Why we must do better
As the Olympics loom, our city and state are also-rans in the infrastructure race
This was just going to be rant about Queensland Rail and its inability to run its peak-hour timetable to my satisfaction.
I’ve become all het-up over the past few weeks over the persistent delays and service alterations on my morning and afternoon commutes between the burbs and the city.
Call me a big sook if you like, but I know from overheard conversations — and how can one not overhear conversations when QR regularly crams six carriages worth of passengers into three cars (even as the Chief Health Officer is warning us that we’re all susceptible to catching a killer flu) — that I’m not alone.
At one stage, this missive was going to be an open letter to the Transport Minister developing the argument that the problems on the Cleveland line were symptomatic of a broken public transport system.
I was going to end it by slamming my metaphorical fist on my virtual desk and demand that the government guarantee it won’t open the Cross River Rail as promised in 2025 — oh, sorry, it’s now 2026 — until failings in the current commuter network are fixed.*
Why? Because I suspect the powers-that-be will want to divert resources to make the shiny new thing look perfect, so they can hail it as a great success, even though the rest of the system is crumbling.
Of course, the CRR has had its own issues, with the budget blown out to a total cost of $6.3 billion. I would be very surprised if it’s not even more by the time the first train runs.
I also remembered that, not so long ago, the Queensland government bought a whole bunch of trains — at a price of $4 billion — that weren’t fit for purpose and had to undergo refurbishment before they even reached the tracks.
And I realised that the state government isn’t the only guilty party here.
The Brisbane City Council gave us tunnels that were going to pay for themselves but didn’t. In fact, the Clem 7 cost $3 billion to build but was sold off for $618 million.
Now the council is setting up a new bus network but have called it a “Metro” so they can confuse tourists and worldly locals who would rightfully expect that term to describe an underground rail network.
And, of course, it’s also had a budget blowout.
It’s time to face facts: State or local, Labor or Liberal, we’re actually a bit crap when it comes to funding and delivering infrastructure projects.
Which really should raise a red flag or two when we start thinking about the 2032 Olympic Games.
Because if we can’t do it well, then Dan Andrews’ excuse for cancelling Victoria’s Commonwealth Games — that the money could be better spent elsewhere— starts to make some sense.
*Of course, we could very well have a different government by then, but I’d be asking the Opposition — whose own track record on infrastructure projects isn’t exactly flawless — to make the same pledge.