Queensland Transport

I am quite frequently told, and not without an element of truth, that I am overly simplistic in my political and economic prescriptions for society. I am told that the problems facing the world are by nature complicated, and that a lowly non-expert like me should not be quite so certain in lambasting those in charge of dealing with them. To a certain extent I have to accept this advice as sound, and nowadays I do try to learn a bit about different sides of an issue before I form concrete opinions.

Today I received an email asking me to participate in a survey for Queensland Transport. After completing the questionnaire, I browsed the site and had a look at their infrastructure plan. I like infrastructure, especially rail. I had a train set when I was a kid, and it was really fun to play with. Trains use electricity to run, which theoretically can be produced from green sources. They are fast, efficient, and clean. The website explained that, with South East Queensland projected to grow from 2.9 million to 4.3 million by 2026, rail upgrades were urgently required. Here is the plan:

What needs to happen

To help determine suitable solutions to increase capacity, Queensland Transport engaged independent consultants Maunsell Parsons Brinckerhoff to conduct the Inner City Rail Capacity Study. The study found that inner city rail required an additional four tracks (a doubling of existing track capacity) on two new lines to meet the growing demands on our rail system over the next 20 years. These new lines will ideally be constructed in a two-phase upgrade of inner city rail infrastructure.

Phase one will connect the southern (Beenleigh/Gold Coast) rail line to the northern (Caboolture/North Coast) rail line through the inner city by 2016.

Phase two will connect the western (Ipswich) rail line and to the northern (Caboolture/North Coast) rail line through the inner city by 2026. Infrastructure such as new routes, tunnels and underground stations are key features of the proposed upgrades.

What happens next

Queensland Transport will now undertake a detailed feasibility study to decide on a preferred phase one route. Determining any preferred rail alignment for our future needs must be carefully planned to ensure all options have been sufficiently investigated.

The detailed feasibility study will commence shortly and is estimated to be completed by mid-2011. Completion of this study will allow construction to commence in 2012.

I'll leave the question of how a severely water stressed region can possibly accommodate a doubling in its population for another time. What I want to talk about here is how impossibly unambitious this scheme is. The feasibility study for phase one won't even be finished until 2011! How can anything possibly take that long? In China they made a 50 km Maglev track in 2 years. In Victorian times, they rolled out rail track at walking pace. I understand that there are legitimate environmental concerns these days in Australia, and that responsible planning for these things takes a bit more time and effort, but 3 more years to complete a report before even getting started is appalling.

Things are no better federally. As part of its fiscal stimulus package, the Rudd government plans to invest heavily in infrastructure. This means that they will bring forward a report on priority infrastructure projects by a few months. The study was begun as soon as the last election ended. This is insane. They should already have a list of such projects ready to be started as soon as macroeconomic pressures ease. By moving so slowly, encumbered by such hulking bureaucracy, Labor governments are proving all those hoary old Milton Friedman cliches about state ineffectiveness correct, and he didn't used to be correct. Now I am not a small government person, I am a big government person who is trying not to become disillusioned. I like to see a lot of orange vested workers scrambling around cities laying complicated looking cables, and digging tunnels and things. But all these independently commissioned reports, counter reports, memos, reviews, inquiry groups, fact finding missions and endless focus groups are making me angry. Government should have less paper pushes and more actual workers, there I said it. Without wanting to contradict the change of heart towards moderation and humility indicated in my first paragraph, everyone in charge of everything is an idiot, and I could do it all much better myself.