Re: Alice Springs to Darwin line, but wait, there is more.!

["Richo" <richardc@tpg.com.au>]

>
> Not really.
> WA could simply do what the Vic Govt have done , ie lease the SG track to
ARTC
> at a commercial rate , that way the WA Govt itself doesnt lose anything
except
> the right to sell the SG to a private operator.
> At some point there needs to be some consideration given to the concept of
the
> National benefit , versus the benefit of the State.
Agreed
> This problem of States rights and the benefit of the State outweighing
> everything else is in the main part why rail is in such a mess.
> We have the idiotic guage problem thanks to States rights.
Absolutely true
> Unfortunately , its unlikely that the above will happen simply because
State
> Govts use their railways as indirect forms of revenue raising and leasing
> assetts to other Govt organizations removes this source of revenue.
>
> As far as mass / distance charging goes for trucks , its just about
impossible
> to measure,(you can measure distance , but not GTKs) and you cant
quarantine
> the effect just to long distance trucking.
Why not just charge the marginal improvements  eg Freeways

They got rid of the tollgates at Berowra - if you had charged $100 per truck
on the Sydney to Newcastle stretch I think it would have been a fair
commercial proposition - they could have used the money to incrementally
extend the tollway north. Police sitting off on the old highway to catch the
evaders. They could try going via Putty Rd, via Mudgee or out onto the
Newell but would that be worth the $100. The gain to consolidated revenue
from spending on the roads which was becoming self-funding - more money all
round including for rail improvements. Bearing in mind that there is still a
much greater return to rail from investment than road - the same $200
million spent on the North Coast line produces bigger efficiencies than if
it were spent on road.

> Any increase in taxation for the trucking industry will in the end be paid
for
> by the whole trucking industry, including the truckies who deliver goods
> from Rail terminals to end customers, and to truckies who deliver food to
> local shops, ie we, the taxpayer will ultimately pay in the form of higher
> prices .
Yes and so we ought to. People enjoy the convenience lifestyle in Australia
and don't realise the burden it places on others. Old Mrs Jones who can no
longer walk to her corner shop must endure the crappy buses, windswept
carparks and alien megamalls that make up this paradise. Cars, buses and
trucks make this lifestyle possible. (I have a car so I'm alright Jack)
>
> The real issue is the cost of running trains and why access charges are so
high
> and more importantly why we need such a large number of Govt organizations
> involved in running rail in this country.
Yes - far too many one company would have been good - a monopoly, which is
OK because the competitor is road - a very effective competitor too.
> Whilst some of the problems are historical , it doesnt mean that we have
to
> keep the problems.
>
> MD
>




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