{"id":3368,"date":"2024-01-18T12:10:31","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T02:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=3368"},"modified":"2024-01-26T22:06:41","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T12:06:41","slug":"city-underground-rail-key-to-adelaide-groups-new-transport-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=3368","title":{"rendered":"City underground rail key to Adelaide group’s new transport vision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Adelaide needs a new approach to public transport with an underground rail loop in the city a key part of this transformation, according to a comprehensive blueprint released by a South Australian transport lobby group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Adelaide
The Transport Action Network’s vision for the public transport system includes an Adelaide underground rail loop with strategically-placed stations. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Transport Action Network, formed in Adelaide last year<\/a>, wants public and active transport planning to be a central part of the new Greater Adelaide Regional Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a paper released by the network this week, former senior government transport planner Tom Wilson and researcher Jennifer Bonham argue the time has come for a long-mooted underground rail loop, connecting the north and south rail lines and making trains more easily accessible in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the group is concerned about the State Government\u2019s push to open up large new areas for development on the fringes of Adelaide, it believes the plans could offer a transformational opportunity for the public transport network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wants rail services extended to accommodate this growth in the north, the Adelaide Hills, and the outer south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also see an immediate opportunity for light rail, with tram services introduced to link the city with the airport along an existing corridor create by the Keswick Creek through the inner western suburbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper, Greater Adelaide Public Transport: A Network for 21st Century Challenges<\/em><\/a>, sees the State Government\u2019s work on the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan as an opportunity re-establish an integrated land use and transport plan for the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper\u2019s arguments are based on a network approach: meaning trains, trams and bus routes are integrated with active transport networks (cycling, walking and micro-mobility).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means expanding Adelaide Metro services to areas not serviced by the public system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adelaide Railway Station is a terminus \u2013 inefficient and time-consuming. Photo: Liam Jenkins\/InDaily<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time is also right, the authors argue, for Adelaide to finally enact a plan first envisaged in the 1960s \u2013 an underground rail loop for the CBD with stations potentially located near Hindmarsh Square, Victoria Square and Whitmore Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They argue this proposal could have the biggest impact of all its recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe entire public transport network can be transformed by connecting the northern and southern lines via an underground CDB loop,\u201d the paper says. \u201cThis connection has been included in metropolitan Adelaide and City of Adelaide plans and strategies since the 1960s and it is a project that\u2019s time has come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It pointed to Infrastructure SA\u2019s concern that the \u201cterminus nature\u201d of the Adelaide Railway Station \u201cputs a natural constraint on the rail network\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper says the loop would improve access across the metropolitan area as well as throughout the CBD, saving significant time at Adelaide Railway Station and improving connections for passengers. The city station network would triple the train catchment area and increase rail patronage for Adelaide, which is one-third that of the Perth CBD and one-quarter of the Brisbane CBD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper estimates the project would cost $3 billion to $5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdvocacy for this project sits at the intersection of three key factors: the Federal Government\u2019s renewed focus on heavy rail, Infrastructure Australia\u2019s revised assessment criteria to include climate change, and the opportunity to apply for federal grant funding for a major project beyond Torrens to Darlington (South Road),\u201d the paper says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonham told InDaily<\/em> the network had its paper checked by a transport economist and it was confident a \u201csensible timetable of actions\u201d could be developed to take advantage of political and policy conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

InDaily<\/em> has approached the State Government for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Rail to the fringes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rail is also a key part of the network\u2019s vision for serving the outer reaches of the greater metropolitan area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is essential to identify, secure and maintain suitable corridors for rail into areas subject to urban and regional development in the next 50 years,\u201d the paper says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegional and interstate railways should be evaluated and secured for new, revived and realigned services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wants work to begin to extend passenger rail to the outer north-west \u2013 to the growth areas of Riverlea, Virginia and Two Wells \u2013 and in the outer northeast, from the existing terminus at Gawler to Concordia, Roseworthy and the Barossa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper has strategised how these lines could be established, including reactivating disused railways, and has mooted possible station locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper argues for an immediate trial of passenger rail to Mt Barker, with the possibility of extending it to Murray Bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLong-term investments into the Adelaide Hills rail network could benefit passenger rail, freight, and The Overland, and could lead to passenger services being expanded along the Adelaide-Melbourne corridor, such as to Murray Bridge,\u201d it states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Down south, the authors want the government to secure a rail corridor to Sellicks Beach, just as it has from Seaford to Aldinga Beach, with the possibility of running passenger rail to Victor Harbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlanning for the rail extension to Aldinga and beyond to Sellicks must consider the identification and reservation of a corridor for longer-term extension to Victor Harbor via Sellicks Hill and Hindmarsh Valley. Such a route would be substantially more direct than the old route via Strathalbyn and likely competitive with road travel time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Transport Action Network has mapped potential rail extensions to service new growth areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Reconsidering trams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Malinauskas Government abandoned a comprehensive plan by the previous Labor Government to rebuild Adelaide\u2019s tram network \u2013 a proposition rejected by the Liberals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there have been ongoing calls \u2013 including this week<\/a> \u2013 to expand the tram network to North Adelaide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Transport Action Network supports this and wants investigations into expanding the tramline to Adelaide Oval, North Adelaide, Blair Athol via Prospect Road, and Gepps Cross via Main North Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It believes a tram link to Adelaide Airport would reduce traffic congestion in the west and attract potentially large patronage, with the airport generating 50,000 vehicle trips per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the challenges of delivering a tram line along Henley Beach Road or Sir Donald Bradman Drive, the paper argues for an alternative route, branching from the existing line to Hindmarsh, near the proposed site of the new Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital, to James Congdon Drive, across South Road and then down the Keswick Creek corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA high-quality, high-frequency, light-rail connection between Adelaide airport and the CBD would offer a convenient, comfortable, highly prominent, and highly patronised service for tourists, business travellers, international students, as well as western suburbs locals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper also argues for investigations into replacing heavy rail with trams on the Outer Harbor and Grange lines, given its flexibility to branch out into other local areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Transport Action Network\u2019s concept of a tram to the airport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The time is also right, the authors argue, for Adelaide to finally enact a plan first envisaged in the 1960s \u2013 an underground rail loop for the CBD with stations potentially located near Hindmarsh Square, Victoria Square and Whitmore Square.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,49,47],"tags":[265,7],"class_list":["post-3368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-passenger","category-rail-news","tag-adelaide","tag-transport"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3370,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions\/3370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}