EcoTransit News Public transport solutions from EcoTransit • www.ecotransit.org.au • September 2008 Watkins: light rail extension is sensible, but ... Inner West residents have shown tremendous support for the propos- al to extend the existing light rail service from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill. And now, thousands of people want to know why it wasn’t built years ago. Leichhardt, Ashfield and Marrickville ros are built. They claim the rail freight Councils have all voted unanimously in line might be needed to take away soil support of the extension and are com- and rock — known as ‘spoil’ — from mitted to supporting the campaign. The the tunnel excavations. three local state members — Verity EcoTransit has received technical ad- Firth, Carmel Tebbutt and Linda Bur- vice from transport academics Dr Garry ney — have all said it’s a good idea Glazebrook and Dr Michelle Zeibots and asked the Transport minister John from the University of Technology, Watkins to make sure the corridor is re- Sydney, both of whom attended the served for public transport use. meeting with the Transport Minister. The Greens think it’s such a good idea “It’s very common in Europe and the they’ve started actively campaigning US to have time sharing arrangements for it. The Liberal Party say they’ve al- for light rail with freight or other heavy ways supported light rail and hundreds rail trains on the same rail tracks,” said of businesses in the area are joining the Dr Glazebrook. “At the absolute most, campaign. there would be four freight trains per With so much support, you’d expect day needed to remove spoil. It would be very easy to time-separate the sched- the state government to jump at the EcoTransit at Rozelle Markets collecting signatures to support the extension. chance to finally do something that uling of light rail and freight services. will please commuters. After all, the That way there would be no excuse to urgently need to find sustainable alter- EcoTransit will be turning up the heat rail line is already there, there’ll be hold up the light rail extension for ten natives to petrol and diesel-based trans- of the campaign.’ no freight trains on it after December, years.” port,” Dr Zeibots said. A series of public meeting on the pro- Metro Light Rail says they already have Dr Zeibots is asking European experts What has been made clear from this posal will be held shortly after the lo- the rolling stock to extend to Lewisham to provide advice on shared passenger first meeting with the minister, is that cal government elections on the 13th of and it would only cost $17 million to and rail freight services. She believes there is very little stopping the light rail September. construct new stops for the first stage. that professionals in Sydney will ben- from being extended in the next few Members of the community are be- But in what can only be described as efit from the opportunities to learn from years. ing urged to assist the campaign by practitioners with operational experi- high farce, bureaucrats at the Ministry “But we have to be prepared to fight contacting their local members, either ence. of Transport have advised the Transport for it,’ said Leah Mason, spokesperson by email, snail mail or in-person to tell Minister, John Watkins that the exten- “Stopping the productive use of this for EcoTransit Sydney. ‘Now that we them that this is the kind of project that sion can’t go ahead until after the Met- line is unthinkable. Especially when we know where the politicians all stand, they should support EcoTransit takes your letters to the politicians Since the last edition of EcoTransit News, 3,500 people have signed “We see no difference between the conces- letters of support. If you could build train tracks with these, we sions available to passengers on privately have enough for 1.5 kms of new light rail. With 18,000, we’ll have run public buses in Western Sydney and a chain of letters as long as the actual line. the situation of concession passengers on the current light rail service. The inference EcoTransit met with John “Verity, Carmel and Linda have asked me that the current light rail service is a tourist Watkins on August 14. to investigate the possibility of excising the line from the Metropolitan Freight Network service should be challenged,” Ms Rhian- At the meeting, EcoTran- non said. sit outlined the merits of the so that it can remain in RailCorp’s control. Liberal shadow transport minister Gladys extension, that it could be I am happy to do this and have requested Berejiklian also supported the extension of achived quickly and at low advice on available options,” concession tickets to light rail passengers. cost. EcoTransit also raised On the issue of extending ticket conces- the issue of extending sions to light rail passengers, the minister When asked at a public meeting on cli- concession tickets to said, “In relation to ticketing Sydney Metro mate change about the light rail extension, light rail passengers Light Rail is and has always been a self- the Federal Minister for Transport and in line with all other