NEWSLETTER JUNE 2017
The organisation Diesel Traction Tasmania
(DTT) was formed in 2011 for the purpose of
saving English electric locomotives and other
modern railway equipment that was held in
store by other Tasmanian railway
organisations.
The original goal of DTT was to build a railway
museum at the Round House, Inveresk site.
Due to the lack of public support it was
decided to review other possible options.
In 2014 the possibility of a workshop at
Turner’s Marsh was being considered.
However there were still problems with
operating disused railway corridors.
In the 2015 Federal Budget, it was announced
that the Dorset Council had been allocated
$1.47 million from the National Stronger
Regions Fund to develop a rail trail in the NE
Corridor. Matching funding was required from
the Dorset ratepayers.
There was no public consultation about the
rail trail and as a consequence the North East
residents and farmers living adjacent to the
acquiring the disused rail corridors from
Tasrail. The Strategic Infrastructure Corridor
Act was introduced into parliament and it was
necessary to get the Business plan prepared.
The Strategic Infrastructure Corridor Act
released disused lines from the operational
jurisdiction of Tasrail to the Crown.
There were some significant amendments
made to this Act to accommodate tourist rail
opportunities across the state.
This Act has given the Minister for
Infrastructure Mr Rene Hidding the authority
to nominate a corridor manager.
BACKGROUND TO THE FORMATION OF THE LAUNCESTON AND
NORTH EAST RAILWAY
line took action and formed the North East
Residents and Farmers (NERAF).
In 2015 DTT met with NERF at Turners
Marsh, and as a result of this meeting it was
voted that DTT would further explore the
possibility of operating the North East line.
By mid 2016 it was considered that this
could be achieved. DTT adopted the trading
name of Launceston and North East Rail to
reflect the new goals.
A Letter of Intent was sent to the State
Government, Launceston City Council and
the Dorset Council advising them that there
was another proposal for the use of the NE
Line. Following a meeting with Launceston
City Council, L&NER were advised that they
needed to provide a more indepth plan and
track report.
Consequently the Sarah Lebski and David
Reed plan was prepared and Bob Vanselow
was appointed to conduct a track inspection
and provide a report for L&NER.
THE STRATEGiC INFRASTRUCTURE CORRIDORS ACT
The Dorset Council were to be nominated
as the Corridor Managers for the whole of
the NE Rail Line.
However this has not happed due to the
mounting community pressure to restore
volunteer run passenger rail operations.
On 23 May an independent study was
announced. The State Government said
that the development of the rail corridor is
to be embraced by the community.
THE STUDY – A STAY OF EXECUTION
The study will consider the condition of all rail
infrastructure, a risk assessment, an analysis of
measures needed to ensure safe road crossings
and the level of investment required to establish
and sustain a heritage rail business.
The study will be contracted to a third
party secured by Infrastructure Tasmania.
‘We need to have the facts on the table to
ensure that as a community we can have
an informed discussion about the best use
of the rail corridor’ Mr Gutwein said.
L&NER COMMUNITY INFORMATION MEETINGS
Meeting held 26 April at the Lebrina Hall.
The Examiner: Launceston and North-East Railway forge ahead in
tourist train quest
Victorian railway engineer Bob Vanselow has labelled the North-East railway line all
but fit for purpose, saying it would be a ‘crime’ to remove the track.
Mr Vanselow, who has been inspecting the track since Sunday, was one of about 90
who attended Launceston and North-East Railway’s public meeting at Lebrina Hall on
Wednesday night.
The rail group - based in the state’s North-East - has become increasingly vocal in
voicing its plans to run a tourist train on the disused line, which has also been
earmarked for use as a cycle trail.
Launceston and North-East Railway vice chairman Clynton Brown said Mr Vanselow had been mostly impressed with the state of the railway line.
Another packed meeting on 6 June at the Rory Spence Theatre, Inveresk. David Adams, Vice Chancellor,
University of Tasmania Chaired the meeting. Southern Cross TV presented a good coverage.
150-plus people packed the Lietinna Hall to hear from the rail proponents last night (31 May). Not a
chair vacant - people standing and sitting on the floor. When the vote was taken as to how many
supported the cycle trail there were two supporters. Time for a rethink Dorset Council. Stuart Bryce.
“He hasn’t done his full report yet but he’s getting to the end of the track at the
moment and he said it’d be a crime to remove this infrastructure as it is,” Mr Brown
said.
“He said except in a few places he’d run a train over it tomorrow - that was met with a
round of applause.”
The majority of questions posed at the meeting involved the state of the track, the
cost of repairs and potential train ticket fees.
Mr Brown said while there were some questions the group couldn’t answer until the
project gathered steam, he had been pleased by the public response to the meeting.
“We had a lot of people sign up and give us donations... so it went quite well, there
was a lot of interest.”
