Freight Line on hold?

FieldShunt74 · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:17 pm

I think it's fair enough to give diesel propelled passenger trains (not just Clink but also the tour operators) access to the SSFL when there are problems with the RailCorp network or simply when it is convenient to do so. I'd also expect the reverse to apply, if the SSFL is out of action then the freight trains should be accommodated as best they can by RailCorp.

Freight / Passenger priority on the SSFL should be considered case by case to get the best result. There's no point in saying that freight gets absolute priority on the SSFL. Imagine the mentality of refuging the XPT on the SSFL to run a freighter past only to get down the road somewhere past Macarthur and put the freight away for the now late XPT. The reverse applies too, of course. You need a consistent and coordinated approach from both sides of the border. The current management of interaction between pass and freight probably leaves a lot to be desired. We should try to improve that everywhere, not start a tit for tat on the SSFL.

cootanee · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:39 pm

cootanee · Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 3:41 pm

"THE Southern Sydney Freight Line will be "the end of the world", a long-time Cabramatta resident says."

http://www.fairfieldadvance.com.au/article/2008/05/07/3504_news.html

luznug · Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 5:31 pm

It reads like a car lobby yarn.
More car parks is the pay back.
i would hope trees, trees more trees to cover over those unsightly sound barriers would be better.
The quote about trains and drugs is great too! Drunk

awsgc24 · Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 8:15 pm

AFAIK, at Cabramatta station, the SSFL will be underground together with a spare tunnel for a future underground platform that is part of a planned grade separation of CityRail tracks. Once built, roads and parking could presumably be put on the roof of the tunnel. provided of course that the roof is built with enough strength.

Noise walls can be see-through or non-see-through depending on requirements.

At the moment freight trains travel at night because of the curfew during passenger peaks. With the SSFL some of these trains can travel during the day, easing the burden on neighbours who are kept awake by train nose.

Alternately, we could build the line through Milperra and the triangle at Belmore to connect Bankstown directly with Liverpool.

Oldfart · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 7:07 pm

An odd article. National Street is parallel to, but a street away, from the line. I can't see how they would have of a view of the line to start with. The SSFL will also mean more freight will pass the area during peak commuting hours than at odd hours of the day or night, so it should actually improve the situation for residents. Essentially it provides a path for freight at times when the main lines are jammed with Cityrail services.

I was at the Cabra SSFL meeting held by ARTC. Unless things have changed, the preferred option was for it to run on the surface just to the east of the station with excavation done underneath to provide for an extra underground platform fed by an underpass from the down Via Granville track (Railcorp have it scheduled for 2012 IIRC). Sound barriers are planned for along the residential areas, but not through the station area itself.

The alternative of running the SSFL underground through Cabra would mean it would need to be constructed under the existing roadway to the east by 'cut and cover'. This would mean shutting down all the access and shops in that area for at least a year. (Something the local pollies conveniently forget to tell the residents!). There would also be issues constructing exhaust stacks for the tunnel and complicated dangers from underground incidents involving derailments or spill/leaks of hazardous freight. All in all, the surface option is much cheaper, less obstructive and easier to operate; but some parking is lost.

At the meeting, the local pollies left it to the last minute to make their grand pronouncements, so no-one could challenge their validity. Essentially they convinced some of the locals that all the tracks running through Cabra could be sunk below ground level so the "visual amenity" of Cabramatta (now there's a contradiction in terms) could be restored to its former glory. If the main game is now "just give us some more parking to compensate us for the extra track, then that would not be unrealistic".

A man of great genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and become the portals of discovery (James Joyce).

bobcarey · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 7:24 pm

Just a question on the funding for this project, whether it is already part of committed funds from past grants or whatever, or will it rely on the Federal budget coming up ? Already the delays mean that costs have gone up , at least by CPI, and climbing materials cost.
Bob

cootanee · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:18 am

MD · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 10:10 am

One of the conditions of the NSW lease that ARTC had to comply with was that they spend $820 million on the parts of the NSW network that was included in the lease.
None of this money came from the Feds, Its all borrowed and has to be paid back.

Oldfart · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 10:27 am

Speed · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 10:59 am

arctic · Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 5:46 pm

cootanee · Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 1:28 pm

arctic · Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 2:31 pm

Don't know on the above but the Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts has been yakking to the locals. Though this time the article reads like the line will be going ahead.

http://www.fairfieldadvance.com.au/article/2008/05/21/3555_news.html

42101 · Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 2:41 pm

What a crock they want a transperant noise barrier Laughing

for the veiws of this area Laughing

what bloody veiws,streets,houses,shops thats all there is to see there.
Going to be a funny line if these reports are factual with the line going Cabra/Carramar (a S hole of a place)then back to Canley vale then to villawood eh great journo reporting yet again. Rolling Eyes

Thanks heaps to ALL my friends on here.