News & Discussion: Public Transport Contracts, Service & Policy

[Kasey771]

Drives me nuts hearing politicians bang on about infrastructure spending and knowing they are only talking about more bloody roads:( either our politicians are incredibly stupid or they are totally beholden to the road lobby:(

[Norman]

I've notice on the last week or two a big increase in trains with graffiti on them. Today I saw 4007 and 4013 overed externally with a lot of it. Absolutely disgusting behaviour, they really need to increase security wherever these trains are stored.

[ChillyPhilly]

I've notice on the last week or two a big increase in trains with graffiti on them. Today I saw 4007 and 4013 overed externally with a lot of it. Absolutely disgusting behaviour, they really need to increase security wherever these trains are stored.

I think the increase in graffiti is also due to the recent strike. Some went initially unreported as a result, and has hung around longer. Do agree they still seem to be getting tagged rather easily, nonetheless.

[claybro]

I've notice on the last week or two a big increase in trains with graffiti on them. Today I saw 4007 and 4013 overed externally with a lot of it. Absolutely disgusting behaviour, they really need to increase security wherever these trains are stored.

I think the increase in graffiti is also due to the recent strike. Some went initially unreported as a result, and has hung around longer. Do agree they still seem to be getting tagged rather easily, nonetheless.

The state gov should be all over this. The new "showcase" trains make the state actually look modern, despite slow running, they can at least look the part. Thousands of people see the trains at level crossings etc. and seeing these trains in a poor state does nothing to generate a feeling of a well maintained and attractive transport alternative, let alone a well maintained city. If the contractor responsible is behind on work because of industrial action, then remind them of their contractural obligations and get it sorted ASAP.

[metro]

i'm just amazed that in Australia's super high state of alert for an imminent terrorist attack, that well organised and well equipped gangs of youths can get through security fences at train depots as well as hold up trains out on the network so they can cover them in paint.

[Norman]

Something I randomly found... the 2015 Calendar of Works for rail operations:
http://www.infrastructure.sa.gov.au/RR/ ... e_calendar

[Llessur2002]

Thought this was an interesting piece - hopefully there'll be some sense towards public transport funding from the new Turnbull government...

http://indaily.com.au/news/2015/09/25/t ... -sunshine/

[metro]

I'll believe the Liberals support public transport when I see them announcing electrification for ALL Adelaide train lines including Belair, several new light-rail lines, and actually have at least some of Gawler line electrified before the end of the year!

[Hooligan]

and actually have at least some of Gawler line electrified before the end of the year!

Well that's just not possible.

[rubberman]

and actually have at least some of Gawler line electrified before the end of the year!

Well that's just not possible.

I sort of agree, but...

...in 1929, Sir Bill Goodman closed the steam trains to Glenelg, and in October had the line opened, electrified...and re-gauged....and new trams built. With no modern construction equipment.

The Gawler line trackwork has been done, so that's not in the equation, there's no Goodwood Flyover to construct, there's much better machinery round, so it seems to me that if Sir Bill could do it, why can't we?

I suspect that if we wanted to do it, we could. If the Glenelg line could be electrified, re-gauged, new trams built, Goodwood flyover built in 6 months in 1929, why could we not do a faster job now? It's not as if it's rocket surgery.

Of course, it won't happen. But let's not tell ourselves it can't be done. We just lack the leadership of the likes of Goodman.

[Norman]

Mostly red tape would prevent that from happening.

[crawf]

I'll believe the Liberals support public transport when I see them announcing electrification for ALL Adelaide train lines including Belair, several new light-rail lines, and actually have at least some of Gawler line electrified before the end of the year!

I think we should give Turnbull a chance before jumping on the anti-liberal bandwagon. He is a supporter of public transport, catches the train himself and announced this week a new minister solely focused on cities and built environment. Another positive is compared to Abbott, his mindset is in the 21st century.

You need to remember that all major cities are desperately crying out for funding towards public transport projects, and those projects run into the billions. Nevertheless I think a federal announcement on the railway electrification program is imminent.

Interesting article on SA's own Jamie Briggs today.

The born-again urban futurist: “It’s time for sunshine”
TOM RICHARDSON | 25 SEPTEMBER 2015
http://indaily.com.au/news/2015/09/25/t ... -sunshine/

ADELAIDE | The Coalition minister who once called state Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis an “absolute lunatic” now says the Weatherill Government should “commended” for making Adelaide a “vibrant, engaging place to live”.

Jamie Briggs, who forged a reputation as an Abbott Government antagonist with the State Government in his home state of South Australia, is remaking himself as a cultural ambassador for Malcolm Turnbull’s emerging vision of metropolitan Australia, in the newly-created ministries of Cities and the Built Environment.

Some might say he is a born-again Urban Futurist.

“Well, it’s a futurist portfolio,” he says with a laugh.

“The PM kept saying that to me: it’s part of a 21st Century agenda … these are moving so quickly, to stand still now means to fall behind, so we do need to act.”

Under Abbott, the task fell to Briggs to bear the bad tidings to the states that funding for public transport infrastructure would not be forthcoming, with a spending agenda instead set on roads. In SA, this meant the on-again, off-again electrification of the Gawler rail-line was once again off.

But as a born-again Urban Futurist, Briggs is talking a different game, and insists he was doing so behind closed doors in the dying days of the Abbott era.

“I thought it was an odd position we took in Opposition to rule out one mode over other modes,” he reveals.

“I do agree with what Malcolm said, that we should be blind to the (transport) mode and making choices objectively.

“I think that’s an issue we got wrong, and I was in the midst of having discussions with the Prime Minister about how to move forward from that position we’d got ourselves into.”

“There’s a dark cloud hanging over Adelaide … it’s time for sunshine.”

