Riverline (Hobart)
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Riverline, also known as the Northern Suburbs Railway, is a proposed
AU$ The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...
100 million light rail system that would traverse the southernmost section of the South Railway Line, through the northern suburbs of
Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
. The proposed line was first mentioned in 2007 when the then Premier of Tasmania
Paul Lennon Paul Anthony Lennon (born 8 October 1955) is a Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 unt ...
, announced that a new dedicated transport hub would be constructed on Hobart's northern fringe. The completion of this transport hub in 2014 left the southernmost section of the railway line vacant. While the intermodal operations were moved to Brighton, the intention is to maintain a working port for Hobart and therefore the new arrangement will need to accommodate for the occasional freight train. The original concept is similar in length to the
Gold Coast Light Rail G:link, also known as the Gold Coast Light Rail, is a light rail system serving the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, and is the sole light rail system in Queensland. The system forms part of the TransLink's South East Queensland public t ...
system, except this project will be constructed along an already present rail corridor (similar to Sydney's
Inner West Light Rail The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill and serving 23 stops. It is the original line of the Sydney light rail network ...
) which has the potential to save considerable capital costs. Despite strong public support, the future of the proposed light rail remains uncertain due to a lack of political enthusiasm. While the major political parties have given in principle support to the development (dependent on
federal funding In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governme ...
), only the
Tasmanian Greens The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens. The party ...
have made a firm commitment to ensure its completion. Tasmanian Greens leader
Nick McKim Nicholas James McKim (born 11 June 1965) is an Australian politician, currently a member of the Australian Senate representing Tasmania. He was previously a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly elected at the 2002 election ...
made an election commitment to divert funding away from the state's roads if necessary to ensure the first stage was completed.


History

In conjunction with the Main Road, Hobart's northern suburbs have been developed around the
Southern Railway Line The Southern railway line serves the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The long line branches from the Western line at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, and proceeds south through Warwick and Stanthorpe to the New South Wales/Quee ...
- The two transport corridors are on a near parallel trajectory. Following the end of operations for trams in 1960,
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es managed the city's
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
which in turn were replaced by conventional buses in 1964. The low-density population of Hobart has caused the bus timetables being planned on a low-frequency, high-penetration basis - Bus routes are often lengthy, and can take a long time to reach their final destination, as they attempt to service the widely spread-out suburbs. This has contributed to Hobart having the second lowest public transport patronage in Australia and as a result is very much a car orientated city. The
Brooker Highway The Brooker Highway is a highway in the State of Tasmania, Australia. As one of Hobart's 3 major radials, the highway connects traffic from the Hobart city centre with the northern suburbs and is the major road connection to the cities and tow ...
was opened in stages from 1961 to alleviate traffic congestion on the Main Road. In 1965 a transportation study was released offering a set plan on constructing and upgrading Hobart's Highways. While this transport study was seen as more of a "highway plan" rather than a "comprehensive transport plan, it did provide clear guidelines for the Brooker Highway including grade separation and additional lanes. However these guidelines have not been followed for the southern portion on the highway. With
Annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...
of 48,000, the Brooker Highway is currently below the acceptable
levels of service Levels of service (LOS) is a term in asset management referring to the quality of a given service. Defining and measuring levels of service is a key activity in developing infrastructure asset management plans. Levels of service may be tied to p ...
and congestion issues are expected to worsen significantly over the next 20 years with the Highway already approaching its designed capacity. While at present,
Brooker Highway The Brooker Highway is a highway in the State of Tasmania, Australia. As one of Hobart's 3 major radials, the highway connects traffic from the Hobart city centre with the northern suburbs and is the major road connection to the cities and tow ...
is considerably less congested than in other states during peak hours, it is more congested off-peak than roads in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
and
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, and almost as congested as those in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. It is thus a busy road by any Australian standard. The South Railway Line ceased operation on a permanent basis by freight trains when
Toll Holdings The Toll Group is an Australian-based subsidiary of Japan Post Holdings with operations in transportation, warehousing and logistics in road, rail, sea and air. It has two divisions; Global Forwarding, Global Logistics. History In 1888, Al ...
relocated its intermodal operations from the Hobart Railyards to the
Brighton Transport Hub The Brighton Transport Hub is an intermodal transport hub in the northern Hobart suburb of Brighton operated by TasRail. History The idea of building the Brighton Transport Hub (BTH) to replace the outdated and congested TasRail intermodal ter ...
in 2014. As a result, traffic on the Brooker Highway is expected to increase. When announcing the construction of the Brighton Transport Hub, Premier
Paul Lennon Paul Anthony Lennon (born 8 October 1955) is a Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 unt ...
stated that when complete the Southern Railway Line – south of the Intermodal facility – would no longer be used on a permanent basis. He spoke of the possibility of the railway line opening up to commuter traffic. In 2008, The Australian Institute of Architects and the Planning Institute identified the South Line as an ideal route for an express O-Bahn Style Bus.


