News & Discussion: Regional Transport

[SBD]

The Victorian Government is restoring and upgrading about 1000km of railways in the Mallee region, raising the axle loading from 19 to 21 tonnes, speed limit to 80km/h and converting from broad to standard gauge to provide access to both Geelong and Portland ports. It includes reopening their end of the Pinnaroo line (Ouyen to Murrayville) and another linking line to get the freight to/from port. Perhaps the economics of maintaining railway lines has sunk in to them when the realised the total cost of road freight.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/rai ... l-project/

[claybro]

The Victorian Government is restoring and upgrading about 1000km of railways in the Mallee region, raising the axle loading from 19 to 21 tonnes, speed limit to 80km/h and converting from broad to standard gauge to provide access to both Geelong and Portland ports. It includes reopening their end of the Pinnaroo line (Ouyen to Murrayville) and another linking line to get the freight to/from port. Perhaps the economics of maintaining railway lines has sunk in to them when the realised the total cost of road freight.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/rai ... l-project/

Yes, and wait until the whole of eastern SA from the SE to the Riverland realises they can tap in to old rail links, join in to the vic system and freight their stuff out via Portland, Geelong and Melbourne. Might as well draw the border anothe 200km closer to Adelaide and gift the eastern part of the state to Vic. The tin pot road upgrades proposed in SA to compensate for the loss of the regional lines will be nowhere near enough.

[SBD]

The Victorian Government is restoring and upgrading about 1000km of railways in the Mallee region, raising the axle loading from 19 to 21 tonnes, speed limit to 80km/h and converting from broad to standard gauge to provide access to both Geelong and Portland ports. It includes reopening their end of the Pinnaroo line (Ouyen to Murrayville) and another linking line to get the freight to/from port. Perhaps the economics of maintaining railway lines has sunk in to them when the realised the total cost of road freight.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/rai ... l-project/

Yes, and wait until the whole of eastern SA from the SE to the Riverland realises they can tap in to old rail links, join in to the vic system and freight their stuff out via Portland, Geelong and Melbourne. Might as well draw the border another 200km closer to Adelaide and gift the eastern part of the state to Vic. The tin pot road upgrades proposed in SA to compensate for the loss of the regional lines will be nowhere near enough.

A hundred and fifty years ago, there were a number of international export ports along the coast of SA. Now they are at most small fishing and recreation ports. Portland is the only deep water port between Outer Harbor and Geelong. The Naracoorte-Kingston and Mount Gambier-Millicent-Beachport lines were built to transport freight to the coast for export before federation, and ten years before they were linked to each other and Wolseley.

The line through the Adelaide Hills is on an alignment that worked for trains 100-150 years ago, and is not where a line would be built if we were starting from scratch today. Unfortunately, tweaking what we have is always a lot cheaper than starting from scratch and building something new to support business that isn't there yet. I don't know if any of the southern bays could conceivably have a modern port built in them to export from and import to SA east of the Mount Lofty Ranges.

[Norman]

Great news, good on you guys for continuing to put on the pressure.

[rhino]

I don't know if any of the southern bays could conceivably have a modern port built in them to export from and import to SA east of the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Some years ago (like maybe 10 years?) I heard there was a proposal put forward to build a deep water container port at Cape Jaffa (which I believe is deep enough to take large ships) to handle the wood pulp trade from all the hardwood forests that were being planted in south east SA and western Victoria at that time, and were going to be processed at a facility near Penola and exported in containers. Portland had no room for a container port, and apparently Flinders Ports (who owned it and Port Adelaide) were not interested in building a new facility. I heard that the locals in the Cape Jaffa area thought that a container port in the area would change the rural aspect of the district and were against it. I hope that is incorrect, but either way, the port was not built, and then I think the forests burned in a bushfire, and the pulp mill didn't get built either.

[Waewick]

have you guys spoken to Geoff Brock about this too?

heard an interview with him on AA this morning and the guy seemed to be a really decent bloke and pollie.

I would have thought with his regional focus he could also influence the Government to do this.

[Heardy_101]

Heard zip from Brock on the matter, and I've put it to our Political and Campaign manager to see if he can touch base with him again.

Brock has been pushing hard for Port Wakefield Rd.

[Waewick]

Heard zip from Brock on the matter, and I've put it to our Political and Campaign manager to see if he can touch base with him again.

Brock has been pushing hard for Port Wakefield Rd.

Thats disappointing.

I assume the Libs are the same?

[Heardy_101]

Very much so.

Dan Pellekaan, despite his help in obtaining FOI requests for us, hasn't commented publicly. Kendall Jackson hasn't been receptive but she did say that as part of "Recharge Our Regions", Rail would be considered if it needed to be.