He says now “we’d be kidding ourselves” to think cities can operate efficiently without first class metro systems.

“That was the same view two weeks ago, but our involvement in that arena wasn’t as strong as it will be in future,” he concedes.

“There’s no doubt public transport is vital to cities, particularly big cities, and the Commonwealth must play a role in facilitating that.”

While his ministry falls under the auspices of the Environment portfolio, he says it is very economic-focussed, emphasising that cities are a “key part” of the economy.

“A huge portion of our GDP is driven from our capital cities – 80 per cent of our jobs and 75 per cent of our population exist in capital cities,” he says.

Jamie-Briggs-4462
Jamie Briggs: “The SA Premier actually has to be credited.”
Despite Australia’s fabled “wide brown land”, Briggs emphasises that “the majority of our population is locked up in our major cities”.

“Roads will still be an important part (of infrastructure spending) but there’s a mixture of infrastructure needs … and where the new PM has a different view on it is that public transport is obviously a vital element of that,” he says.

“I guess the other point is how do we finance the big public transport projects, because they’re very expensive, and they’re not commercially that attractive in the greenfield sense … so we need to be at the table for big new projects.

“Our task now is to work very hard with each state government about getting some plans in place.”

For Briggs, “the biggest challenge Australia faces in coming years is the battle for human capital”, striking a balance of attracting and retaining talent.

“You need cities where people want to live and work,” he says.

And already, he’s displaying a marked rhetorical shift from the Infrastructure Minister who took Koutsantonis to task in a radio stoush on ABC891 over pensioner concessions.

“The SA Premier actually has to be credited,” he says.

“He’s been big in this to the extent of making Adelaide a vibrant, cultural, attractive, engaging place to live.”

He cites the Adelaide Oval development and liquor licensing deregulation to encourage an influx of small bars.

“Adelaide has got a huge chance here,” he notes.

“As it gets more difficult to live in Sydney and Melbourne, this liveability aspect of it is a huge opportunity for a city like Adelaide to be that attractive place where people want to be, that happening, attractive, liveable city where people want to live and work and raise families … that’s the competitive advantage cities are going to need in the future.”

What it’s lacking, he argues, is confidence, an intangible element whose absence strikes him all the more as he travels the furthest reaches of the country.

“We’re the most down in the mouth state of them all at the moment,” he laments.

“There’s reasons for that; we’ve got challenges, there’s no question, but we’ve got to start talking more positively about what it is to be here instead of that consistent negativity we seem to get, possibly even since the State Bank broke.

“There’s a dark cloud hanging over Adelaide, it’s time for sunshine … we need to be upbeat and confident.”

“The State Opposition should be offering up well-thought-through alternatives as well…”

He notes the Weatherill Government’s work emphasising SA as a city-state, saying “they should be commended on that”.

“The Prime Minister is very big on confidence, he says it’s the most exciting time in history to be Australian and I think he’s right about that.”

But amidst all the goodwill and exhortations for confidence, to what extent has the constant political sniping, the accusations of lunacy, helped foster the cynicism?

“Well, we didn’t run advertising campaigns against ourselves, obviously,” he notes sardonically, referring to the SA Labor Government’s publicly-funded attack on the Commonwealth’s budget crackdown.

“The State Opposition should be critiquing the Government – that’s their job,” he says of his party colleagues.

But, he adds, they also “should be offering up well-thought-through alternatives as well, and that’s an important part of their job that I’m sure they’re putting effort into.”

Nonetheless, Briggs’ challenge is broader than picking or retreating from political stoushes.

“Heavy manufacturing is coming to a pretty significant end and we have to continue to think through what are our strengths and how do we play to them,” he says.

“I think we need to really engage with people: with the state governments, local governments, lord mayors and key stakeholders in the private sector … we’ll have disagreements, but you’d have to say there’s been far more agreement, far more outcome.”

More broadly, Briggs says housing affordability “is a broad government challenge that fits into this space”.

“Sometimes in Adelaide we don’t see just how significant an issue this has become in Sydney and Melbourne, getting access to reasonable priced housing close to where you work has become such a big challenge, and we do really need to work on how are we going to address this.”

It’s not merely a matter of addressing supply, but of improving connectivity. Briggs has just received correspondence from a man in Sydney who has a 90-minute commute to work each way, each day.

“That’s three hours of unproductive time,” he notes.

“The choices for people in cities like Melbourne and Sydney are getting less and less…each city has got different challenges, but the ultimate challenge is this battle for human capital.”

In meeting this challenge, though, he has high-level, enthusiastic support. One thing Briggs learned in his years working for John Howard and with Tony Abbott was how to pick when a Prime Minister is passionate about something. So far this week alone, he has had four lengthy discussions with Turnbull about his plans for cities and urban development.

“He’s very focussed in this area, and that’s a very good position to be in,” beams the new minister.

“A Prime Minister focused is a very important thing – Malcolm Turnbull focussed is just about an unstoppable force.”

Just ask Tony Abbott.

[rubberman]

Mostly red tape would prevent that from happening.

Well, that's probably true. However, since it is all in the existing railway reservation, there should be no planning or environmental issues of the sort that usually bungs things up. In addition, with the recent construction tender of the line to Seaford, contractors could be pre-selected to expedite that part of the process on the basis of the tender process for Seaford.

If the desire were there to expedite, it could happen very quickly.

[jk1237]

I thought we had got over this shit but no, once again, tens of thousands of people in the city tonight for a major event and no increase in PT services for the 30,000+ leaving Elder Park at 8:30pm.

[Norman]

I thought we had got over this shit but no, once again, tens of thousands of people in the city tonight for a major event and no increase in PT services for the 30,000+ leaving Elder Park at 8:30pm.

I agree. It's disgraceful. Even the guy at the gates called the planners in charge, to paraphrase, idiots.