The Suburban Rail Loop: 50 Billion Reasons Why (Or Why Not)?
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Presentation to VPELA Seminar 05/03/2019 The Suburban Rail Loop: 50 Billion Reasons Why (or Why Not)? Peter Tesdorpf - Rail Futures Institute 1 What is Rail Futures? Rail Futures Institute is an independent non-partisan group. Formed to advocate cost-effective rail and intermodal solutions for public transport and freight problems based on sound commercial, economic and social reasoning. Rail Futures members include experienced rail professionals, engineers, urban planners and economists. 2 Successful Outcomes • InterCity Regional Rail Plan - blueprint for Victorian regional rail to 2040. • Government announcements to date for airport rail align substantially with RFI’s AIRTRAIN proposal. • Government’s Western Rail Plan, Ballarat, Gippsland and other line upgrades align well with RFI recommendations. • Many RFI InterCity proposals reflected in Victorian Coalition regional rail policy. 3 4 5 6 7 WHY WE NEED THE MELBOURNE RAIL PLAN • Unprecedented population growth not seen since the 1850s Gold Rush. • Highest growth rate of Western cities. • Rapid urban densification occurring in inner and middle suburbs • Extensive outer urban growth areas lacking high quality public transport • Melbourne facing a transport crisis – roads, trains, trams near capacity • Car dependency levels becoming unsustainable • Our trams among the world’s slowest – operating well below their potential • We have a land use plan but no transport plan – as mandated by the Transport Integration Act. 8 Growth has outpaced transport network (1) Original radial train and tram network has not kept pace with Melbourne’s growth…..started falling behind from the late 1950s. The network was good for a city of 2-3 million, but not for now and the future, as these figures illustrate: • 88% of the area and 92% of the population of Melbourne’s inner area (where there is a partial grid network) is covered by high capacity (rail) public transport. • 41% of the area and 54% of the population of Melbourne’s middle area (which has a limited grid network) is covered by high capacity (rail) public transport. • Just 4% of the area and 24% of the population of Melbourne’s outer area (which has no grid network) is covered by high capacity public transport...Yet this area contains 44% of Melbourne’s population. 9 Growth has outpaced transport network (2) The enlarging CBD means the tram and rail network needs reconfiguring to provide access to the new parts. The Polycentric city policy won’t be workable unless the NEICs, principal major activity centres and Melbourne Airport are linked by rail. The polycentric city concept will fail without high quality PT grid connections. Huge growth in the outer suburbs growth corridors (about 1m more people expected in Melbourne’s west alone) not matched with effective transport: • More than 40% of interface LGA residents do not live near public transport and 75% are completely car dependent. • Many spend 2 hours a day getting to and from work. Implications for family cohesion. Densification in inner and middle suburbs not matched by public transport planning. Will dramatically increase demand on the tram network which is the world’s biggest but also the slowest. Trams spend 17% of their time stopped at traffic lights. 10 FROM RADIAL TO GRID The keystone of the Melbourne Rail Plan is to transform the current radial network into a connected cross-city grid network. A well structured grid network with friendly interchanges and frequent service levels will maximise the range of places one can reach with just one transfer and be an attractive alternative to a car trip. The Melbourne Rail Plan comprises: 1. The Train Plan (heavy rail) 2. The Tram Plan 3. The Medium Capacity Transit (MCT) and Light Rail Plan supported by: 4. The Bus Network 5. Active transport (walking and cycling) 11 12 The TRAIN PLAN RFI Metro Strategy RF URBAN RAIL STRATEGY plans for (cont) • 5 Cross suburban tram routesFIVE NEW LINES By 2024: MetroVictoria 1 Gardens- Footscray – Elsternwick RS, - North Melbourne – West Melbourne RS - Richmond - South Yarra, Parkville – StateFootscray Library – Moonee Ponds, – Town Hall – Anzac - Caulfield Doncaster Hill - Caulfield RS By 2027: AirTrainKew ––MoorabbinS. Cross RS – Sunshine – Melbourne Airport By 2030:• Metro6 Smartbus routes 2 - Newport – Fishermans Bend – S. Cross - Bundoora RMIT - South Morang Flagstaff – ParkvilleRowville – Caulfield, – Fitzroy – Croxton Middle Brighton - Blackburn Frankston – Melbourne Airport, By 2035: South AltonaEast – Mordialloc FastLine - Southern Cross – Caulfield – Chadstone – Monash – DandenongChelsea – Airport West– Pakenham – (Gippsland) By 2039: Glen Waverley – Wantirna South – Knox City 13 14 The TRAIN PLAN EIGHT EXTENSIONS OF ELECTRIFICATION 2022 to 2030 - Southern Cross via Sunshine to BLACK FOREST ROAD - Deer Park to MELTON - Cranbourne to CLYDE - Upfield to ROXBURGH PARK - Frankston to BAXTER - Werribee to BLACK FOREST ROAD - Craigieburn to WALLAN - Sunbury to CLARKEFIELD 15 The TRAINSi PLAN • 21 NEW stations • Untangling the City Loop • 6 Cross-CBD rail groups • 16 further level crossings removed • Duplication of 4 single line bottlenecks • Train / tram interchanges at 43 stations • Minimum 10 minute turn up and go frequencies on all main rail corridors • 206 new Metro trains by 2037 16 The TRAM PLAN Melbourne’s Tram Network “The Jewel in the CROWN” Trams carry 86 % of total train patronage ! • 13 extensions of existing tram lines • Enlarged CBD Tram Network • NEW CBD Route travel options • Three Cross-Suburban tram routes • Supplementary peak inner suburbs routes • 480 new low floor large trams by 2034 • 1000 more fully DDA compliant tram stops 17 18 What is MCT? • An intermediate step between street- based trams and heavy rail. • Typical cost around ⅓rd of heavy rail. • Can be various technologies such as: • Light Rail (LRT) • Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) • Light Metro (e.g. Paris Metro, London Docklands) • Large guided tram-type buses • Hybrid electric/battery power • Not necessarily “one size fits all” 19 MCT in Melbourne • Ideal application for high quality mass transit for non-radial high usage corridors but not requiring the capacity of traditional heavy rail • Can play a key role in changing land use patterns • Proven attraction for land value uplift and investment along key corridors • Improves urban amenity, liveability and access. • Integrates seamlessly with other modes at natural transfer points as part of a grid network • Can be located in freeway or wide boulevard medians, also installed using elevated structures or in short underground sections • SmartBus a logical transition to change travel behaviour and prove up potential demand 20 Potential MCT Fleet Types London Docklands Railway 21 Potential MCT Fleet Types Sheffield, UK – Tram/train capable of 100 km/h 22 Potential MCT Fleet Types Trackless Tram in Zhuzhou, Hunan, China 23 Potential MCT Fleet Types G-Link – Gold Coast Light Rail, Queensland 24 Potential MCT Fleet Types Light Rail Vehicles in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 25 Integrating Light Rail into urban form 26 Proposed MCT Corridors The Melbourne Rail Plan Proposes 10 MCT Corridors: ONE RADIAL CORRIDOR: • MELBOURNE CBD - Victoria Park RS - Bulleen - DONCASTER HILL THREE MAJOR ORBITAL CORRIDORS: • MELBOURNE AIRPORT - Taylors Lakes - Deer Park RS – DERRIMUT • MELBOURNE AIRPORT - Broadmeadows - Bundoora – Latrobe University – Heidelberg - Doncaster - Box Hill – Burwood - MONASH UNIVERSITY • RINGWOOD RS - Knox City - Rowville - Dandenong RS - Keysborough - MENTONE RS 27 Proposed MCT Corridors SIX MAJOR CROSS SUBURBAN CORRIDORS: • CAULFIELD RS - Chadstone SC - Monash University - Springvale RS - KEYSBOROUGH • ELSTERNWICK RS - Ormond - Huntingdale - Monash University - ROWVILLE • SUNSHINE - Braybrook - Maidstone - Footscray RS - Kingsville - ALTONA RS • NEWPORT RS - Brooklyn - Sunshine RS - Ginifer RS - Cairnlea – BRIMBANK CENTRAL • WILLIAMS LANDING RS - Point Cook - East Werribee NEIC - Hoppers Crossing RS - TARNEIT RS. • WILLIAMS LANDING RS - Truganina - SAYERS ROAD RS. 28 29 Comparison: Suburban Rail Loop v MCT Corridors The SRL announcement is bold and visionary and signals a shift in emphasis from road to rail-based solutions. RFI supports the key principles on which the SRL is premised, namely: • Moving Melbourne’s rail network from a pure radial system towards a more balanced cross-city network. • Enabling a wider range of journeys by public transport instead of by car. • Supporting the Plan Melbourne polycentric city model and distribution of jobs to the suburbs. • Linking key economic clusters, activity centres and education precincts. • Making more jobs and job choices accessible to more people. • Facilitating regional rail connections to airport and key clusters. It may also help reduce ongoing outer growth sprawl by facilitating residential densification along the route, through appropriate planning policies. 30 Comparison: Suburban Rail Loop v MCT Corridors The questions that need exploring however are: • Is heavy rail the most appropriate solution compared to other technologies (MCT/Light Rail)? • What are the comparative costs and benefits? • Which options provide the greatest range of travel options? • Does the comparative speed difference between heavy and MCT/light rail matter? • Where does SRL fit in the broader transport plan? (It’s a mega project / grand idea without an overall context as required by the Transport Integration Act). 31 Comparison: Suburban Rail Loop v MCT Corridors Coverage and Travel Options: Rail Futures’ proposed MCT corridors (excluding