Airport monorail?

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Roderick Smith
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Airport monorail?

Post by Roderick Smith »

This has been up several times before. There are several dodgy figures, and falling for the ripoff-fare model.
For less than $1b, run two-tier services to Broadmeadows, and double the frequency of the bus route between there and the airport.
Let the ripoff bus continue on the tollway.

Roderick.

A Melbourne Airport monorail that will get travellers to the city in 16 minutes for a $25 one-way fare is being backed.
Sunday Herald Sun October 8, 2016.
A MELBOURNE Airport monorail that will get travellers to the city in 16 minutes for a $25 one-way fare is being backed as a fast solution to the city’s traffic congestion.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal a private consortium, which includes former premier Steve Bracks, has met with Treasurer Tim Pallas to discuss the radical $1.2 billion plan.
The Sunday Herald Sun understands Mr Pallas encouraged the consortium to develop and submit an unsolicited proposal to the State Government, after a similar attempt under the previous government fell through.
Artist impression of Mono Rail at Tullamarine airport.
Entrepreneur Peter O’Brien, who heads up the Airshuttle Australia consortium, said a monorail was the best way to improve public transport to the airport.
“It’s a fast, efficient, silent, cost-effective and quick to implement solution to an ever-growing problem,” he said.
Mr O’Brien, a former president of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who was behind the Melbourne Aquarium and campaigned for the development of Federation Square, said the monorail would be first class.
“This technology has been used successfully around the globe and there is no reason why it should not be adopted in Melbourne,” he said.
Melbourne Airport has welcomed the idea, saying it “clearly needs a mass transit solution” that is “frequent, reliable and quick”.
“The solution, whether rail or something else, will need to provide frequent, reliable and quick services, which will need to be competitively priced,” spokesman Grant Smith said. “Ultimately it’s a State Government decision, but we welcome the conversation and we will continue to consult with community, business and government stakeholders as we all seek an appropriate solution.”
Infrastructure Victoria released a report this week that said a train to the airport was needed in 15 years, but assumed the solution would be a heavy rail link via the Albion East reservation, costing up to $5 billion.
The route, which would deliver a return of up to $1.40 for every dollar spent, would take 30 minutes from the city. But RACV public policy manager Brian Negus said that was too slow and airport passengers needed a “fast, frequent link”.
Melbourne's skyline.
He said the monorail was “fundamentally a good proposal” and the technology should be “in the mix”.
“It would be fast and it’s along an existing corridor so there aren’t the issues in terms of trying to find appropriate land,” he said. “Within the next decade or less, we are going to need an airport rail link.
Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt also encouraged the “innovative proposal” which could use solar power to run the monorail trains.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the Andrews Government should consider all options for “rapid transport to Melbourne Airport”.
“A 65km/h suburban train is not going to attract business commuters to switch from a cab or an Uber,” Mr Guy said.
“At the moment, the Andrews Government is doing nothing.”
The private consortium wants the Government to underwrite at least $10 million for a feasibility study.
Premier Daniel Andrews said this week that a train to the airport would eventually be needed and “there’ll be a time when (it) stacks up”.
Government spokesman Chris Piper said: “Any market led submission would be treated in the normal way and rigorously assessed to ensure it stacks up and fits the Government’s busy infrastructure agenda.”
Sydney and Brisbane airports already have train lines and Melbourne Airport chief executive Lyell Strambi has previously warned the Tullamarine hub needed to improve to keep passenger growth rising.
DRIVERLESS SUPER RAIL WOULD SOAR OVER TULLA.
DRIVERLESS trains would travel at 100km/h above the Tullamarine Freeway in a cut-price plan for an airport rail link.
The $1.2 billion monorail promises a 16-minute trip from the city to the airport, half the time of a ­proposed heavy rail route through the Albion East reservation.
The consortium behind the plan has secured the backing of leading manufacturers Hitachi and Intamin to supply the prefabricated tracks and trains, which are already used in Europe and Asia.
Trains would ride on two elevated concrete tracks, each about 1.1m wide, above the western side of Footscray Rd, on to CityLink and along the Tullamarine Freeway.
Mono Rail route map for the proposed Mono Rail Melbourne to the Airport.
The consortium has had discussions with Transurban about buying the air rights above the toll road for the monorail.
Starting at a new platform in Southern Cross station, or another site nearby, the monorail would end in a loop at the airport.
This would run between terminals and carparks, with a $1 levy charge for people wanting to catch it from their vehicles straight to the ­terminal.
Peddle Thorp architects have developed sketches of a proposed “Central Station” above the pedestrian bridge into the international terminal.
A one-way trip to or from the city would cost about $25.
The private consortium hopes the monorail could be integrated with myki, while also allowing travellers to pay directly with their credit cards and smartphones.
The airport handled almost 33.9 million people in the 2015/16 ­financial year — international passengers were up 9.5 per cent.
The Tullamarine Freeway and CityLink, which is being widened, has been struggling to cope with current traffic levels.
Cab rides from the airport to the city can often take more than an hour, leaving many travellers frustrated.
Tokyo, Osaka and Okinawa airports in Japan and China’s Shanghai International Airport all have monorail links.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... 60a81898e5
Roderick Smith
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Roderick Smith »

