Cut the Commute

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Wollongong Transport Coalition (WTC) commends the Editorial of the Illawarra Mercury for 15 July:

“Our readers have made it loud and clear through the columns of these pages as part of our Cut the Commute campaign”. For full article click HERE

Wollongong Transport Coalition (WTC) would like to thank the Lord Mayor and Councillors of Wollongong City Council who are completing a six year term of office, and looks forward to working with the new Council.

 WTC also commends the unanimous motion passed by Council on 29 May 2017 moved by Councillor Merrin and as amended as follows:

1.     Given the recently-released analysis of the economic, social and environmental advantages to Wollongong of improving rail transport in the region, in comparison to building the M1 Motorway in southern Sydney, Council write to Local Members, the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, The Hon Andrew Constance MP, and the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, The Hon Melinda Pavey MP, requesting

a.    that public transport and freight rail options be included in the business case for theM1 Motorway;

b.    all relevant information pertaining to the costs and benefits of rail improvements in the Illawarra to be released to the public; and

c.    advice on how the Government will reduce rail travel times between Wollongong and Sydney.

2.     The letters also outline

a.    the great opportunity the recently announced Federal Government National Rail Program which has been designed specifically for Regional areas is for our region;

b.    the assurance that Wollongong Council recognises the great opportunity for growth to the Illawarra if the rail corridors linking Wollongong to other areas, such as Sydney and South Western Sydney were developed to a standard that would enable our rail infrastructure to meet the current demands and the future needs of the area;

c.    that the recently-announced Federal funds for rail infrastructure would fit perfectly, if they were achieved, into the future expected residential and business needs for this region;

d.    that those funds would help to facilitate the completion of the long overdue and much-needed revamp of the Illawarra rail line.

3.     Council ensure that these letters are prepared and sent as soon as possible.

Facebook page for Maldon Dombarton Railway Link

Please check and consider adding a comment or a "like" 

https://www.facebook.com/maldon.dombarton.appeal

Opposition leader pledges cash

As reported by the Illawarra Mercury on 21 January2015

Half of the proceeds from the long-term lease of Port Kembla port will be spent in the Illawarra under a NSW Labor government, Opposition Leader Luke Foley promised on Wednesday.

Labor has pledged that $380 million would be returned to the region if it is elected to government on March 28, compared with the $100 million allocated by the Liberal government.

Mr Foley said a dedicated Illawarra Infrastructure Investment Fund would be established to oversee the distribution of funds.

However, the government says the announcement lacks substance because the money has already been allocated to projects and no specific infrastructure commitments were made.

Mr Foley said the Illawarra had been ‘‘short-changed’’ when Port Kembla port was leased for $760 million in April 2013 and the region only received $100 million.

WTC Comment 

The $100 million committed prior to the sale was shown later to be inadequate. Wollongong needs more, with some of the proceeds of the long term port lease to be applied to improving rail access to Port Kembla.

This includes completing the Maldon Dombarton link, for which expressions of interest close soon.

WTC Comment

Wollongong needs local elected representatives at a State and local level who are prepared to support both completion of the Maldon Dombarton rail link and faster passenger trains to Sydney.

The situation for Maldon Dombarton is very different now than what it was in 1988 when the Avon tunnel contract was cancelled by the Greiner government in a tight budgetary situation. In 1988, the main traffic on offer was coal. In 2011, there is not only coal with prospects for further growth in exports (Illawarra Mercury "Boom time at Port Kembla" 19 May, which notes that the Port Kembla Coal Terminal - thanks to the coal boom - could allow it to handle more than $1 billion worth of extra coal a year) but also cars from the inner harbour. Plus containers and other cargo from approved Port Kembla outer harbour expansion. Passengers too are also quite possible.

WTC looks forward to the release, this winter, by the Federal government of the full feasibility study for Maldon Dombarton. Plus the new Infrastructure NSW agency taking a good look at a rail line that will not only benefit the Illawarra but much of Sydney.

Recent Illawarra Mercury stories showing problems with existing rail and road links.

