Farewell ACT Light Rail, hello Public Transport Association of Canberra

Say hello to the 'Public Transport Association of Canberra' or 'PTCBR'.

Light railers, the following announcement is a little delayed in its release, but I'm sure you'll appreciate the wait.

Following on from our success in helping to secure a light rail future in Canberra, a question was raised amongst a few of us on the ACT Light Rail committee about where we should go from here. The consensus reached was that we should continue our advocacy, not just for light rail, but also for overall better public transport in Canberra and our immediate region.

To that end, a brand new community based public transport advocacy group has been created with members drawn from ACT Light Rail, and a few new faces. We have now formally registered the 'Public Transport Association of Canberra', or 'PTCBR'.

An interim committee has been formed, a constitution written (we are using the model rules, as recommended by the Office of Regulatory Services), and a set of objectives established. The organisation has been registered with the ACT Governments Office of Regulatory Services and in the New Year we will be in a position to start inviting applications for membership, and for those so motivated, several positions on the interim committee that remain vacant.

Along with the formation of PTCBR, we'll be starting a brand new website at ptcbr.org and changing the name of the facebook group to recognise this change from a focus on light rail to better reflect a bigger focus on public transport in Canberra.

This website will no longer be updated, but remain online for future reference.

Our objectives as an organisation will be as follows:
1. Promote public transport in the Canberra region.
2. Act as the peak body for public transport consultation in the ACT.
3. Further the integration of light rail, bus services and active transport within the ACT.

Whilst we won't be asking every member of the group to join the official organisation, we are keen for as many of you as possible to do so. The more people we count as members, the greater sway we'll have to effect better public transport and planning outcomes.

We will be asking people who wish to become members to pay a $20 annual membership fee, or $10 for students/pensioners.

Your fees will enable us to hold regular public forums where we intend to invite organisations, businesses and government departments involved in public transport to come and speak with us. We intend to become a proactive voice in Canberra’s public transport and planning future, and we need to do this in a professional and organised way.

You are of course welcome to remain in this group and continue contributing as you see fit without any further commitment, and we likewise understand if you no longer wish to be a part of the group following this change.

What we can say, however, is that becoming a member of PTCBR will provide you with the opportunity to become a part of a group that will have a real, tangible impact on the quality of our city's livability. It would be great if you could all be a part of it.

Damien Haas, Chair PTCBR
(on behalf of the PTCBR Committee)

Wire free light rail mandated for Civic to Russell extension of Capital Metro Stage One

A modern French wire free light rail vehicle in Tours, France (Robert Knight)

At a Gungahlin Community Council meeting on 9 September 2015, Capital Metro Director of Procurement and Delivery, Steve Allday, advised that the two consortiums bidding for the Capital Metro project, would be delivering their bids for the Russell extension in a months time, and that the bids would have to be for wire free light rail.

He said that the NCA required wire free operation in the National Capital Area, and that as a result the light rail extension from Civic to Russell would have to be a wire free design.

Mr Allday said that this technology was already in use internationally, and there were several different options that could be utilised. Light rail vehicles would take power from an overhead wire, and then rely on a battery or super-capacitor for limited distances. Although there were technical challenges with current technology that limited the distances that wire free operation could be used. This meant that light rail vehicles for Capital Metro Stage One were likely to be powered by an overhead wire.

The photo above, of a modern light rail vehicle in Tours, France, uses power from a third rail in the road surface.

ACT Light Rail are aware that the NCA had previously indicated that any light rail extension across Lake Burley Griffin would have to use wire free technology, and Capital Metro had factored this into the technical requirements that the two consortiums had based their Stage One bids on. Capital Metro have never proscribed whether the light rail technology chosen by the successful bidder, for Stage One, was wire free or used a catenary wire (in use by all light rail systems in Australia at present).

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.  

Light rail draft environmental impact statement released

Front page of 1600 page report

The ACT Government has released a mammoth 1600 page draft environmental impact statement on the Capital Metro light rail between Gungahlin and Civic. It is a comprehensive examination of the impact that light rail will have along the corridor and covers many different areas.

You can download the full report here.

The ABC has covered the report here. It leads with its most obvious concern 'Canberras light rail poses significant risks to appearance of Northbourne Avenue, report says'

The Canberra Times has two reports - one quite informative and balanced here, and another focussed on the negative aspects here. The second talks up the minimal savings in time that drivers will experience as a result of having mass transit as an alternative option, and also the loss of a car park (that is scheduled to be sold anyway).

It does have a useful breakdown of key facts:

Construction

• Construction depots take over London Circuit carpark near the courts; site of visitor information centre on Northbourne Avenue, carpark opposite Exhibition Park.
• About 60 truck journeys a day in 2017 and 2018 (36,000 movements across the two years); 7800 truck movements in 2016.
• Standard construction hours 7am till 6pm Monday to Saturday; major intersection work, overhead wiring and oversize deliveries done outside standard hours.
• Construction to use 74,000 cubic metres of concrete, 3.4 million litres of diesel, 9500 tonnes of asphalt, 100,000 metres of PVC ducts, 3000 tonnes of steel for rails, plus 9300 more for reinforcement and structural work.860 trees removed.
• Construction to employ an average 500 people, up to 900 at peak times.
• Weekend closure of key Northbourne intersections at Macarthur/Wakefield; Mouat/Antill; Barry Drive/Cooyong; Alinga (closed Friday 10pm til Monday 4am, adjacent ones not on the same weekends). Other intersections to be "sporadically closed" for up to two or four weeks, with diversions. Bus routes using the corridor and running across the corridor periodically disrupted.