The track inspection report is expected to be completed over the next couple of
weeks.
The grant sought by the Dorset Council from the Federal Government’s National Stronger Regions Fund
(NSRF) was submitted without proper consultation with the community. It was stated that letters had been
sent to affected landowners. The first that the region knew about the proposal for a cycle path (or
misleading term - rail trail) was the announcement in the 2015 budget.
Following the address by Tony Benneworth to the Lilydale Community, NERAF was formed to undertake
the community consultation that never took place. When it was revealed that the railway track (valued at
$40mill) was to be ripped up and replaced with the cycle path (government and taxpayer funded for
$6mill) the community wanted answers.
L&NER could see that if the existing line was to be ripped up that would be the end of any possibility of
keeping this railway for future generations.
L&NER contracted Sarah Lebski to prepare a business study.
L&NER have had an independent and experienced track engineer from Victoria inspect the railway line for
a passenger service, who has stated that the line is 95% ready to go.
Disused lines around the state can now be handed over to the State Government by TASRAIL and Dorset
Council was to be made corridor manager. After a lot of communication with the Premier and the
Treasurer, an independent study was announced.
To be able to construct a bike trail (costing $3million of taxpayers money) the State Government has to
hand over management of the corridor.
If the bike trail was to go ahead the railway asset valued at $30mill would be ripped up and replaced with
crushed blue metal – the same as the bike trail between Scottsdale and Tonganah.
L&NER know that if this is undertaken as a community project with volunteer labour and pledges they will
be able to have the line operational in stages within a very short period of time. It is a community
enterprise that is going to provide opportunities for training and jobs, and economic development. The
nature of rail is that you have to have linkages across the community. It is not just a shop in the main street
selling attractive goods – you have to have really strong ties into the community with business and social
networks to support the refurbishment and operation of this railway.
The Heritage railway will be commercially viable. It will be a sustainable tourist rail business once it is fully
developed and will employ up to 20 people. This rail will differ from the West Coast Wilderness Railway in
that volunteerism will establish this line on existing sound infrastructure and provide upgrades where
necessary without government funding.
The rail supporters know that this won’t become a reality unless the community continue to write letters to
our politicians to demonstrate that this is something that they want. We have pledges and private funding
of $1.4million and presently have over 60 willing volunteers.
WHOLLY FUNDED BY PRIVATE ENTERPRISE AND PUBLIC DONATIONS
A TOTALLY SELF SUSTAINING ICON FOR THE STATE
IT WILL BE THE LONGEST NON GOVERNMENT SCENIC TOURIST RAILWAY IN AUSTRALIA
IT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE
IT WILL CREATE JOBS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
* * * * * * * * *
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS ABOUT WHAT THE DERWENT VALLEY RAILWAY IS DOING, THEY
WERE ALSO UNDER PRESSURE TO CREATE A BIKE TRAIL FROM NEW NORFOLK TO MAYDEENA
BACKGROUND HISTORY AND THE FUTURE
The DVR wants to re-establish 42km of
disused tracks for a tourist railway between New Norfolk and Mt Field National Park.
The railway has been struggling for more than a decade to gain permission to run on the Derwent Valley
Line, which is only used by freight trains between Boyer and Bridgewater.
Mr Andrews believes the railway will bring thousands of tourists to the region and give them a reason to
stay longer.
“We’re talking about revitalising the valley at the end of the day, we’re talking about creating jobs and
economic prosperity, drawing people to the region,” he said.
“The council also voted to give us some support in overcoming the ongoing issue of access to the
Derwent Valley Line, which has been probably our biggest hurdle.
“With their support, and working with the State Government, we believe there’s a real chance of
overcoming that issue and moving that along quickly now.”
The council also decided to consider setting aside $75,000 in its 2017-18
budget for the purposes of negotiating the lease.
It will work with DVR to pursue funding from the state and federal
governments, and advise Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding that it is
prepared to consider entering into a lease with the crown for the purposes
of tourism railway.
Derwent Valley Mayor, Martyn Evans, said the council’s decision would
allow it to investigate the finer points of getting the project off the ground.
“This gives us an opportunity now to actually seek the information and
clarity around what a lease could mean, what the implications in cost [are], what sort of buy-in it would
have to be, or what sort of negotiation could we do with the State Government,” he said.
“It’s going to be a world-class experience if we can get through this phase, so we just need to understand
what the implications are.”
The council resolved in 2015 to support a request from DVR to help it obtain a licence or lease from the
State Government and Tasrail for the railway line from Boyer to National Park.
THE Derwent Valley Council (DVC) will consider
leasing disused railway tracks in an effort to
resurrect a tourist train in the region. At the
Council meeting on Monday night, the council
ramped up its support for the Derwent Valley
Railway (DVR) by voting unanimously in favour of
a raft of recommendations.
