News for June 2009

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Canberra Light Rail
The ACT Government has submitted a business case to Infrastructure Australia in support of its proposal for funding a Light Rail network in Canberra. The proposal had been submitted in draft form in November when the ACT Government was in caretaker mode awaiting an election. Subsequently a formal proposal was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and submitted. The business case found that: Light Rail could potentially decrease Canberra’s traffic congestion and commuting time and as a result reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution; the project would cost approximately $2 billion, and the project has a benefit-to-cost ration of 1.62. The proposed Light Rail network would be 54.4 km and comprise lines built in the following order: City-Belconnen, 9.5 km; City-Woden-Tuggeranong, 21.3 km; City-Gungahlin, 13 km; City-Russell-Kingston-Manuka, 10.6 km. A number of major structures would be needed: two bridges over Lake Burley Griffin; a rail road crossing at Barry Drive in inner Canberra; a bridge across Macarthur Avenue in the northern suburbs; an underpass under Gungahlin Drive, and a rail under road crossing for Northbourne Avenue. Construction would start in 2011 and be complete by 2015. The report's cost/benefit ratio for the proposed system indicates that the environmental and congestion relief benefits achieved may not justify the cost. ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has not ruled out Light Rail, but indicated that significant funding would need to be secured at Federal Government level and from Commonwealth infrastructure funding for the project to proceed.

NEW SOUTH WALES
On 9 March a shortlist of three groups for the new ticketing contract was announced: the Glide Consortium; the Pearl Consortium and Scheidt and Bachmann.

Newcastle Buses
Parking problems at University of Newcastle and the Mater Hospital have resulted in the introduction of extra services on bus routes serving the area and the creation of a Park and Ride option with free all day parking available at the Broadmeadow Station car park and around the Newcastle Basketball Stadium.

Newcastle Trains
Following concerns about traffic waiting times at the Adamstown level crossing in 2007, Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) was commissioned by RailCorp to undertake a study into the crossing and its operation. The report presented options for improving traffic flow and mitigating the effect of vehicular queuing. In response to the report RailCorp is instituting signalling changes and a change to permitted train speeds. RailCorp will also convert the crossing from manual to automatic operation, subject to a risk study later this year to ensure the safety of the crossing is not compromised. At the same time the RTA will examine the feasibility of coordinating traffic signals with the railway level crossing boom gates to improve traffic flow at nearby intersections.

Newcastle area residents were able to comment on the proposed Newcastle and Hunter Line timetable for later in the year between 20 April and 1 May. Claimed service changes included better integration of the local timetable with Newcastle to Sydney services including providing more reliable connections on selected peak services between the Hunter Line and Newcastle and Central Coast Line; reducing journey times for express services with fewer under-utilised stops, and; adjusting evening peak departure times to suit demand, including changing the last weeknight Newcastle to Sydney service from 2106 to 2140.
Sydney.

Sydney Buses
From October the first of a number of additional Metrobus services will be introduced, indicating that Route 10 has finished its trial period and has become permanent. It appears that the forthcoming delivery of 150 Volvo articulated buses will see a number of them with modified Metrobus seating capacity for the routes. The first service will be Route 20 from Rosebery to Lane Cove. Negotiations will be required for terminal arrangements but the route is expected to run from Rothschild Ave, Rosebery, past Victoria Park, through new residential development in Waterloo and Redfern, past Central, through the CBD and across to North Sydney and up the Pacific Highway to Lane Cove. Over the following year it is planned to introduce a further three routes, all connecting in the “Park Street Interchange”: Route 30 running between Mosman and Enmore; Route 40 running between Chatswood and Bondi Junction and Route 50 running between Drummoyne and Randwick.

Hillsbus have taken over the remaining Optus contract passenger services. There are 3 routes: 993 to the city; the new 995 to Strathfield via Top Ryde, which gets 20+ passengers on most services and 996, a night service after ECRL stops running. The Optus Campus bus stops have been moved at Ryde Council's direction. No buses stop in Lyonpark Road now, but the bus shelters built in mid-2008 at the bottom of the stairway remain. All set downs are now made in the bus bay in Optus Drive adjacent to the employee entrance. Pick ups for Routes 993 and 995 are from Grifnock Ave near the lane leading down to Optus. Optus charge a $2 co-contribution for the 993 and 995 services.

