Long-term Strategic Plan for Rail
Greater Sydney metropolitan region
Overview report
June 2001
An 89-page overview report Long-term Strategic Plan for Rail prepared by Ron Christie when Co-ordinator-General of Rail in June 2001 was suppressed by the New South Wales Government and did not surface until a leaked copy was extensively reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on 25-27 February 2002. The report pressed for a huge expansion of Sydney's railways, arguing that travel around the metropolis would become very awkward otherwise (other arguments, such as air pollution and safety, were also advanced).
The Government's response to the publication was to say the report was only a "shopping list" of possible projects.
Following pressure from the cross-bench of the NSW Legislative Council, the report was officially released in May 2002.
The full report with all maps and diagrams etc. can be downloaded from here.
The text is extracted below.
Contents
Letter to the Minister
1. Introduction
Rail planning inputs
Changes in priorities
This overview report
2. Current passenger and freight rail operations and constraints
2.1 CityRail operations
The constraints on CityRail's capacity
The breaking down of "sectorisation"
Mixtures of service patterns
Other operating constraints
Service reliability and on-time running performance
2.2 Freight operations
2.3 Rail infrastructure maintenance and reliability
2.4 Safety
3. The factors shaping future rail transport in the greater metropolitan region
3.1 Future passenger demand
Growth along the rail corridors
4. The next ten years
4.1 Service levels and objectives
4.2 Strategies
In the next year:
Progressively over the rest of the decade:
4.3 Alternatives
Diversions to other modes?
More passengers per train?
Communications-based signalling?
Pricing demand management?
Changes in land uses?
4.4 Corridor patronage growth forecasts and service and infrastructure responses
Illawarra line and Eastern Suburbs Railway
South Coast line
East Hills line
Bankstown line
South and Inner West lines
West lines
Blue Mountains
Main North and Central Coast lines
North Shore line
Separation of services
4.5 The vital need to add new capacity through the CBD
4.6 Station, bus-rail interchange and car park upgradings
4.7 Fire and life safety upgrades in the underground system
4.8 Electrical capacity upgrades
4.9 Modernisation of signalling and train control systems
Monitoring of "dark territories"
Immediate network control improvements
Modernisation of signalling infrastructure
Modernisation of signal control systems
4.10 Other rail and station infrastructure maintenance strategies
5. Beyond 2010:
Overcoming the critical inner city constraint and implementing a longer term vision
Extending the rail system's "reach"
A staged approach in choosing the best public transport mode
A long-term framework
Principles for viable operation of the longer-term rail system
6. CityRail rolling stock requirements
6.1 Extra rolling stock for patronage growth
6.2 Replacement of the existing CityRail fleets
6.3 Rolling stock maintenance and cleaning
Maintenance expenditure requirements
Location and upgrading of train maintenance facilities
7. Overview of projects and timeframes