DVR secretary Owen Andrews, who attended the
meeting, described the decision as a “real turning
point”. “For them to reaffirm their support with a
unanimous vote, they’ve made it very clear that
they are 100 per cent behind this project,” he said.
T
Current position of the Derwent Valley Railway
The Mercury – March 29, 2017
Chris Martin, is a civil and structural engineer and has looked after rail infrastructure in one
shape or another for much of his 23 year career. He had a brief look over the line and could
not see how the figure of $40million quoted could possibly be true.
Wayne Venn – a retired Tasrail Track foreman walked the section from Karoola to Lilydale
(about 10km of the 63km) and found only 50 sleepers that needed replacing before the line
was fit for freight trains.
‘That’s a task for two men in a week to reopen 1/6th of the line. Tasrail’s off the cuff upgrade
estimate might have been a price to replace all sleepers with concrete and completely relay
the track. These upgrades aren’t necessary for the operation proposed by L&NER’, Chris said.
‘The bridges are, all bar one – concrete abutments with steel girders which are in good
shape. The timber decks can easily be replaced at negligible cost with the materials already
on offer through those who support the railway’.
It was thought that Chris Martin’s assumptions as an engineer and Wayne Venn’s as a retired
Tasrail inspector were not impartial enough to debunk the $30million rail upgrade myth so an
associate was approached to find someone to provide an independent assessment.
According to Engineer Chris Martin and track inspector Bob Vanselow The North East track is
in far better condition than the Derwent Valley. The question needs to be asked - If it is so
hard to run a railway why is the Derwent Valley Council lining up to be corridor manager of
42km of disused line? This line has very few steel sleepers in it compared to the North East
line.
Bob has completed his inspections and will prepare his report over the coming weeks. His
comments at the Wednesday night meeting at Lebrina and during the inspection that I
accompanied him on were that with the exception of work on bridges most of the line could
be open for the light weight rail car traffic within a very short space of time.
He said 98% of the line does not require attention and is fit for purpose. When his report is
issued will this be brushed aside with further “guns for hire” comments from the Dorset
Mayor or actually respected as an independent report from a professional with integrity and a
wealth of knowledge in rail infrastructure?
This is the background on the ‘Gun for Hire’
Chris Martin stated ‘The Dorset Mayor stated on ABC Radio words to the effect that Bob
Vanselow was a “gun for hire” – by inference someone paid to provide a favourable report full
of lies and - that anyone can get a favourable report. Is this really how it works with most
things Council undertake – just pay someone to write some lies to support an argument? It’s
not how the engineers that I associate with work as they as professionals are bound to a code
of ethics’.
The Rail Lines - $30million Rail Upgrade Myth
• Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), University of
Melbourne, 1969 (Honours 2A)
• Member, Institution of Engineers Australia
• Chartered Professional Engineer (NPER: 226903)
• Member, Railway Technical Society of Australasia
• Member, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and
Transport in Australia
• Fellow, The Permanent Way Institution (UK, 1993)
• Member, The Permanent Way Institution (NSW
Division, 2008)
• Member, Rail Track Association Australia
MR Robert Gordon (BOB) VANSELOW
My real hands-on experience in the
world of railway works and
volunteering began when I was 14
years old. It was then that I began
years of weekend volunteering to
help restore its over-grown narrow-
gauge railway tracks, as part of the
'Schools Section' of the Puffing Billy
Preservation Society, which
contributed to the successful
restoration of the now iconic 'Puffing
Billy Railway' in Melbourne's
Dandenong Ranges (which now, on
average, carries more than a
thousand passengers every day,
through country-side fairly similar to
the Scottsdale railway).
My first paid job in the 'railed-
passenger carrying' world began
when I turned 18, as a 'Tram
Conductor' for the Melbourne and
Metropolitan Tramways Board (the
largest street tramway network in
the world, with more than 270 km of
double-track).
In this role I was responsible for the
safe operation of my assigned electric
trams travelling through the streets of
Greater Melbourne, while collecting
fares aboard. In this job I accumulated 6
months service, spread across my early
University 'vacation' periods. The
busiest tram routes move more than a
thousand passengers every day, in each
direction.
While working for decades in the Pilbara
from 1980, I volunteered much of my
spare time to the Pilbara Railways
Historical Society, as their 'Passenger
Officer' responsible for the safety of
passengers aboard their community-
based passenger trains, which then
operated regularly (amongst the largest
trains in the world) over most of the
Pilbara's railway lines of the day. These
trains operated to places as far afield as
400 km's inland of their more populous
coastal cities.
So as well as my railway track
engineering career, I do know quite a bit
about the general public and how to
ensure their safety aboard and around
all manner of trains.