From 6 April bus stops in George Street, Railway Square and all stops around the Queen Victoria Building were converted to prepaid tickets. On 11 May the system was extended to Circular Quay and the Pitt/Castlereagh Streets corridor. The final stage of the city conversion will be for Elizabeth Street and the Central Station/Eddy Avenue area on 22 June. Ticket retailers are now able to order stock twice a week and get emergency supplies of single trip tickets.

The Sydney suburban Willoughby Council has introduced from 4 May a free shuttle bus service between St Leonards Station and the Artarmon industrial area. It is known as the Artarmon Loop service and operates on weekdays from 0600 to 1800 with four services per hour.

The NSW Government’s final plan for improving bus operation over the Iron Cove Bridge on Victoria Road includes a new three lane bridge alongside the existing bridge to create an “Inner west Busway”. The project provides 3.5 kilometres of new, dedicated peak hour bus lanes, claimed to improve peak hour travel times by as much as 18 minutes for bus users. It consists of a city-bound bus lane through Drummoyne and Rozelle during the morning peak; a city-bound bus lane through Drummoyne to Terry Street at the northern end of Rozelle during the pm peak; moveable barriers in Drummoyne to create a bus lane for the morning peak while still retaining capacity for other city-bound traffic; and the new three lane bridge over Iron Cove to allow for a 24 hour dedicated bus lane and a shared pedestrian/cycle way.

Sydney Ferries
Sydney Ferries has commissioned Thales Australia to produce a Ferry Operations and Customer Information System (FOCIS) that will provide real time information and be operable next year. The new system will provide Global Positioning System (GPS) based real-time information. At all wharves customers will have automated LCD displays and audio announcements, with facilities for the hearing and vision impaired. For those who opt in, a tailored SMS service will be available so people can get an early warning of operational problems. Onboard the ferries additional LCD displays and automated announcements will provide next wharf and arrival time information. GPS tracking and real-time information will provide Ferry Controllers and Masters with information to best manage the fleet. In particular, automated passenger counting relayed to the control room will assist the allocation of additional vessels to busy routes at peak times. Work on the new system has begun and is scheduled for delivery in eight stages, starting in February 2010 with completion in September 2010.

Sydney Ferries confirmed on 31 March that the original tender process for the sale of the three JetCats attracted two bids, neither acceptable. A new open tender is planned following renewed interest from a number of parties.

Sydney Trains
On 10 March a massive new business park was announced for Riverstone West that will include commercial, industrial and light industrial buildings. The precinct will be surrounded by 80 hectares of conservation area and 40 hectares of recreational land with, eventually, 12,000 people to be employed in the area, which is close to Vineyard and Riverstone stations.

By late March there were reports that trains on the Epping to Macquarie University section of the ECRL were at crush loads during the peaks and busy all day. Macquarie Park is busy in the peaks with about 1,200 of the employees at Optus using the trains. From 29 March the magnetic ticket gates were placed into service and passengers had to ask staff for a magnetic gate pass valid until the free travel period finishes on 8 June. From 29 March tickets purchased to any of the ECRL stations included free travel on the line. A four car Tangara set was used for noise testing on the ECRL on 28 March. A V set Interurban train ran trials on the line on 26 April. An inspection of the ECRL in early April revealed some minor changes: the lift from the concourse to the surface at Macquarie University appeared to be operating at a higher speed; announcements on the trains for Macquarie Park were informing passengers that Macquarie University was the stop for the shopping centre and the on train announcements for Macquarie University stated “alight here for the shopping centre”.

Approval for the Liverpool Turnback construction was given in late January by TIDC. The Project comprises the following key components: construction of a new platform (Platform 4) and extension of the aerial concourse and footbridge at Liverpool Station; construction of 1.8 km of new track on the eastern side of the existing tracks between Liverpool Boys High School and the Shepherd Street bridge; earthworks including embankments, new retaining walls and drainage works to accommodate new track and a new underpass to maintain access to the existing stabling yard; minor reconfiguration of the existing train stabling yard; relocation of the RailCorp staff building; removal of 750m of existing track currently used for sidings; noise mitigation as and if required in addition to that proposed for the Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) project; the construction of a new siding at Leightonfield and associated civil and rail system works. The new SSFL will thread a path outside the eastern edge of all of this work at Liverpool and will be built at about the same time. Both projects will be complicated by the location as the current facilities sit on an embankment on the edge of the George’s River flood plain.

