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May 5, 2013

A metro-style solution for Melbourne rail growth

Filed under: Civil — Tags: , — tom @ 11:29 pm

With suburban rail traffic forecast to double over the next 20 years, Melbourne is looking at radical solutions to accommodate rising passenger volumes. Keith Barrow examines a new report from Public Transport Victoria, which provides a blueprint for developing the rail network in Australia’s second largest city.

TO those familiar with urban rail, Melbourne is a city synonymous with trams. With 27 routes and a total length of 249km, Melbourne’s network rivals other light rail giants such as Vienna in its scale, carrying around four million passengers per year. 

But the city also relies on an extensive suburban rail system, and this too has witnessed sustained growth in recent years with a 70% increase in passenger numbers over the last decade. In 2011 10% of commuters travelled into the city by train, well above the Australian average of 6.3%. With most population growth expected to occur in the north, west and east of the city over the next 20 years, and most new employment in the city centre, weekday ridership is expected to more than double to 1.7 million by 2031 with an annual growth rate of about 4%.

This means more capacity is urgently needed on a network already under pressure. On March 27 Public Transport Victoria (PTV) unveiled Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail, a 30-year blueprint for the development of the suburban rail network, which if implemented in full could increase peak capacity by 50% by 2023 and 100% within 20 years.

The line-by-line proposals seek to accommodate rising demand while reconfiguring the timetable to improve connections with light rail and buses, and extending the network to areas not currently served by suburban rail.

The aim is to develop what PTV terms a “metro-style” system, which is defined by the following parameters:

• simple timetables with turn-up-and-go frequencies

• stand-alone end-to-end lines which do not intersect or merge with other routes, allowing disruption to be contained

• modern high-capacity signalling to maximise track capacity and enhance reliability

• high-capacity trains designed to minimise station dwell times, and

• grade-separated level crossings where the increased service would cause unacceptable traffic delays.

To achieve this, PTV prescribes investment in new infrastructure and rolling stock, alongside steps to optimise the performance of existing resources.

The plan is split into four stages, each roughly covering a five-year period. Stage 1 will be completed by 2016 and aims to tackle immediate critical constraints in the network, while providing a basis for expansion in future stages. Key projects include the already-committed Regional Rail Link (RRL) with new stations at Tarneit and Wyndham Vale and additional platforms at Southern Cross; seven new trains and associated power supply and stabling upgrades; and 40 extra V/Locity dmu cars, which are on order from Bombardier with deliveries due to start next year.

In addition, an order for 33 new high-capacity trains will be placed, and the 2011-12 Victoria state budget has allocated $A 210m towards the procurement of the new fleet. Initially these trains will carry up to 1100 passengers but will be designed to allow extension up to 220m in length. Emus in the current fleet are 143m long, and most platforms can accommodate 155m-long trains, although “challenging” infrastructure work would be required at city centre stations such as Flinders Street and Richmond to support the introduction of 220m-long trains. The report rules out double-deck trains as a viable solution to this problem because of the impact on dwell times and the need to increase station capacity to cope with different loading patterns.

The completion of the RRL in 2016 will allow timetables to be recast on all metropolitan and regional lines, enabling the introduction of a longer peak on some lines and improved off-peak and late night services. This will segregate regional services from suburban trains on the Sunshine and Werribee lines, providing an immediate and much-needed capacity boost on these routes.

The second stage will be the first step in turning the suburban network into a metro-style system within 10 years. Central to this will be the construction of the 9km Melbourne Metro tunnel, which alongside the provision of new trains and signalling is singled out as one of the core requirements for establishing high-frequency services. Running via the city centre, the tunnel will link South Kensington and South Yarra with five new inner-city stations. The tunnel will significantly increase capacity on the Werribee, Craigieburn, Sunbury, Upfield, Sandringham and Frankston lines, and will permit the operation of 19 additional peak-hour services.

