The future of the tram was put in jeopardy when Holdfast Bay Council decided to cut funding to the Glenelg to Morphettville Tourist Tram Service, which was the last remaining service for the H-Class tram, at a committee meeting last week because at $300,000 it was too expensive.

Your opinion: Should the Holdfast Bay shuttle service be re-introduced?

Mayor Ken Rolland said he planned to meet with TransAdelaide to discuss a partnership despite a lack of support for the project from other councillors.

“The costing was based on running it every weekend for the whole year, which we would never want to do,” he said.

“Last year we only ran it for one season and on that occasion TransAdelaide charged us about $38,000.

“I do want to try and have a meeting with the executive of TransAdelaide…once I’ve done that I will present it back to council.”

A TransAdelaide spokeswoman said that organisation was not in a position to subsidise tourist services.

“A number of options are currently being explored in relation to the long-term future of the H-Class vehicles,” she said.

via AdelaideNow

In the lead up to the federal election, Mitcham Council’s Rail Freight Committee is holding a public meeting at which candidates will be grilled about their plans to address noise and safety concerns along the freight line.

While candidates in the federal electorates of Boothby and Mayo have acknowledged residents’ concerns, none has guaranteed a bypass during the next term of government.

Rail Freight Committee chairman and Mitcham councillor Mark Ward said not rerouting the trains, as recommended in the recently-released Adelaide Rail Freight Movements study, was simply not good enough.

“If we do nothing now, we are passing on the problem to the next generation,” Cr Ward said.

“We want a commitment from the Liberal and Labor parties that they are going to do something now they cannot leave it any longer.”

For more than 10 years, Hills residents have complained about excessive noise from wheel squeal, traffic congestion and safety risks from possible derailments.

During the 2007 election campaign, both parties promised $3 million towards a study into Mitcham’s proposal for a northern bypass.

In June, the 20-month study ruled out rerouting freight trains, saying it would be too expensive to move or upgrade the track and the cost would outweigh any social or environmental benefits.

Your opinion: Should taxpayers fund a Hills rail bypass this election?

Cr Ward urged people to attend the public meeting to show how important the issue was for the electorates of Boothby and Mayo.

“Politicians are there for the people, not for the government,” he said. “People are wanting action and the candidates are going to be asked what action they will take.”

Boothby MHR Andrew Southcott (Lib) said while he was supportive of a rail freight bypass, his party was still exploring options and would make its position known during the election campaign.

Dr Southcott said he and Mayo MHR Jamie Briggs were “looking at a whole lot of options for the Liberal Party to take forward”.

“It (a bypass) is something we are fighting for but we are not in a position to comment on the Liberal Party policy at this stage.”

Mr Briggs said a bypass “makes a whole lot of sense” but a major hurdle was the estimated $2.4 billion cost.

Labor candidate for Boothby Annabel Digance said the Federal Government had fulfilled its last election promise by releasing the Adelaide Rail Freight Movement Study.

She said she had been consulting with a number of groups about freight, including Mitcham Council and the Blackwood Action Group.

“I will make this issue a key priority and continue to work with all of the relevant stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcome for the people of the area,” she said.

The study has been given to Infrastructure Australia for consideration as it finalises the National Freight Network Strategy.

The Labor Party had not confirmed a Mayo candidate at the time of the Hills and Valley Messenger’s deadline.

The Greens Party has backed residents’ calls for a rail bypass.

via Messenger News

They have called on the major political parties to commit funding for the extension from Seaford in the lead-up to the Federal Election on August 21.

Onkaparinga Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg said road and rail infrastructure were two of the council’s main priorities for the election.

“We can validate the need for funding for road and rail because of growth infrastructure needs to match growth,” she said.

Ms Rosenberg said the extension to Aldinga had been identified as part of the council’s Integrated Transport Strategy 2008-2013.

The State Government has set aside $34 million to buy the rail corridor, but Commonwealth funds would be needed to ensure the project could proceed afer the corridor was purchased. The exact route is expected to be announced later this year.

Forums: Discuss and share your thoughts on the Aldinga rail line extension

Aldinga Arts Eco Village deputy presiding member Ray Mines said residents should be able to cycle to the local station and catch the train to work.

“From an environmental perspective I would welcome the rail extension because efficient, affordable public transport reduces traffic on our roads,” Mr Mines said. Willunga resident Joy Forrest said she supported the rail extension, so long as there were “sufficient feeder buses” to Willunga, Sellicks Beach and Port Willunga.

Friends of Willunga Basin secretary David Gill said the rail extension to Aldinga was an important long-term goal.

“Climate change means we have to be getting out of our cars and using other transport,” he said.

