Re: Implications of high speed trains in Victoria

[James Brook <ajmbrook@ozemail.com.au>]

Peter Berrett wrote:
> 
> James Brook <ajmbrook@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
> 39E85E25.C44BD845@ozemail.com.au">news:39E85E25.C44BD845@ozemail.com.au...
> >
> > Both of these towns are fairly small and this would not warrant the
> > replacement of these lines. The Maldon line is 60lb (D?) rail. The
> > Daylesford line has been ripped up from Carlsrhue to Bullarto and the
> > section that is left is a mixture raging from 60lb to 75lb of various
> > types. There may be a bit of 80lb as well, but I'm not sure. Another
> > major problem is that both lines would require 100% sleeper replacement.
> > Of course, the biggest obstacle is the alginment of the route. Both were
> > designed as branch lines and the curves and gradients reflect this. Both
> > lines feature sharp curves and the Maldon line has many 1 in 40 grades
> > (not sure about Daylesford). For modern high speed purposes you would
> > have to construct a new railway, which is obviously not an option when
> > Maldon is only half an hour away from Castlemaine by road and Daylesford
> > is only about 40 mins to an hour (depending on traffic) away from
> > Woodend by road. The most logical choice in both these cases would be to
> > upgrade the existing bus service.
> >
> 
> Yes the line would need replacing but it need not be high speed. As I have
> written elsewhere the high speed trains could travel on slower track but at
> a reduced speed. The key point here is that even travelling at a slower pace
> Daylesford to Woodend, the overall travelling time to Melbourne would still
> be significantly reduced and this might increase demand for the service.
> Lines such as Daylesford might become viable.
> 

But you have to look at the population of the towns and the industries
along these routes:

On the Maldon line, the only town with any population is Maldon and this
is fairly small. As for industry, there is nothing that would require a
dedicated rail service as it would be cheaper to send the limited amount
of freight by road. In this case you would be re-constructing a railway
line solely for passenger use to a destination with a small population.
In the case of Maldon, a far more sensible and logical choice would be
to upgrade the car parking facilities at Castlemaine and encourage the
people to take the train from Castlemaine.

As for Daylesford it is a similar situation. Daylesford does not have a
large enough population to justify a passenger rail service. The towns
along the route are also very small so you couldn't justify a passenger
service for these stations. The bus service should be upgraded and the
car parking facilities at Woodend should also be upgraded. As for
industry on this line, there is nothing to justify opening this line for
freight. It would be cheaper to transport it by road.

For both of these towns, a road and rail option would provide a similar
travelling time to rail only with a much lower cost.

-- 
- James Brook -

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