The State Government says the project will reduce traffic on Park Tce, improve train services and be a feature of its 2200-home Bowden Urban Village project.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Pat Conlon said the works had been costed at about $418 million and would need funding from the state and federal governments to go ahead.

Department of Trade, Energy and Infrastructure head Rod Hook said the project, which had no timeframe, would be programmed after “the Commonwealth comes to the party and puts their share on the table”.

Mr Hook said the tunnel would begin in the parklands about 500m southeast of Park Tce and travel under the freight line to reduce track and road congestion.

He said the tunnel would end immediately after Chief St and include an underground train station in the heart of the Bowden development.

“If we get the Commonwealth funds … there’s no point in bringing the Outer Harbor line half way up to Park Tce,” Mr Hook said.

“You might as well take it under Park Tce to take the crossing out and if you’re going under Park Tce, you might as well stay down and build the Bowden Station underground.

“It takes the delays associated with the level crossing out.”

The State Government will develop the Bowden Urban Village, planned for the former Clipsal and Origin Energy sites between Chief St and Park Tce, over the next 10-12 years, with shops, offices and 2400 homes.

It is the first of 14 transit oriented developments (TODs) planned across Adelaide, with some residents expected to move in by early 2013.

The $418 million pricetag on the works dwarfs the $264 million the government plans to spend on the TOD over the next decade. Mr Hook said tunnelling the passenger line through the 16 ha site would improve the development’s appearance.

He said separating the passenger and freight lines was already on Infrastructure Australia’s National Priority List of future projects.

“It becomes entirely a matter for the Commonwealth Government as to the timing,” Mr Hook said.

A spokesman for Federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese did not shed any light on when the project was likely to be funded.

“The Government has consistently said that when additional infrastructure funding becomes available in future budgets, the National Priority List will help guide our investment decisions,” he said.

Mr Conlon’s spokesman said works at the Bowden Urban Village could proceed for about five years before the trainline was put underground.

“In the unlikely event that no Federal funding is secured in that timeframe, the LMC (Land Management Corporation) is confident they will be able to adjust the planning for future stages of the Bowden Urban Village,” the spokesman said.

via Messenger News

The Australian Rail Track Corporation is trialling the Advanced Train Management System (ATMS) between Crystal Brook and Port Augusta as part of a $500 million plan to enable longer trains to run closer together on the same track.

It is being developed by Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest defence contractors, and incorporates Telstra’s 3G network.

The corporation has spent more than $90 million so far on the trial, which is about two-thirds complete.

The system uses trackside transmitters and GPS transmitters on the front and rear of trains, which are up to 2km long. The transmitters send data about a train’s exact location through the 3G network and satellites. An operator at a network control centre would monitor the train and communicate with the driver via voice and data.

ARTC spokesman Brad Emery said freight trains running on the same line must be kept between 10km to 15km apart because their exact location was only known within a general area.

“If we can shrink that gap and safety margin down to 2km, we would obviously get more trains on the track and this system will allow us to do that,” Mr Emery said. “It’s about getting more trains and more freight on the north-south and east-west tracks.”

The new system would allow a train to be remotely slowed or stopped in an emergency situation.

Mr Emery said the technology was being developed at Lockheed Martin’s Colorado base and tested in South Australia because of the terrain.

Tram, Bus and Rail Union secretary Ashley Waddell said it was not known if rail companies would try to introduce driver-only trains if the ATMS trial were successful.

“There are other things like fatigue management impediments that must be taken into account, so ATMS doesn’t automatically mean driver-only trains,” he said.

Mr Waddell said the union would be closely monitoring the situation.

If the trial is successful the system will be used on the ARTC’s 10,000km national rail network.

via AdelaideNow

The power supply was lost at Victoria Square on Sunday.

There are still tram services between Glenelg and South Terrace.

The Transport Department is running buses for city commuters affected by the tram problem.

Opposition transport spokesman Steven Griffiths says Transport Minister Patrick Conlon must ensure tram services become more reliable.

“He needs to get the electrical supply to the Adelaide trams fixed so you actually put confidence back in commuters,” he said.

“At the moment you’ve got people wondering is the tram going to work today, is it not, do I need to get my car organised, am I better off taking a bus?

“It’s that level of confusion that’s not good enough and that’s what the Minister’s got to accept responsibility for.”

via ABC News

The tram arrived at Appleton Dock in Melbourne last Wednesday.

It was then transported to Adelaide and installed on the tracks early on Monday.

Transport Department head of public transport services, Rod Hook, says the trams were ordered in 2008, but there had been several delays.

“There were some issues with the construction of them. There were some floods in Germany which impacted the product that was being built and they had to go back and start again,” he said.

via ABC News