Proposals

In 2009, Ben Johnston, a local engineer and rail enthusiast, founded an organisation known as the Northern Suburbs Rail Action Group and proceeded to release a detailed proposal for the corridor. It was to be a zero-emission, electric/battery rail transportation service that traverses the South Railway Line starting at the
City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
(Mawson Place) and passing New Town, Moonah, Glenorchy, Berriedale, Claremont, Granton and Bridgewater on its way to Brighton. Additionally, there are also many attractions in close proximity to the proposed light rail line, including the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the Hobart Cenotaph, the Royal Hobart Showground,
Tattersalls Park Elwick Racecourse (currently also known by its sponsored name of Ladbrokes Park Elwick) is a Thoroughbred horse-racing venue located on Goodwood Road within Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. It is located in close proximity to the Brooker High ...
, the Derwent Entertainment Centre,
KGV Oval KGV Oval is the home headquarters of the Glenorchy football and cricket clubs, as well as the Southern Football League. The ground is a former TFL and now Tasmanian State League and also a Southern Football League finals venue. It is locate ...
, the Tasmanian Transport Museum, MONA and Cadbury's Chocolate Factory. In order to retain the existing intercity cycleway, some stations would have
passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
s and recharging facilities to allow trains to travel in both directions on the single track and batteries to be recharged whilst passengers embark/disembark.


Business Case

In 2010, a community advisory panel was created for the purposes of assisting the creation of a Business case study. A Business case undertaken by Acil Tasman was published in 2011. The conclusions included (but were not limited to): *Considerable work would need to be done on the track to make it suitable and safe for passenger use. *The last three stations on the proposed line (Granton, Bridgewater and Brighton) were deemed to be unviable as part of the proposal. *Either diesel or overhead electric traction would be suitable, but battery power is likely to involve higher risks. With five vehicles, the cost of rolling stock would be roughly
AU$ The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...
25 million.
Following the release of the business case, the Northern Suburbs Railway Action group withdrew from the Light Rail Community Advisory Panel due to what Ben Johnston described as a "fundamentally flawed passenger demand analysis" limiting the proposal to Claremont. He also expressed concern that Transport Minister,
Nick McKim Nicholas James McKim (born 11 June 1965) is an Australian politician, currently a member of the Australian Senate representing Tasmania. He was previously a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly elected at the 2002 election ...
was backflipping on key election promises by supporting the adaptation.


Political process

In 2011, the
Tasmanian Government The Tasmanian Government is the democratic administrative authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invit ...
's
Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body providing independent research and advice to all levels of government and industry on projects and reforms relating to investment in Australian infrastructure. It advocates for reforms on ...
submission included a
AU$ The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...
213 million Brooker Highway upgrade wishlist. This was submitted in the absence of any submission for the Northern Suburbs Light Rail, costed at
AU$ The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...
100 million – less than half the price of the highway upgrades. The government was urged to make a submission for the railway. With Federal and state elections looming, the Northern Suburbs Railway received tri partisan support from the major political parties in early 2013. Federal Denison MP,
Andrew Wilkie Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Clark. Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Australian Army., Australian Parliament House Biographies; 19 Augu ...
called on the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
and
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
parties to each commit
AU$ The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...
100 million to the project during
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. Soon after, The Tasmanian Government announced the creation of a high-powered taskforce to push the case for a light rail link through the city's northern suburbs. Transport Minister Nick McKim stated that he had ordered a new business case for the link, which he wants to put before the Federal Government's funding process by May. However, Mr McKim also said he would be pushing for a Hobart to Glenorchy link, rather than the proposed Hobart to Bridgewater line. He said this was because the route would increase the cost-to-benefit ratio, which would make it easier to attract critical federal funding. Prominent local businessman, David Walsh even weighed into the debate stating that the proposed light rail should extend beyond Bridgewater and into Gagebrook. Mr Walsh said it took an hour to travel by bus from the far northern suburbs to the CBD, which was too long. He added that his support for the railway was a matter of social justice. The most recent proposed route being pursued by the state government commences at Mawson Place and ends in close proximity to the
Museum of Old and New Art The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is an art museum located within the Moorilla winery on the Berriedale peninsula in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest privately funded museum in the Southern Hemisphere. MONA houses ancient, mode ...
, within the suburb of Berriedale. proponents of the light rail have recently called on the state government to extend the transport corridor to North Hobart. The fate of the light rail is unknown after the feasibility study was scrapped as part of the Abbott Government's federal budget of 2014.


See also

*
Transport in Hobart The city of Hobart, Tasmania is served by a wide variety of transport. While the city's main form of transport is private transport on the road network, transport is also available by bus, ferry and aircraft. A suburban train service operated betwe ...
*
Rail transport in Tasmania Rail transport in Tasmania consists of a network of narrow gauge track of reaching virtually all cities and major towns in the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Today, rail services are focused primarily on bulk freight, with no commercial pa ...
*
Trams in Australia The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or "Sydney Steam Motor Tram, steam tram motors" (also known as "Steam dummy, steam dummies"). At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almos ...


References


External links


Northern Suburbs Rail Action Group website
{{TramsAustralia Light rail in Australia Proposed railway lines in Australia Transport in Hobart