Related,
Roderick.
Worst traffic times Melbourne: Uber driver study shows Tullamarine Freeway the most frustrating.
Herald Sun October 10, 2016.
MELBOURNE traffic is the most congested in Australia, according to a new study using data from Uber.
Motorists in Melbourne experience the greatest difference in travel times between peak and off-peak periods, with the congestion during the morning and afternoon commute the worst on the Tullamarine Freeway.
An Uber passenger heading from the CBD to the Melbourne Airport during motoring peak hour faces a 29-minute delay, and a 16-minute delay from the airport to the CBD.
A passenger going from the inner-metropolitan area to the CBD can expect a delay of more than six minutes, and from the outer-metropolitan area a delay of more than seven minutes.
The study used data from Uber.
The report, by transport lobby group Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA), analyses aggregated information from Uber comparing journey times experienced during peak periods to what would be expected under free flowing conditions.
It is also found that peak travel times in Melbourne and Sydney have increased over the past year, improved in Perth and stayed the same in Brisbane.
IPA chief executive Brendan Lyon said governments needed to take account of the transport metric in making future plans for better infrastructure and urban planning decisions.
“Through the data provided by Uber this new tool measures what we get out of the transport system, not just what we put in,” he said.
“We invest tens of billions every year in transport, but until now ways of measuring actual performance over a whole city has been either prohibitively expensive or practically impossible.”
Melbourne Transport Overhaul.
Shadow Minister for Roads Ryan Smith said the report confirmed Melbourne’s traffic congestion was the worst in Australia.
“The only thing moving slower than Melbourne traffic is Daniel Andrews’ plan to fix it,” he said.
Uber’s Australia general manager Australia David Rohrsheim said the company hoped to introduce more ride-sharing data in the future to help governments better plan their infrastructure.
“As ride-sharing has grown across Australia during the past few years, we’re excited to see how sharing high level data and trends with governments can help show how cities move over time,” he said.
MELBOURNE TRANSPORT VISION: Would you pay $5 to drive into the city?
READ THE REPORT: In detail, the Uber policy paper (*.pdf) http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... d482c026fb
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Heihachi_73
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Heihachi_73 »

The proposed Melbourne Monorail yet again? Hasn't anyone in Spring Street ever watched The Simpsons before? Not to mention this coming up less than five years after Sydney did away with their own monorail in place of something less ridiculous.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by dex »

It was brought up in the mid 90s, out through Mickleham road, then out via Westmeadows/Attwood/Alanbrae.
The Alanbrae estate was new at the time and the residents opposed it, boom, gone.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by boronia »

Heihachi_73 wrote:The proposed Melbourne Monorail yet again? Hasn't anyone in Spring Street ever watched The Simpsons before? Not to mention this coming up less than five years after Sydney did away with their own monorail in place of something less ridiculous.
The Sydney monorail was an entirely different concept to what is being suggested in Melbourne (or Springfield).

A non stop "airport to the CBD" monorail would be where this mode of transit excels itself. No expensive, obtrusive intermediate stations required.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by simonl »

Motorists in Melbourne experience the greatest difference in travel times between peak and off-peak periods
Probably because off peak traffic in Sydney is also very congested.

I don't buy that Melbourne is worse than Sydney and the above is a pretty poor metric.

I also don't believe that they'll recover their investment at $1.2bn. $25 to ride? That's more than $5 more than the bus and probably more than a cab for two people.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Heihachi_73 »

So would a train with two rails underneath it, which can also be used on every other line. We don't need a monorail for that. If they want to skip the Footscray and North Melbourne bottlenecks, is there any merit in an airport train going via the Melbourne Metro tunnel to the suburbs rather than terminating at Southern Cross? It could still be express CBD to the airport if the timetable allows it (e.g. don't have an airport express timed one minute behind a stopping all stations one). Just not at 115 km/h unless the airport line has its own skyrail section.

