Moreton Bay Rail Link

Moreton Bay Rail Link
Overview
Type Commuter Rail
Status Under Construction
Locale Murrumba Downs, Queensland, Australia
Termini Petrie Station
Kippa Ring Station
Stations 6
Colour on map 1e90ff
Website queenslandrail.com.au
Operation
Owner Queensland Rail
Operator(s) Queensland Rail
Technical
Line length 13 km (8.1 mi)
Number of tracks 2
Track gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Operating speed 130 km/h (81 mph)

Mango Hill Station under construction (March 2015)
Kippa Ring Station under construction, project sign

The Moreton Bay Rail Link (MBRL) (also known as the Kippa-Ring rail line, Redcliffe railway and Petrie to Kippa-Ring railway) is a $1.15 billion railway project, that will result in 12.6 kilometres (7.8 mi) of heavy gauge dual-track rail line between Petrie and Kippa-Ring on the Redcliffe peninsula.[1] The new line is to be part of the QR Citytrain suburban network, branching from the Caboolture line. The new line starts 200 metres north of Petrie railway station, extending from (27.5 km (17.1 mi) to 40.1 km (24.9 mi) north of Central railway station).

The line will have six new rail stations: Kallangur, Murrumba Downs, Mango Hill, Mango Hill East (previously called Kinsellas Road), Rothwell and Kippa-Ring. Funding for the project will consist of: $742 million from the Commonwealth Government, $300 million from the Queensland Government (plus another $120 million for land) and $105 million from the Moreton Bay Regional Council.[1]

Early history

A rail line to Redcliffe was first proposed in 1895 when the Queensland Government's Minister for Railways, Mr Hon Robert Philp, considered three proposals, one preferred route via North Pine (Petrie).[2] In more recent times, the Redcliffe railway was more seriously identified and anticipated in the 1970s, and the land was purchased in the 1980s by the state government.[3] This land is still owned by the government and was preserved as a transport corridor. The issue of the proposed railway line seemed to be a recurrent theme during state elections, leading to a skeptical belief by many that the line would never actually be constructed.

Petrie to Kippa-Ring Public Transport Corridor Study

In 1999, the newly elected state government commissioned an investigative study into the transport corridor between Petrie to Kippa-Ring,[4] conducted by GHD Group. Key components under investigation included the mode of transport, the route and location of stations, future public transport usage, and the timing for construction.[5]

The study was conducted in two parts. The first part was completed in June 2000. It aimed to meet the state government's obligations to identify or forgo rights to a transport corridor running through the North Lakes residential development. This first stage was to identify the preferred mode of transport, the viability of public transport along the corridor, and the preferred alignment of the corridor.[3] Four modes of transport were investigated: heavy rail, buses or a busway, light rail, and monorail. Heavy rail was found to be the preferred mode of transport along the existing preserved corridor as it was the only option to give an acceptable level of economic efficiency – the study found that heavy rail had a benefit-cost ratio of 1.46, above the value of 1 when a project is considered economically viable – and provided the highest levels of patronage with its integration into the existing Citytrain network and no disadvantage with not having to change modes.[3]

The second part of the study was completed in October 2003. It looked at the route of the corridor between Petrie railway station and Kallangur railway station at Goodfellows Road. The original, preserved route was recommended.[3]

On 17 December 2001, the Minister for Transport announced public transport improvements between Petrie and Kippa-Ring, planned as part of a staged development of a new rail line in the area.[6] This was after the Petrie to Kippa-Ring Public Transport Corridor Study had released a draft report with recommendations. The Minister also said that the government was investigating private sector involvement in the construction of the project.[6] On 11 July 2003, the Minister said that the government had not made a commitment on the proposed line, and said that it may not go ahead as interest from the private sector in the project that they were looking for was negligible.[7] This was at the same time as similar passenger rail public-private partnerships such as the Airtrain to the Brisbane Airport and Airport Link to Sydney Airport were faltering and considered high risk at best by business and investors.[8][9]

In June 2004, Queensland Transport released an assessment of the Petrie to Kippa-Ring Public Transport Corridor Study's Impact Assessment Study. This assessment claimed that the Impact Assessment Study only looked at costs of the Petrie to Kippa-Ring corridor, and did not take into account commercial-in-confidence costs involved with operating the trains, integrating the services with the rest of the Citytrain network, higher maintenance costs, and the costs of increasing capacity between the Brisbane central business district and Petrie. Based on these higher costs, Queensland Transport deemed the construction of the railway by 2007 could not be justified. The report also said possible savings with a public-private partnership were small and would not provide value for money. Queensland Transport said that they would preserve the corridor until it was required.[10] Following from this, on 15 June 2004 the government announced $3 million on improving existing bus services along the corridor between Kippa-Ring (Redcliffe) and Petrie "in the short to medium term". It also again announced the further preservation of the corridor for future public transport use.[11]

Recent history

Site of proposed Kippa Ring Railway Station

Frustrated by a lack of action by the Government, the Redcliffe City Council (now Moreton Bay Regional Council) unanimously moved on 4 July 2005 to support a campaign to have the Petrie to Kippa-Ring railway built and write to the Minister for Transport to express concern over a recent decision by the Minister to not proceed with its construction.[12] In 2007, the Pine Rivers Shire Council (now a part of Moreton Bay Regional Council along with Redcliffe City Council) purchased the old Tulip Town shopping centre land at Kallangur for $6 million, with the potential for it to be used with the proposed Kippa-Ring railway line.[13] The site is nearby, but not immediately adjacent to, the location of a Murrumba Downs railway station. On 11 August 2008, the then state member for Murrumba whose electorate the proposed line runs through, said that there were no plans to construct the railway in the foreseeable future.[14]

