I unfortunately have lost the link but I remember an old article on RBOT about a local freight business looking to expand and install a rail siding along the Pinkenba line, so clearly there is some appetite for rail freight in the area. Could be context dependent (maybe smaller shippers or different industries prefer the area for some reason?), but I digress.
I do definitely agree that freight probably should be moved to the port, but even if I was a strong supporter of the busway/LRT conversion idea I donāt support closing the line to freight until this is this case.
No we canāt. Business cases are expensive to develop, and there has to be at least a reasonable, desktop prospect of something happening before launching one.
What is just so important about the Doomben line that the cheapest option (leaving it as is) is worth changing? Thereās no meaningful prospect of redevelopment of anything around it, certainly compared to other parts of the network. The route is indirect and not what you would start with if given a blank slate. No major trip attractors outside the races. The major developed parts of the area have faster and more direct services to the city using on-road buses which currently have next to no bus priority and no high capacity buses.
Well, you raise a good point. A business case does require funding (both for rail duplication and for any alternative). The Queensland Government may well decide to just keep it in a state of managed decline.
As you point out, doing nothing is an option. TMR might just touch up a few local bus routes as part of a review instead.
Thatās interesting! I hadnāt heard anything like that. Is there anymore detail you can share?
I will just point out that this press statement came from the former Premier and the former Transport Minister in the former Government. Just because the new Government is the same persuasion as the Lord Mayor doesnāt mean that they are going to jump in and support a line on a map that the previous Labor Government was considering.
I predict that any new major transport projects, beyond what has already been talked about as being Olympic-related infrastructure like The Wave, will be very thin on the ground. I canāt see any changes to Doomben being considered anytime soon.
This is a good point. Metrobuses running via a transitway along KSD and Ann/Wickham would do the CBD to Hamilton journey faster than an indirect line like Doomben could. That should be the priority. An airport metrobus doesnāt need the Doomben line as a corridor when it can use KSD or the Airport Link Tunnel.
I still think the best eventual use of the Doomben line is for orbital travel as part of a suburban loop. The specific mode isnāt that important, whatever suits the projected usage really. But I wouldnāt prioritise mode conversion while KSD still lacks bus priority.
I still think the best eventual use of the Doomben line is for orbital travel as part of a suburban loop.
YES! I would love to see an orbital line starting at Eagle Junction (w/ a new platform or two for terminating trains), running along the Doomben line to an extension to Portside Wharf, then crossing the river to an interchange with Morningside on the Cleveland line, then continuing via Carindale and Upper Mount Gravatt to an interchange with Altandi on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines, then continuing to its terminus at Darra on the Ipswich/Rosewood and Springfield lines.
Yes, this is a pie-in-the-sky idea, but a guy can dream.
Iāve been thinking about this line, the announcement of the Gold City Glider and the fact that itās unlikely that the Doomben line will be extended to Hamilton Northshore anytime soon. Iāve come up with an idea that I think could maximise the potential of both of these services for as smaller investment as possible. Iāve attached a screenshot to demonstrate what Iām thinking.
Doomben Line:
Duplicate to Clayfield, then single track to Doomben.
Combine Ascot and Hendra to a new single platform station between the two stations on the straight section of track.
Construct a new Doomben station on the other side of Nudgee Road. This would be an island platform with a terminating track and the single track continuing to Pinkenba for freight services.
The benefits of this is it would allow for 15 minute frequencies on the Doomben line due to duplication to Clayfield and two working platforms at Doomben at what I think would be a pretty small investment in the scheme of things. It also removes the use of Nudgee Road level crossing except for freight services, and also moves Doomben station closer to a larger amount of housing, increasing walk up catchment.
Gold City Glider:
Continue with the plans as is, except extend the route slightly to terminate at Doomben.
This would allow much better connectivity with the line, and make it much easier to access the airport and other northside locations without having to go closer to the CBD.
I imagine that as Hamilton Northshore grows, the bus route could extend to make more of a circuit through the whole area.
I donāt mind the idea in principle, but moving Doomben Station may be a bit of a complex job. My understanding is the local signaling into the Pinkenba loop is controlled from within Doomben Station (including the Platform 2 siding), so all that infrastructure (mostly the electrics and controls for the points etc) might have to move with the station, unless a signal booth were retained at the present location. The physical train control method is actually staff and ticket beyond the current Doomben station as far as I am aware (one of the few remaining in Queensland alongside the Swanbank branch, a small remnant segment of track off the NCL on the former Emu Park/Yeppoon branch and the Tablelands line beyond Mareeba), so how that will be managed with a station move also needs to be considered.
Iād like the extant Doomben station to perhaps be retained operated as a museum if the passenger station were to move, given the uniqueness in the SEQ network of having a local signal control office still in operation. Seeing as the Rail Preservation Society are trying to move into the area, it could be a valuable asset as part of their museum.
Moving the station west of Nudgee Rd also does have the advantage that that level crossing will essentially no longer be an impediment to local traffic (including buses), given the infrequency of other rail traffic beyond Doomben these days.
On the flip side, the realistic downside of moving it would be essentially an acceptance the line probably wonāt be extended to Hamilton Foreshore because the resources are being committed to improving the line in its current form, and I worry attention will shift elsewhere with the excuse of ābut look at all the money we already spent on that lineā.
I like the Ascot/Hendra combined station idea. Ascot could be kept as a museum as well given its history.
Re: Doomben my dream for it is also to move it west of Nudgee road, but to rebuild it as 3 tracks and elevated. This has 3 benefits:
removal of Nudgee road level crossing
I believe from Ascot to Doomben the track currently slopes downhill, so changing to elevated above Nudgee road might not be too tricky geometry wise Iād hope
elevated line can continue on viaduct through the TAFE carpark, then across KSD to Hamilton in a viaduct along Theodore street (kinda like the airport line)
My main concern is that by elevating the station at Doomben, the grade may be too steep for the third track (freight track) to slope back down again to get under Southern cross Way.
An alternative is basically a hybrid of yours and my idea, and you keep the freight track at grade, and elevate the two passenger tracks above it (think of how Melbourne built a bunch of their Skyrail while keeping the track below open, and just make that permanent)
This wouldnāt be a bad outcome, but my (very unlikely to eventuate) dream for the Doomben line is for it to be extended to form a loop service around the City. For this to eventuate it would likely have to dive after Ascott for underground stations at Doomben and Hamilton so it can cross under the river.
Alternatively, an elevated line could climb into a Bridge over the river too. Does anyone know how large ships can be past Hamilton now that that the Cruise Ships no longer stop at Portside?
I couldnāt tell you the exact clearance for this reach, but at Bulimba the clearance needs to be at least the same clearance as the Story Bridge. This is why no green bridges there get very far.
Is the Eagle Farm racecourse used these days? Seems like a prime candidate for a medium and high density TOD and could really unlock a lot of potential in the Doomben line.
Absolutely both racecourses are used - they usually rotate weekly so the turf has more time to be tended to between race meets. Eagle Farm is the more āprestigiousā course of the two.
Given what we saw recently in NSW with a government attempt to get a racecourse turned into housing (i.e. failure), I wouldnāt pin much hope on getting a different outcome here.
