Sensational-Adelaide.com

My post from last year, with no answers/transparency from Govt?

The nitty gritty needs to come out and all has to be fully transparent. If a contract was signed how can this Govt terminate it? Who costed the project at $16m and what has now caused it to blow out 250% to $40m? Is the company that was awarded the contract getting a pay out [obviously a reduced amount] for doing nothing?

omada wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2020 12:56 pm

Just thought i'd reactivate this thread:

1. To illustrate the folly of our state govt
2. To clarify if this is cancelled once and for all, or I am sure I read somewhere that the Libs Govt was conducting a further study on the viability?

I’d say since the tracks and Jacketts platform have been completely rebuilt for the museum (paid for by the govt) that the project is well and truly in the bin.

I don’t like how they went about it but I think it was the right call to can it. Not that the Libs will do this but the money would be better invested in a new isolated tram system running along Semaphore Road to St Vincent Street (past the Port Dock station) to the new dock development. But that’s been discussed in the tram thread.

If the government were serious (and there’s no evidence that they are) about the revitalisation of the Port they’d do a business case on finishing the spur line, and installing light rail from Dock 2 to Semaphore Jetty, running down St Vincent St past the Port Dock station and across the Jervois bridge. Dock 2 is public transport Siberia tucked away behind the expressway bridges and invisible from the lighthouse, and where the City of Adelaide ship has been banished to. The light rail would connect to the Port Dock station and bus interchange, and its catchment would include the new Dock One housing development, the proposed Dock 2 maritime precinct, the wool stores (ripe for development), the Port CBD, Exeter and Semaphore, which is currently very poorly served by public transport. A government which has canned the spur line, reduced local bus services, closed the local TAFE, overturned heritage listings, pulled funding for the iconic Falie, and proposed sand mining at Semaphore and Largs, has shown zero respect for the local residents and tourism. The transport study spruiked by Knoll last June with a 6-9 month reporting period is about due for release. Awaited by locals with great anticipation.

I'm not sure what happened to that North-West public transport study, because the PTPA website has removed any trace of it. The Port Dock spur line page is still up though.

Apparently the rail museum has had its connection reinstated.

ChillyPhilly wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:38 am

Apparently the rail museum has had its connection reinstated.

Yes it has here is some photos of the work that was done.
https://www.facebook.com/NRMPortAdelaid ... 423934602/
https://www.facebook.com/NRMPortAdelaid ... 7423639602

It was ready for this.

“Indian Pacific – 50th Anniversary”
National Railway Museum Port Adelaide – 10am to 4.30pm Sat & Sun 22/23 February 2020.
Fifty years ago on 24 February 1970, the inaugural Indian Pacific passenger train to run between Sydney and Perth passed through South Australia.

Made possible as a result of the opening of the new standard gauge railway between Broken Hill and Port Pirie, the now famous iconic and very popular Indian Pacific train still operates from coast to coast across Australia.

An exclusive exhibition has been completed at the railway museum, which takes visitors through the early days leading up to that historic event 50 years ago.

The display features numerous images, objects and historic artefacts in addition to a wonderful ABC TV production of Weekend Magazine, produced on board that very first train in February 1970, is showing in the theatrette.

To bring about more memories of those days, the museum will be operating its 1957 built Bluebird railcar ‘Kestrel’ for shuttles, using a 1km long exhibition track.

These historic Bluebird shuttles will symbolise the passenger connection from Adelaide to Peterborough to meet with the Indian Pacific, before the Keswick passenger terminal opened in the 1980s. The tickets are just $3 for adults and all children at no charge.

Our good friends from the Peterborough community will also be manning their special Steamtown audio-visual display during the event.

Our popular small blue steam engine Bub will be doing trips around the huge site all day on both days for the young kids – at no extra charge.

The “Indian Pacific – 50th Anniversary” exhibition is included in the normal entry fees to the National Railway Museum: adults $15, concessions/students $9, child (5-15yrs) $6, family - 2 adults and up to 3 children $36.

Presumably the connection could be removed again if the project were to go ahead? I would have thought it would not have been politically safe to leave the museum cut off for X years whilst the project was reevaluated.