That said, if the monorail actually is announced, it might just get the anti-skyrail groups' attention long enough so we can build the Dandenong section without them bothering everyone. :)

And yes, at $25 one way (yes, a yellow note just to go both ways, and that doesn't even count myki fares afterwards, if you aren't going to only stay in the free tram zone all day), who would ever ride it aside from the suits flying all over Australia every day where spending $1000 a day is pocket change, and tourists (and/or gunzels) who don't know better? It sounds like something they would do in Sydney. In Melbourne, we have an integrated fare structure, we don't charge one-way fares or charge extra for getting off a train to catch a bus or a tram rather than another train. The only major player left in the dark ages when it comes to fares is Skybus, which doesn't accept myki.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by simonl »

Sydney now has a $2 rebate for a transfer on an Adult fare so they have moved out of the dark ages. No point bagging them to make Melbourne look better.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Alstom 888M »

Heihachi_73 wrote:And yes, at $25 one way (yes, a yellow note just to go both ways, and that doesn't even count myki fares afterwards, if you aren't going to only stay in the free tram zone all day), who would ever ride it aside from the suits flying all over Australia every day where spending $1000 a day is pocket change, and tourists (and/or gunzels) who don't know better? It sounds like something they would do in Sydney. In Melbourne, we have an integrated fare structure, we don't charge one-way fares or charge extra for getting off a train to catch a bus or a tram rather than another train. The only major player left in the dark ages when it comes to fares is Skybus, which doesn't accept myki.
Still sounds a lot cheaper than a taxi. Even an Uber won't get you to the airport for $25.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by boronia »

Heihachi_73 wrote: The only major player left in the dark ages when it comes to fares is Skybus, which doesn't accept myki.
Apart from the slightly extra cost, there would be no difference between Skybus and the monorail. People who use Skybus now would probably be happy to pay the extra $5 for the monorail.

I doubt the market would sustain both of them running at the same time.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Roderick Smith »

The map with the article shows the proposed route following the Moonee Ponds Creek valley past Essendon Airport: shorter, and lower. Elevation above the freeway wouldn't be allowed for anything. Monorails can run in tunnels (and do for the approach to Tokyo Haneda, and for parts of the Chongqing system). However, the slope to the creek is now covered with housing. A letter to Sun.16.10.16 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' advocates serving Essendon Airport too, turning into a large park & ride area. People are mesmerised by monorails. If using this route, my vote goes for an elevated tram route: all of the speed benefits, and the ability to fan out from the elevated spine. I suspect that PTV has overestimated the cost of heavy rail via Albion, although a significant chunk has to go on adding a second Maribyrnong River bridge because the old one got given away to be a crossing loop. PTV insisted that its Swanston St tunnel was a prerequisite for an airport line. Way back, RRL was a prerequisite.

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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Mitch »

If it followed the Mooney Valley Creek, it would be quite a deviation. It could come off at Melrose Drive and follow Melrose Drive down to where Airport Drive is now, and have a station at T4 and then extend to T1/2/3.

Thanks,
Mitch :)
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Re: Airport monorail?

