Poll: East West Link

[pahoffm]

As someone who has been fortunate enough to travel on a Shinkansen, they rock! The fact they have been around for 50 years, and yet we can't get a fast rail option from Melbourne to Brisbane, really shows how our governmental structure is now screwed for 'cross state' nation building projects.

Yes, I've had a bad day.

Yes, ame here.

The whole Japanese rail system rocks.
The whole Japanese city design system rocks. Love the way Nagoya is set out, and the way its metro stations connect underground.
Has to be seen to be believed!
Shame Japan is built on the rim of a tectonic plate.

 

[uhuh uhuh]

Rail system in Seoul is also sensational and for that matter Busan in the south. Love the speed of the trains that connect their cities also.

In Busan we got of a train one station too early and walked all the way to the next station under ground.

Amazing

 

[Ian4]

How about doing such a thing instead of a road at this point? I have a memory of estimates on a train tunnel from the Eastern through to either Nth Melb or Spencer and it was about 1/4 of the costs for the road.

i do recall reading an idea about diverting the epping line before clifton hill so it runs through fitzroy north and carlton and terminates at flagstaff... that would allow you to run the doncaster line through the existing jolimont-clifton hill rail corridor. great idea, but will never happen anytime soon.

As a tax paying Victorian, I would be happy for the kill switch to be pulled on the EW link and the massively 'should not have been included' $500,000,000 payment to Napthines mates paid out. All flack should be forwarded through to the Liberal HQ for such a disgraceful effort on cashing your mates up.

i'd like to think people are intelligent enough to realise this but who knows. while this so-called 500 mil kill payment is a disgrace, its much less than 8 billion.

i also noted abbott is holding us to ransom by threatening to remove fed govt funding of the EW link doesn't go ahead :

 

[KnightersRevenge]

I like fast trains and all, but is a fast train really better than aeroplanes for travel to Brisbane?

Fast trains really only come into play when you add up all the airport time with the actual travel time and it's faster/cheaper to get a train rather than a plane. That will never be the case for a fast train between Melbourne and Brisbane or even Sydney. For a smaller country like Japan they work better.

Trains allow you to populate your regional centres. Planes don't. Fast links between major cities via regional centres will lower house prices and build up regional populations. Young people won't be forced to leave rural areas permanently if they can stay but also access the benefits of fast access to the city. Build electric and you reduce the pollution of air travel. Build electric and you have another tier of electric infrastructure linking your captial cities.

 

[KnightersRevenge]

I sent loads of emails to the transport minister about my idea to develop The Queen Vic market as part of the new loop. You could create safe secure underground storage for all the market stall holders and be free to develop above ground however you see fit and having an underground station at the market would be a boon for tourism. He never replied.

 

[Ian4]

I sent loads of emails to the transport minister about my idea to develop The Queen Vic market as part of the new loop. You could create safe secure underground storage for all the market stall holders and be free to develop above ground however you see fit and having an underground station at the market would be a boon for tourism. He never replied.

i'm sure i've mentioned this previously on the transport infratructure thread, but napthine binned the metro rail project because he didn't wanna rip up swanston st for a couple of years.

so my idea is this: instead of running the rail tunnel under swanston st, why not run it under the less busier peel st and william st? this means the rail tunnel links up with flagstaff station and the west side of flinders st station (at roughly the banana alley vaults).

you could build a new station under the flagstaff gardens where the southern exit links up flagstaff station and the northern exit links up with QV market. you also get to keep the new stations at melbourne university and arden st (which napthine has binned).

 

[Ian4]

FFS

http://m.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-state-election-2014/melbourne-metro-better-for-state-than-east-west-link-government-emails-reveal-20141118-11p6wd.html

 

[Ian4]

And confirmation Andrews will dump it if elected

http://m.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-state-election-2014/victorian-state-election-labor-wont-build-east-west-link-under-any-circumstances-20141119-11pery.html

 

[Ian4]

great point in todays herald sun 50/50 (page 32). D Wotherspoon from Northcote asks why: "The govt is prepared to leak the compensation costs for cancelling the EW link, but refuses to make the business case available."

and of course, they release these so-called compensation figures a few days out from the election, which is clearly no coincidence. i've said it before and i'll say it again, napthine is treating victorians as fools.

FYI, andrews has said he will release the EW link business case on monday if he wins on saturday.

