| Moreton Bay Rail Link | |
|---|---|
| Website | queenslandrail.com.au |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 0 km (0 mi) |
| Track length | 40.1 km (24.9 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Cape gauge |
| Operating speed | 0 km/h (0 mph) |
The Moreton Bay Rail Link (also known as the Kippa-Ring rail line, Redcliffe railway and Petrie to Kippa-Ring railway) is a $1.15 billion railway project, that will result in 12.6km of dual-track rail line between Petrie and Kippa-Ring on the Redcliffe peninsula. [1] The new line is to be part of the QR Citytrain suburban network, branching from the Caboolture line. The new line starts 200 metres north of Petrie railway station, extending from (27.5 km (17.1 mi) to 40.1 km (24.9 mi) north of Central railway station).
The line will have six new rail stations: Kallangur, Murrumba Downs, Mango Hill, Kinsellas Road, Rothwell and Kippa-Ring. Funding for the project will consist of: $742 million from the Commonwealth Government, $300 million from the Queensland Government (plus another $120 million for land) and $105 million from the Moreton Bay Regional Council.[1]
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A rail line to Redcliffe was first proposed in 1895 when the Queensland Government's Minister for Railways, Mr Hon R Phillip, considered three proposals, one preferred route via North Pine (Petrie).[2] In more recent times, the Redcliffe railway was more seriously identified and anticipated in the 1970s, and the land was purchased in the 1980s under a Bjelke-Petersen National Party state government.[3] This land is still owned by the government and preserved as a transport corridor. The issue of the proposed railway line seemed to always come up again when a state election was due, leading to a skeptical belief by many that the line would never actually be constructed.
In 1999, the Beattie Labor Party state government commissioned an investigative study into the transport corridor between Petrie to Kippa-Ring,[4] conducted by GHD Group. Key components under investigation included the mode of transport, the route and location of stations, future public transport usage, and the timing for construction.[5]
The study was conducted in two parts. The first part was completed in June 2000. It aimed to meet the state government's obligations to identify or forgo rights to a transport corridor running through the North Lakes residential development. This first stage was to identify the preferred mode of transport, the viability of public transport along the corridor, and the preferred alignment of the corridor.[3] Four modes of transport were investigated: heavy rail, buses or a busway, light rail, and monorail. Heavy rail was found to be the preferred mode of transport along the existing preserved corridor as it was the only option to give an acceptable level of economic efficiency – the study found that heavy rail had a benefit-cost ratio of 1.46, above the value of 1 when a project is considered economically viable – and provided the highest levels of patronage with its integration into the existing Citytrain network and no disadvantage with not having to change modes.[3]
The second part of the study was completed in October 2003. It looked at the route of the corridor between Petrie railway station and Kallangur railway station at Goodfellows Road. The original, preserved route was recommended.[3]
On 17 December 2001, the Minister for Transport, Stephen Bredhauer, announced public transport improvements between Petrie and Kippa-Ring, planned as part of a staged development of a new rail line in the area.[6] This is after the Petrie to Kippa-Ring Public Transport Corridor Study had released a draft report with recommendations. The minister also said that the government was also investigating private sector involvement in the construction of the project.[6] On 11 July 2003, the Minister said that the government had not made a commitment on the proposed line, and said that it may not go ahead as interest from the private sector in the project that they were looking for was negligible.[7] This was at the same time as similar passenger rail public-private partnerships such as the Airtrain to the Brisbane Airport and Airport Link to Sydney Airport were faltering and considered high risk at best by business and investors.[8][9]
In June 2004, Queensland Transport released an assessment of the Petrie to Kippa-Ring Public Transport Corridor Study's Impact Assessment Study. This assessment claimed that the Impact Assessment Study only looked at costs of the Petrie to Kippa-Ring corridor, and did not take into account commercial-in-confidence costs involved with operating the trains, integrating the services with the rest of the Citytrain network, higher maintenance costs, and the costs of increasing capacity between the Brisbane central business district and Petrie. Based on these higher costs, Queensland Transport deemed the construction of the railway by 2007 could not be justified. The report also said possible savings with a public-private partnership were small and would not provide value for money. Queensland Transport said that they would preserve the corridor until it is required.[10] Following from this, on 15 June 2004 the government announced $3 million on improving existing bus services along the corridor between Kippa-Ring (Redcliffe) and Petrie "in the short to medium term". It also again announced the further preservation of the corridor for future public transport use.[11]
Frustrated by a lack of action by the Government, the Redcliffe City Council (now Moreton Bay Regional Council) unanimously moved on 4 July 2005 to support campaign to have the Petrie to Kippa-Ring railway built and write to the Minister for Transport to express concern over a recent decision by the Minister to not proceed with its construction.[12] In 2007, the Pine Rivers Shire Council (now a part of Moreton Bay Regional Council along with Redcliffe City Council) purchased the old Tulip Town shopping centre land at Kallangur for $6 million, with the potential for it to be used with the proposed Kippa-Ring railway line.[13] The site is nearby, but not immediately adjacent to, the location of a Murrumba Downs railway station. However, on 11 August 2008, the state Labor member for Murrumba, Dean Wells, whose electorate the proposed, unconstructed component of the line runs through entirely, said that there were no plans to construct the railway in the foreseeable future.[14]
Regardless, the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2009–2031, released in December 2008, identifies the preserved corridor in its Transport Infrastructure Network Plan as a "quality rapid transit route".[15] During the 2009 Queensland state election, the Liberal National Party of Queensland promised to start the construction of the line in its first term if it was elected, with the first stage of the line from Petrie to Mango Hill commissioned in 2014, and completed to Kippa-Ring by 2016.[16] However, the incumbent Labor government was subsequently returned to power.[17]
In July 2010, during the 2010 federal election, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that the Kippa-Ring railway line would be fast-tracked, with the project to be complete by 2016 at a cost of $1.15 billion dollars.[18] On 3 December 2010, the funding agreement for the project was formalised, after being announced the day before. The agreement was signed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Moreton Bay mayor Allan Sutherland. [19]
Project schedule [20]
In the last study report, planned stations were in Kallangur, Murrumba Downs, Mango Hill, Kinsellas Road in Mango Hill, Rothwell and Kippa-Ring.[3] Passengers for/from the Caboolture and Nambour and Gympie North lines would change at Petrie, Shorncliffe line at Northgate, Airport and Doomben lines at Eagle Junction, Ferny Grove line at Bowen Hills, and all other lines at Central.
| Kippa-Ring railway line showing distance from Central, ticket zone, and connecting or nearby bus services |
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