[flaneur]

for far too long the past South Australian Governments have ignored the SE and Riverland regions, its only a matter of time ( but not under the present Andrews Government) that a future Victorian Government will wake up and realise what a golden egg these two SA neglected regions offer with direct access to Port of Portland which has made available a container loading area and looking to expand from the SW and Western Regions of Victoria and mining from Broken Hill. It is regret that regional rail will be put on hold until the Northern Rail ByPass is completed as part of the Premier Marshall's Globe Link Plan. At present the Federal Government is happy to spend money on roads that permit B Doubles and A Triples, which is increasing each year. In the Wimmera tired of waiting for the Government interested parties have formed Western Rail to commence passenger trains from Horsham to Ararat/ Ballarat to Melbourne, it may be the only solution here

[Goodsy]

does anyone have any information on this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBB48N0vOlI
from the description

NSW Alco 8050 was assigned to GSR Special Services 1AT8/1TA8 on the 16th of April 2018. 1AT8 ran in the late afternoon to Two Wells where the passengers were then bussed to the Barossa Valley. 1TA8 then returned later that evening with the staff and a few passengers.

A passenger service from Keswick to Two Wells?

[SBD]

I have noticed references to an STC siding at Port Germein and an STC shuttle train from Port Germein to Penfield. I've found online that the siding opened in 2015, but that is newer than any Streetview of the area. Does anyone know what is there and what is carried on the shuttle or how often it runs?

I've also seen that Bowmans Rail has an intermodal terminal near Port Augusta opened earlier this year, but don't know how much traffic that is receiving yet either.

This shows that regional rail freight other than commodity grain is not completely dead, and in fact has the potential to be growing.

[85trainfan]

I have noticed references to an STC siding at Port Germein and an STC shuttle train from Port Germein to Penfield. I've found online that the siding opened in 2015, but that is newer than any Streetview of the area. Does anyone know what is there and what is carried on the shuttle or how often it runs?

I've also seen that Bowmans Rail has an intermodal terminal near Port Augusta opened earlier this year, but don't know how much traffic that is receiving yet either.

This shows that regional rail freight other than commodity grain is not completely dead, and in fact has the potential to be growing.

Specialised Container Transport (SCT logistics) run a shuttle from Penfield to Pt Germain to meet up with a Parkes to Perth service (Most Melbourne to Perth trains through Adelaide are usually at full length already).
The physical infrastructure at Pt Germain is just a siding off the crossing loop. Shuttle comes in, drops the wagons in the siding, locos detach and depart back to Adelaide. Siding is roughly just under 1km long from memory. Normal loading is SCT's maxi vans and intermodal containers.

The Bowman's rail terminal at Stirling North is to service the Solar Panel farms being constructed. its scheduled to run for 2 years and currently runs once a week

[85trainfan]

does anyone have any information on this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBB48N0vOlI
from the description

NSW Alco 8050 was assigned to GSR Special Services 1AT8/1TA8 on the 16th of April 2018. 1AT8 ran in the late afternoon to Two Wells where the passengers were then bussed to the Barossa Valley. 1TA8 then returned later that evening with the staff and a few passengers.

A passenger service from Keswick to Two Wells?

Just a one off special charter for GSR

[SBD]

I have noticed references to an STC siding at Port Germein and an STC shuttle train from Port Germein to Penfield. I've found online that the siding opened in 2015, but that is newer than any Streetview of the area. Does anyone know what is there and what is carried on the shuttle or how often it runs?

I've also seen that Bowmans Rail has an intermodal terminal near Port Augusta opened earlier this year, but don't know how much traffic that is receiving yet either.

This shows that regional rail freight other than commodity grain is not completely dead, and in fact has the potential to be growing.

Specialised Container Transport (SCT logistics) run a shuttle from Penfield to Pt Germain to meet up with a Parkes to Perth service (Most Melbourne to Perth trains through Adelaide are usually at full length already).
The physical infrastructure at Pt Germain is just a siding off the crossing loop. Shuttle comes in, drops the wagons in the siding, locos detach and depart back to Adelaide. Siding is roughly just under 1km long from memory. Normal loading is SCT's maxi vans and intermodal containers.

The Bowman's rail terminal at Stirling North is to service the Solar Panel farms being constructed. its scheduled to run for 2 years and currently runs once a week

So Port Germein is just a way of getting wagons to/from Perth when they don't have a full train to send from Penfield to Perth? I was wondering if it was a freight depot a bit like I gather Bowmans has at Port Augusta, hoping to collect some general intermodal freight as well as the solar stuff.