The level crossings at Torrens Road and Hawker Street provide a continuing source of frustration to motorists when freight trains are forced to slow down or stop across these intersections to allow the passenger trains priority passage over the Torrens Junction track crossover in the Adelaide City Park lands.
This delay would be greatly reduced if a “grade separation” was constructed at the Torrens Junction – by way of a bridge or culvert – to remove the intersection of the freight and passenger rail tracks.
A proposal by the State Government to the Federal Infrastructure Australia to construct this grade separation at Torrens and Goodwood Rail Junctions was prioritized number one project by the Federal Government in 2009.
The other prioritized projects were:
F3–Branxton Freeway (NSW)
Majura Parkway (Stage 2) (ACT)
Pacific Highway Corridor (NSW)
Ipswich Motorway Upgrade
While the Torrens Junction proposal did not get Federal funding, all the others were successful. Why? Motorists stuck at Torrens Road and Hawker Street by freight trains will no doubt be asking this question.
The most likely reason for the failure was the decision of the State Government to amend its application to include provision for the undergrounding of the Park Terrace passenger line and Bowden Station as part of the Bowden Urban Village Transport Orientated Development.
However because the BUV TOD proposal was still at a early stage of planning, it could not meet the requirement of the Federal Government that funding would be committed to those projects which were “ready to go” – this being a crucial part of the (successful) strategy to protect the economy from the effects of the global financial crisis.
Now the State Government appears to be hoping that grade separation will be funded in part by the rail industry itself –
“The development of more efficient national land-based freight transport links to overseas markets is critical for South Australia’s economy. The rail industry will be encouraged to upgrade the freight rail network through Adelaide to reduce conflict with passenger transport, as well as upgrading the Adelaide-Melbourne link. This will be supported through the expansion and development of intermodal facilities.” [Strategic Infrastructure Plan SA –Discussion paper 2010]
This in turn suggests that the undergrounding of Bowden Station – now the centre-piece of the BUV master plan – will have to be funded by the State Government. If only the scheme had a “Black Box” attached in 2009.
5 comments:
I do not know what you are talking about when you say if only there had a been a black box attached in 2009(when the original appliation to federal government was registered as no 1 priority-minus the amendments- underground park tce crossing/Bowden railway station
?
A "black box" is the device attached to complicated mechanisms (like airliners) which have the potential to vanish without trace. It enables crash investigators to piece together the operations of the mechanism where no witnesses are still available.
In this case, the failure of the grade separation funding proposal seems to have produced a corresponding lack of witnesses
‘In this case, the failure of the grade separation funding proposal seems to have produced a corresponding lack of witnesses’
Are you saying that you are not aware of any witnesses to the funding proposal- either the original 2009
application by the State Government to the Federal Infrastructure Australia to construct a grade separation at Torrens and Goodwood Rail Junctions
or
the amended application to include provision for the undergrounding of the Park Terrace passenger line and Bowden Station as part of the Bowden Urban Village Transport Orientated Development?
Sorry Anon, that wasn’t clear. The Infrastructure Australia recommendation to fund the original grade separation as Number 1 priority (Australia wide) somehow crashed and burned. No-one seems to be jumping up and down claiming the credit for this freakish event. Minister Conlon was asked about the Bowden Urban Village processes in Parliament last year and had this to say:
“…if you are a minister, usually you get the blame for whatever decision is made but you have not had much say in it. They make a recommendation through the Land Management Corporation board, and it is a very brave minister who does not go with the recommendation of the people who have done the market work.”
This comment was made in relation to BUV consultancy tenders, but I suspect it might have a more general applicability
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