supporting commercial venture. The Gov- Member for Grayndler, public transport op- ernment is not currently proposing to subsi- said , ‘they should never have ripped up the erators and services dise the light rail operator for the fares and trams in the first place’. But then added that in Sydney. ticketing products it provides.” “the Inner West is already well serviced by public transport.” After presenting The Greens response was very different, the proposal and let- with Lee Rhiannon saying, “The Greens EcoTransit has requested a meeting with ters of support to support fare concessions for all forms of Mr Albanese and is still waiting to hear the minister, he said public transport, light rail is no exception.” back from his office. Get behind the campaign today! Information and campaign tools at EcoTransit News • September 2008 • Page 1 Taking the tram to Dulwich Hill … Plus a GreenWay corridor for cyclists, walkers and wildlife

e’re fighting for the extension of the light rail service from its current termination at Lily- Wfield to Dulwich Hill station along the now almost disused Rozelle Goods line. At very little cost, the LR extension would significantly boost public transport capacity in the gridlocked Inner West. We also want an integrated high-quality cycleway, a pedestrian path and native habitat restoration in the corridor, in line with the vision developed by the Friends of the GreenWay. Complementary cycleway and With peak oil driving up petrol prices By GAVIN GATENBY, EcoTransit Sydney pedestrian path alongside light rail with crossings under or and world oil supplies threatened by politi- bound traffic. This will radically shorten reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The over busy roads plus habitat cal tensions in the Middle East and Central public transport trip times and make em- provision of a safe, fast cycle route will restoration Asia, Sydney needs every bit of non-oil- ployment centres in Sydney’s west more encourage commuter cycling and free ad- dependent public transport infrastructure it easily accessible to inner-west residents. ditional capacity on the public transport can get and light rail extension represents The line would also connect with existing network. an extraordinary opportunity. bus services. We are seeking State and/or Federal The six kilometre extension from Lily- The extension would utilise the existing funding for completion of the entire proj- field to Dulwich Hill would add 10 light track and wiring of the goods line. Tram ect (less light rail vehicle purchases). rail stops to the existing 13. A complemen- stop construction and light rail compatible We believe the State Government should tary extension to East Balmain would add a signaling would be required as well as two unambiguously reserve the Rozelle cor- further two or three stops and much-needed additional light rail vehicles. ridor for sustainable transport and en- extra public transport capacity for the pen- The whole project, including cycling vironmental improvements, fast-track a insula. and pedestrian facilities, can easily be design consultation with local government, The extension would establish a vital completed for less than $50 million – an community groups, the light rail operator, orbital link between the Western and Bank- absolute bargain by infrastructure stan- and other stakeholders, in conjunction with stown heavy rail lines with interchanges dards. It would be a sustainable service the GreenWay studies already underway. at Lewisham and Dulwich Hill stations that could be run on electricity gener- And it should complete the whole project allowing new connections across CBD- ated from renewable sources, thereby by 2010. Thirty years of new light rail, 125 success stories t is now 30 years since the Canadian Icity of Edmonton built the first new light rail system of the modern era. Edmonton, and the other, then new, light rail systems in Calgary and San Diego, were developed using advanced European tramway technology. The success of these pioneers in car- and freeway-dominated cities in reclaiming the place of that most adaptable and economi- cal people-mover, the electric tramway / light railway, has been confirmed repeated- ly in the ongoing boom in light rail transit. Since the1980s the rate of construction of new light rail systems has increased. There are now 125 new systems operat- ing globally with more being planned and built. The disruption to the urban fabric caused by heavy metro or motorway con- struction and light rail’s ability to exploit disused railways has brought revitalization of neighbourhoods, rather than obliteration by demolition and gross overdevelopment. Unlike motorways, light rail contributes no local pollution in operation and noise levels are a fraction of those from road traffic. In Australia, worn-out Melbourne rail- ways to Port Melbourne and St Kilda were rebuilt as light rail in the 1980s and integrated with the large tramway system, improving service quality over the old railway. Recent tramway extensions to Bundoora, Box Hill and Vermont South are built to light rail