In late March RailCorp signed a contract with United Group Rail worth $320 million for an additional 72 outer suburban railcar (OSCar) EMU vehicles. The additional trains will be assembled at Broadmeadow, with traction systems supplied by Mitsubishi, Japan. Delivery is to be from September 2010. The delivery of these vehicles will make a total of 48 four car H sets with two spare driving trailers. At the time of the announcement a total of 29 four cars sets had been delivered.

The Metro tendering process began at the end of March with a detailed and structured approach to the tendering processes in three stages: registration; expression of interest and invitation to tender. More than 350 people attended a briefing for industry about the CBD Metro in Sydney on 17 February. The first major package of work for the CBD Metro is the design and construction of the Permanent Route Infrastructure (PRI) including: tunnels and linings, drainage, cross passages and other works; excavation for stations and passenger entrances and temporary works required to enable construction. Registration for design and construction of the Permanent Route Infrastructure closed 17 April. Sydney Metro also began a separate registration process for an Integrated Metro Operations contract, the second major package of work for the CBD Metro. Integrated Metro Operations will include: safety, management and operating systems; provision of trains, tracks and signalling systems; train control and maintenance facilities; mechanical and electrical systems including high voltage power supply; control, monitoring, communications and security systems; station platforms, structures and station fit-out; integration, testing and commissioning of the Metro and ongoing operations and maintenance of the Metro. All contracts are due to be awarded before the end of 2010, which may upset a NSW Opposition announced plan to cancel the project if they are elected to government in March 2011.

A three week closedown on the Cronulla line took place during April to allow for work as part of the duplication. The closures were from the evening of 3 April to 10 April from Cronulla to Caringbah and from 10 April to 24 April from Cronulla to Sutherland. Major works for the closedown included installing new overhead wiring structures, replacing signalling equipment and track reconditioning. Other work included the fit-out of station facilities and platform resurfacing at Kirrawee and Woolooware, works to extend platforms at Sutherland, earthworks and bridge works. Buses were used to replace trains during the shutdown and some express services were run direct to the City.

Major CCTV upgrades have been completed at more than 40 City Rail stations fitted with ticket gates with a total of 537 of a new generation of cameras installed. The cameras are able to capture high quality images to identify individuals. Visual display units are included at each upgraded station to remind passengers at the barriers that they are under observation. The upgrade has been underway since October 2006. Hurstville Station, which has been the subject of a major refurbishment, will be next to receive the cameras and completion there will mean that all stations with barriers have cameras. RailCorp has changed its station security standards so that where new ticket gates are installed, CCTV is upgraded to the standard established under this program; Campsie is the next station due to receive barriers and cameras.

Wollongong Buses
The free Wollongong shuttle service started at 1500 on 18 March as Route 55, it was quickly renumbered into Routes 55A and 55C when it was realised that services at the University ran around a one-way loop and both clockwise and anticlockwise services were thus arriving in the same direction with no indication as to their direction of operation. Patronage on the route was 58,195 between 19 March and 1 April.

QUEENSLAND
Brisbane Buses
By 16 April construction on the Boggo Road and Eastern Busways had reached a major milestone with the two busways over Ipswich Road. The Eastern Busway is running five months ahead of schedule and both projects are now due to be completed in August. When it is complete up to 10 minutes will be cut on some journeys from the southern and eastern suburbs to the University of Queensland. Passengers from Eight Mile Plains will be able to travel straight from Buranda to the Eleanor Schonell Bridge along the dedicated busway corridor. When both busways are completed they will be used by up to 600 buses and 13 000 passengers each day. The $226 million 1.5 kilometre Boggo Road Busway will connect the University of Queensland and the Eleanor Schonell Bridge to a new busway station near Park Road railway station and the Boggo Road Urban Village. It links to the $140.8 million Stage 1 of the Eastern Busway which involves building a new 600 metre busway linking the Boggo Road Busway to the South East Busway at Buranda, and constructing a new busway station at Princess Alexandra Hospital. As part of the first section of the Eastern Busway, the State Government is funding a $12 million shared cycleway 920 metres long which will connect the existing South East Cycleway to the Princess Alexandra Hospital busway station and provide access over Ipswich Road.

Brisbane Trains
In Berlin on 9 March Bombardier Transportation and joint venture partner Downer EDI Rail confirmed the signing of a contract extension for a further 20 3-car SMU 260 sets for Brisbane. Deliveries are scheduled to start in August 2010 and continue until December 2011.

By late March, work had started on the formation of the fourth track through Oxley and work was proceeding on Platform 3 with PIDs being fitted and basic landscaping.