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October 16 2016 - Melbourne 'Express'.
SkyBus can co-exist with Melbourne Airport rail link, says shuttle bus chief.
A rail link to Melbourne Airport should not come at the expense of SkyBus, because there is no guarantee enough passengers would use the train line, according to the head of the express shuttle company.
A few weeks after Infrastructure Victoria recommended a rail line should eventually be built to meet the city's long-term needs, SkyBus has weighed into the debate, saying it already provides a "world class service" in airport transport.
"Just because you build an airport rail, it doesn't mean people want to use it," said Skybus director, Michael Sewards. Photo: Roy Chu.
"The reality is, just because you build an airport rail, it doesn't mean people want to use it," said the company's director, Michael Sewards.
"Yes, let's plan for the next 15 or 30 years, but let's also be somewhat sensible in this conversation by recognising we've had a service for over 38 years, which over 50 million passengers have used. We think we can co-exist with rail and provide a very competitive offering."
SkyBus already provides a "world class service" in airport transport, the company's director says. Photo: Roy Chu.
Mr Sewards' comments are the first time SkyBus has entered the debate since Infrastructure Victoria's draft strategy was released this month.
Among its 134 recommendations, Infrastructure Victoria suggested that a Melbourne Airport rail link ought to built within 15 to 30 years to meet passenger growth. The airport expects passenger demand will exceed 60 million by 2033. In the meantime, the strategy suggests, the focus over the next decade should be on improving bus services linking the airport to the city.
Economic analysis by KPMG found that an airport rail line could generate up to $1.40 for every dollar spent. However, the modelling for the project was based on an assumption that the a train connection from Tullamarine would "replace the existing SkyBus service" – an idea that the privately owned company strongly contests.
The airport rail link would potentially give passengers a 25-minute journey to and from the city, departing every 10 minutes.
Mr Sewards said the average SkyBus trip took the same amount of time from Southern Cross Station, with free Wi-Fi, hotel drop-offs and a newly revamped service to St Kilda.
In coming years, the company is also expected to upgrade services at its Southern Cross depot to allow travellers to check in for flights.
"If we ever have an airport rail, it has to deliver all those value points for customer experience," Mr Sewards said. "Melbourne Airport warrants and deserves many modes supplying the highest level of customer experience, and we think SkyBus will be one of those."
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/skybu ... s320b.html
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Re: Skybus declares war

Post by Campbelltown busboy »

Roderick Smith wrote:Skybus is moving into full panic mode to stave off all talk of an airport railway or monorail.
It needn't worry. The gougerific airport will make sure than anything built is at full London ripoff rates.

161026W Melbourne 'Herald Sun' - Skybus ad.
161029Sa Melbourne 'Herald Sun' - Skybus ad.

Roderick.
Just think if the federal government ever build the Sydney to Melbourne fast train that means less people flying between Sydney and Melbourne witch will mean Skybus would have not as many passengers as a train trip would take the same time or abit longer as a flight
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by boronia »

You can worry about that in 30 years time.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Heihachi_73 »

In 30 years time we will be complaining about how old, noisy and slow the Vlocity trains are, X'Trapolis trains would have already rusted away in landfill life-expired and we will still have broad gauge on the two halves of the Melbourne suburban network, with both sides running incompatible Chinese-built trains that can only run on their own half of the network and cannot run in multiple with one another, with half a dozen doors on each side and hardly any seats despite outer suburban passengers having to stand for an hour while the train stops all stations, additional Chinese and Arabic writing on station signs and PIDs (because, "cultural diversity" means no-spikka-English), a single track from Mooroolbark to Lilydale (what, a dual-track extension to Yarra Glen is expected like the South Morang line got because the sprawl has continued? Never!!!), half-hourly trains beyond Ringwood, a gap between the two tracks at Laburnum and Heyington, wooden sleepers that evaded conversion, mud holes all over the place, single entry/exit/validation points at stations to make everyone walk 3 to 6 carriage lengths to the one and only exit and then up the myriad of ramps to the ticket barriers and then another 200m walk to the main road/shops/carpark/buses, low platforms designed for the late-1800s Swing Door trains so the outward-swung doors don't get stuck to the platform when it's crush loaded (the down end of Auburn platform 3 takes the cake under the 'low platform' category), buses replacing regional trains on a daily basis, buses leaving as soon as the driver sees the train or another bus approaching in the distance, inaccessible middle-of-the-road tram stops making low floor trams completely useless to those in wheelchairs and mobility scooters, and trucks hitting the bridge at Montague Street because no-one wants to lower the road or raise the bridge. :)
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Roderick Smith »

Yet another incompatible technology, and quite misleading claims, and a ripoff fare. Compatibility with the tram work would result in synergies.