standards. Adelaide has seen progress with its Glenelg tramway A modern light rail system in Nice, one of 17 seytems now operating in France. extended through the city, new easy-ac- Thanks to Friends of the GreenWay, David cess light rail cars put in service, and plans locked cities from Los Angeles to Istanbul pollution, traffic congestion, road death toll Quinlan, Sandra Langtree, Greg and Pauline announced to extend new lines into the have adopted light rail as an affordable and growth and vast waste from old tyres, and Valentine, Bruce Ashley, Roy Howarth, John suburbs along newly electrified suburban sustainable solution to road congestion. discarded cars. That experiment has clearly Bignucolo, Davo the Map Man, Dr Garry railways. New road building overseas has virtually failed, and the time has come to provide Glazebrook, Dr Michelle Zeibots, Blue Overseas, car-loving France and the US ceased and cities such as San Francisco the clean sustainable alternative of modern Collar Bohemian, Gabriel Haythornthwaite, have seen the biggest increase in new light have demolished long stretches of urban electric light rail before more good money Gavin Gatenby, Lee Hoffmann, Kate rail systems with 17 now operating and freeway at the same time expanding their is thrown after bad on failed, old, destruc- Kennedy, The Bower, The Curry Tree, six under construction in each country. light rail networks. tive blights like inner-city tollroads. Central Sydney Osteopathy, Leichhardt, Paris has embraced light rail since finding After the Second World War many cities The cities that learned the lesson have Marrickville and Ashfield Councils, Wolli metro construction costs were no longer threw away their public transport assets in embraced the solution – move people, not Creek Preservation Society, Ciao! magazine, affordable, London has built an extensive favour of encouraging profligate use of cars. Those that refuse to learn will choke Rozelle and Addison Road Markets, and a new system centred on Croydon, and grid- motor vehicles. This led to urban sprawl, on their mistake at great cost to all. host of others for their support. Page 2 • EcoTransit News • September 2008 A FROGS freeway Taking the tram to Dulwich Hill … Coming soon to a rail corridor near you? n their Sydney Integrated Transport Strategy (SITS) the so-called “10,000 IFriends of Greater Sydney” (FROGS) set out plans for a new freeway from Balgowlah to Bexley North via Mosman, North Sydney, East Balmain Rozelle, Leichhardt and Dulwich Hill. A map published in SITS 2, makes it clear that this monstrous project would utilise the Rozelle goods line. At Dulwich Hill it would interchange with another proposed freeway along the north bank of Cooks River from Burwood to Mascot Airport. EcoTransit Sydney pointed this policy out to all local and state government coucillors and members. In response, Leichhardt Council recent- ly voted to withdraw its membership and asked FROGS to explain their position on the M4 East and light rail extension. FROGS are now claiming their Transport Strategy was something put together by Chris Stapleton and that it isn’t endorsed by FROGS. Now that someone is scrutinising their material, they also claim they don’t support the Iemma Government’s M4East proposal – an underground freeway system costing in excess of $10b. But they do claim that they support the light rail extension to Dulwich Hill because that is listed on the back of their Transport Strategy. However, they also list another freeway — the F6 — that would take out hundreds of homes on the same page. So does that mean they support that? Confused? Seems to us like a Targeted for a FROGS freeway: the Rozelle whole lot of slimy talk from the FROGS. goods line passing through Dulwich Hill. The long road to So who or what is FROGS? The group was originally spawned by Sydney University’s a long career of freeway-building behind Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering, him. an engineering think-tank notorious for FROGS’ members include big, power- integrated ticketing its one-eyed advocacy of motorways and ful and very influential companies like Macquarie Infrastructure Group, Transur- When EcoTransit Sydney proposed the extension to Leichhardt Councillors, buses as the solution for Sydney’s transport woes. It’s key spokesperson has been Ken ban, Boral, Caltex Australia, John Holland they immediately saw the benefits of both the line and the opportunity to start Dobinson, a retired senior RTA officer with Group and Leighton Contractors. a fire under the simmering pot of integrated ticketing in Sydney. Independent Councillor Maire Shee- Transport it’s been interesting to see han insisted that Leichhardt Council’s that they think about this issue in terms motion to support the light rail exten- of what it means for operators rather sion should also include a request for than passengers. They debate the issue Victoria Road widened State Government to extend concession in terms of whether or not they should from Rozelle to Ryde in line with RTAʼs current tickets to light rail passengers. She was give benefits to the light