Other enhancements in stage 2 include doubling the Melton line; upgrading the Dandenong line; and resignalling the Hurstbridge, Sandringham, and South Morang lines. The latter will be a pilot project for the implementation of high-capacity signalling, although the transport plan does not identify a preferred technology. The report notes that the existing system currently operates at around 15 trains per hour (tph) and could operate at 24tph in ideal operating conditions, but it suggests that investment in high-capacity signalling could support operation at “up to or beyond” 30tph.

The launch of the revised timetables following the completion of the RRL in 2016 will put considerable strain on the train fleet, requiring all 210 existing suburban trains to be available for service at peak times. In stage 2, the fleet will be expanded with the delivery of the first batch of 33 high-capacity trains and an order for a further 70 sets will also be placed. In addition to providing additional capacity, new trains will also be required to allow the retirement of older emus.

Additional measures in stage 2 will include adaption of the timetable for metro operations, with power supply upgrades and track and signalling alterations for high-frequency services.

The completion of the Melbourne Metro tunnel will allow all lines to be segregated from one another except in locations where trains need to access stabling or depot facilities. PTV says this will increase capacity and improve the reliability of the network, which is currently prone to delays spreading between lines. Furthermore, the report notes that segregation of the network will allow trains to be dedicated to particular lines, so trains can be configured to the specific operating conditions of the route.

Stage 3 would be completed within 15 years, extending the network to areas not currently served by suburban rail, taking advantage of the additional capacity built into the system by stages 1 and 2. Proposed projects include new lines to Melbourne Airport and Rowville; the diversion of South Morang services into a new tunnel between Clifton Hill and Southern Cross, allowing construction of a new line to Doncaster; Melton line electrification; and a further order for high-capacity trains, which would displace the remaining Comeng sets.

To read full article please visit http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/metros/a-metro-style-solution-for-melbourne-rail-growth.html

 

May 1, 2013

Melbourne continues to lead nation’s population growth

Filed under: Buildings,Civil — Tags: — tom @ 5:24 am
How Victoria's population has changed.How Victoria’s population has changed.

Melbourne has again dominated Australia’s population growth, adding 77,242 people in 2011-12 to reach mid-2012 with a population of almost 4.25 million.

New estimates released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show five of the eight municipalities recording the nation’s biggest growth were in Melbourne – three in the outer northern and western suburbs, one in the south-east, and the city of Melbourne itself.

Perth outgrew Sydney to be Australia’s second biggest growth centre, its population swelling by 65,434 or 3.6 per cent, more than twice the national growth rate, to almost 1.9 million.

Victoria added 88,966 people to close the financial year with 5.624 million people, just under 25 per cent of all Australians. Australia added almost 360,000 people, and the Bureau estimates its population hit 23 million last week.

It was the 11th year in a row that the bureau estimates that Melbourne led the nation’s growth. In that time, the city’s population has grown by more than 750,000, or almost a quarter, imposing new strains on an infrastructure designed for far fewer people.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy said the city’s population was growing by 1500 a week, or equal to the combined growth of Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Newcastle and Canberra.

”There is no sign of that growth slowing. That growth is continuing and has continued now for the best part of 10 years,” Mr Guy said. ”It is the policy challenge we face in planning for today and the future.”

He said many of the problems in urban areas arose because growth was not managed well in the last decade: ”We didn’t plan well on a state level for growth.”

Wyndham, centred on Werribee, had the biggest growth of any municipality in Australia, adding 12,822 people. That is more than the entire annual population growth of Victoria at one stage under the Kennett government.

Whittlesea had the second biggest growth in the nation. Melton was fifth, Casey sixth, and the City of Melbourne eighth.

The city’s population centre remained in Glen Iris, but most of its population growth came north and west of the Yarra, a dramatic change from 20th-century patterns, which saw it spread in a lopsided way to the south-east.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-continues-to-lead-nations-population-growth-20130430-2ir5m.html#ixzz2S123ADPc

A Grand Plan for Canberra

Filed under: Buildings,Civil — tom @ 5:20 am

With the launch of a new City Plan and the City to the Lake project, Canberra is looking to the future.

