Question regarding revised net operating costs for the Mandurah rail project and adequacy of rolling stock. The Minister defers cost details to the budget and questions the opposition's stance on patronage and project timing.

AnsweredQoN 186Legislative Council
Asked
13 April 2006
Portfolio
Planning and Infrastructure

QuestionView source ↗

NEW METRORAIL PROJECT
I refer to the Mandurah rail project; that is, the New MetroRail project. Quite apart from ongoing cost increases attributable to construction - (1) Has the government revised its estimate for net operating costs and what are those net operating costs expected to be? (2) Does the government accept the view expressed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia that the amount of rolling stock allocated to the new line will be inadequate? Hon ADELE FARINA

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) The revised forecasts will be included in the budget papers. (2) The minister has not seen the comments by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. The number of railcars was calculated on our projected patronage numbers. The minister would be surprised if Mr Langoulant and the opposition were now claiming that these may not be sufficient, as neither has ever suggested that our patronage figures will far exceed expectations. The minister seeks clarification on whether the opposition now expects the rail to do better than the government thought and how that squares with its claim yesterday that the Perth to Mandurah railway was “premature”.
(1) Has the government revised its estimate for net operating costs and what are those net operating costs expected to be? (2) Does the government accept the view expressed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia that the amount of rolling stock allocated to the new line will be inadequate? Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) The revised forecasts will be included in the budget papers. (2) The minister has not seen the comments by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. The number of railcars was calculated on our projected patronage numbers. The minister would be surprised if Mr Langoulant and the opposition were now claiming that these may not be sufficient, as neither has ever suggested that our patronage figures will far exceed expectations. The minister seeks clarification on whether the opposition now expects the rail to do better than the government thought and how that squares with its claim yesterday that the Perth to Mandurah railway was “premature”.
(2) Does the government accept the view expressed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia that the amount of rolling stock allocated to the new line will be inadequate? Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) The revised forecasts will be included in the budget papers. (2) The minister has not seen the comments by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. The number of railcars was calculated on our projected patronage numbers. The minister would be surprised if Mr Langoulant and the opposition were now claiming that these may not be sufficient, as neither has ever suggested that our patronage figures will far exceed expectations. The minister seeks clarification on whether the opposition now expects the rail to do better than the government thought and how that squares with its claim yesterday that the Perth to Mandurah railway was “premature”.
Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) The revised forecasts will be included in the budget papers. (2) The minister has not seen the comments by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. The number of railcars was calculated on our projected patronage numbers. The minister would be surprised if Mr Langoulant and the opposition were now claiming that these may not be sufficient, as neither has ever suggested that our patronage figures will far exceed expectations. The minister seeks clarification on whether the opposition now expects the rail to do better than the government thought and how that squares with its claim yesterday that the Perth to Mandurah railway was “premature”.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) The revised forecasts will be included in the budget papers. (2) The minister has not seen the comments by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. The number of railcars was calculated on our projected patronage numbers. The minister would be surprised if Mr Langoulant and the opposition were now claiming that these may not be sufficient, as neither has ever suggested that our patronage figures will far exceed expectations. The minister seeks clarification on whether the opposition now expects the rail to do better than the government thought and how that squares with its claim yesterday that the Perth to Mandurah railway was “premature”.
(1) The revised forecasts will be included in the budget papers. (2) The minister has not seen the comments by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. The number of railcars was calculated on our projected patronage numbers. The minister would be surprised if Mr Langoulant and the opposition were now claiming that these may not be sufficient, as neither has ever suggested that our patronage figures will far exceed expectations. The minister seeks clarification on whether the opposition now expects the rail to do better than the government thought and how that squares with its claim yesterday that the Perth to Mandurah railway was “premature”.
(2) The minister has not seen the comments by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. The number of railcars was calculated on our projected patronage numbers. The minister would be surprised if Mr Langoulant and the opposition were now claiming that these may not be sufficient, as neither has ever suggested that our patronage figures will far exceed expectations. The minister seeks clarification on whether the opposition now expects the rail to do better than the government thought and how that squares with its claim yesterday that the Perth to Mandurah railway was “premature”.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more