Like most people we are on holidays enjoying a hard-earned break after a big year. Hopefully by this time next year we will have a couple of major projects underway with a view to providing sustainable transport solutions to current and future generations.
The Moving the Northern Rivers project is now at a stage where we know exactly how much it will cost to return the disused railway between Lismore and Yelgun back to full service. There is now substantial interest from all levels of government and private and public investors, with 2024 likely to be an even bigger and more exciting year.
Of course, we have our detractors. We already have members of the rail trail movement posting comments online in a desperate effort to undermine the study. They have even gone as far as writing to politicians to say the entire study is a farce. It is important to remember that rail trail representation was asked for as part of the study, however they declined.
The final report on the degradation study will be just over 100 pages long. There are also substantial supporting documents such as quotes and engineering reports which equates to an additional 250 pages. The costings are based on actual pricing for related infrastructure – for example each individual bridge and each level crossing has been quoted. The final costings also include the maximum cost of removing the rail infrastructure to improve the underbed, then ballasting, returning useable rails, and using either steel or concrete sleepers, or both. The report has also had significant input from rail engineers.
Will the report be release publicly?
Northern Regional Railway Company Pty Ltd (NRRC) paid for the degradation study using our own funds. Unlike the rail trail business cases, the study has not received any money from the public purse. As a result, the report will not be released publicly.
The report forms part of a suite of documents including a land survey, consultation documents, and a business case to allow a long-term licence over the line. The costings in the report are for NRRC to take over, reopen, and maintain the line. Any other organisation interested in taking over the line is more than welcome to conduct their own study.
Our major stakeholders will be given access to the report, and we are happy to negotiate a price that covers some of our costs with any organisation that would like to purchase a copy.
What is in the report?
The report has been written to the same standard as would be required for a government tender document. The report breaks down a range of costs which include station upgrades, level crossing upgrades, bridge replacement, replacement of rails where required, full sleeper replacement, and full track base upgrades. The report also shows significant employment opportunities as a result of this project.
Longer term strategies are also included which include planning for future stations, an ability to run more frequent and longer trains, and an expansion to cover a greater area.
The costings which were released publicly are budget related. They are the minimum cost required to return trains to be able to run at the same speeds run prior to the last train running, and without all the speed restrictions in place prior to the last train. The report contains an extensive breakdown of these costs to the dollar. The amounts released in the public statement were rounded up. The report also contains the annual costs to maintain the line and associated infrastructure. This is with a view to minimising the reliance on the public purse.
So where to next?
The required land survey of the corridor has already commenced, with further work to be undertaken in January 2024.
Consultation with neighbouring properties will also commence in the new year. NRRC is committed to maintaining the grazing and access leases where possible and working with lease holders to minimise the impacts the return of a train may have on these leases. We are also committed to minimising the impact trains will have neighbouring properties.
Trains didn’t work before, so why would the work now?
Despite the so-called facts thrown around by the anti-train movement, the Murwillumbah XPT did not have low rider numbers. In fact, even up to the time of closure the daily service in each direction had some of the highest rider numbers of any XPT services in New South Wales.
The line was closed because at the time the Sydney-Centric government didn’t want to invest money into seats that wouldn’t get them elected. There were also developers eyeing off parts of the line, especially around Byron Bay with enough political contacts to ensure closure was a done deal. It was public pressure that made sure no government was game to sell of any part of the corridor.
The government justified the closure the basis that any upgrades would not create a substantial enough return to justify the once per day service.
Now, some 20 years after the line was mothballed, attitudes to public transport have changed dramatically. Victoria is spending record amounts on upgrading their regional passenger railways. The cost of airfares is seeing regional train usage in Australia significantly increase, and attitudes towards protecting the environment are seeing rail investment on a worldwide scale not seen in over 150 years.
Interim projections based on festivals, major events, tourism, and use by locals shows that an hourly passenger service with increases in peak periods would potentially net over 1 million trips per annum. Whilst that may be hard to fathom, it’s actually a very conservative figure.
Final comment
NRRC looks forward to a very prosperous new year and thanks everyone for their support through 2023. We would also like to thank the volunteers from Northern Rivers Rail Limited who ensured we did not need public funds to complete the study.
The degradation study was also the first time every inch of railway between Lismore and Yelgun has been examined. A desk top study, regardless of what it is used for, is never going to match the accuracy of an actual physical examination.
Returning trains will create a sustainable transport solution with integration into bus and bike networks and park and ride facilities. A train is no longer a nice to have, it’s now a must have if we are to leave the Northern Rivers as a place future generations will continue to love.
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