I was good to see Dr Douglas Goudie from JCU raising the issue of a rail service linking the Northern Beaches and the CBD in today’s Bulletin.
The argument for rail over road makes heaps of sense to me – on environmental and (long term) cost efficiency grounds. Dr. Doug’s proposition to use the existing main line through the Northern Beaches as a first stage towards light rail makes even more sense.
But Craig Wallace’s response and that of the Transport Minister’s office seemed to miss the point. Sticking a loco and a few carriages on the existing line to service morning and afternoon commuters simply cannot be as expensive a building more road lanes and running busses into town.
You also have to wonder how comprehensive the Government’s cost effectiveness analysis was and over what timeframe it was projected. In particular, does it take into account the impact of peak oil or the future cost of carbon emissions? My guess is not.
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