Monday, June 18, 2018

Taking a Break

You might have noticed that BrizCommuter has been a bit quiet lately. BrizCommuter has been concentrating on more productive life projects, instead of going round in circles complaining about Brisbane's never ending public transport woes. BrizCommuter will be back, but in the meantime, posts will be sporadic.

Before BrizCommuter heads into hibernation, what is the state of play?

  • Queensland Rail (QR) - is still managing to be the worst train operator in Oceania. The expected date for resolution for #RailFail seems to be state secret, which can only mean that it won't be resolved this decade. Both the previous LNP government and the current ALP government should hang their heads in shame on how they have handled QR. In fact, BrizCommuter thinks that the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) are running QR! Train service frequencies are now worse than Adelaide. Melbourne has a 500% more frequent train service on some weekends. The only thing that QR seem to be good at (sic) is obfuscation of reasons why trains are delayed - "congestion on the network" anyone? 
  • NGR - an absolutely disastrous project, poorly managed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads. The lack of disability access is a national disgrace, and not enough trains were ordered. Lets hope the the inquiry finds out who made the wrong decisions, and why they were made so that the same mistakes are never made again. A further little known problem, is that more trains need to be ordered very soon for service expansion and Cross River Rail, and there is zero progress as to how this order will proceed. 
  • Brisbane's Bus Network - still a confusing and inefficient mess, with multiple bus routes along the same corridors staring at different locations in the CBD. Maybe the Brisbane Metro might solve things?
  • Brisbane Metro - finally came good after the original ludicrous "rubber tyred metro" plan, but only really brings the busway to standard that it should have been built to in the first place. Unless you believe LNP spin, it is not as important as...
  • Cross River Rail - finally going ahead (unless a future LNP government cancel it again), but now cut price the point at which it is quite half-arsed. The tunnel needs to be designed to allow a railway line along the Trouts Rd Corridor/North West Transport Corridor to be connected. Without at least 40 extra trains, sustained driver recruitment, and multiple related infrastructure projects (including extra tracks on the Gold Coast/Beenleigh Line and Cleveland Line), Cross River Rail is heading towards being a $5.4b Rail Fail. 
  • Unfair fares - the current fare system is broken. No weekly capping is causing a nose dive in weekend patronage. Increasing fares during #RailFail is not winning any friends. 
  • LNP loony policies - however bad the ALP are running the show, the LNP really don't get it. Every election they come out with a ridiculous unworkable idea such as 7-car trains, the BaT Tunnel, and Hyperloop to Bundaberg. The plan to privatise QR by stealth has cause major issues with the NGR and #RailFail. The LNPs anti-Cross River Rail stance continues despite  being a reason why they lost the last state election. 
  • Backlog of infrastructure projects - with the slow progress of major infrastructure projects in SE Queensland, there is now a huge (and expensive) backlog of public transport infrastructure projects required to keep pace with population growth and urban sprawl. These include the Salisbury to Beaudesert Line, Trouts Rd/North West Transport Corridor, rail to Caloundra and Maroochydore (CAMCOS), Gold Coast Line extension to Coolangatta Airport, Springfield Line extension to Ripley, Cleveland Line duplication, extra tracks on Gold Coast/Beenleigh Line corridor. 
See ya!