17 July 2019

City to Commonwealth Park light rail to be wire-free

| Ian Bushnell
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A render of light rail on Commonwealth Avenue at the Commonwealth Park end of the northern section of Stage 2.

There will be more wire-free running and up to 10 new bridges, including the crossing of Parkes Way and Lake Burley Griffin between the City and Woden as part of the light rail Stage 2 project, according to documents lodged with the Commonwealth by the ACT Government.

The Government has split the route into two sections and last week lodged two referrals detailing the project requirements under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The documents are now open to public comment and reveal more of the detail of how the two sections of Stage 2 to Woden would be built.

Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel said the decision to split the route provided an opportunity to fast-track the first stage from the City to Commonwealth Park while the Government worked through the more complex later stage through the Parliamentary Triangle with the Federal Government.

“We hope that the Federal Government agrees to the proposal to split light rail stage two into two parts,” he said.

As well as the expected wire-free running through the Parliamentary Zone, the ACT Government also plans to make the 1.7km City to Commonwealth Park leg, which is presented as a self-contained proposal, wire-free, with light rail vehicles charging at the three new stops of City West, West Basin and Commonwealth Park.

LRVs will have their own on-board power supply and a traction power substation in Commonwealth Park, connected to the system at Commonwealth Avenue which will need to be built.

The first leg will also require a dedicated light rail ramp between London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue, using the existing road off-ramp and necessitating an adjustment to the ‘cloverleaf’, and a new bridge between the existing bridges along Commonwealth Avenue over Parkes Way.

A pedestrian and traffic shared-zone on London Circuit between Gordon Street and Edinburgh Avenue is planned to improve accessibility to the City West light rail stop.

Major Projects Canberra may use alternative track slab surface treatments for sections of the City to Commonwealth Park alignment, including grass tracks on Commonwealth Avenue or a paved track slab surface on London Circuit, to better integrate the design into landscape.

It has split the first leg into two precincts – a ‘complex urban environment at London Circuit and then down the nationally-significant Main Avenue of Commonwealth Avenue’ – to ensure the project is integrated into the different landscapes.

At least four new LRVs will be required for the first leg, which the Government hopes will be up and running by 2023, and the Mitchell depot will also need to be expanded.

There will also be a ‘scissor cross-over’ at the Commonwealth Park end to allow light rail vehicles to reverse direction and travel northbound.

For the more c0mplex 9km, nine-stop Stage 2B across the lake to Woden via State Circle East, another 12 LRVS will have to be added to the fleet. The Government hopes it can be in operation in 2025 but with more environmental and heritage hurdles and the engineering challenges that start at Lake Burley Griffin and continue past Parliament House, this may be optimistic.

As well as the new bridge across Lake Burley Griffin, other bridges will need to be built on Commonwealth Avenue over Flynn Drive, Adelaide Avenue over State Circle, and over Yarralumla Creek.

New pedestrian bridges are planned for over Adelaide Avenue to the Kent Street light rail stop and over Yarra Glen to the Carruthers Street light rail stop, as well as a new pedestrian and cycle bridge across Yarralumla Creek at Phillip.

The road vehicle bridge from Yamba Drive to Melrose Drive will need to be decommissioned as will the pedestrian bridge across Yarralumla Creek at Phillip.

Four new traction power substations, 30 metres long by about 10 metres wide will be needed to service the project, and the documents say they would be located to avoid tree loss or impacts on canopies or roots.

They will be connected to each other via a Combined Service Route that follows the track slab alignment, while to the south, there will be a further trenched connection to the Evo Energy Woden Bulk Supply point sub-station.

Temporary construction compounds will be needed along the route including extra land on State Circle, Capital Hill, which will result in the temporary loss of parking.

A compound midway across the lake under the existing bridges may be used, involving sheet piling and a temporary working platform.

Driver amenities are planned at the end of both legs, at Commonwealth Park and Woden.

The ACT Government is hoping for quick approval for the City to Commonwealth Park with limited environmental and heritage impacts, including the presence of the critically endangered golden sun moth at the intersection of London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue, and possible affects on the Reserve Bank building and the Parliamentary vistas.

But Commonwealth Park to Woden presents multiple impacts. As well as the golden sun moth in the cloverleaf to negotiate, there are the historic Weston tree plantings, the Parliamentary vistas, possible impacts on West Block, Parliament House, State Circle Cutting, the York Park oak plantation, and the Lodge.

The referral argues these can be minimised and offset by defined no-go and protection zones, sensitive design, ‘grass tracks’, wire-free running and a landscaping and tree replacement program, including propagating a series of next-generation Himalayan cedars from the original trees on Commonwealth Avenue.

