I went to the TOOT Trains On Our Tracks forum at the Workers Club today. Really I was there because I wanted to hear what Des Euan had to say. He is the Managing Director from the Yamba Port and Rail proposal and behind the push for a coal port, but he was a no show. Pfft... So glad I went along anyway! We need trains running on our rail again to relieve the building pressure on our roads, especially those heading east and north. Great speakers including Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Greens MLC in the NSW Upper House and a civil engineer; Greens Lee Rhiannon; Basil Cameron; Mathew Treehugger Townsend; Vanessa Ekins; Beth Shelley as well as train experts Neile Battersby and Philip Hill. These are just a few points discussed: To build a railway line ground up costs one third of the cost to build a road. To maintain that track it costs one quarter of the cost to maintain a road. Train travel is 20 times safer on a train than in a car. - Neile Battersby Philip Hill worked on the local tracks for years. He showed recent photos of our local train tracks near Bexhill, Eltham and Nashua. 1 in 3 or more sleepers are steel on these tracks after a project had begun to replace wooden sleepers (which last a couple of decades) with steel sleepers (that will last many decades). Our tracks have been tested and are in great condition and could virtually run a train tomorrow but the government is so up to its neck in petroleum company donations to build bitumen roads (petroleum based) that the government ran down our service until it became unviable. Steel sleepers cost only $60 per unit pack containing @1,000 sleepers so building rail is very cost effective. $900,000,000 estimated by the government to fix up our rail was said to be a gross overstatement to keep the rail service closed and keep vehicles on roads. So many die on our roads every day yet the LNP Government puts political affiliations and donations before the safety of Australian drivers. Our rail is very suited to take an immediate tourist train like Puffing Billy in Vic (top left) in the last pic. This beautiful region is so scenic and our tourism industry would benefit from rail trips to the coast and our economy.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 06:32:02 +0000
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