Commuter rail rests on cost analysis research

MUCH has been said and written about our Dunedinowned railways infrastructure since the decision has been made to mothball.

We need to take a more indepth look at what is being suggested to keep the infrastructure alive.

Among the many suggestions is to have a commuter train travelling from Dunedin to Mosgiel. The Mosgiel railway station is centred in the middle of the busiest intersection in town, at the entrance to Mosgiel, nicknamed ‘‘spaghetti junction’’. No need to explain the reason for that name.

At the best of times, spaghetti junction can have queues of cars travelling on it in all directions. When trains are passing through, the queues of vehicles can reach back past Countdown on the north side, and past the roundabout and up on to the SH1 offramp into Mosgiel on the south side.

Now, to add to this problem intersection, is the proposal to establish a commuter rail service to Mosgiel with more crossing delays.

An enormous car park will be required for commuters to park their vehicles at the station, as they catch the train into town.

Each time a train arrives in Mosgiel, it will add to the confusion at spaghetti junction. We will also have the vehicle traffic leaving and arriving at the railway station, after the commuters’ transit to and from the city, added to the intersection. We may have to rename spaghetti junction ‘‘catastrophe corner’’.

The suggestion of a commuter railway service to and from Mosgiel is a good one, but there will be an urgent need to fix the problems that are now happening at spaghetti junction before we add any more pressure, by way of rail, and associated traffic.

This will come at a huge cost. Are we prepared as a community to dig deeper into our pockets in these uncertain times?

A full and thorough cost analysis will be a requirement, and presented for public consultation before any consideration of the future direction of Dunedin Railways is decided.

Brian Miller

East Taieri