Operation

• Light rail vehicles operate Monday-Thursday 6am-midnight, Friday-Saturday 6am-1.30am; Sundays 8am midnight. Light rail vehicles every six minutes at rush hour, every 10 minutes 9am-4pm, every 15 minutes other times. Journey time 25 minutes Gungahlin to the city. 14 Light rail vehicles, each up to 33 metres long, with dedicated space for four bicycles. Top speed 70kmh.
• Platform at each stop 33 metres long, capable of extension to 45 metres for extended vehicles; signalled pedestrian crossings to nearest footpath. Light rail corridor 7 metres wide, widening in places to 10.4 metres, including outbound and inbound Light rail lanes and median strip.
• Light rail replaces trunk and express bus routes on Northbourne Avenue, the Federal Highway and Flemington Road.
• An extra southbound lane to be built from the Barton Highway to Antill Street, 630 metres long.
• Road changes include banning of turning across the median in some locations, including: Exhibition Park entrance, the Kamberra Wine Company on Flemington, the Yowan Golf Club on the Federal Highway, the netball centre on the Federal Highway, the southbound right turn from Northbourne Avenue to Bunda Street.
• Seven electricity substations to be built along the route, each in a 12m x 4.5m building, at: Gungahlin depot, Flemington Road, Collaroy Street, Vicars Street, Barton Highway, Macarthur House and Mort Street.

This draft EIS is a very useful document, It informs the likely disruption that construction will cause, and enables businesses along the route to plan accordingly. With the Majura Parkway almost complete, much truck traffic will have shifted off Northbourne already.

It also looks at issues such as the lack of familiarity that local drivers and pedestrians have with large light rail vehicles rumbling along, and proposes an education campaign to familiarise Canberrans with their new transport infrastructure.

The CT reports that:

Health and socio-economic impacts form part of 17 broad topics discussed in the environmental impact statement.
The report is designed to identify "worst case scenarios" to mitigate potential problems before construction of the proposed stage one development of the 12-kilometre tram route between Gungahlin and the city.
The document says key issues were impacts to heritage, noise and vibration, planted trees, landscape and visual, traffic and transport, social and economic, and property and land use.
The EIS also sets out problems and mitigation strategies for biodiversity, air quality, contamination and soils, utilities and services, hazard and risk and bushfire, among others.
The 1700-plus page report, put together by Parsons Brinckerhoff with ACT government data, has been in the works since last October.

The ABC ran the following story on 20 June 2015

A public consultation period is now open with several public sessions planned to gather feedback and provide further information.

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'.  

Corbell updates Canberra on Capital Metro progress

Minister Corbell has released a media statement on Capital Metro progress:

Work to establish light rail in Canberra and transform the city’s public transport network is on track, Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Simon Corbell said today.

“The recruitment process for the critical role of Project Director to lead the new Capital Metro Agency, and for a Project Board Chair, will commence in the coming weeks,” Mr Corbell said.

“Coordination of research for a property strategy for the light rail corridor is already underway. The urban redevelopment of this corridor will be transformative, providing a stimulus and confidence in the market for development and growth."

“Opportunities to increase residential and commercial intensities along the corridor on Northbourne Avenue are being investigated. Options being looked at include public housing redevelopments and the Dickson Group Centre.“

The redevelopment of land currently occupied by EPIC and Thoroughbred Park, and the relocation of these facilities, is another option also being considered.

“The $330,000 Network Integration Study has also commenced, which investigates options for stations and stops, and the way in which the light rail service would run in relation to existing modes of personal and public transport,” he said.

Funding allocated in this year’s budget for the Capital Metro light rail project includes:

• $5 million for preliminary design studies
• $12.3 million for the establishment of the Capital Metro Agency; and,
• $1.4 million for a master planning process (which will investigate and identify issues for a future Canberra-wide light rail network)

“Immediate priorities for the Capital Metro Agency include developing procurement and financing options for the light rail infrastructure and operations.  As part of this process, the market place will be approached once an appropriate level of information is developed,” Mr Corbell said.

“Capital Metro is a unique infrastructure project that will provide a template for growth and transport options in Canberra for years to come.”

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'. 

Light Rail on local television

ACT Light Rail are occasionally interviewed or asked for comment by the local media outlets. We have decided to list these on a page for future reference. You can access this by clicking on TV Reports tab at the top of this web page.

If you know of other ACT related light rail TV reports, please contact us.

Ian Ruecroft, ACT Light Rail Deputy Chair, appearing on ABC TV in June 2012 

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'. 

Submissions page updated

The 'Submissions' page has been updated. It now contains links to submissions made by ACT Light Rail to Federal and Local transport and planning consultation processes, dating back to 2009.

Click on the Submissions page tab above.

For more frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news, please visit our Facebook page 'Light Rail for Canberra'. 

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As well as this website, the facebook group 'Light Rail for Canberra' carries frequent updates on Capital Metro and light rail related news. 

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