Improved rail only solution to Mount Barker and freeway traffic congestion – and would open up state, says Luigi Rossi
Rail is the only way to solve the Adelaide Hills’ traffic woes, the man who built the freeway says – and will open up the state.
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An Adelaide engineer says an improved rail track could allow commuters to get to Mount Barker from Adelaide in 22 minutes – and that trains are the only real solution to the Hills’ traffic congestion.
Luigi Rossi, director at SA Railway Company, has been working on a solution to Mount Barker’s commuter woes since 2018, and has submitted a proposal to the state government to use rail.
He said focusing on road and buses was just “an interim, short-term measure” and that high-speed rail could allow people to travel from the CBD to Tailem Bend in half an hour – and to Mount Barker in 22 minutes.
“Buses are never going to solve the traffic problems that have been created,” said Mr Rossi, who once oversaw some of SA’s biggest infrastructure projects including the Heysen Tunnels and Northern Expressway.
The only solution is a new or improved track into the Hills – and beyond, he said.
“I built the freeway, and it’s at capacity. The cost to upgrade the freeway, Glen Osmond Rd and the (Tollgate) intersection would surpass the cost of building an alternative alignment – and you’re still stuck with one transport mode,” Mr Rossi said.
“We need an alternative solution, we’re too road centric. They say, it’s going to cost a lot of money, but we’re spending $15.8bn on the North-South Corridor – and we’re not prepared to look at a long-term solution for the Hills?”
On Monday, it emerged a trial by Spanish train manufacturer Talgo to test a Mount Barker-CBD run was unlikely to go ahead.
The company specialises in high-speed, intercity locomotives and hadn’t realised the trial would involve smaller populations and distances.
Mr Rossi said Talgo manufacture tilt trains, which can take the curves in the Hills at a far higher speed than current trains.
“Their objective was to demonstrate what it could do in the Hills and what it could do on the straight,” he said.
“We were debunking that you couldn’t improve existing services on the track.”
Mr Rossi said there was “no question” you could improve trip time to Mount Barker using tilt trains.
“Once you solve Mount Barker, it’s very easy to get to Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend, Goolwa, Victor, because there’s a corridor there, you open up that whole region,” he said.
“Our solution is focused on passenger service – but an upgrade freight rail service as well.
“By improving that whole (rail) corridor, removing the turns and allowing double stack, you take trucks off the road.”
A state government spokesman on Monday said a Mount Barker to Adelaide rail service remained a viable option.
The Mount Barker and Adelaide Hills Transport Study will be soon publicly released, they said.
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