Re: Lets Standardise instead!

[John Cleverdon <johnc@cdi.com.au>]

Maurie Daly wrote:

> In article <DAmG2.11$eB6.432107@news0.optus.net.au> dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage) writes:
> >From: dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)
> >Subject: Re: Lets Standardise instead!
> >Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 05:20:35 GMT
>
> >Maurie Daly (mauried@commslab.gov.au) wrote:
> >> North of Seymour , its easy to simply close the BG line completely.
>
> >Why? Regauge it and the Up line south of Seymour and you've almost got
> >double track from Melbourne to Sydney. Just add a second track from Albury
> >to Junee. :)
>
> But we dont need a double track line from Melb to Sydney.
> We dont even need double track south of Goulburn , in fact
> prior to the creation of RAC , the old SRA seriously looked at closing the
> double track and converting back to single track.
>
> The costs of maintaining a double track line is double that of a single track
> line , thats why the SRA converted  the double track between Wallerawang &
> Tarana and between Gresham and Newbridge to single track. (simply not enuf
> trains )
> When we have around 100 trains per day between Melb and Sydney then we
> could look at building a double track line , but until then its sheer
> extravagance.
> Since the SG line was built in 1962 between Melb and Albury , the
> number of trains running today , is significantly less than when the line was
> first built , and as NRC move to running heavier and longer trains , the
> numbers of trains will fall again.

One of the bigger nails in the Whitlam Govt's coffin was the "Loans Affair"...this involved a $4 billion
loan off Iraq for energy conservation projects.
One of these projects was to be the electrification of the Melburne-Sydney line. What impact would this
have had - would there have been more traffic on this route as a result?

John
--
John Cleverdon, B.App.Sc. (Cartography), AMMSIA
Amateur astronomer & Railway enthusiast | Essendon - 1999 AFL premiers
Dromana, Victoria, Australia | Phone: 03 5987 1535 (H)
E-mail:  johnc@cdi.com.au
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