“As we celebrate our first 100 years, and look towards our next century, it is appropriate to talk about the role of our City centre, and how it can become a more dynamic, vibrant and sustainable place,” said ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher upon launching the projects.

The City Plan will help determine development and growth and ensure projects and infrastructure are delivered efficiently and effectively. It aims to unlock the potential of Canberra’s CBD and better integrate it with public transport, residential buildings, surrounding parklands and educational institutions in the city with the objective of stimulating local, national and international interest in Canberra to attract business and visitors and boost its economy, vibrancy and liveability.

Some of the key areas the City Plan will address include improved design of – and links between – public spaces, improved pedestrian movement around the City, transport into and around the City, including light rail, and possible sites for iconic buildings.

The City to Lake project establishes a framework to develop the broad southern flank of the City. The study area stretches from the West Basin to Anzac Parade and aims to better connect the lake and major national and regional educational and cultural institutions such as the Australian National University and National Museum of Australia with the city’s everyday life.

The public waterfront and link to the city will be the centrepiece of a new mixed use city precinct along with major new public amenities, infrastructure and cultural attractions for the Capital Region.

Proposals include a 30,000-plus seat rectangular sports stadium, a new convention centre, an aquatic facility, an urban beach and residential apartments mixed with commercial, retail and cultural facilities to cater to 15,000 to 20,000 new residents.

The project proposes a split-level ‘smart boulevard’ which will allow for free flowing traffic at the lower level and will introduce local city streets at the surface. The boulevard will also provide a lakeside anchor for the first stage of the Capital Metro light rail implementation.

To read the full article visit http://designbuildsource.com.au/fire-protection-an-overlooked-element-in-sustainability

 

April 28, 2013

Fears grow for rail yard park proposal

Filed under: Buildings,Civil — tom @ 10:50 pm
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A $680 million plan to create a new CBD park and public event space next to Federation Square may be doomed because of a lack of government funding and a decision to open up the site to private developers.

The company behind the Federation Square design, LAB architecture studio, has produced a detailed master plan for the Jolimont rail yards site known as Federation Square East.

The plan was commissioned by the Office of Major Projects and included an extensive park and community spaces.

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”An urban park at Federation Square East provides a rare and arguably final opportunity to link the city, Yarra River, parklands and the sports and entertainment precincts, enhancing the urban amenity and leveraging the significant investments already made by the government in adjacent precincts,” the briefing to the former government said.

The plan for Federation Square East was partially released by the Brumby government in 2010 and Fairfax has now seen detailed costings.

Stage one of the project, decking the rail yards and landscaping, it was estimated, would cost the state government $335 million, with about $3 million already spent on feasibility work. The total cost of the proposed development for Federation Square East was estimated at $680 million – Federation Square received about $450 million in state government funding.

The Napthine government will instead on Tuesday release a ”request for industry submissions” for the Federation Square East site.

Some now fear community space and parkland will be sacrificed for large commercial development to pay for the deck.

Another issue likely to arise with the site is the potential for new commercial developments to overshadow the Yarra River.

”The Victorian government wants to harness the innovation and creativity of the private sector to look at the potential development of this landmark CBD site,” Premier Denis Napthine said this month.

A senior architect with Lab Architecture, Tim Fowler, fears the new private sector model will result in less public space.

”I struggle to see how it (the new private-sector model) could produce an outcome that offers the level of civic amenity that the original model proposed,” he said.

Mr Fowler said the final result for Federation Square East could be similar to the QV development in Swanston Street or could involve the scale of commercial development now abandoned for the St Kilda Triangle site.

Opposition planning spokesman Brian Tee said the ”site could be as iconic as Sydney’s Opera House but the Napthine government is so lacking in talent they contracted out delivery of a vision to the highest bidder, who will turn out the public as they turn over a profit”.

There is strong interest from the private sector for the site.

”We have long seen the development of this part of Melbourne as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a dynamic connection between the city, the park and river,” a spokeswoman for construction giant Grocon said.

The Ron Walker and Ashley Williams company Evolve Development started looking at the site 18 months ago.

