bus interchange which hadn't even started, and the Electrification to Salisbury where plans had been drawn up.
The Tonsley projects and the Electrification to Salisbury was particularly insulting, as in several previous discussions with the Liberal Federal Government they had agreed to fund any previous agreements for transport projects, and yet one day after a story on either project appears in the news, its "oh but we said we wouldn't fund public transport".
End result, of the $300 deficit the state has now, just over $100m of that is a direct result of the Liberal Party sabotage of passenger rail projects.

This is not election promises I am talking about, these are projects agreed to by the previous Labor Federal Government, weeks or months before the caretaker mode kicked in. Small sums of money that only an idiot would argue over.

How about checking a few of your own facts chief - the sate deficit for this year is projected at >1 BILLION, thanks to this financially incompetent state ALP administration

http://au.news.yahoo.com/sa/a/20944081/ ... ouncement/

South Australia's budget position has taken a $376 million hit since the Government handed down its mid-year review last month.

That's the $300m I was referring to.

Updated figures show the current financial year's deficit is expected to reach $1.1 billion, $60 million more than in the most recent forecast.
The details were leaked before the Premier's media conference on Wednesday, with the biggest hit to come from revised GST forecasts which have plummeted by $303 million.
Holden's exit will cost the state $14 million in lost revenue in 2016/17 financial year and is expected to reduce employment by about 6,100 over two years.

Most of it's due to loss of GST revenue, gee maybe the huge amount of negativity from the Liberal Party is putting people off spending.

[Waewick]

Interesting to hear the state Libs announcement of its policy on Agriculture.

the questions was put to David Ridgeway of why he is supporting the rezoning of Roseworthy.

He noted that it ticked a lot of boxes, like Power, water and close to rail......

A bit bloody pointless pointing people all the way out there if you aren't going to upgrade the damn line.

[crawf]

Noarlunga, Salisbury and Elizabeth should be gated, secure stations with barriers and security to discourage fare evasion.

All stations should have validating machines. I believe Adelaide is the only city where you have to validate your card/ticket on the actual train, even departing Adelaide Station with it's turnstiles. If this was introduced here it would speed up validation in peak times.

In the mix should be transit-orientated development with apartments and retail to pay for the rebuilding of the stations. Get the private sector to rebuild the stations to modern standards in exchange for the commercialization of the space above and around the stations.
Doubtful...then travel to Sydney and check out Chatswood, Bondi Junction, Parramatta, St. Leonards....and more to come....
Adelaide Metro really needs to think about the commercial potential of the spaces/areas around the train network, reinvigorating these areas as central to the local community.
The "Adelaide" mentality seems to be....build shitty stations in the middle of nowhere discouraging people from using the train network....cars rule......public transport sucks.

Agreed 100%

I catch the train frequently to Mawson Lakes, and the one thing that strikes me are these shitty impracticable stations such as Dry Creek and Islington which are in the middle of nowhere and are below Adelaide's standards (which is saying something sadly). The depressing scenery doesn't help.

IMO it was such a wasted opportunity to build the new shopping centre up further along Churchill Road and not on that vacant block of land next to Islington Station. The shopping centre could of formed part of a new town centre with apartments above and underground carparking, aswell as a complete rebuild of the train station. But no it's cheaper to build a cheap prefab box surrounded by bitumen... with it's backside to a major commuter train line. So in the future it will be a complete mish mash along Churchill Road with this new complex and Costco > railway heritage buildings > bunnings > future development of that block of land. Awesome.

I do hope with huge investment undertaken for the Seaford line that it encourages residential and commercial development along the rail line, and eventually for the other lines.

[Brucetiki]

If they were smart with the Churchill Centre redevelopment they'd reinstate Islington Workshops stations (perhaps close Islington station at the same time) and use that to connect with Churchill Centre.

[Torrens_5022]

If they were smart with the Churchill Centre redevelopment they'd reinstate Islington Workshops stations (perhaps close Islington station at the same time) and use that to connect with Churchill Centre.

Why move the station from next to what will be a medium to high density residential area in the near future to an area with a shopping centre and no housing?

[Torrens_5022]

The Churchill Centre and Costco (not Bunnings) are closer to Kilburn Station then Islington.

[fishinajar]

Neither centres would really be attractive to large numbers of pt commuters.
Tod high density residential and a few well positioned retail/cafe spaces better option for around station. Live next to station, train to uni or work.

[rubberman]

Errr,

How did you translate that to English fishinajar? It does not make much sense at all. If you used Google Translate, it is often better to have the original language version as well, as sometimes readers can get a few more words that way.

That's the problem with iPads etc and autocorrect, even for English speakers.

[AG]

The first electric train entered service yesterday afternoon on the Noarlunga route:

http://tenplay.com.au/news/adelaide/201 ... ric-dreams

[fishinajar]

Guilty: iPhone