3 October 2006

Rail link rumoured for Bungendore, Jerrabomberra and Canberra

| Kerces
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Palerang Shire mayor Frank Pangello has been all over the ABC news bulletins this morning proclaiming the benefits of a railway line for commuting Defence families to use. The Canberra Times has rather more, saying the project is “on the verge of receiving NSW Department of Environment approval”.

The proposal is to extend the line to link Jerrabomberra to the Canberra and Queanbeyan stations.

The idea seems to be that there are going to be so many Defense people living in Jerrabomberra once the Headquarters Joint Operations Command is built near Bungendore and they are all going to need some way to get to and from work. Mr Pangello said he thinks rail would be preferable and economical once you factor in the skinnyness and windiness of the roads in the area.

Since Mr Pangello is so enthusiastic about the whole project, I presume this means his Shire Council would not have to pay for it — given they’ve got very little funds to be throwing around.

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I think they’d probably be looking to join the HQ JOC rail line to the current one that winds past quite close.

DoD has already acounted for the expected housing requirements in their existing stock in Canberra (with a small amount of housing based in Queanbeyan) so there’ll be no noticable hit in Jerrabomberra – its the way they structure it, to ensure they cant be blamed for altering property prices one way or the other.

A rail link to HQJOC would be a boon for the constrution consortium given that it would be a major project variation that wasn’t event flagged on the radar when the deal was signed – the variation cost alone would probably make it financially unfeasible.

Yeah but what time does the Defence shift end? 4pm? And its only what 400 cars at most. about the number that goes across London circuit in 10 minutes.

It’ll be an absolute poo-fight Friday evenings, as the mob heading to the coast hit the mob leaving HQ JOC.

A developer is ramming through a development at Trucking Yard Lane in Bungendore (on the Captain’s Flat side), doubtless with one eye on this potential market.

I can hear it in the distance…monorail!

Times like this you wished you were a builder…

Since Defence is buying 350 houses in Gungahlin to house these new workers (from Defence website), I believe like Ant that up-grading mac Reef Road is a more sensible idea.

captainwhorebags7:48 am 04 Oct 06

Pandy, considering the nature of the facility, I’d bet that a large number of workers are on watch for set shifts. The majority of the workers at Russell arrive at 8 and leave at 4 anyway. I’d rather make sure I’m on time for the train than battle traffic through QBN CBD and then the Kings Highway.

Bob Winnel from the Village Building Comapny was on the ABC radio this morning and is said to be behind the light rail push as he was for Civic to Gunghalin for a decade or more.

Hope his pockets are deep.

Catja, can you provide more details on the Jerra meeting?

Catja, WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!!!!!!

That is not what he said on TV tonight, or what his local MP Nairn said.

I don’t what drugs these politicans are taking or lack of taking, just wish that they would get it straight.

At a meeting with Jerrabomberra Residents tonight, Queanbeyan City mayor Frank Pangello said that they didn’t want the Rail link to go ahead as it would cause to many problems.

Not only Gungahlin but Lawson under the naval Comms towers, Belconnen, will probably be a major defence housing site.

Lets get this straight, the current travel time between Queanbeyan and Bungendore is 30 minutes by modern fast speed trains. The Defence HQ is about halfway between the two, so lets say it would take 15 minutes to get there. Then add another 10 minutes to Jerrabomberra. 25 minutes folks. About the time it takes to drive between the two. Of course you dont have to commute to to a train station first. I doubt that light rail could do the trip as easily – light being the operative word; i.e. not enough grunt.

Of course, you would want to maximise the number of people using the train from Jerrabomberra to the HQ. So you would run maximum load trains, once a day from Jerra. How many of the 750 staff who work there would a) start at the same time in the morning and b) choose to live in Jerra? 50? And if they payed a non-subidised fare it would cost them about $10 one-way (Countrylink website). Not making sense. But of-course the rail freaks say extend the service (i.e. more carriages) going to Canberra, with extensions to Russell and Civic and the Gungahlin? I’v heard this one before.

Pangello should stop playing with his 12′ Hornby train set and go back to the Tarantella.

Yes, Frank Pangallo is Qbn Mayor. Palerang Shire is based in Bungendore and Braidwood. It is not part of Queanbeyan Shire, more’s the pity. Palerang is broke, and is soaking the residents, many of whom consume NO council services. It’s a joke.

The rail line is on the official plan for the site (which I can see from here), and makes sense. They are touting Gunghalin as the place for many of these people to live though, which means Macs Reef Road and Bungendore will cop the traffic. Local roads will struggle with the volume, they are already pretty busy.

“Better still, start a rumour that Defence is paying for it and they probably will.”

Just add it to the bill for the (Not So) Super Seasprites.

Better still, start a rumour that Defence is paying for it and they probably will.

a sensible proposal – even without finer detail.

If the rail service – and light rail would be perfect for this proposal – terminated at canberra station, there are a lot of apartments in kingston that defence personnel moving to canberra could live in and commute from.

and leave their car at home.

Good call Unbeliever. Not having some sort of standardised service is just crazy. I think most people would be happy to pay 3 bucks for a border crossing to either Woden or Civic, then jump onto the Action network from there.

Pangello is only QBN mayor ?

“Palerang Councillors 2004-2008

The following Councillors were elected for the 2004-2008 term.

Cr Jim Maclachlan – Mayor”
Quote from the website http://www.palerang.nsw.gov.au/council/1551/2692.html

I agree with VB, the bus service in Qbn is crap. Once I had to catch it to Qbn and it went through every street (at least it felt like that)in Manuka/Kingston and cost a packet.

Here’s an idea for Mayor Pangello – get rid of the ‘unique’ Qbn bus service and get an agreement in place for Action to service that side of the border too. It’s rediculous to have two seperate service, just because of the border. Is this pre-1901? Is anyone in any doubt that the ACT is the economic centre for the region including Qbn? So why duplicate a service? A poor duplication at that.

Action could enter into an agreement to receive the subsidy for its NSW services. And automatically ACT-Qbn would be $3 (or whatever it is now on Action). Problem solved.

Anyone ever seen that lean to house near the rail line near the bridge just before the round about (coming from Hume) near Jerra on Lanyon Rd/Tharwa Drv. Always wanted to go investigate that but been too lazy.

WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!!

Firstly ever been on one of those steam specials up to Cooma? The line is rickity as hell with white-anted sleepers and slow speeds. There is about a 10 minute delay in Queanbeyan when the train from Cooma joins the line to Goulburn, doing things with signals and permissions. Then that 19th century travel up the Molonglo Gorge that even the proponents of the Very Fast Train said had to be avoided.

So unless tens (hundred?) of millions are spend in replacing the line to defence HQ, who in their right mind would drive to the Jerrbombera train station and then catch a very slow train to Defence HQ, when they can hop onto the Queanbeyan Ring Road and be there in 15 minutes?

Kill this rail nutter idea now!

If he can make it fly with enough demand and effective economics than good on him.

Although as a Jerrabomberra resident myself I personally be a lot happier with a bus service that went to ANYWHERE in Canberra. To catch the bus to Civic from the bus stop nearest my house costs $9.20 and almost 2 hours. Each way.

Yeah, it really makes sense to drive half way across Canberra to the railway station so you can catch a train to Bungendore.

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