”It is probably a mix-used precinct, mixture of office and residential apartments,” Mr Williams said.

Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle said the project should extend past Exhibition Street towards the MCG. ”It has the real capacity to circle the city with open space,” he said.

Major Projects Minister David Hodgett said Labor’s 2010 plan was a stunt.

”It was little more than a thought bubble with minimal detail. It was not subject to feasibility or financial analysis,” he said.

He denied the government would be making ”sweetheart deals” with the private sector.

”The responses provided by the market will allow for a range of possible commercial, ownership and contractual structures and the Coalition government will explore these options,” he said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/property/fears-grow-for-rail-yard-park-proposal-20130428-2imok.html#ixzz2RniIZQ1y

April 23, 2013

Rail plan threatens homes

Filed under: Civil — Tags: — tom @ 2:02 am
The rail plan.The rail plan.

Homes and business premises in Melbourne’s south-east could be wiped off the map to make way for extra tracks along the Dandenong railway line to carry freight trains from the Port of Hastings.

The plan to build ”an additional track or tracks” along the heavily congested rail line is contained in a briefing to Premier Denis Napthine and Transport Minister Terry Mulder, which was obtained by Fairfax Media through freedom of information.

The plan revives elements of the former Bracks government’s doomed $1 billion Dandenong triplication project. If that project had proceeded, a large number of houses and commercial premises along the rail line – particularly between Caulfield and Oakleigh stations – would have been acquired.

Illustration: Ron Tandberg.Illustration: Ron Tandberg.

The Napthine government plan, tentatively dubbed the ”Eastern Regional Rail Link”, would involve widening the Dandenong rail corridor to lay dedicated track for freight trains and V/Line trains from Gippsland. It also includes provision for a new line along the Western Port Highway from the Port of Hastings to Lyndhurst on the Cranbourne line, which connects with the Dandenong line.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure confirmed the plan but said it was too early to say whether properties would be acquired.

”That said, should any property acquisition be required, we will ensure full and proper consultation as we are required to under various acts,” he said.

The plan, outlined in a September 2012 briefing by department deputy secretary Gillian Miles, predicts the existing two tracks in the corridor between Caulfield and Dandenong will cope with freight train traffic for the next decade.

”Nearly all freight is presently carried by trucks on the M1, Dingley and other arterial roads,” the briefing says, adding that the M1 and the Princes Highway ”are already at capacity”.

By contrast, just nine freight trains currently use the Dandenong line each week, plus two trains a day on the Frankston line from Hastings that join the Dandenong line at Caulfield.

”Beyond 10 years, commissioning of new container capacity at the Port of Hastings is likely to result in a steep change in freight demand,” Ms Miles wrote.

She warned that with the advent of Hastings as Melbourne’s second major port, ”demand will outgrow the existing infrastructure and additional tracks will be needed”.

Tony Morton, of the Public Transport Users Association, said there was an argument for extra tracks to cater for more freight and regional trains, but not at the expense of private properties.

”There are ways to accommodate more trains, especially if we improve the signalling on the Dandenong line and get rid of the level crossings,” he said.

Labor’s spokesman for ports, freight and logistics, Natalie Hutchins, said the government should drop its plan for a second port at Hastings and build it in Melbourne’s west, arguing it would cost half as much and be much closer to the city’s industrial areas.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rail-plan-threatens-homes-20130422-2iasd.html#ixzz2RFQEt4XI

April 15, 2013

Threat to road link funding

Filed under: Civil — Tags: — tom @ 11:24 pm

The Napthine government is holding back crucial information needed by Infrastructure Australia to assess the financial viability of the east-west road link.

Consultant Ernst & Young is believed to have delivered to the government some time ago the long-awaited ”business case” needed to justify the proposed toll road.

But the government has not yet handed it to Infrastructure Australia for assessment – despite the looming deadline for the independent body’s annual major projects priority list, which is used to carve up Commonwealth funding.

Busy road sections in Melbourne.Traffic has eased in some inner-north streets – see key below right.