Sellicks Beach resident Jodi Honnor-Figuron said there were “a lot of beautiful spots” in the outer south, but it was difficult for tourists to get to.

Kingston MHR Amanda Rishworth (Labor) said she would “certainly support” an extension to Aldinga, once the corridor was bought by the State Government.

Liberal candidate Chris Zanker said his party supported the rail extension to Aldinga, and saw the need to extend even further south in the future.

Greens candidate Palitja Moore called for bi-partisan support to fund the project.

via Messenger News

Mitcham’s Rail Freight Committee will hold a public meeting this month to discuss options, including lobbying the State and Federal Government for a report on the benefits of a northern bypass and calling for a new committee to consider the advantages of rerouting freight.

The 20-month Adelaide Rail Freight Movements study, released last month, said it would be too expensive to move or upgrade the track and the cost would outweigh any social or environmental benefits.

Eden Hills resident and Rail Freight Committee member Stephanie McCarthy Linehan said she “struggled to find words’’ to describe the report, which came after almost a decade of residents’ complaints about wheel squeal.

“I went beyond angry to shock and for a little while, my energy evaporated and I felt paralysed,’’ she said.

“But I’m like a dog with a bone, the tougher it gets, the tougher I fight.”

Ms McCarthy Linehan said she would be “co-ordinating a barrage’’ of emails, letters and calls to State and Federal MPs.

“If we can get a huge number of people to be demanding the same thing from our Federal and State governments, hopefully we’ll make a wheel squeal loud enough for both governments to take notice.”

Fellow Eden Hills resident Cynthia Wicks, who has been taking sleeping tablets for the past 20 years to cope with rail noise, said it seemed the government had put the problem in the “too hard basket”.

Share your opinion: View and discuss the Adelaide Hills rail bypass proposals.

Rail Freight Committee chairman and Mitcham councillor Mark Ward said he was disappointed the “unbalanced’’ report had focused on the cost of rerouting the line.

“The impact on people, the noise factors, the bushfire risks, the loss of amenity, the hold-ups at crossings… none of that’s been considered,’’ he said.

Cr Ward said the Federal Government should spend any leftover money from the $3 million study to set up a new committee and carry out further studies.

“The study says the current line can handle freight for the next 15 years so they’ve got to start planning and building the bypass so we’re ready by 2025.”

A spokesman for Federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said the cost of the study, which had been handed to Infrastructure Australia to consider when finalising
its National Freight Network Strategy, was being tallied.

“We do not favour setting up another committee and we would be criticised for seeking another report because this report has provided the information we needed,’’ he said.

A spokesman for State Transport and Infrastructure Minister Pat Conlon said any follow-up reports would need to be carried out by the Federal Government.

The public meeting will be held at the Blackwood Baptist Church on Friday, July 30, at 7pm.

via Messenger News

They say the rail authority’s move last month to clear vegetation from a stretch along Minchinbury Tce has dramatically altered the streetscape and has impacted on birdlife and traffic noise.

Resident John Teague said the axing of about 100 mature trees and shrubs from a 100m stretch at the front of his property had changed the quiet street.

“By removing these 100 native trees you have effectively destroyed the habitat of many native birds, lizards, insects and countless other types of wildlife, not to mention the trees themselves,” he wrote in a letter of complaint to SA Transport Minister Patrick Conlon.

The father of two young children told the Guardian Messenger the green belt was a “major consideration” in his decision to purchase a house in the area.

He called for it to be restored as a matter of urgency.

“There was a great native flora barrier there and they’ve just destroyed it with no explanation, no reason and no merit.

“I think it’s totally underhanded and not fair at all that an authority can go ahead and do what it pleases without any consultation with residents.”

Neighbour Alex Ostapchuk said the rail strip now looked “terrible”.

“I think they took it too far they could have just trimmed the trees they didn’t have to chop them all down,” he said.

Former Independent Mitchell MP Kris Hanna said he had been approached by many “irate” residents about the issue.

“I know a number of people in the area have been really irate about it not only because of the way it was done, but because there’s been no promise to remedy the damage,” he said.

Transport Department spokesman Ross Stargatt said the vegetation was cleared as part of a TransAdelaide safety program along the corridor.

“Trees near the Oaklands interchange were removed for safety reasons due to the risk of tree limbs dropping on to the track and to ensure train drivers have clear, uninterrupted views of signals and the track ahead,” he said in an emailed statement.

“Train stopping distances are relatively lengthy and for this reason train drivers must have as much notice as possible of people on or about the track.”

He said once the electrification work along the corridor was complete, TransAdelaide would look into options for planting “low-level flowering native shrubbery and grasses” in the area.

via Messenger News