i have noticed that in early and mid 2012 a bold plan by mitchell heard and a fellow companion to being back regional rail in SA, im particular the mid north, barossa and mount gambier lines took all of the rail forums in australia (Railpage, railways australia, railsa, wheels on steel, southozrail forum and bus australia) by storm creating a mass debate and support. i looked through old posts on those forums and there was debate, support and plans saying that "every 5th sleeper on the mid north lines would need replacement before a service should be ran". people went to those locations taking photos and press releases to the media were made.

anyone remember?

what has happened to this bold pan and is it not happening at all or is it being done secretly?

PS: i am not trying to offend heardy as his reports are of top quality and it is a fantastic plan for regional rail in SA but i would like to know why everything has gone quiet?

There was no consortium, there were no investors, there were no press releases, there was no contact with any regulatory bodies or infrastructure owners/lessees/operators, and there was definitely no massive support.

What happened to it was that it never even existed, it was just a fraudulent wind up.

Let it go. You do not want your name to be associated with these shysters, this stuff doesn't disappear from the Internet and it will come back to bit you when a prospective employer does a basic background check on you.I hope the forum admins ban you or place you on some kind of moderator pre-approval regime so this kind of nonsense doesn't come up again.

Justapax is right Heath. I really wouldn't want to touch any of that business with a ten foot pole.

Try and cement yourself to the fact that regional rail is not coming back, nor are disused stations. People have tolerance (some more than others), but that wavers with the same stuff being thrown up over and over again.Some of your questions are good, others, not; you need to be mature enough to decide what's a good question and what's a bad question. I don't want to sound like a tosser mate, but if you really like this forum you're going to have to make some changes to the way you approach issues, or else others will make the decision for you...

Seldom

No.

If the putative investors come up with untold millions to reactivate creaky rail lines through the middle of nowhere, to serve almost nobody and pander to some unrealistic fantasies, then they can make an announcement when work is ready to begin.

I'm sure that Mister Richie Rich will spend his money however he likes. If he wants to micturate it into the dusty South Australian scrub, then that's his choice, and I wish him the very best best of luck.

Of course, that's if they choose not to spend their money on something more likely to make money. Like, oh, I don't know, magic beans, or using rainbows and puppy love to generate electricity.

Until then, let's not waste electrons on giving it attention. Or oxygen.

Cheers,
Matt

But David Peters had made a few trips to Germany since then...

But David Peters had made a few trips to Germany since then...

Oh Aaron, your dry witty remarks always leave me in stitches.

Heath, in all seriousness, South Australia basically consists of Adelaide... and that's about it.  That's the fundamental problem, there's no large regional cities close by to Adelaide; the only possible candidate would be Victor Harbour and the old rail alignment isn't suitable for modern operations, the same goes for Port Pirie. Kapunda and the Barossa are also possible candidates but the population base isn't there. Mt Gambier and Whyalla are just too far away and the competing air service is much better than anything rail could offer.

You also need to consider that people in those towns don't care enough to want to bring a rail service back.