Infrastructure Australia national co-ordinator Michael Deegan said the business case needed to be handed in as quickly as possible to meet the June deadline, including traffic predictions and estimates of benefits and costs.

”We have been asking for some time now,” Mr Deegan said. ”What we expect to see in the business case is a benefit-cost ratio, which we will then test and provide advice to the [Infrastructure Australia] council. We are hoping to publish in June, so the sooner the better.”

A Fairfax Media analysis of VicRoads data, meanwhile, has revealed that traffic volumes along sections of the proposed route dropped by more than 10 per cent over the past decade.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has promised $1.5 billion to begin the project – which would connect the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road – within 18 months of winning government, calling it the ”No. 1 major project that Victoria needs right now”.

But delays are believed to have occurred as the state government examines different scenarios to make the project stack up financially, with construction and design options being weighed against expected toll revenues, traffic predictions and broader economic costs and benefits.

Concerns about the benefit-cost ratio follows recent toll road disasters, including Sydney’s Lane Cove and Cross City tunnels and Brisbane’s Airport Link, which is now carrying just 48,000 vehicles a day, one-third of its target.

A spokeswoman for state Transport Minister Terry Mulder said the business case for the project had been completed and was ”being considered”.

”We will continue to involve Infrastructure Australia in the development of the project and provide necessary information as required to ensure that appropriate Commonwealth funding for this important project is secured,” she said.

The Fairfax analysis of VicRoads data shows that traffic volumes on parts of Alexandra Parade, which is in the path of the proposed multibillion-dollar link, dropped by more than 10 per cent between 2001 and 2011.

Westbound traffic volumes dropped by 11 per cent on Alexandra Parade between Brunswick Street and Nicholson Street, from 37,000 trips a day in 2001 to 33,000 in 2011. Eastbound traffic along that section dropped by 13 per cent, from 39,000 in 2001 to 34,000 in 2011.

Traffic has also decreased on other roads in the area that feed into Alexandra Parade, including Princes Street, Nicholson Street, Queens Parade and Brunswick Street.

The proposed link would run under Royal Park and Alexandra Parade and extend the Eastern Freeway to connect with CityLink. It would ultimately connect the Eastern Freeway with the Western Ring Road.

Sir Rod Eddington’s 2008 Victorian transport report, which proposed the link road, called Alexandra Parade one of Melbourne’s busiest routes.

A VicRoads spokeswoman said there had been little or no growth in the number of cars using roads leading into the city over the past 10 years, and that the drops in traffic on Alexandra Parade appeared to echo this trend.

But Monash University transport expert Graham Currie said the decrease did not necessarily mean there was less traffic in the area but that congestion could be reducing the volume of traffic that was getting through.

He said some inner city roads had reached saturation. An increase in heavy-vehicle traffic could also lower average daily traffic along congested roads because trucks slowed down other vehicles.

Traffic and the tunnel. 

April 14, 2013

Doyle wants to expand city limits

Filed under: Buildings,Civil — Tags: — tom @ 11:50 pm

Lord mayor Robert Doyle will push to massively expand the City of Melbourne boundary with the annexation of the Fishermans Bend development area.

The lord mayor also wants the government to cede full planning control for the precinct to Melbourne City Council.

The move follows news last week that an application for a 49-storey tower had already been lodged for the inner-city development area.

Cr Doyle said Fishermans Bend was too important to allow developer-led planning.
”If we go down this track we are going down the track of Docklands where developers dictated,” he said.

Cr Doyle will move a motion at Tuesday night’s planning committee meeting calling on the Premier, the Planning Minister and Local Government Minister to cede the area from the City of Port Phillip to the City of Melbourne.

He said the area had already been zoned capital city so it should be part of the City of Melbourne.

The 240-hectare zone is almost as big as the Hoddle Grid and Southbank combined and is expected to one day house 50,000 new residents in the expanded CBD.

In the next 10 years, 5000 apartments are expected to be built in the former industrial area.

Last July, Planning Minister Matthew Guy seized planning control for the area.

