Post by Flash on Dec 9, 2007 13:26:34 GMT -5
An old, old story: Government + Trains = BUNGLEDOM. This time in NSW
New tunnel can only accomodate old trains
TRANPORT Minister John Watkins and RailCorp chief Vince Graham have confirmed that one in 12 CityRail trains have been banned from using the Epping to Chatswood tunnel because of a design bungle. It also appears that the 12.5 kilometre tunnel was designed and was well underway to being built years before the problem was known. The Daily Telegraph exclusively revealed the design bungle, which was initally met with denials from authorities.
However Mr Graham today admitted the Tangara trains - around eight per cent of the CityRail fleet - could not be used on the tunnel because the 4km incline from under the Lane Cove river would cause the train's traction motor to burn out too quickly. Instead the tunnel will be serviced by trains up to 30 years old and special outer-suburban trains intended for inter-city routes. However the pair claimed services would not be affected. Mr Graham said he had known the Tangaras would be unsuitable for the tunnel since 2004, however design for the tunnel was completed in 2001 and construction began the following year.
The Opposition said Mr Watkins and Premier Morris Iemma "deserve gold medals for stupidity". This latest scandal topped one of Premier Morris Iemma's worst days in power as he staggered from one crisis to another. He now faces a growing list of dilemmas including two damning reports into DOCS and our health system and attacks from the businesses threatening to derail plans to privatise the $15 billion power industry.
The 12km Epping to Chatswood link was billed as the crowning glory of the Labor Government's infrastructure program. The Epping-Chatswood fiasco can be traced back to 2001, when pressure from residents forced the abandonment of a planned bridge over the Lane Cove River in favour of a tunnel. The design change created Sydney's steepest 3.5km section of track. The "big dipper" debacle has emerged amid an embarrassing three weeks for RailCorp in which corruption watchdog ICAC exposed $6 million in rorts by managers and executive pay packets doubled to a combined $10 million.
Transport Minister John Watkins will fly to Europe and Hong Kong today where he will "inspect Euro-style" metro train systems.
Source
New tunnel can only accomodate old trains
TRANPORT Minister John Watkins and RailCorp chief Vince Graham have confirmed that one in 12 CityRail trains have been banned from using the Epping to Chatswood tunnel because of a design bungle. It also appears that the 12.5 kilometre tunnel was designed and was well underway to being built years before the problem was known. The Daily Telegraph exclusively revealed the design bungle, which was initally met with denials from authorities.
However Mr Graham today admitted the Tangara trains - around eight per cent of the CityRail fleet - could not be used on the tunnel because the 4km incline from under the Lane Cove river would cause the train's traction motor to burn out too quickly. Instead the tunnel will be serviced by trains up to 30 years old and special outer-suburban trains intended for inter-city routes. However the pair claimed services would not be affected. Mr Graham said he had known the Tangaras would be unsuitable for the tunnel since 2004, however design for the tunnel was completed in 2001 and construction began the following year.
The Opposition said Mr Watkins and Premier Morris Iemma "deserve gold medals for stupidity". This latest scandal topped one of Premier Morris Iemma's worst days in power as he staggered from one crisis to another. He now faces a growing list of dilemmas including two damning reports into DOCS and our health system and attacks from the businesses threatening to derail plans to privatise the $15 billion power industry.
The 12km Epping to Chatswood link was billed as the crowning glory of the Labor Government's infrastructure program. The Epping-Chatswood fiasco can be traced back to 2001, when pressure from residents forced the abandonment of a planned bridge over the Lane Cove River in favour of a tunnel. The design change created Sydney's steepest 3.5km section of track. The "big dipper" debacle has emerged amid an embarrassing three weeks for RailCorp in which corruption watchdog ICAC exposed $6 million in rorts by managers and executive pay packets doubled to a combined $10 million.
Transport Minister John Watkins will fly to Europe and Hong Kong today where he will "inspect Euro-style" metro train systems.
Source