I have had a look on Railsa which has details about the funding allocation. Basically, none of it is for the suburban network. It is all going to the interstate network which is owned by the ARTC. ARTC by the way just happens to be Government owned. In a nutshell, the money will be used for:skyliner wrote:Rail need a LOT more. Electrification is needed - this is the third time such an idea has surfaced (last time in 1973).
- A study to divert the Adelaide - Murray Bridge line out of the hills on a new route from Murray Bridge to Mallala (Hills NIMBYs have raised this issue).
- More passing loops on mainlines.
- Grade seperated crossings on the northern mainline.
- Grade seperation at Goodwood.
The last one is worth pointing out in greater detail. The ARTC Adelaide-Melbourne line crosses over the double track Noarlunga line with diamond crossings. It is not unusual for a freight that has just come down the hill to wait at Goodwood Junction to wait for a TransAdelaide train to cross over before the freight moves on after clearance is given by the signal. While a grade seperated mainline isn't that hard to do (and one was opened in January at Hexham in the Hunter Valley), Goodwood is an interesting case. In the space of no more then 350m, you have a creek and then the Glenelg line overpass. There is simply not enough space to have a traditional overpass. The only way that it could be done is to have the mainline go under ground and reasonably deep to clear the bottom of the creek and to not interfere with the tram overpass. There is another issue also. As you may be aware, the Belair line is set for resleepering with gauge convertable concrete sleepers. If it is decided to reconvert the Belair line to double track rather then the present single track arrangement, then you would have an interesting time with TransAdelaide services on the new UP line.
For more info on the rail budget, have a look here:
http://www.railsa.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1816