rail operator plan. supported by ALP Councillor Robert and miss the point that public transport Underground M4 Centrepiece of FROGSʼ Webb. service provision, irrespective of the extension from road plan is “Diagonal 1”, North Strathfield a new freeway, mostly in When a similar motion was put to mode, is about service to passengers. to Rozelle links tunnel, from Balgowlah with City via to Bexley North via Ashfield Councillors a week later, they The light rail services are the only Anzac Bridge. Rozelle and Dulwich Hill. also endorsed the view that concession public transport services where stan- tickets should be standardised across dard concession tickets do not apply. the system. Other justifications for refusing to This issue was raised in the meeting treat inner western commuters with the with John Watkins on August 14. At same respect that is offered to everyone that meeting, Deputy Director General else in Sydney, include the claim that at the Ministry of Transport, Joanna the light rail is “just for tourists”. But Surface link road to Quilty dismissed the community’e re- the reality is that just over half of the M4E proposal using quest and said nothing would be done trips taken on the service are for work the Rozelle goods line because the contract with Metro Light or business and sixty percent of these corridor. Rail did not allow for this. commutes are made by people who live In earlier contact with Metro Light within a kilometre of the route. Rail a spokesperson for Metro Light To their credit, Metro Light Rail does Underground Rail indicated that they would be very understand customer service standards freeway from happy to receive the same trwatment as and has offered commuters concession Underground Burwood to freeway from Airport. all other private operators in Sydney. fares. However, while their MetroCard Dulwich Hill to and Metro GoldCard represent sub- M5E at Bexley The current light rail service provides North. access for over 3.5 million passenger stantial savings for regular users, other trips each year. With the extension to commuters must purchase these tickets Lewisham thgis is expected to increase in addition to their regular tickets for by well over a million. A further exten- the rest of the public transport system. sion to Dulwich Hill could see passen- EcoTransit has not given up on this is- To clarify FROGS ambitious road plans (inset, source: SITS 2) we’ve ger journeys increase by a futher mil- sue and will raise it again at their next transposed their network of proposed freeways onto a larger map of Sydney. lion trips. meeting with the Minister. In the mean- Solid lines indicate surface roads and broken lines roads in tunnel. The Rozelle goods line is shown as a surface road – a key link in “Diagonal 1”, a When discussing the issue of ticket- time, local residetns are being asked to freeway from Balgowlah to the M5E at Bexley North. The map also shows an ing with officers from the Ministry of write to the Minister and their local members to fix this inequity. M4 extension to the City via Anzac Bridge and a widened Victoria Road. EcoTransit News • September 2008 • Page 3 Campaign Diary: fighting for a better transport future May 19 Launch of the light rail campaign with 17,000 10,000 Friends of Greater Sydney (aka FROGS). planning, infrastructure and traffic). council support Leichhardt Council’s initiatives newsletters delivered on the light rail and cycleway- June 10 Ashfield Council passed unanimous motion June 23 Deputation to Carmel Tebbutt, MP and write to various stakeholders to build further proposal. Letters sent to all members of NSW State of support for the light rail extension and GreenWay. (Marrickville). support for the extension and the GreenWay corridor and Federal Parliaments and local councils. proposals. They too supported a request to the state government July 25 Deputation to , MP (Balmain). May 21 Addressed Leichhardt Precinct meeting. to integrate light rail into the fare concession system August 14 Deputation to John Watkins MP, Minister and to withdraw their support for the FROGS group. July 27 Stall at Addison Road Markets to collect for Transport, delivers letters to the premier from over May 27 Leichhardt Council passed unanimous motion letters of support. of support for the light rail extension and GreenWay. June 13 Deputation to , MP 3000 community supporters of light rail extension and Council also decided to add a request to the state (Canterbury). August 3 Stall at Rozelle Markets. the GreenWay. government to integrate Metro Light Rail into the June 17 Detailed presentation by EcoTransit and August 5 Stall at Graydler Climate Change Forum. August 29 Meeting with City of Sydney transport system of fare concessions applying to private bus Friends of the GreenWay to Leichhardt Council August 5 ’s Development & officers to discuss light rail in the CBD and inner west operators, and to withdraw Council’s support �������for the (councilors and council officers responsible for Environmental Services Committee recommends network connectivity. Do your bit for the light rail campaign First ...

