Re: Alice-Darwin and East Timor

[telljb@OZozemail.com.au (< Tell >)]

mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie Daly) wrote:
> 
> I suggest that you all have a read of the Defence depts submission to the 
> AustralAsia Railway Consortium on the building of the AP - Darwin line.
> Its available on the NCCs web site.
> In essence it states that if there were to be such a railway built then the 
> Defence Dept would use it as would any other commercial user if there was any 
> need to do so.
> It also states that there is no specific defence need that would require the 
> railway to built in its own right.
> For Rail to provide a quick easy method to transport anything to Darwin from 
> anywhere else, requires that there are sidings available at military 
> establishments where trains can be quickly loaded.
> These days , its much faster to fly everything we need fo Darwin in Hercules 
> aircraft.


One of the real problems is this Maurie, the Top End of
the Northern Territory has some very BIG rivers to
cross, which required back in the old NG NAR days and
even more so for standard gauge, some very substantial
bridges.  During the Wet or Monsoon season, the water
levels in those rivers remains very high for long
periods, up to months in fact.

Just imagine what a well aimed laser guided bomb(s) and
or a small group of "special operations" ground forces
with explosives would do to these bridges.!
Of course the road bridges would be as vulnerable, but
they can be bypassed or transportable bridges erected
within days, no chance of this with rail.

The railway would be out for months, which is why the
Defence Dept rejected the Alice to Darwin standard
gauge on defence grounds, much to the disappointment of
the Northern Territory Government many years ago.

----Terry Burton
[clear OZ in address for email reply]