All CCTVs on Citytrain services will be fitted by next year with a special-purpose wireless modem which will allow footage to be viewed instantly by a central control room in the case of a reported incident on board. This facility will also allow for the introduction of wireless Internet services for passengers.

On 14 April the new double track mainline between Caboolture and Beerburrum opened, being stage one of the full duplication between Caboolture and Landsborough. The opening was slightly delayed because of heavy rain over the Easter weekend.

Gold Coast
On 31 March tracklaying began on the 4.1 kilometre extension south of Robina to Varsity Lakes. Construction of the extension had started in July 2007 and is now over 70% complete. A total of 132 overhead masts have been erected in the rail corridor, ready for the overhead electrical wiring, signalling and communication equipment to be installed by late 2009.

Queensland Regional
Cairns
The first phase of public consultation for a Cairns Transit network has resulted in a decision to proceed to a consultation as to likely routes. It was also decided that the network would be built as BRT designed to be converted to LRT at a later stage. The first round of consultation showed overwhelming support for a rapid transit network with 95% of respondents approving. A feature of the next round of consultation would involve decisions on the use of cane train corridors, existing roads or a combination of both. The network will probably consist of three spines that are likely to have stations at Gordonvale, Cairns Airport, Earlville, Redlynch and Edmonton.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Adelaide
From July holders of seniors cards will receive free travel on public transport. The hours of implementation will be between the peaks on weekdays and all day on weekends and public holidays.

Adelaide Buses
The current after midnight services at standard fares commenced in March 2008 on Saturday night/Sunday mornings replacing the earlier Wandering Star services at a special fare. There has been a 40% increase in patronage during the period or approximately 800 passengers per week.

Adelaide Trains
The upgrade of the Belair rail line in the Adelaide Hills began on 26 April and is expected to finish in August. John Holland and Coleman Rail won the contract and work has closed the line with alternative bus services being operated. An agreement has been reached with Bicycle SA to provide a trailer service for cyclists who usually take their bikes on the Hills train service.

Adelaide Trams
McConnell Dowell Constructors has been awarded the contract to construct the South Road overpass and work began in April with completion due in December.

On 15 April work commenced on the tramline extension with the first job being removal of the trees on the northern side of North Terrace to make way for the widened boulevard. Some surveying equipment was noted on Port Road Bridge as well as some temporary “truck entering” signs erected on Port Road near the Entertainment Centre tram stop site. The Government has indicated that the project will be completed by early 2010. EDI Downer and Thiess have been awarded the main contracts for the extension.

VICTORIA
Melbourne
A Metlink survey of 600 Melburnians in February showed that over a third of people are looking to use public transport more often as part of their budgeting strategies. Importantly, the study showed that 92% of Melburnians want governments to spend more on public transport infrastructure and improvements ahead of offering tax cuts (61%), reducing the price of petrol (60%) and building new roads (58%). Additionally the Metlink survey showed that 20% of Melburnians had decreased their car use in the previous six months, with half of these people doing so to save money; two-thirds of Melburnians view their reduction in car use as a permanent change.

Melbourne Buses
The new Red Orbital SmartBus Route 903 commenced on 20 April with 15 minutes headways for most of the day on weekdays and 30 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The Route runs from Mordialloc in the south-east to Altona in the west and is about 86 km long. The route connects stations at Altona, Sunshine, Essendon, Preston, Coburg, Heidelberg, Box Hill, Holmesglen, Oakleigh, Mentone and Mordialloc, tram routes 1, 19, 55, 59, 70, 75, 86, 109 and 112 and shopping centres at Altona, Altona Gate, Sunshine, Milleara Mall, Essendon DFO, Northland, Doncaster, Box Hill, Chadstone, Oakleigh and Mordialloc. Routes 700 and 291 will be incorporated into Route 903.

Melbourne Trains
In the middle of March a new escalator opened as part of work on Flinders Street Platforms 12 and 13 to improve safety and access for passengers. These platforms were formerly only accessible via stairs and a lift, meaning that passenger movements during the peak periods were limited. The lift was replaced with the escalator and the next step is to extend Platform 12. Track and signalling works for the platform extension are already underway. Passengers requiring the use of a lift can access the lift on Platform 10 which is about 40m away and can be accessed by continuing along Platform 13. The project is being carried out by Connex and is expected to be completed by mid 2009.

