News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Trains

[claybro]

[quote=SBD post_id=217915 time=<a href="tel:1718341888">1718341888</a> user_id=6279]
$10M including federal funds could be used to establish terms for agreement with ARTC to run standard gauge metro/near regional services on shared tracks. This makes sense for the Virginia-Two Wells corridor and a Mount Barker service on the existing (single track with tunnels) alignment. Mount Barker would also service parts of the hills with stops at Mount Lofty (near Stirling), Bridgewater, Balhannah, Lttlehampton.

If the government actually cared about rail to Mount Barker it would’ve already happened, or at least actually be in planning. Just at what’s been achieved in states that actually care.

Rail to Mount Barker needed to happen 10 years ago. The second best time to do it is now.
[/quote]

In fact the government actively discouraged the Spanish company wanting to trial rapid trains to Mt Barker. Seems they are dead set against it happening.

[SBD]

[quote=SBD post_id=217915 time=<a href="tel:1718341888">1718341888</a> user_id=6279]
$10M including federal funds could be used to establish terms for agreement with ARTC to run standard gauge metro/near regional services on shared tracks. This makes sense for the Virginia-Two Wells corridor and a Mount Barker service on the existing (single track with tunnels) alignment. Mount Barker would also service parts of the hills with stops at Mount Lofty (near Stirling), Bridgewater, Balhannah, Lttlehampton.

If the government actually cared about rail to Mount Barker it would’ve already happened, or at least actually be in planning. Just at what’s been achieved in states that actually care.

Rail to Mount Barker needed to happen 10 years ago. The second best time to do it is now.

Koutsantonis visited the Spanish company. I thought the government supported the trial, but the company envisioned much longer distances, not within an urban area.

Another possibility for rail to Mount Barker would be a new line adjacent to a new “Short South” freeway from Mount Barker South to Darlington.

In fact the government actively discouraged the Spanish company wanting to trial rapid trains to Mt Barker. Seems they are dead set against it happening.
[/quote]

[claybro]

[quote=SBD post_id=217915 time=<a href="tel:1718341888">1718341888</a> user_id=6279]
$10M including federal funds could be used to establish terms for agreement with ARTC to run standard gauge metro/near regional services on shared tracks. This makes sense for the Virginia-Two Wells corridor and a Mount Barker service on the existing (single track with tunnels) alignment. Mount Barker would also service parts of the hills with stops at Mount Lofty (near Stirling), Bridgewater, Balhannah, Lttlehampton.

If the government actually cared about rail to Mount Barker it would’ve already happened, or at least actually be in planning. Just at what’s been achieved in states that actually care.

Rail to Mount Barker needed to happen 10 years ago. The second best time to do it is now.

Koutsantonis visited the Spanish company. I thought the government supported the trial, but the company envisioned much longer distances, not within an urban area.

Another possibility for rail to Mount Barker would be a new line adjacent to a new “Short South” freeway from Mount Barker South to Darlington.

In fact the government actively discouraged the Spanish company wanting to trial rapid trains to Mt Barker. Seems they are dead set against it happening.

[/quote]

If the government supported the Spanish proposal they were very quiet about it. I was also not aware of a longer distance being requested/ proposed for the trial? Longer distance to where? -Murray Bridge?- but I am not across most things rail any more. My understanding (hearsay) is that the department was not interested and actively squashed it less they should have to do some work. The premier is ambivalent towards rail, and if he was meeting with the Spanish company- I might have been to drum up business in general- not for a specific project.

[[Shuz]]

Apparently there was some sort of miscommunication that literally boiled down to the fact that nobody bothered to look up on Google Maps the distance between Adelaide and Barker and the Spanish thought it was over a longer distance so the whole thing fell apart.

You couldn't make this stuff up, straight out of an episode of Utopia.

[claybro]

Apparently there was some sort of miscommunication that literally boiled down to the fact that nobody bothered to look up on Google Maps the distance between Adelaide and Barker and the Spanish thought it was over a longer distance so the whole thing fell apart.

You couldn't make this stuff up, straight out of an episode of Utopia.

