Re: Vic Rail Improvements ?

["Grahame Ferguson" <grahamef@users.mcmedia.com.au>]

Brown Family wrote in message <38e009c8.8477875@news.ocean.com.au>...
>On Tue, 28 Mar 2000 09:32:32 LOCAL, mdaly@pcug.org.au (Maurie Daly)
>wrote:
>
>
>>Projects include Mt Gambier, (I presume this means Heywood to Snuggery)
and
>>more interestingly the conversion of the existing BG line from Seymour to
>>Benalla and Yarrawonga to SG.
>>
>>The above project seems to me a bit odd,in that whilst it makes sense to
close
>>the BG line to Wodonga / Albury ,provided you can run the pass & freight
>>trains on SG,(which would be IMHO a good idea as it would allow NXP to run
>>trains to Wagga from Melb on a daily basis) ,I cant see why you wouldnt
just
>>close the BG line north of Mangalore and run all the pass and goods trains
on
>>SG.
>>
>What has the best alignment, BG or SG? If the BG is closed, then is
>there is an opportunity for the Seymour rail group to run BG as a
>preserved line?
>
>Other rail projects planned could render both current BG and SG
>alignments obsolete in time anyway.
>
>Les Brown
>Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to loose.

I think that the reason that terminating the conversion as far as Benalla is
because of the wheat trains on the Oaklands branch that would interfere with
express freight and the fact that the Albury line only has 3 return BG
passenger trips a day and one return BG freight a day is hardly economical
for retention of the BG line north of Benalla. Putting in an extra crossing
loop between Alumatta and Chiltern would have a better economic return.

Conversion of Mangalore-Tocomwal could link up with a resleepered
Tocumwal-Narranderra line.

I was once told by some one in the industry that it would be cheaper for
double stacked trains from Melbourne to Perth to travel via Tocumwal &
Naranderra & Roto to Broken Hill due to the cost of increasing track height
from Melbourne to Adelaide.

I don't think that the SRHC would want to use the unused BG line due to the
high cost of maintaining such a long section of track, perhaps gauge
conversion of rolling stock would be cheaper in the long run.

regards, GF