The City to Commonwealth leg requires approval from the ACT planning authority and the National Capital Authority, while the other section to Woden needs to be approved by the Federal Parliament as well. The second leg also faces the prospect of more environmental and heritage conditions being imposed on it.

The business cases for both legs are expected to be finalised in the next couple of months, when a better idea of the real cost will be known.

The entire Stage 2 has had an estimated price tag of up to $1.6 billion.

 

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For all of you saying light rail is old tech, here is some history 101 for you – buses are older than railways!!!

Bring on stage 2!!!

If they want a “wire-free” vehicle….a bus could do the job!

Now is the time to innovate. Trackless tram would eliminate the need for heavy infrastructure.
https://www.propertycouncil.com.au/Web/Content/News/National/2018/Are_trackless_trams_a_game_changer_.aspx
These ideas are supported by City Renewal Authority Board Member and eminent architect Ken Maher.
https://repository.architecture.com.au/download/chapters/act-chapter/Ken-Maher_Canberra_Salon-Talk-Final.pdf

again, trackless trams are busses, they have the ride quality and energy efficiency of busses, but with higher maintenance, as they form massive ruts in the roads as they wheels only ever go along the narrow paths. The two longest running trackless trams in France are pulling them out to replace them with trams.

Kinda telling, that that map is so old it has the old futsal slab! Reminding us of this government’s track record in pricey white elephants.

Capital Retro9:59 am 20 Jul 19

The futsal slab is still in place. The pop-up container experiment failed to destroy it.

The futsal stab was built by the Carnell Liberal government.

Capital Retro3:24 pm 21 Jul 19

The stab (sic) has stood the test of time, over 20 years in fact. The pop-up container eyesore for the village people lasted about 2 years.

Capital Retro7:38 pm 19 Jul 19

“….when 30,000 people exit a Brumbies match ………..”

Damien Haas, you’re dreamin’.

rationalobserver5:56 pm 19 Jul 19

Given the astronomical amounts of money involved, and seemingly no higher priorities to spend it on, why not just tunnel under the lake and circumvent the NCA’s approval?
That way, people on the southside can get to experience the intolerable traffic delays we saw during phase 1 construction, where lanes were blocked off with witches hats during peak hour when there was no person and no machines working any where close to that area, and which I might add are still ongoing to this day.

Capital Retro8:47 pm 23 Jul 19

Those delays, lane closures and speed limits along Northbourne Avenue and up to Epic corner are still happening. The funny thing is that my car at 40 kmh is still faster than the tram along side.

It was totally disingenuous of Transport Canberra to claim Stage 1 was completed.

There’s no way that this second stage will ever happen, the costs are simply astronomical, the benefits few and far between.

If the first stage was a white elephant, this is a mammoth.

So true, a white elephant. No one is using it; so unpopular. I have only imagined all those people in the tram and waiting for it; they can’t be real; must be holograms. Thank you for your logic, confirming the suspicions that those people using the tram don’t exist in real time.

Capital Retro10:53 am 20 Jul 19

They are the same people you imagined who used to use busses.

And now they’re using a smoother, quieter more efficient light rail service. That’s progress.

It’s almost like people have no idea what costs and benefits are.

People using something doesn’t make it value for money.

If the government offered a limousine service to drive you around for a small fee, it would be extremely popular too.

There is a reason why the ACT government couldn’t get any federal funding for the project, because benefits were far too small for the costs and the money could be better used elsewhere.

Do you know what opportunity costs are?

Astro,
A service whose benefits in no way justify its costs. A service which could have been provided through dedicated busways for a third of the price.

You may like wasting taxpayers money, I don’t

They did get comonwealth funding for the project, through the Asset Recycling intiaitive. $60 or $70 million bucks I think it was.

Not much, but its a lie to suggest they didn’t get anything.

JS,
This is a misconception usually used by supporters of the project.

The light rail didn’t get federal funding from the asset recycling scheme, those funds were to be used for any infrastructure project.

The ACT government chose to claim the funding went to light rail despite the fact it could have been used for any one of the numerous infrastructure projects the ACT was funding.

So I’ll direct you back to my original comment above, do you know what opportunity costs are?

Subtle nuance here. The ACT Government got the $60-70m for Asset Recycling and then chose to use that for the tram. This Commonwealth funding was not for the project itself.

Capital Retro11:25 am 24 Jul 19

It’s certainly quiet in Tuggeranong.

ChrisinTurner10:28 am 19 Jul 19

For fleet flexibility all existing LRV will have to be retrofitted with batteries, at considerable cost. Like Stage 1 we can expect the business case to show the project is uneconomic. 10 bridges!

Whilst there would clearly being a cost, the LRV’s we have can simply have the battery packs dropped in. The cost would be little more than having ordered them fitted out of the factory, like Newcastle did.