Not to disparage what you say- or others, but I'll leave it to you if you believe a company dealing in European rail infrastructure went as far as to approach the SA state government regarding a trial of semi rapid railcars on existing track- and that they would not have even investigated the length of the proposed trial track locations- let alone the actual gauge or condition of track??? Someone is having a lend.

BTW is it time to amalgamate all rail discussion to one thread. Seems suburban rail/ regional rail / Mt Barker rail / Light rail / Bus rail (Obahn) always seem to intersect.

[abc]

Apparently there was some sort of miscommunication that literally boiled down to the fact that nobody bothered to look up on Google Maps the distance between Adelaide and Barker and the Spanish thought it was over a longer distance so the whole thing fell apart.

You couldn't make this stuff up, straight out of an episode of Utopia.

Not to disparage what you say- or others, but I'll leave it to you if you believe a company dealing in European rail infrastructure went as far as to approach the SA state government regarding a trial of semi rapid railcars on existing track- and that they would not have even investigated the length of the proposed trial track locations- let alone the actual gauge or condition of track??? Someone is having a lend.

BTW is it time to amalgamate all rail discussion to one thread. Seems suburban rail/ regional rail / Mt Barker rail / Light rail / Bus rail (Obahn) always seem to intersect.

the displaced members of now defunct railpage need their fix

[rev]

Apparently there was some sort of miscommunication that literally boiled down to the fact that nobody bothered to look up on Google Maps the distance between Adelaide and Barker and the Spanish thought it was over a longer distance so the whole thing fell apart.

You couldn't make this stuff up, straight out of an episode of Utopia.

I reckon they would have had access to some paid for geospatial data.

[1NEEDS2POST]

Exactly. Any tram from the airport to the city is just going to sit in the same traffic that buses do today, there would minimal time savings and little incentive to use them.

Any consideration of a tram to the airport longer term should certainly include other options, such as whether it could extend to Fulham / Findon etc, and encourage higher density housing in the western suburbs for example.

Why couldn't the tram use the same alignment as a train? Vehicle and signalling costs would be far less. Then, if at some later time trains proved viable, it could be converted to heavy rail.

Why couldn't a bus use the same alignment as a train or tram? An O-Bahn is even cheaper to build and routes can also branch off from the busway. An airport O-Bahn is a natural extension of the existing O-Bahn on the other side of the city. Most of those bus routes go through the airport already.

[[Shuz]]

The O-bahn will never get built again in any shape or form, it was a mistake to do so in the first place.

[rhino]

The O-bahn will never get built again in any shape or form, it was a mistake to do so in the first place.

Mono? Are you there Mono?

[Nort]

The O-bahn will never get built again in any shape or form, it was a mistake to do so in the first place.

A mistake that is less intrusive on the area it passes through and is immensely popular and well patronised.

The only mistake was not setting aside more corridors for more of them when it would have been feasible to do so.

[abc]

Foamers hate the O-bahn because its not as sexy as their trainset fetish.

[I Follow PAFC]

Station closure - Ethelton Railway Station upgrade - July to October 2024.
Monday 1 July 2024 to Thursday 31 October 2024.
https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/servic ... tober-2024

[NTRabbit]

Exactly. Any tram from the airport to the city is just going to sit in the same traffic that buses do today, there would minimal time savings and little incentive to use them.

Any consideration of a tram to the airport longer term should certainly include other options, such as whether it could extend to Fulham / Findon etc, and encourage higher density housing in the western suburbs for example.

Why couldn't the tram use the same alignment as a train? Vehicle and signalling costs would be far less. Then, if at some later time trains proved viable, it could be converted to heavy rail.

Why couldn't a bus use the same alignment as a train or tram? An O-Bahn is even cheaper to build and routes can also branch off from the busway. An airport O-Bahn is a natural extension of the existing O-Bahn on the other side of the city. Most of those bus routes go through the airport already.

To take it in a different direction, successive governments have failed to set aside money to replace the existing O-Bahn track as it reaches end of life, instead paying for minimum maintenance and dropping the top speed to make it last until it's the next guy's problem. I don't think they want to find the money for a new section.

[ChillyPhilly]

Light rail and heavy rail to Adelaide Airport are both perfectly possible and viable - just not probable with present public thinking. Too much Big Country Town Mentality.