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

Transport Department figures obtained by The Advertiser show buses, trains and trams have had 56.4 million boardings between last July and this April – an increase of 526,000 on the previous year.

Total boardings on the bus network were 44,252,000 – up 415,000 on the same period in 2008-09.

Train patronage was down slightly to 9,803,000 boardings from 9,813,000.

However, the Belair rail line was closed for about four months from April last year for upgrades and the Outer Harbor line was also partially shutdown between November 2009 and May 2010 for a Port Adelaide Viaduct upgrade.

Trams experienced the biggest increase with 2,346,000 boardings between July 2009 and April 2010 compared with 2,226,000 last year.

via AdelaideNow

Chief Inspector David O’Donovan said people may have become complacent during the layoff.

“I am concerned … that the community, especially young children, have become unaccustomed to the dangers that trains pose,” he said.

“I would encourage parents to speak to their children, especially those who either catch trains but also those who may cross the rail line going to or from school, to reinforce the need for safety.”

Chief Insp O’Donovan said police, including plain-clothed officers and bike patrols, would monitor stations and pedestrian crossings during peak times after the service resumed to reinforce the safety message.

He said they would focus on known hot spots where near misses and collisions have occurred, either at or adjacent to rail crossings.

These included Jenkins St, Birkenhead, and near Glanville, Ethelton, Taperoo and Midlunga Railway Stations.

There were 19 near misses involving pedestrians at level crossings at Woodville and eight at Glanville in the six months prior to the Outer Harbor line closure, he said.

Chief Insp O’Donovan said as trains travelled at a maximum speed of 90km/h it was very difficult for people, especially children, to judge their speed.

Up to 40 passenger trains will use the line daily when the service resumes after a track upgrade on Sunday, May 9.

“Most people are used to judging safe crossing distances where cars are concerned and these are usually travelling at 60km/h.

“A train travelling at 90km/h needs about 420m to stop, so even if the driver is able to see someone close to the track it would certainly be too late for them to stop the train and avoid impact.”

The first city bound train departs Outer Harbor at 7.57am, while the first service leaving Adelaide departs at 7.10am on May 9.

The H1 bus replacement service will run until the last service on Saturday May 8.

via Portside Messenger

Spokesperson for Family First Nicholas Greer says light rail services should be directed towards North Adelaide and the eastern half of the CBD and the port area should be serviced by heavy rail.

He says the party suggests a rail loop of the current trams network in the CBD and thinks there is little benefit in the current extension to the Entertainment Centre, preferring a heavy rail option over the “coast to coast” light rail option.

“Light rail does not cope well with large numbers of commuters leaving a venue at the same time (such as the Entertainment Centre),” he said.

He said the party also suggests the current tram line be converted to standard heavy rail gauge should the proposed ‘tram-trains’ be bought.

Third candidate for Legislative Council of SA Democrats Sandra Kanck says the party is “bemused by the duplication and even triplication of services” to the Bowden area and questioned the government’s intentions with heavy-rail networks in the area.

“What this (the current team extension) will ultimately mean to the Outer Harbor rail line is yet to be revealed by the state government, but it does appear to be policy on the run. Perhaps we will see the phasing-out of the heavy-rail system, ” she says.

She says the party wants the Grange rail line to go to AAMI Stadium and be converted to light rail and potentially the Outer Harbor and Grange lines become light rail services too.

The current extension to the Entertainment Centre would be used regardless of who wins this Saturday’s election, Ms Kanck says.

“Light rail is always a better option in urban areas where frequent stopping is involved. The fuel efficiencies are not there for heavy rail in this regard, and some of our heavy rail services in metropolitan Adelaide would be better served by light rail.”

Senator for Greens Mark Parnell did not offer a direct comment, however he referred to the 1993 report “Greening Adelaide with Public Transport” that supported the idea of a light rail network in general in Adelaide to increase public transport use.

The report says a light rail service would provide a more green and cost effective manner for future public transport development particularly over the O-Bahn system as there are more “green” developments in electrical supply than fuel use.

Mr Parnell was the Campaign Coordinator – SA Branch of the Australian Conservation Foundation when the report was published.

He was critical of the recently released 30 year plan for Adelaide where the proposed TODs were a bit haphazard and didn’t necessarily follow any current transport network, seeing further urban sprawl in Adelaide.

In the ABC story “Transport Trip” on Stateline last year Mr Parnell said the current government needed to carefully consider its sites, noting the Buckland Park green suburb.

“It has been roundly condemned by planning professionals as being entirely the wrong way to plan the city. You know, building dormitory suburbs on the outskirts of a city with no public transport is the thinking of last century and we can’t do things like that in Adelaide if we’re serious about reducing our pollution and increasing our quality of life” Mr Parnell is quoted as saying.

By Anthony Caggiano for RailSA

Around 12 people were on board the single-carriage train when the crash occured near the Bowden Railway Station near Park Tce about 9pm.

No passengers were injured but emergency crews were called to recover the body. TransAdelaide later said it believed the death to be suicide.

Delays were expected on the Outer Harbor and Grange line for the remainder of the evening.

AdelaideNow