Not that I expect this to go ahead under a Liberal governmen - they seem to have all but abandoned the Port revival as far as I can tell. Hopefully the private development will be enough of a catalyst to keep things moving until there is a change of government.

Llessur2002 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2020 11:10 am

Presumably the connection could be removed again if the project were to go ahead? I would have thought it would not have been politically safe to leave the museum cut off for X years whilst the project was reevaluated.

Why does the connection need to be cut off? Why couldn't they have a set of points from the line to Port Dock to the museum?

So we have stimulus packages coming left right and centre, surely if this was the point it was presumably shovel ready, its an easy roll out?

Or do petty politics get in the way?

I think it may be more a case if the figures stack up. Maybe its not a fair comparison but I think the Libs basically said they can run buses on the same route for a fraction of the cost. I guess if they ran this as a trial for say 6 months and assessed the patronage they could then assess the spur line? I would like to know if there was ever a business case done and if so if it was ever disclosed. I mean on the surface I think it would be great and could only stimulate the area but I am wondering for say $40m what the the likely patronage will be [Monday to Sunday not just say weekends] and if it justifies the cost.

how good is he wrote:I think it may be more a case if the figures stack up. Maybe its not a fair comparison but I think the Libs basically said they can run buses on the same route for a fraction of the cost. I guess if they ran this as a trial for say 6 months and assessed the patronage they could then assess the spur line? I would like to know if there was ever a business case done and if so if it was ever disclosed. I mean on the surface I think it would be great and could only stimulate the area but I am wondering for say $40m what the the likely patronage will be [Monday to Sunday not just say weekends] and if it justifies the cost.

Privatizing the buses won't help either.

Waewick wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 6:39 pm

how good is he wrote:I think it may be more a case if the figures stack up. Maybe its not a fair comparison but I think the Libs basically said they can run buses on the same route for a fraction of the cost. I guess if they ran this as a trial for say 6 months and assessed the patronage they could then assess the spur line? I would like to know if there was ever a business case done and if so if it was ever disclosed. I mean on the surface I think it would be great and could only stimulate the area but I am wondering for say $40m what the the likely patronage will be [Monday to Sunday not just say weekends] and if it justifies the cost.

Privatizing the buses won't help either.

Who runs the buses between Port Adelaide and Adelaide and around Port Adelaide now? It appears that it will be Torrens Transit under the new contracts. TT also has joint venture partners to run the trams, so those partners might also bid for the rail services which should help to integrate the services like they were under STA and TransAdelaide.

SBD wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 11:36 pm

Waewick wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 6:39 pm

how good is he wrote:I think it may be more a case if the figures stack up. Maybe its not a fair comparison but I think the Libs basically said they can run buses on the same route for a fraction of the cost. I guess if they ran this as a trial for say 6 months and assessed the patronage they could then assess the spur line? I would like to know if there was ever a business case done and if so if it was ever disclosed. I mean on the surface I think it would be great and could only stimulate the area but I am wondering for say $40m what the the likely patronage will be [Monday to Sunday not just say weekends] and if it justifies the cost.

Privatizing the buses won't help either.

Who runs the buses between Port Adelaide and Adelaide and around Port Adelaide now? It appears that it will be Torrens Transit under the new contracts. TT also has joint venture partners to run the trams, so those partners might also bid for the rail services which should help to integrate the services like they were under STA and TransAdelaide.

Torrens Transit currently run these services.

Norman wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 11, 2020 1:47 pm

SBD wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 11:36 pm

Waewick wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 6:39 pm

Privatizing the buses won't help either.

Who runs the buses between Port Adelaide and Adelaide and around Port Adelaide now? It appears that it will be Torrens Transit under the new contracts. TT also has joint venture partners to run the trams, so those partners might also bid for the rail services which should help to integrate the services like they were under STA and TransAdelaide.

Torrens Transit currently run these services.

So the newly-privatised buses will be operated by the same company that currently has the contract from when it was let by the government under the ALP.

As I said in the bus thread, it would be interesting to know what the significant changes in the contract terms are as there appears to be more than just advancing the dates.

With Labor's victory last night this one is meant to be back on the menu, seems they never made a promise about when they'd build it, but with the alleged cost now $52 million it's by far the largest public transport policy either major party took to the election.