Double truck crash closes Picton Rd
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/double-truck-crash-closes-picton-rd/2012024.aspx
30 Nov, 2010 10:32 AM
The westbound lane of Picton Rd at Cataract is closed following a collision between two trucks.
Nobody is believed to have been seriously injured in the incident.
Motorists are advised to use either Illawarra Hwy or Appin Rd as alternative routes.

Emergency repairs delay South Coast trains
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/emergency-repairs-delay-south-coast-trains/2013298.aspx
01 Dec, 2010 10:13 AM
South Coast commuters can expect delays due to emergency repairs on signal equipment between Coalcliff and Scarborough.
Transport NSW said trains were being delayed by up to 15 minutes in both directions.
The delays come as the State Opposition criticises the Government for its failure to improve rail service.
According to the Opposition, NSW train commuters are being forced back into their cars because of poor state of the public transport system.
The RailCorp annual report reveals there were 2.3 million fewer passenger trips on the rail network in 2009-10 compared to 2008-09.
‘‘Commuters are talking with their feet because they are fed up with the Keneally Labor government’s failure to improve the public transport system,’’ Opposition transport spokeswoman Gladys Berejiklian said.


Rainfall delays South Coast trains
BY MATTHEW JONES AND ANGELA THOMPSON
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/rainfall-delays-south-coast-trains/2014119.aspx
02 Dec, 2010 04:00 AM
Heavy rains wreaked havoc on the South Coast rail line yesterday, with three separate incidents slowing trains to a crawl….

Trains were delayed by 30 minutes from 9.15am as RailCorp crews carried out emergency repairs on signal equipment between Coalcliff and Scarborough. A RailCorp spokeswoman confirmed the incident was weather-related and repairs were completed by 10am.
Just hours later, safety monitors and land slip detectors were activated at Thirroul, forcing trains to slow down through the area between 1.20pm and 2.52pm. …

Around the same time, a train struck a large rock that had washed onto the tracks at Wombarra. Passengers were delayed by up to 30 minutes as RailCorp crews removed the rock and checked the track for damage.

Maldon-Dombarton line chugs into next stage

The controversial railway line pictured from the air. The project was dumped by the Greiner Liberal government in 1988 and the Carr Labor government broke a promise to restart work (Wollondilly Advertiser 4/11/08)


Maldon-Dombarton line chugs into next stage
Illawarra Mercury 8 July 2009
BY BRETT COX

The Maldon-Dombarton railway line is today a step closer to being completed, with a pre-feasibility study showing there is a business case to progress the moth-balled link.
Treasurer Wayne Swan is expected to release the results of the $300,000 study into the line which began in January, before he speaks at a business lunch in Wollongong this afternoon.

The study - a pre-election promise by Illawarra Labor MPs Sharon Bird and Jennie George - was undertaken by consultants Connell Hatch and looked at present and future rail freight transport needs, the capacity of existing freight networks and construction requirements for the line's completion.
The Mercury understands the completed study shows a strong business case for progressing to a more comprehensive feasibility study, with the predicted cost of finishing the line in today's terms considerably more than previous estimates of $300 million.

The Government has previously indicated a feasibility study and engineers' reports would cost about $4 million and construction would take a further three years.
Completion of the 35km Maldon-Dombarton link has been identified as the region's infrastructure priority by business and community groups.

The project was initiated in 1983 by the Wran state government. About $30 million was spent before the Greiner government cancelled it in 1988.
About 30km of track, 4km of tunnel, a 500m bridge across the Nepean and Cordeaux rivers, an underpass under the F5 and a number of bridges over roads and rail tracks would still need to be built, but leftover infrastructure is in reasonable condition.

Advocates for the completion of the line say it would provide a direct and efficient route for rail freight to and from Port Kembla, particularly for the expanding $70 billion-a-year western Sydney economy.
It could connect Port Kembla to large intermodal ports already established in suburbs like Minto and link in with the National Freight Network.

The State Government has continued to push responsibility of the project into the Federal Government's hands because of its freight implications.
Ms Bird, who was a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services when it recommended completion of the link in 2007, has previously argued for it because "Port Kembla is the only

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/maldondombarton-line-chugs-into-next-stage/1561467.aspx?storypage=0