Rail fails

I AM a keen student of politics and public transport.
Trawling through the Baillieu/ Napthine pre-election promises of 2010 you will discover a promise to add an additional 40 suburban trains to the network.
Only seven have made it to the tracks, two weeks out from the 2014 election.
Melbourne Metro Trains are very slow. My nearest station, Belgrave has “limited express” trains scheduled to take 65-67 minutes to traverse the 41.3 kms to the city – an average speed of 38.7km/h for that distance – including stops.
Wikipedia reveals that five athletes have run the 42 kilometres of the marathon in 125 minutes this century – better than half the scheduled speed of these trains.
Melbourne’s Metro Trains speeds lag well behind those of other Australian cities.
Examples include:
1. Penrith to Sydney Central – 55.09kms – 49-62 mins – average speed 53+km/h.
2. Beenleigh to Brisbane Central – 40kms – 51-53 mins – average speed 47km/h.
3. Seaford to Adelaide Central – 35.9 kms – (stopping all stations) – 52 mins – average speed 41.42km/h.
4. Mandurah to Perth Central – 70kms – 45-47 mins average speed 88.3-92.6 km/h.
Melbourne’s Metro has seen little growth under the last four years of Coalition Government. The only extensions have been the short Epping-South Morang line of 3.7kms and the electrification of the existing Water Gardens – Sunbury line of 15.1kms.
By contrast the following have occurred in the last four years in the other mainland capitals:
1. Glenfield to Leppington south west of Sydney – 11.5kms opened last month.
Construction has commenced on the Epping – Rouse Hill line of 20+kms much of it in tunnels or on lengthy viaduct.
The other cross suburban link from Epping to Chatswood in the northern suburbs of Sydney was also opened within the last four years.
Sydney currently has four cross suburban rail links. Melbourne has none!
2. In the northern suburbs of Perth the Joondalop line was extended from Clarkson to Butler, a distance of nine kms and opened in September this year.
The Mandurah line of 70 kms to the south of Perth was also commissioned within the last four years.
3. In the Brisbane Rail network an entirely new suburban line was constructed and opened from Darra to Springfield – 13.74 kms and opened last month. The Gold Coast line was extended several kilometres south recently with the extension to Varsity Lakes.
The Gold Coast Light Rail of 14 kms was also opened some 4 months ago.
4. The Adelaide Metro has also experienced an extension south from Christies Beach to Seaford 35.9 kms from Central and the whole line has been upgraded and electrified.
Additional floundering and failings of Melbourne’s Metro abound.
Sydney has 2,205 double-deck carriages made up into eight car trains.
Melbourne has not a single such double-deck high capacity train since prematurely scrapping the only such double-deck train trialed some years back! Melbourne’s trains are limited to six carriages.
Both Melbourne and Sydney are stuck with the now out of date 1500-volt DC overhead. The new systems in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide all use the modern 25,000-volt AC overhead.
Brisbane, and Sydney both have suburban rail links to their airports. Perth and now Adelaide are planning construction of similar links.
The Napthine Government has trumpeted a similar Melbourne airport rail link and then committed funds to the widening of the Tullamarine Freeway.
Melbourne people need to be exposed to the lies, deceit and empty promises of the Napthine Government before the forthcoming State Election.
Roger Willsher,
Emerald.