The former Deputy Prime Minister and prominent rail advocate, Tim Fischer AC has endorsed the reopening of the Launceston to Scottsdale railway line:
Rarely does a scenic railway track with a market anchor and a tunnel as a bonus become available for development as a tourist and heritage railway. The Launceston to Scottsdale rail project has very solid potential to be a drawcard of great value in a part of Tasmania easily accessed by tourists, but to some extent overlooked due to not enough activity of diverse interest. Further it is not impossible for such a rail project to underpin a rail trail nearby pathway to offer enhanced activities and choices for tourists of all ages, through spectacular scenery. The anchor of a major airport hub at Launceston and the not so distant Devonport Ferry hub also helps ensure the NE Line can become a regular ‘go to’ destination for tourists from the mainland and beyond, in addition to Tasmanian users. Wales as part of the UK, is a good example of multiple and successful rail heritage and tourism operations, albeit with huge markets nearby and super hubs such as Cardiff and Crewe. Alas, the Welsh Highlands Railway also has the first Garratt that operated in the world (in fact on the North East Dundas Tramway of the TGR), pointing to another lost opportunity for Tasmania.
Rail motors offer tremendous potential to Scottsdale, boosting tourism in the North East. I say seize the moment, use everything from crowd funding to Governmental funding on a track which is in better shape than the one used successfully weekly by the Savannahlander in Qld, between Mareeba and Forsyth, both being of narrow 3'6" gauge. If you have a tourist asset capable of drawing 200,000 within two years of operation plus a bike trail nearby - why would you let it rust away !
Let the L&NER Tasmania proceed and succeed, let it not be a lost opportunit
In our view, this is not simply a case of ‘bikes’ versus trains. It is about the preservation and use of an important historical asset which otherwise, will be lost forever. It is also about viable public/private partnerships for infrastructure development, an investment in cultural and heritage capital, and the economic and social returns that can be gained by connecting North East communities with a broader, long term vision to assist the revitalisation of the region; a vision that can generate almost $1m a year into the local economy. .
L&NER DECLARATION OF SUPPORT
SARAH LEBSKI REPORT
It is being stated that trains are ‘not profitable’. Is preservation of history, provision of
enjoyment for all who travel on trains, the revenue that they earn and return to their local
communities year in and year out constituted as ‘not profitable’.
The not profitable measure can be applied to sports grounds, museums, hospitals, roads and
even rail trails where participants don’t have to spend anything towards ongoing
maintenance.
The Don River Railway is a good example of a small operation – open 7 days a week,
employing one person and predominantly operated with volunteers. It carries 30,000 people
and is recognized as one Devonport’s best tourist attractions. They pay $3,500 for insurance
– an issue commonly thrown around as a reason rail can’t survive by those who know no
better.
Imagine what an operation on the outskirts of Launceston can achieve with a far broader
marketing mix for its trains including dining experiences, music trains, picnic trains, over
night accommodation linkages into Scottsdale and along the line, delivery of cyclists to
established trails and bus one way options to increase patronage and linked off rail
experiences.
The Sheffield Steam and Heritage Centre runs SteamFest each year attracting up to 8000
people to Sheffield over the 3 day March weekend. They run this voluntarily. Exhibits and
over 140 food and craft stalls cover 8 hectares of Council ground there. This group started out
as a small railway 23 years ago and is well on its way to being a 7 days a week operation.
28 June - NERAF Meeting at Lebrina Hall.7.30pm. 29 June – Public Meeting at Lilydale Hall, 6.00 for 6.30pm. Brett Whelan from the Yarra Valley Railway will be presenting the benefits of community
driven tourist rail projects. See the article below for further information. This presentation is for the broader community and will consist of many invited business people and politicians. How a community can change its own tourist and economic profile - case study Yarra Valley Railway. "The story of a community-driven turnaround of a languishing rail corridor into a growing community tourist asset. In 2016 the Yarra Valley Railway had over 500 individual volunteers from 10 different community groups. They contribute over 60,000 volunteer hours to the community. The Yarra Valley Railway is the result of the local community and business, together with government to make it a reality. When completed the YVR will:
Carry over 200,000 passengers per annum Create great linking with the existing tourism product
…AND THE JUSTIFICATION GOES ON
THE NEXT MEETINGS
The Tourist and Heritage Rail sector in Victoria consists of over 20 operators.
• Most are completely voluntary. • They carried over 800,000 passengers last year and the sector is continually growing
each year. • None require ongoing operating funding support once completed. • Passenger profile is more diverse than most tourism products. • There is unprecedented growth in international tourists particularly from China. This
growth seems destined to continue into the foreseeable future.
1 July – 10am Members Meeting – Providence Vineyard Lilydale
Brett Whelan Presentation targeting the LNER members and members of other Tasmanian
Tourist Railways – the lessons learnt in engaging with the community – tips for the heritage
rail sector based on the Yarra Valley Railway Case Study.
Following the presentation there will be a members forum, General Meeting and Annual
General Meeting.
THE NORTH EAST TOURIST RAIL PROJECT