Build The Line

Julia Gillard pledged $2.1 billion of Federal funding (with the NSW Government to contribute $520 million) towards the construction of a 14 kilometre rail link between Epping and Chatswood, through Carlingford. This is a huge step forward, and a welcome proposal from the government.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/gillards-2b-transport-fix-2010081...
Gillard's $2b transport fix
"THE Gillard government will make a push into western Sydney today with a promise to build the long-awaited $2.6 billion rail link between Parramatta and Epping.

In what will be the biggest single funding announcement of her campaign so far, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, will promise $2.1 billion in federal funds towards the project, with the state government to contribute $520 million.

Preliminary work on the 14-kilometre heavy rail link, which will shave 25 minutes off the trip from Chatswood to Parramatta, will begin next year and construction is due to be completed in 2017."
...
"The new link will consist of a tunnel from Parramatta to a new station at Rosehill-Camellia. The existing single track from Rosehill to Carlingford will be made a two-way line. Carlingford will then be connected to Epping by a new tunnel. The stations at Parramatta, Rydalmere, Dundas, Telopea and Carlingford will be upgraded."

In today's mini-budget, the Rees government has officially confirmed the cancellation of the North-West Metro, and several other cancellations that directly affect commuters in Carlingford.

http://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/12706/08-09_M...
"Indefinite deferral of the $12 billion North West Metro and an allocation for a Sydney Metro system. Over the four years to 2011-12, this offers a direct budget saving of almost $1 billion."
"Deferral of Stage 2 of the Richmond Line from Schofields to Vineyard and cancellation of the Carlingford Passing Loop and the Sydenham to Erskineville 6 Track projects saving around $550 million over the four years to 2011-12."

Context:
The Carlingford railway loop was a proposal, as part of the 2010 Clearways plan, that would "[allow] trains to pass each other on the single track area of the Carlingford Line.[1]

This is not good news for people along the Carlingford line, and is a step in the wrong direction for the Rees government.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/green-slips-up-in-savage-budget/2008...

Media spin:
"But the Government will only save $33 million of the $470 million a year the school bus subsidy scheme costs."

Analysis of the actual budget:
http://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/12706/08-09_M...
Page A10
"Introduce an annual co-payment of $45 for primary
students and $90 for secondary students for access
to the school student travel scheme, with a cap of
$180 per family and providing provisions for hardship."

There you have it. That's your transport cut - a $45 or $90/year fee.

Edit: Due to the public response, the fee has been abolished.

Recently, the NSW Government has announced that it is planning to slash funds for the school transport subsidy in next week's mini-budget. [1] [2] [3]

History
The NSW Government has been providing the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) since 1968, allowing school students that live more than ~3km from the school to travel to and from school via public transport with a special bus/train pass. This has allowed families who either live far away from their school, or are unable to send their kids to school due to work/other commitments to send their children to school without the additional financial burden of paying for public transport.

Reasons for the cut/review
According to the Government, this scheme is costing taxpayers $470 million per year to cover about 700,000 students (an average of $700 per student per year).

In comparison, Victoria charges about $400 per student per year to travel via public transport (although, there is a 'conveyance allowance' which is a refund that you may apply for if you live more than 4.8km away from the school). The Government also states that it costs "400 per cent more than Queensland's scheme, the scheme costs 500 per cent more than the Victorian scheme".

Considering that NSW is slowly slipping into deficit, and that last year's surplus was only $78 million, it's understandable that the Government would want to review a program as generous as this one in order to remove any holes that would result in a waste of taxpayers money.

Views of community groups
Most groups are in favour of an audit of the scheme (eg. Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of NSW), as currently students who obtain passes but are not using them are causing a leak in the system. [3] If the Government is paying companies for a service that students are not using, the system obviously deserves a review.

Why the Government will not be able to cut the scheme completely
We've seen the same in 2003. Not only would there be massive backlash from the public, but I highly doubt that the Government will want a greater strain on the already inadequate roads system.

What will happen if I'm wrong, and the scheme gets axed
Currently, I travel from Kogarah to Epping station, in addition to a school bus. Considering a Kogarah to Epping Student return ticket costs $4.60, and assuming that the bus will cost about $1.30 each way, that's about $1440 in public transport costs for one school year.

Public transport would become an unfeasible option for a lot of families, and there would be more cars on the road, greater congestion and hence greater pollution.

What you can do
Petitions are going around. Write letters to the Minister for Transport, David Campbell, the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, and the Premier, Nathan Rees. Write to your local MP because, as we've found, they've been more than supportive in listening the plights of their local residents. Community action is a powerful thing. Even though we have not reached our goal yet with Build The Line, remember that the Government is intended to be elected by the people, for the people.

There's an online petition going, and a Facebook group which you can join. Although these are not valid in parliament, it's a good way to show support for the cause. (and it definitely makes for good media)

The BTL Team and myself are all concerned about how this may turn out. We fully support these causes, however the current time of financial crisis may be an appropriate time for a review of the system in order to improve the value of the service to both us students and our parents and the public, the taxpayers.

- Joseph Wang

Sorry for the lack of updates, but rest assured that we are still hard at work, campaigning for the Carlingford line.

Thank you to everyone for sending petitions in. We have received an enormous response expressing support for our concern.

David has been sending letters to councillors in the Parramatta and Baulkham Hills area, receiving positive support from both areas. We plan to bring our case to the State Government once the new cabinet has been sorted out.

One additional option that has appeared is the proposal to campaign for better bus services, or the reestablishment of a Carlingford - City bus service. We believe that if the Carlingford extension cannot be built, then this would be a viable second option.

One last note that may be of concern to residents in the Hills area: the indefinite delay of the North West Metro. "What I have recommended is to push the north-west out by a couple of years." - Michael Costa (Source: Sydney Morning Herald) This is simply unacceptable from the NSW government - to have been proposed as a heavy rail link in 1998 for completion in 2010, then pushed back in 2006 to a date of 2015 and now to no date is quite disconcerting.

Last Thursday the Build The Line Team was able to meet up with Dave Swift from the Northern District Times newspaper (website) and Mr. Michael Richardson MP, member for Castle Hill (website) in order to discuss the state of transport in the Carlingford area, and discuss possible strategies to improve services throughout the northern district.

Today, the Northern District Times published our story on the front page of their newspaper. The article can also be viewed online:
http://www.northerndistricttimes.com.au/article/2008/05/28/2169_news.html

We would like to thank Dave Swift, John Blair and Mr. Richardson for giving us this opportunity.

Welcome to the Build The Line project. We are a group of students who believe that the State Government is neglecting the public transport system in the Carlingford area, and believe that if we campaign together, our voices will be heard.

Our main concern is the discontinuation of the Carlingford to Epping rail line. It has been promised many times by the State Government, and each time this promise has been broken much to the anguish and torment of local residents. The Carlingford line is the only dead-end rail line in metropolitan Sydney.

For residents in the Carlingford area, trains only come once an hour. If the Carlingford line is extended to Epping, trains will be more frequent and the whole area will be more accessable.

Please print a copy of our petition and give it to your family, relatives, friends and work mates to sign. It is only possible with your support that we can be heard by the State Government and something can finally be done.

As we are only just beginning our journey, more content will be added soon.