The South East Queensland Regional Plan 2009–2031, released in December 2008, identified the preserved corridor in its Transport Infrastructure Network Plan as a "quality rapid transit route".[15] During the 2009 Queensland state election, the then opposition party promised to start the construction of the line in its first term if it was elected, with the first stage of the line from Petrie to Mango Hill commissioned in 2014, and completed to Kippa-Ring by 2016.[16] However, the incumbent government was subsequently returned to power.[17]

During the 2010 federal election, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that the Kippa-Ring railway line would be fast-tracked, with the project to be complete by 2016 at a cost of $1.15 billion.[18] On 3 December 2010, the funding agreement for the project was formalised, after being announced the day before. The agreement was signed by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard and then Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Moreton Bay mayor Allan Sutherland.[19]

The Department of Transport and Main Roads held an industry briefing in Brisbane on 17 August 2012 to provide an update on the Moreton Bay Rail Link Project (MBRL). The Request for Proposal was advertised on 24 August 2012 and responses closed on 21 September 2012. The procurement process to select a single design and construct contractor utilises a modified Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) process.

On 1 August 2013,[20] Thiess Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Leighton Holdings (with designers Aurecon, AECOM and geotechnical subcontractor Golder Associates) was awarded the $650 million contract for the design and construction of the new rail line. Thiess will be part of the Trackstar team building the 12.6 kilometres (7.8 mi) Moreton Bay rail link.

Timeline

Site of proposed Mango Hill Railway Station

Milestones: [21]

Construction Timeline:

Proposed new line

In the last study report, planned stations were in Kallangur, Murrumba Downs, Mango Hill, Mango Hill East, Rothwell and Kippa-Ring.[3] Passengers for/from the Caboolture and Nambour and Gympie North lines would change at Petrie, Shorncliffe line at Northgate, Airport and Doomben lines at Eagle Junction, Ferny Grove line at Bowen Hills, and all other lines at Central.

Moreton Bay Rail Link
showing distance from Petrie and ticket zone
Beenleigh, Cleveland, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Rosewood, Tennyson, Exhibition lines
0.00 km Petrie(6)
Caboolture line, Nambour and Gympie North line
2.81 km Kallangur (6)
4.08 km Murrumba Downs (6)
Bruce Highway
5.85 km Mango Hill (6)
7.49 km Mango Hill East (6)
Saltwater Creek
9.08 km Rothwell (6)
12.59 km Kippa-Ring (6)

References

  1. 1 2 "Moreton Bay Rail Link (Department of Transport and Main Roads)". Queensland Government. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  2. ↑ "(Unknown title)". The Telegraph. 8 May 1895. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 GHD Pty Ltd (October 2003). "Petrie to Kippa-Ring Public Transport Corridor Study – Final Impact Assessment Study Report" (PDF). Queensland Transport. Retrieved 20 January 2009. Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "BUDGET BRIEFS" (Press release). Government of Queensland. 15 September 1999. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Public transport corridor information days to assist residents" (Press release). Government of Queensland. 24 March 2000. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Petrie to Kippa-Ring Rail Corridor" (Press release). Government of Queensland. 17 December 2001. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  7. ↑ "Rail may not be an option for Petrie to Kippa-Ring" (Press release). Government of Queensland. 11 July 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  8. ↑ "Talks underway over future of private Airtrain operation". Australian Associated Press. 15 June 2002. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  9. ↑ Bissett, Kelvin (18 December 2006). "Fast rail plan for Sydney". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "Petrie to Kippa-Ring PublicTransport Corridor Study Independent assessment of IAS Report" (PDF). Queensland Transport. June 2004. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "$3M FOR PETRIE TO KIPPA-RING PUBLIC TRANSPORT CORRIDOR" (Press release). Government of Queensland. 15 June 2004. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  12. ↑ "MINUTES OF GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE 4 JULY 2005" (DOC). General Purposes Committee Meeting. Redcliffe City Council. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  13. ↑ Dowling, Bernie (21 November 2007). "Petrie-Redcliffe line hopes". Pine Rivers Press. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  14. ↑ "No rail link to Redcliffe". Redcliffe and Bayside Herald. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  15. ↑ "Draft regional plan 2009–2031 – Part D12: Integrated transport" (PDF). Government of Queensland. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  16. ↑ Valentine, Alyce (28 February 2009). "Petrie to Kippa-Ring rail link promised by the LNP". The Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  17. ↑ "Queensland elects female premier". BBC News Online. 21 March 2009.
  18. ↑ Balogh, Stefanie (27 July 2010). "Gillard fast-tracks the $1.15 billion Redcliffe rail connection linking Petrie to Kippa-Ring". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  19. ↑ Moore, Tony (3 December 2010). "Moreton Bay Rail Link remains on track". The Brisbane Times (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  20. ↑ AAP (1 August 2013). "Thiess to lead Brisbane rail project". The Australian.
  21. ↑ "TMR MBRL". Moreton Bay Rail Link (Queensland Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads). 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2014.

External links

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