In early March work began on a $93-million upgrade to Laverton Station which is expected to be completed in 2011. The contract was won by John Holland and the work includes an extra track on the Werribee line and a third platform. The upgrade will also include a new footbridge compliant with disability access guidelines, a new rail bridge over Merton Street and an additional 300 car parking spaces.
On 23 March it was announced that extra car parking spaces had been added to stations at Mitcham (44 spaces), Regent (63) and Merlynston (57).

The closing date for bids to operate the Melbourne suburban system was 7 April. On the following day Connex announced that SMRT, which runs Singapore's underground rail network along with buses and taxis, had joined its consortium. SMRT, which is 55% owned by the Singapore Government, put in its own bid to run Melbourne's trains last year, but did not make the shortlist.

Melbourne Trams
In conjunction with the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival Yarra Trams is sponsoring a short film competition where all entries must “feature a tram or trams as a focal point or as imagery in the film.” Entries close on 5 June.

Regional Victoria
Improved bus services were introduced in Ballarat from 30 March. Changes included new morning services on five routes, Brown Hill, Canadian, Delacombe, Eureka, Invermay, Wendouree and Wendouree West connecting with the 0618, 0703 and 0746 V/Line train services to Melbourne. Also running times are now faster on many Ballarat routes. Since upgraded Ballarat Transit services were introduced last year, patronage across the network has increased by about 6%. On 9 April the myki smartcard was extended to Ballarat bus services.

A new shuttle bus service that runs between Torquay “Park and Ride” and Marshall Station in the outer suburbs of Geelong started a six month trial on 20 April, providing easy connections for residents from Torquay and Jan Juc. Commuters can park at Spring Creek Reserve and the shuttle bus runs directly to Marshall Station to meet peak hour services. The bus serves Jan Juc before arriving at Spring Creek Reserve in the morning and service Jan Juc after Spring Creek Reserve in the evening. The bus service was free for the first week of travel and from 27 April standard Bellarine Transit fares applied.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
From 4 April, seniors, pensioners and those on Disability Support Pensions have extra free travel on all Western Australian public transport. Free travel was extended from Sundays and Public Holidays to include Saturdays and Mondays to Fridays from 0900 to 1530. The new concession is available only by SmartRider smartcard, which is available to anyone with the necessary concession card.

Perth
Perth Trains
From 6 April Transperth introduced new car parking arrangements at Fremantle Station. A Pay and Display car park with new ticket machines has been created between Fremantle Station and Parry Street. The car park is open from 0500 to 2100 seven days a week. A flat fee of $2.00 per day for any day including weekends and public holidays, applies for part or all of the day. The ticket machines only use value on a SmartRider card to pay for parking but after using the parking machine users must swipe on to a bus or train or the card will not work in the parking lot machine again. Coins will not be accepted by the ticket machines.

Regional Western Australia
In January bus services in Geraldton were increased with the trial introduction of a twice-daily bus from the CBD to Drummond Cove, Route 70 and were to be reviewed in April.

NEW ZEALAND
Auckland
Auckland Trains
The NZ Geographic Board has decided the name of the new Auckland Western Line Station being built at the corner of Khyber Pass Road and Park Road will be Grafton. When the station opens the current Boston Road Station will close.

On 22 April KiwiRail signed a contract with Westinghouse Rail Systems Australia for a new signalling system compatible with the high-voltage overhead power supply required for the electrification project. KiwiRail says priority will be given to laying signals to Britomart from Otahuhu, where the traction power supply will be drawn from the electricity grid, and then to Morningside on the western rail line, which should be completed by the end of next year.

Christchurch
At its February meeting Christchurch City Council adopted for consultation a proposal to extend the city tramway in two stages, the first to the corner of Tuam and High Streets, stopping outside the former High Street Post Office and the second to Barbadoes Street as far as the Music Centre of Christchurch and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The total route would be 2.7 km, about the same length as the present city loop. The proposal includes funding to a total of NZD11.5 million with the first stage to be completed in time for the rugby world cup in September 2011 and the second stage by the summer of 2013. The funding is for track and overhead only, with the tram operator expected to supply further trams and storage. Existing rails still in High Street are being evaluated for reuse. The proposal was open for public submission until 16 April and there was a public meeting in the Council Chamber about the tram extension on 25 March. Hearings followed in May and a Council decision is expected this month. If approved, the Mall upgrade, including tram tracks, will be completed first, followed by Oxford Terrace, Colombo-Cathedral Square and then the extension to Tuam Street.