Melbourne Airport light-rail link proposed.
Feb.17 RACV 'RoyalAuto'.
Monorail.
An elegant, super-fast solution for the city to Melbourne Airport rail link?
It takes just 15 minutes from the city to Melbourne Airport and runs every four minutes, 24 hours a day, carrying up to 40,000 people an hour.
It’s driverless, ticketless, fully automated, super quiet, will operate on or above existing infrastructure, is environmentally friendly and predominantly locally manufactured.
It costs you around $25 each way, less than half the cost of a taxi, integrates with existing infrastructure and provides options for service extensions and stops such as at Essendon Airport.
And the project cost is around $1.5 billion, about a tenth of what it would cost for standard heavy rail on the same route.
Would you use it?
The answer is yes.
Peter O’Brien, former president of the Victorian and Australian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and a former board member of Tourism Australia, is leading the Airshuttle Consortium and believes the answer is a resounding yes.
He has 12 consultants working on Airshuttle on a pro-bono basis, has strong bi-partisan support, encouragement from the Committee of Melbourne, which includes RACV, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Victorian Tourism Industry Council, and the backing of public figures such as Sir Rod Eddington, Martin Ferguson and John O’Rourke.
Proven technology.
“In the past 50 years everything has moved on in Australia except the trains,” Mr O’Brien says. “What we are offering is 21st-century, state-of-the-art technology that is already proven in many similar situations worldwide.”
The Airshuttle proposal will use the latest light-rail technology and will run above existing roads, significantly reducing the land requirement – it takes up the equivalent of a standard bike lane in either direction. It will be near silent as the trains run on rubber wheels and use solar panels for power along with the latest battery technology. The trains will also be fitted with privacy glass that automatically switches to opaque in residential zones.
Airshuttle, if it gets the state government’s green light, will be privately funded and operated, and will take about five years to establish, according to Mr O’Brien. If the project gets approval in the near future it will be up and running by 2022, he says.
Growing gateway.
Mr O’Brien’s preferred stop in the city is Southern Cross, but other locations are being considered, and he expects the new train link to take around 15 per cent of traffic heading to the airport, with the rest serviced by car, taxi and bus. Melbourne Airport currently handles around 34 million passengers a year and expects this to reach 64 million within the next 15 to 20 years.
“Melbourne Airport is the major economic gateway to the state and it’s essential we get an absolutely reliable, safe, high-frequency, express rail service,” he says.
www.airshuttleaust.com.au
http://www.racv.com.au/membership/membe ... posed.html
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by moa999 »

At $25 it's already failed. 30% more than the bus.
And will look like an ugly blight, even more so than Sydney's monorail which was hidden amongst tall buildings
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Re: Airport railway?

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March 29 2017 Government warned Melbourne Metro won't support future airport rail link .
Runaway population growth in Melbourne's north-west has put plans for a rail line to Melbourne Airport in jeopardy, just as calls by the airport for a rail connection grow more urgent.
The Andrews government has been warned it will need to invest billions on a new rail link between the airport and the city in future years, or hope the Tullamarine Freeway can continue to carry the load, despite warnings from the airport that it faces gridlock within a decade if a rail line is not built.
Photo: Chris Hopkins .
Melbourne Airport believes a rail link is needed within 10 to 15 years.
The government's $10.9 billion Melbourne Metro tunnel was designed to create capacity for Melbourne's rail system to support a link to Tullamarine, with airport trains proposed to run via the planned Metro tunnel some time after it opens in 2026.
The government has been told to improve the visitor experience at the Twelve Apostles and other key attractions.
Melbourne Airport rail link reconsidered during secret tourism talks
But the tunnel must also handle booming demand on the Sunbury and Melton lines, both of which serve rapidly growing populations.
Melton line passenger numbers are expected to quadruple within 15 years, overtaking the busy Frankston line, the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority says, and numbers on the Sunbury line have grown at a runaway rate of 12 per cent a year.
Both those lines will feed into the Melbourne Metro tunnel.
This soaring demand has forced state rail planners to rewrite long-term service plans for the tunnel, and an airport line has effectively been jettisoned.
graph
As recently as 2013, Public Transport Victoria published plans for the Metro tunnel that included an airport link with six trains an hour.
But the most recent service plan for Melbourne Metro, published in the 2016 business case, makes no mention of a rail line to Melbourne Airport.
Rather, it predicts the tunnel will be used by up to 14 trains an hour to and from Sunbury and nine trains to and from Melton. It will handle 23 trains an hour, which would leave no capacity for an airport line.
The government now faces calls to build an entirely new tunnel for airport trains.
The proposal, by the Rail Futures Institute, involves building a new line between Southern Cross Station and Sunshine, mostly underground. The new line would also have new dedicated trains with luggage storage.
Put to the Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan in recent weeks, the airport link would be a major investment for the Andrews government, which has never committed to building a rail line to Melbourne Airport.
This is despite predictions from the airport that the Tullamarine Freeway will soon struggle to handle peak-hour traffic, despite the current $1.8 billion widening project.
Melbourne Airport predicts it will have 64 million visitors a year by the early 2030s and says the freeway will fail to cope with peak demand by then.
A spokesman for Melbourne Airport said it supported building an airport rail link.
"We need a detailed study into feasible solutions now because construction will take a decade and realistically the solution will need to be operational in the next 10 to 15 years," he said.
Rail Futures Institute secretary Bill Russell, a former adviser to the Bracks and Brumby governments, agreed, but said it was increasingly clear Melbourne Metro was not the answer.
"The growth in usage from those two lines [Sunbury and Melton] will absorb the capacity for Melbourne Metro, so there really is a need for further capacity to serve the airport," Professor Russell said.
"Otherwise airport trains will just be jacked up behind suburban trains going at walking pace into the city."
The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources declined to say how many trains an hour would use the Metro tunnel.
"The project will create space to run more services to Sunbury, Melton and any future airport rail line," spokesman Lewis Hill said.
"Specifically how many services will be determined closer the completion of the Metro Tunnel in 2026, and any airport rail project, which Infrastructure Victoria recommends be built somewhere between 2030 and 2045."
Related Content:
"Just because you build an airport rail, it doesn't mean people want to use it," said Skybus director, Michael Sewards.
SkyBus can co-exist with airport rail, says shuttle chief
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/gover ... v936p.html
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tonyw
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by tonyw »

