- Trams Downunder

RE: Re: Extra trains for NSW ‘on hold’ amid warning of investment slump
Hunslet

When the NIF sets finally enter service, after initially replacing the elderly but extremely popular V-sets, they will release H-sets for suburban working. Similarly, conversion of the Bankstown line will release heavy rail sets for redeployment. Thus, a number of heavy-rail sets will become available over the next five-ten years, allowing increased heavy=rail services on the remaining lines. No need for new stock.

Hunslet.

From:tramsdownunder@... [mailto:tramsdownunder@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of TP
Sent: Thursday, 18 August 2022 5:00 PM
To: TramsDownUnder tramsdownunder@...>
Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Extra trains for NSW ‘on hold’ amid warning of investment slump

Obviously poor old Granny is running out of "scandals". Have they noticed that, after the current orders are fully delivered, NSW basically has all the rolling stock it needs until the next round of lifecycle replacements? New country fleet locked in and in progress, interurbans largely completed, suburbans completed, metro second batches in progress, trams second batches in progress. Anything further beyond these is obviously waiting to see where the patterns of patronage land post-pandemic.

Tony P

On Thursday, 18 August 2022 at 13:55:54 UTC+10gregsut...@... mailto:gregsut...@ozemail.com.au wrote:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/extra-trains-for-nsw-on-hold-amid-warning-of-investment-slump-20220809-p5b8dl.html

Extra trains for NSW ‘on hold’ amid warning of investment slump

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By Matt O'Sullivan https://www.smh.com.au/by/matt-o'sullivan-hvehy

August 18, 2022 — 5.00am

Key points

* A strategic report by the state-owned Transport Asset Holding Entity warns that its investment plan “tails off significantly” after 2025 to about $500 million annually.
* The “sensitive” report couches the “lack of future investment and funding” as both a “challenge and an opportunity” for TAHE.
* Fixing corroded steel over-bridges in regional areas is one of the “major challenges” the government is grappling with in maintaining the heavy rail network.
* A government spokeswoman said more than $5.3 billion was being invested through digital systems, infrastructure upgrades and new trains.
* Labor’s transport spokeswoman said there was a “real danger” that passengers would end up with second-class services if the government cut investment.

The NSW government has delayed long-term plans to buy extra passenger trains as internal documents warn that investment in the existing network will slump within the next few years.

The strategic report by the state-owned Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) warns that its investment plan “tails off significantly” after 2025 to about $500 million annually, a sum which will largely be spent on maintenance.

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Confidential documents show the government has put “on hold” buying extra passenger trains beyond the existing commitments it has made.Credit:Brook Mitchell

It also shows that fixing corroded steel over-bridges in regional areas is one of the “major challenges” the government is grappling with in maintaining the state’s heavy rail network.

The purchase of extra passenger trains is “on hold” beyond existing commitments in a project known as “more trains, more services”, according to the report, until there is greater certainty about patronage on the rail network, which took a hit during the pandemic.

The latest part of the “more trains, more services” project, which will be delivered, includes the purchase of an extra 56 train carriages for intercity services as well as a batch of new Waratah suburban trains. It also involves an upgrade to a rail maintenance facility on the Central Coast.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/another-multibillion-dollar-nsw-train-project-at-risk-of-delays-cost-overruns-20220629-p5axs0.html

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The “sensitive” report – completed in December – couches the “lack of future investment and funding” as both a “challenge and an opportunity” for TAHE.

It says that “balancing and prioritising” future investment in the transport network with “TAHE-led commercial development is a critical area of focus”.

The Herald recently revealed TAHE’s ambitious plan https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/secret-plans-to-sell-rezone-and-develop-land-across-sydney-railways-20220614-p5atiw.html to sell or redevelop land across Sydney’s rail network and morphing into a big property developer to deliver more than $40 billion in government windfalls.

The warning about a looming drop in investment comes as the government has put on ice https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-told-to-put-high-profile-road-transport-projects-on-ice-20220530-p5app7.html several large transport projects, including the Beaches Link motorway tunnel https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/lives-in-limbo-as-north-sydney-s-divisive-beaches-link-tunnel-stalls-20220602-p5aqp6.html in Sydney’s northeast.

Labor transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said there was a “real danger” that train passengers across NSW would end up with second-class services if the government cut investment.

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One of the intercity trains at the centre of a stand-off between rail unions and the NSW government.Credit:Tom Rabe

“Any cuts will lead to fewer trains, fewer services, and to our rail infrastructure becoming obsolete and unsafe,” she said.

A government spokeswoman said more than $5.3 billion was being invested in the “more trains, more services” program to deliver a range of benefits for rail customers through digital systems, infrastructure upgrades and new trains.

She said the new intercity fleet would be progressively introduced on the Central Coast and Newcastle line once an operating model was finalised and crews trained. A timeline for them starting services on the Blue Mountains and South Coast lines would be determined after more trains were delivered and further testing completed.

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The new intercity trains https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/negotiation-breakdown-threatens-to-keep-new-rail-fleet-in-mothballs-20220608-p5as9q.html remain at the centre of a prolonged dispute between unions and the government, which has resulted in months of various forms of industrial action https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/last-train-to-bondi-has-ripple-effect-on-small-businesses-commuters-20220810-p5b8p0.html by rail workers.

The confidential report by TAHE also warns that maintenance of over-bridges on rail lines in regional areas “continues to be one of the major challenges”.

“Severe corrosion to structural members and fastenings is the primary concern for the steel over-bridges. The load rating investigation projects are underway and there is an increase in over-bridges with load restrictions,” it says.

In comparison, the overall condition of bridges and other infrastructure on Sydney’s metropolitan rail network is deemed “average”.

Regional Transport Minister Sam Farraway said he had “full confidence” that the state’s country rail network was “well maintained”.