Re: My trip to Adelaide (was The overland - input wanted)
brett.fitzpatrick@employment.gov.au
Sun, 26 Apr 1998 19:56:30 -0600
In article <mauried.514.3541779D@commslab.gov.au>,
mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie Daly) wrote:
>
HUGE KCUFING SNIP!!!!
>
> There is no doubt that if enough money was spent on upgrading the Melb to
> Adelaide line then it would eventually lead to reduced travelling times and
> also to a greater number of passengers , but to what end.
> These increased passengers will come from the existing airlines and from the
> bus companies.
> In the case of the airlines since we already have airports at Melbourne and
> Adelaide and both are underutilised (Sydney is the only Airport in Australia
> that is near its max capacity.).,what is the point of spending buckets more
> money to simply provide another way to get from Melb to Adelaide.
> There is no suggestion that Melb or Adelaide Airport are anywhere near to max
> capacity,nor is the Dukes Highway between Melb and Adelaide grinding to a halt
> from excessive busses .
> The argument would be somewhat differant between Melb and Sydney as in this
> case any actions to reduce the number of Airline movements at Sydney Airport
> is worth doing , ie if we could get an improvement in the Melb - Sydney rail
> system it would be worth spending money on.
> Sadly this isnt going to happen , as the majority of Melb - Sydney is under
> the control of RAC who up until now have shown no inclinination to spend
> anything on upgrading or improving the main southern line,and you cant expect
> the feds to do it ,whilst its owned by someone else.
>
> cheers
> MD
>
I don't think that the arguement should be limited to just the short term
economic (under utilized air & road infrastructure effectively causing a poor
return on investment) but that it should include environmental degradation
issues, which are a very long term economic and social issue.
AFAIK rail is still the most efficient (interms of resouces used) mass
transport system devised. Work out the fuel consumption figures per
passenger/tonne mile. Look at consumables (spare parts etc) and see which
mode uses the least quantity of foreign sourced high value manufactured
items.
Some point to ponder.
Brett
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