Re: Hume Highway bypass for Albury. And bypassing Wodonga Rail!

[Vaughan Williams <ender2000@my-deja.com>]

PTUA was asked a few months ago to advise on a public transport
solution for A-W and what we came up with was instead of the internal
bypass (oxymoron), which should be scrapped and consider a proper
external one which would cost a bit more, provide good local public
transport as well as more frequent trains to melbourne and sydney, and
transfer as much freight as possible back to trains.

The PT vision for A-W includes a light rail component using the present
rail bridge and some existing track to the north and south, with light
rail extensions into the retail centres of Albury and Wodonga. LRV's
would share the track with main line trains as currently happens in
Germany around Karlsruhe.

At the NSW election, an independent almost won the seat of Albury
running mainly on the bypass issue. She lost by 700 votes.

Vaughan

> Actually Maurie, I visited the Display they have set up for the
Public in
> Albury, we are still going through the notice of "Intentions stage"
and
> objections are still being invited.
> The model they have built to show the Public what is to happen does
not show
> the turntable or the old [fibro-cement] car shed, but it does show
that 10
> and 11 roads are still in place, as well the Turntable area is not
intruded
> upon. Very little track will be lost due to the Freeway, although a
fair bit
> might be removed as redundant.
> As an aside, the turntable is being renovated by State Rail at the
moment.
> New Sleepers are being installed, grease and oil change etc.
>
> I have lived in or been closely associated with Albury Wodonga for 30
years,
> and I am highly scheptical about this Freeway! They have been talking
about
> it long before Bolte proposed roofing over Flinders Street Station! I
really
> think it is a lot of Bullshit, and the business people in this town
will
> never give up...they want the traffic to go through! They are now one
of the
> few towns not bypassed.
> Every six months or so, we get front page headlines about the need to
remove
> rail from Wodonga. The Liberal Border Mail ran the story again
yesterday,
> crowing it will employ 2000
> people and allow the business district to Centralise and Big Shopping
> concerns to move into Wodonga saving 20 millions being spent iun
Albury each
> year....lot of crap[pun intended Mr.Shire President Crapp], it will
make
> Weatherall and a few wealthy Solicitors very rich, and the rail will
be
> reduced to SG only, with out Passenger facilities in Wodonga.
National know
> this also, as they are not replacing Drivers as they retire, just
working
> more Melbourne Crews into the job. By the way we heard the exact same
> garbage in the 80's when they were moving the Cattle yards out to
Bandianna,
> they tore it all down, and it has been a vacant paddock ever since.
VicRail
> never moved another live stock train out of here again.
> Rod
>
>


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