Mr Guy is responsible for applications that have more than four storeys, more than 60 dwellings, more than 10,000 square metres in floor space, or have a development value of more than $10 million.

Mr Guy said no planning application for Fishermans Bend would be considered until a structure plan for the area was finalised. He said his powers on applications of greater than 10,000 square metres for the area were temporary.

Mr Guy supported the lord mayor’s call for the area to be made part of the City Of Melbourne.

”One council oversighting that precinct makes sense and given that it’s capital city zone, you would think Melbourne City Council is best placed to manage it,” he said.

 

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/doyle-wants-to-expand-city-limits-20130408-2hhls.html#ixzz2QU65JfZM

Waterside living to come at rising cost

Filed under: Buildings,Civil — Tags: — tom @ 11:07 pm
Some of Melbourne’s prime waterside suburbs, such as Southbank and Elwood, face hefty damage bills from rising sea-levels and severe flooding, with new modelling finding multimillion-dollar action should be considered to limit impacts.

The modelling – funded by local, state, and federal governments – studied the increased impact of flooding, storms, and high tides due to climate change up to 2100, in five areas around Southbank, Elwood Canal, Rosebud, the Mordialloc Creek, and North Melbourne.

It estimates significant hikes in damage costs if no action is taken to prepare for future flooding, and considers what measures to guard against rising sea levels and intense storms are cost-effective.

The report also finds there will still be rising economic benefits to residents and businesses from being located in the areas studied, outweighing any extra flood costs and ruling out the need for wide-scale relocation.

The modelling – carried out by consultancy AECOM, to be released on Monday – estimates if no action is taken to prepare for future flooding in Southbank, average damage bills will rise from $3 million a year in 2011 to $20 million by 2100.

Impacts from the most severe flood that could happen up to 2100 include restriction of trade and access to Southbank shops, and increased inundation of Crown and the Melbourne Convention Centre.

The modelling raises the prospect that between 2040 and 2070, rising tides in the Yarra River could affect the 96, 109, 112 tram routes, and potentially make them unviable.

Around Elwood Canal the damage bill would rise from $2.5 million a year to more than $14 million in 2100. The study identifies the St Kilda Marina, Elwood College grounds, and Marine Parade, Elwood, as inundation risks.

Other sites identified as facing increased threat from severe storms up to 2100 include the Nepean Highway, Mordialloc College, Rosebud foreshore, and West Melbourne Terminal Station.

The report largely recommends ”moderate” action until the end of the century to prepare for future flooding, which may run into the tens of millions of dollars. In other cases it recommends a watch and wait strategy.

One suggestion is raising the Southbank walkway along the Yarra River in the coming decades, which could act as an effective levee to rising tides.

In other areas improving and refitting of drains and upgrading pumps would also be considered, along with raising levees on waterways, raising community awareness of floods, further modelling, and changes to planning rules.

There are limitations to the AECOM modelling, which used artificial borders, meaning the impacts, costs, and benefits of action are not considered on a wider scale. Under its main climate change scenario, AECOM assumed a sea-level rise of 0.8 metres and an increase in rainfall intensity of 32 per cent by 2100.

Cr Bill McArthur, president of the Municipal Association of Victoria, said the project offered key information to understand the complexities involved in preparing communities against flooding. He said affected councils were already preparing for future flooding.

“Reassuringly for all five case study areas, even under the worst-possible scenarios modelled, the research confirms it is economically viable to continue to occupy the areas,” he said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/waterside-living-to-come-at-rising-cost-20130414-2htpn.html#ixzz2QTvIIrrF

April 10, 2013

Family firm eyes new suburb

Filed under: Civil — Tags: , — tom @ 12:46 am

Dennis Family Homes is jockeying for position on the northern edge of Melbourne’s development fringe, with the residential builder looking to buy land near the future suburb of Lockerbie in a deal that could be worth several million dollars.

The family-owned company has entered into an ”option” agreement for a 40-hectare parcel along Donnybrook Road in Donnybrook, which is located just east of a new suburb that is expected to be home to nearly 30,000 people within 30 years. Title records show the agreement was signed within a fortnight of the Baillieu government’s June 2012 announcement that six new suburbs would be created on former green wedge and farmland that had been incorporated into the city’s growth boundary.