There is a railway line that branches off from the Sunbury line just north of Albion station and links up with the Craigieburn line just north of Jacana. It even has no level crossings!

What is it used for?

Why couldn't it be used as the basis for an airport line? At worst, if there is insufficient capacity in the metro tunnel you could at least run shuttle trains from the airport to Albion. I know this is less than ideal but it would be better than nothing.

Why not contract Transurban to build it, own it and run it? It would complement their freeway, rather than compete with it.

This seems so obvious there must be clear cut reasons why it isn't on the agenda, I just don't know what they are. I don't know a lot about the western suburbs.
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Roderick Smith »

Ever since the badly-named RRL was built to Sunshine, branching from the Albion - Broadmeadows line makes more sense. There is even a reservation.
However, an aquatic centre is being built over the reservation.
The useless DoI/DoT/PTV gave away the track over Maribyrnong River to ARTC for a crossing loop: it would be difficult to retrieve.

Roderick
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by simonl »

tonyw wrote:There is a railway line that branches off from the Sunbury line just north of Albion station and links up with the Craigieburn line just north of Jacana. It even has no level crossings!

What is it used for?

Why couldn't it be used as the basis for an airport line? At worst, if there is insufficient capacity in the metro tunnel you could at least run shuttle trains from the airport to Albion. I know this is less than ideal but it would be better than nothing.

Why not contract Transurban to build it, own it and run it? It would complement their freeway, rather than compete with it.

This seems so obvious there must be clear cut reasons why it isn't on the agenda, I just don't know what they are. I don't know a lot about the western suburbs.
Is that the standard guage freight connection there?
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by MCI9 »

what about obhan adl use this system overhead to airport buses then do normal runs??
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Re: Airport monorail?

Post by Alstom 888M »

The O-Bahn does not go to Adelaide airport, it goes to the north eastern suburbs. O-Bahn buses can be used on any service but regular buses cannot; they need guide wheels fitted to operate safely. Would be ideal to use on the Eastern Freeway / DART services in conjunction with articulated buses, as the median should be wide enough, but probably is not wide enough to house a railway line with station platforms. It would also have to revert to a regular bus lane (or even end) after the Bulleen Road exit.

There is no room to put a O-Bahn on any stretch of the Tullamarine Freeway and Citylink and/or VicRoads clearly have no interest in even putting in a Bus Lane in. I think even a Bus/Taxi/VHA lane enforced with number plate recognition cameras would make a massive improvement. As for rail, I believe that Avalon and a future South-Eastern airport will have a rail line before Tullamarine does.
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simonl
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Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:03 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Airport monorail?

Post by simonl »

simonl wrote:
tonyw wrote:There is a railway line that branches off from the Sunbury line just north of Albion station and links up with the Craigieburn line just north of Jacana. It even has no level crossings!

What is it used for?

Why couldn't it be used as the basis for an airport line? At worst, if there is insufficient capacity in the metro tunnel you could at least run shuttle trains from the airport to Albion. I know this is less than ideal but it would be better than nothing.

Why not contract Transurban to build it, own it and run it? It would complement their freeway, rather than compete with it.

This seems so obvious there must be clear cut reasons why it isn't on the agenda, I just don't know what they are. I don't know a lot about the western suburbs.
Is that the standard guage freight connection there?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion%E2 ... ilway_line

One wonders why the western track wouldn't be made SG to have a long crossing loop/short passing lane.
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