 

[K3]

Andrews is about as great a choice as voting for Napthine.... MEH!

As for the EW Tunnel, I recon it is needed but not at the cost or the sacrificing of so many other areas of transport required. If it was a part of a forward looking, positive grand vision, and facts were actually made known to the public, I recon it would be looked at quite differently than what it is.

The fact that Yabbot has said the $3 million is for the EW link "and the EW Link project only" shows just how bloody pathetic politics is in Australia. Why can the money not go to the improvement of the trains, trams, bike paths, something, instead of having to be for that and that only? Now we have every other state out to grab the cash of the Fed Libs as Victoria suddenly doesn't have any major projects it could be put towards... Bloody pathetic!

 

[Ian4]

The fact that Yabbot has said the $3 million is for the EW link "and the EW Link project only" shows just how bloody pathetic politics is in Australia. Why can the money not go to the improvement of the trains, trams, bike paths, something, instead of having to be for that and that only?

its bloody extortion and i'm sure labour will be reminding victorian voters of this come the next federal election.

but i sure had a good laugh this morning when the age revealed that if the vic govt has to pay compo for scrapping the EW link, abbott will also have to pay compo based on the % of funds they have contributed. so basically abbott will have to support any measures andrews takes to avoid paying compo :rofl

 

[pumped]

yes why did the liberals dump the ready to go melbourne metro rail project ....

for a collingwood to flemington road tunnel of all things ?!

 

[22nd Man]

Will be one of the biggest acts in political history if Andrews really does dump this project.
What wil most likely transpire is 4 years of inaction and we go to the 2018 polls with it again as a key election issue.

 

[TigerForce]

Will be one of the biggest acts in political history if Andrews really does dump this project.
What wil most likely transpire is 4 years of inaction and we go to the 2018 polls with it again as a key election issue.

I'll bet my life he won't. Haven't some people already sold their land?

 

[Ridley]

I'll bet my life he won't. Haven't some people already sold their land?

Looking forward to the backflip from Dorky Dan.

I want front row seats and popcorn when the *smile* wankers at the Greens find out!!

 

[Baloo]

He'll backflip and blame the Libs for entering a rushed agreement with massive bail out penalties for the developers. Greens understandably annoyed but not Labours fault. Those ambivalent about the link won't really care. Labor can't really lose here. Libs played this badly by rushing it through which not only made I look dodgy but said to me they weren't confident of winning.

 

[Ridley]

He'll backflip and blame the Libs for entering a rushed agreement with massive bail out penalties for the developers. Greens understandably annoyed but not Labours fault. Those ambivalent about the link won't really care. Labor can't really lose here. Libs played this badly by rushing it through which not only made I look dodgy but said to me they weren't confident of winning.

Reasonable call. But he made it one of the key planks of his campaign. He won't be able to brush it off that easily. The inner city chardonnay sipping decaf mocha soy latte drinking lefties will be apopletic. Especially those that stand to lose their houses under compulsory acquisition. How can the Greens not defend the downtrodden without appearing the hypocrites they really are??

Buckle up.

 

[TigerForce]

Looking forward to the backflip from Dorky Dan.

I want front row seats and popcorn when the *smile*ing wankers at the Greens find out!!

I'll be looking forward to what he does with the Ambos (100% my support these people have), TAFE and that good ol' chestnut public transport.

 

[Ridley]

I'll be looking forward to what he does with the Ambos (100% my support these people have), TAFE and that good ol' chestnut public transport.

Easiest thing in the world for an opposition pollie to throw his support behind a disgruntled essential public service like the ambos. Let's see how long it takes for him to come good on his promises; if he ever does. Fire fighters and nurses in the same boat; I'll be watching closely. There's a reason he didn't release his costings until 36 hours before polls opened.........

TAFE the same; as well as tech schools. When will they start opening?

Public transport? These tossers act like Melbourne is a compact European city; not an urban sprawl city of 4.5 million that in geographical area is the 2nd or 3rd largest in the world behind LA and about the same as Sydney. Yes we need a good PT system but we also need to develop the road network to cope with the geographical scope of the city. The urban sprawl has been happening for over 50 years; some may think it's regrettable but it's what we have and we need serious infrastructure to deal with it.

 

[Rosy]

I wouldn't be surprised if the EW contract isn't worth the paper it's written on and the Libs have only been bluffing and bullying.