Dennis Family Corporation has declined to comment. However, a recent land sale in the area indicates the price if the option is executed could be close to $92,900 a hectare or $3.7 million.

A caveat lodged over 875 Donnybrook Road grants DF (Woodstock) FRR Pty – a subsidiary of Dennis Family Corporation – the first right of refusal to buy the land.

The group’s website says the Dennis family was planning to ”jointly develop” the land into more than 500 housing lots with the owners, Ian and Roslyn Martin. Title records show the Martins bought the property for $312,500 in 2001.

Earlier this year, construction materials supplier Boral sold a 127-hectare parcel of farmland nearby to Mirvac in a deal worth $11.8 million. The Donnybrook Road property had been earmarked as a future quarry but the plan was abandoned when the state government opened the area to residential development.

Mirvac plans to create a 2250-lot subdivision that will be home to more than 6000 residents. Another 60-hectare parcel will be developed later by Mirvac on Boral’s behalf.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/family-firm-eyes-new-suburb-20130409-2hjco.html#ixzz2Q15k9jYe

April 4, 2013

PTV releases 20-year blueprint for Melbourne’s rail system

Filed under: Civil — Tags: — tom @ 6:11 am

PUBLIC Transport Victoria (PTV) last week publicly released its blueprint for the expansion of Melbourne’s metropolitan rail network over the next 20 years, which includes a program of operational changes, track duplications and extensions, new trains and stations, high capacity signalling and new stabling and maintenance facilities.

PTV described the ‘Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail’ as the “most comprehensive strategy for Melbourne’s rail system in 40 years” and said it is based on “a detailed analysis of current and forecast demand across the rail network, including a line-by-line breakdown of expected increases in demand.”

According to the plan, train patronage has grown by 70 per cent in the last decade and 40 per cent in the last five years alone, “which has stretched the capacity of the current network.” It also estimates that annual patronage on train, tram and bus services will reach one billion trips by 2031, with weekday train boardings to more than double to 1.7 million passengers per day.

At a reported cost of approximately $30 billion, if implemented, the plan would provide a 51 per cent increase in peak hour capacity within 10 years and a 130 per cent increase within 20 years. It would also result in the construction of rail links to Doncaster, Melbourne Airport and Rowville and the elimination of single-line sections on the Eltham, Cranbourne, Seaholme, Rosanna, Lilydale and Melton lines.

The plan envisages a metro-style system based on simple timetables with ‘turn up and go’ frequency and consistent stopping patterns; stand-alone, end-to-end train lines that do not intersect or merge with other lines; and separate train fleets, maintenance and stabling facilities for each line.

It also proposes new high capacity trains to provide additional capacity (train loads of up to 1,100 passengers, compared to the existing 798 standard capacity). The new trains would be designed specifically for Melbourne’s rail network, have longer saloon areas by removing centre cabs and feature additional door space to improve boarding and alighting times.

In addition, trains up to 220 metres in length (compared to the existing train fleet which are 143 metres in length) and capable of accommodating 1,600 passengers could operate on the Sunshine and Dandenong rail corridors following completion of the proposed Melbourne Metro rail tunnel, which will provide five new inner-city stations that will allow 220 metre trains to operate.

PTV Chief Executive Officer Ian Dobbs said the public release of the plan and detailed patronage forecasts was an important part of PTV’s role to plan for the development of the rail network, adding that “Victoria cannot afford a piecemeal approach to planning and developing projects.”

“This is a comprehensive, integrated strategy which details all of the areas needed to grow the capacity and the reach of our rail network – operational and timetable changes, track duplications and electrifications, major extensions, high capacity trains and signalling, and new stabling and maintenance facilities,” Mr Dobbs said.

The plan outlines a staged approach to improving Melbourne’s rail network:

Stage 1 – Overcoming constraints (by 2016)

“The first stage of the plan, to be in place by 2016, focuses on overcoming immediate critical network constraints and providing the foundation for the future expansion of capacity,” the report writes.