Sign this and post to: EcoTransit Sydney Sustainable transport for Sydney PO Box 630 Milsons Point NSW 1565 We’ll deliver it to the The Premier Premier! The Hon. , MP Parliament House Macquarie Street And then … Sydney NSW 2000 you can do more! oin our electronic campaign and send Jan e-card to politicians. Follow the Dear Premier, links at: Light rail extension to Dulwich Hill www.ecotransit.org.au I am writing to urge you to extend the existing light rail service along the disused freight rail line from Politicians notice personal letters, so your reasons for supporting the light Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill, and to provide complementary bicycle infrastructure along the GreenWay rail extension, expressed in your own Corridor. This will: words, will make a difference. To assist our campaign, please email a copy of ■ Provide, at very little cost, additional capacity to a public transport network currently struggling to your letter to us at: meet rapidly growing demand in the face of rising petrol prices. [email protected] ■ Offer a sustainable transport service that can be run on electricity generated from renewable sources, Who to write to: thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to dangerous climate change. The Premier The Hon. Morris Iemma, MP ■ Create a crucial cross-city service through the Inner West linking Leichhardt, Haberfield, Summer Parliament House Hill, Lewisham and Dulwich Hill with the CBD and providing feeder services to the CityRail network Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 at Lewisham and Dulwich Hill. Or email: ■ Provide a safe and accessible bike corridor facilitating easy access to light rail stops and linking [email protected] Cooks River with Iron Cove and the CBD. and also… ■ Make more efficient use of existing, currently under-utilised, light rail infrastructure and vehicles. The Hon. Anthony Albanese, MP ■ Minister for Infrastructure & Enhance the amenity of inner city heritage suburbs without destruction or resumption of property or Transport inconvenience to local residents. PO Box 6022 House of Representatives I believe that extension of the light rail service to Dulwich Hill will provide a crucial link in the public Parliament House transport network for Sydney’s populous Inner West. What possible arguments could there be against such Canberra ACT 2600 a low cost, high value, project? Or email: Please write back to tell me that you will instruct the Departments of Transport and Planning to proceed [email protected] with this extension of the light rail service immediately. Volunteer to help the light rail campaign Yours sincerely, Street stalls and letterboxing are an integral part of any good community ...... campaign. EcoTransit needs your help to keep the community informed SIGNATURE of events as the campaign gains momentum...... Become a member of NAME EcoTransit Sydney Becoming a member of EcoTransit ...... Sydney enables you to meet like- ADDRESS minded community members and contribute ideas to our campaigns...... Simply join online at DATE www.ecotransit.org.au Don’t delay, do it today. Copy to: The Hon. Anthony Albanese, MP, Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport And pass this on to a friend or neighbour! Post to: EcoTransit, PO Box 630, Milsons Point NSW 1565 and we’ll deliver it to the Premier. Please make copies for Printed by MPD • Printing the news everyday • Unit friends and neighbours to send! E1, 46-62 Maddox Street Alexandria NSW 2015. For MJ. Page 4 • EcoTransit News • September 2008 ✄