Capital Retro5:51 pm 19 Jul 19

Where are the batteries (super-capacitors?) fitted within/on the trams and is the recharging to be via the pantograph or induction? Assuming induction is used on the new trams won’t that mean stage one will have to be modified (removal of catenery etc,) as well as all existing trams being retrofitted?

It will cost many millions and the expensive batteries will have to be replaced regularly. The NRMA bloke will be run off his feet.

The current trams are designed to be able to drop in a battery, it was part of the initial procurement. They’ll charge via the pantograph, just like they do in Newcastle, so no changes to the phase one infrastructure needed.

Capital Retro9:18 am 22 Jul 19

And the extra costs are?

The tallest building in the world cost less than this mess.

Capital Retro9:42 am 22 Jul 19

I hope Barr doesn’t pick up on the “tallest building in the world” comment. God help us.

HiddenDragon6:16 pm 18 Jul 19

What a spectacular monstrosity.

It would be bad enough if the Commonwealth, in a fit of generosity, offered to pay for all of this, but the idea that ACT Government funds – which should be going to far more pressing priorities for the people of Canberra – will be expended on this, is shameful.

What a humongous hyperbole! Stage One light rail has been successfully implemented. Canberra moves on into a prosperous growing city yet there’s still a small band of naysayers that just don’t get it. Wonder how many similar rants went on with that “spectacular monstrosity’ the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Astro,
Funny that you mention the Sydney Harbour Bridge that had clear and quantifiable benefits and was also partially funded from a land value capture tax.

Something that was specifically ruled out by this government because they knew that actually charging the people that would benefit the most from the service would cost them votes. Votes that they wanted to buy instead.

Surely extending the dedicated bus lane to the city centre and through Woden itself would deliver a similar commuter result at a much much lower cost than all this new bridge and track work.

Other cities around the world are moving to trackless trams, surely the Woden and Tuggeranong legs are a perfect fit for this type of technology.

Trackless trams are busses, and they don’t provide the ride quality, the energy efficiency, the scale-ability or the planning certainly that light rail does.

And no, other cities aren’t moving to trackless trams in any great numbers.

Moving to trackless? What like Caen in France? Ooops my bad they are removing a trackless system and putting in a steel wheel on metal rail tram system because their trackless system was an failure.

I’m only going with what many public Transport experts are saying, but hey you guys know much better than an example below from one of the guys who supported Canberra Light Rail stage 1.

“Australian cities moving to use trackless trams are: Townsville; Hobart; Melbourne in Fishermans Bend and Point Cook; Sydney in Liverpool out to the new Western Sydney Airport and the Inner West along Parramatta Road; and Perth, where five separate corridors are competing to be the first to trial the trackless tram system.”

Capital Retro5:52 pm 19 Jul 19

Another tram-less track?

Haven’t seen any trackless trams or trials of these in any of these places. You’re very optimistic. The question remains why the obsession with a technology that is rarely used (for a number of reasons) except for an odd objection with anything that may appear to impose on one’s beloved motorways. That appears to be the main reason behind some of the anti-light rail comments.

michael quirk2:48 pm 18 Jul 19

The government has failed to analyse the LR extension to Woden.Alternatives including a busway need to be analysed. It is likely to be more cost effective and have lower environmental impacts. Funds could then be used to improve the coverage and frequency of the bus service which is likely to be more effective in reducung car usage.

Capital Retro6:21 pm 18 Jul 19

How can anyone have confidence in the bus “service” when they can’t even guarantee drivers for the weekend shifts?

Until ACTION is run like a business people are going to actually increase private car usage because there is no other choice.

And new busses, whatever trendy thing they are powered by, isn’t going to make any difference.

Problem is Action doesn’t set routes anymore because they are being run like a business.

The core issue with drivers is the silliness of the EA and whilst I applaud unions in this case the union is a tad too powerful. Who has ever heard of drivers being paid a composite rate instead of penalties but staff cannot be forced to work the after hours shifts? So in essence those drivers who refuse after hours work are still pocketing hourly rates that include allowance for that after hours work.

So the ones who work nights and weekends are those where that suits them or the new drivers who wouldn’t otherwise get shifts. But they are still being paid the same rate as the 7am to 7pm M-F workers.

The government did the right thing setting up TC who now own the buses and set the routes, they just need to go one step further and contract out the operation of the buses like most other governments have done in this country.

Stephen Saunders2:02 pm 18 Jul 19

I am overjoyed that the scintillating aesthetic standards of the Parliament House Architect and National Capital Planner will no longer be compromised.

Apart from raising Newstart or lowering migration, it is difficult to think of anything which matters more in the Australian polity.

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