Key projects to be delivered during this stage include:

  • Regional Rail Link (RRL), including Tarneit and Wyndham Vale stations, Southern Cross platforms 15/16;
  • Seven new trains and associated stabling and power upgrades;
  • Hurstbridge line upgrade and Eltham stabling;
  • An initial order for up to 33 new high capacity trains, each capable of initially carrying up to 1100 passengers and capable of being extended up to 220 metres in length;
  • New stations at Williams Landing (which opens late this month), Grovedale and Southland; and
  • High capacity signalling trial on the Sandringham line.

Stage 2 – Commencing the introduction of a metro-style system (within 10 years)

“The second stage of the plan will introduce a metro-style system to Melbourne’s rail network,” the report writes.

Key projects to be implemented during this stage include:

  • The Melbourne Metro rail tunnel project;
  • Duplication of the rail line to Melton;
  • Dandenong Rail Corridor Upgrade;
  • Deliver initial order of up to 33 high capacity trains, order and deliver a further 70 trains; and
  • Installation of high capacity signalling on the Sandringham line, between Clifton Hill and the city and between Sunbury and South Yarra.

Stage 3 – Extending the network (within 15 years)

“The third stage of the plan, to be implemented within 15 years, will focus on extending the metropolitan rail network to growth areas and existing areas not serviced by metropolitan rail, utilising the core capacity created in Stages 1 and 2,” the report writes.

Key projects during this stage include:

  • A new line to Melbourne Airport and Rowville;
  • South Morang services diverted into a new tunnel between Clifton Hill and Southern Cross, allowing construction of a new line to Doncaster;
  • Electrification to Melton;
  • High capacity signalling (Northern and Cross-City groups); and
  • Continuation of Dandenong Rail Corridor Upgrade.

Stage 4 – Preparing for further growth (within 20 years)

“The fourth stage of the plan will capitalise on the benefits already delivered and prepare for more growth,” the report writes.

The fourth stage includes:

  • Order and deliver further high capacity trains;
  • Reconfiguration of the City Loop to provide seven separate, independently operated suburban lines through the Melbourne CBD;
  • Quadruplication of the line between Burnley and Camberwell;
  • Duplication from Altona Junction to Seaholme and grade separation of Altona Junction;
  • Electrification projects to Geelong and Wallan;
  • Extension to Mernda and new stabling facilities;
  • Duplication from Mooroolbark to Lilydale and new stabling;
  • Extension from Werribee to Wyndham Vale; and
  • Extension of the South Morang – Southern Cross Line to Fishermans Bend.

Victorian Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder welcomed the release of PTV’s plan and said the Coalition Government would work cooperatively with the private sector, the Commonwealth Government and Infrastructure Australia to turn the plan “into a reality that caters for Melbourne’s growth.”

“It is a very detailed plan – in fact no Government has released a plan this detailed and this transparent since 1969. This is exactly why we established an independent public transport body – a detailed rail strategy like this is just what we expected and wanted,” Mr Mulder said.

“The Network Development Plan is a carefully considered, holistic, strategic plan for development of our rail network during the next 20 years, which will be used to help inform future funding decisions.”

Following a pre-election commitment in 2010, the Coalition Government amended the Transport Integration Act 2010 in 2011 to enable the establishment of Public Transport Victoria. According to the Act, the main purpose of the authority is to “plan, coordinate, provide, operate and maintain a safe, punctual, reliable and clean public transport system consistent with the vision statement and the transport system objectives.” PTV commenced operations in April last year.

The ‘Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail’ is available from the Public Transport Victoria website at <http://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/>. The full plan is also available directly from <https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ptvic/NDPMR+-+Network+Development+Plan+-+Metropolitan+Rail+-+FINAL+for+web+-+up.pdf> (PDF: 3.26 MB).

http://www.urbanalyst.com/in-the-news/victoria/1738-ptv-releases-20-year-blueprint-for-melbournes-rail-system.html

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