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Riverline also known as the Northern Suburbs Railway is a proposed AU$100 million light rail system that would traverse the southernmost section of the South Railway Line, through the northern suburbs of Hobart, Tasmania. The proposed Line was first mentioned in 2007 when the then Premier of Tasmania Paul Lennon, announced that a new dedicated Transport Hub would be constructed on Hobart's northern fringe. The completion of this transport hub in 2014 left the southern most section of the Railway Line vacant.〔 While the Intermodal operations were moved to Brighton, the intention is to maintain a working Port for Hobart and therefore the new arrangement will need to accommodate for the occasional Freight Train.〔 The original concept is similar in length to the Gold Coast Light Rail system, except this project will be constructed along an already present Transport corridor which has the potential to save considerable capital costs. Despite strong public support, the future of the proposed light rail remains uncertain due to a lack of political enthusiasm. While the major political parties have given in principle support to the development (dependent on federal Funding), only the Tasmanian Greens have made a firm commitment to ensure its completion. Tasmanian Greens leader Nick McKim made an election commitment to divert funding away from the state's roads if necessary to ensure the first stage was completed. ==History== In conjunction with the Main Road, Hobart's northern suburbs have been developed around the Southern Railway Line - The two transport corridors are on a near parallel trajectory. Following the end of operations for Trams in 1960, Trolleybuses managed the city's public transport which in turn were replaced by conventional buses in 1964. The low-density population of Hobart has caused the bus timetables being planned on a low-frequency, high-penetration basis - Bus routes are often lengthy, and can take a long time to reach their final destination, as they attempt to service the widely spread-out suburbs. This has contributed to Hobart having the second lowest public transport patronage in Australia and as a result is very much a car orientated city.〔 The Brooker Highway was opened in stages from 1961 to alleviate traffic congestion on the Main Road. In 1965 a Transportation Study was released offering a set plan on constructing and upgrading Hobart's Highways.〔 While this transport study was seen as more of a "highway plan" rather than a "comprehensive transport plan, it did provide clear guidelines for the Brooker Highway including grade separation and additional lanes.〔 However these guidelines have not been followed for the southern portion on the highway. With Annual average daily traffic of 48,000, the Brooker Highway is currently below the acceptable levels of service and congestion issues are expected to worsen significantly over the next 20 years with the Highway already approaching its designed capacity. While at present, Brooker Highway is considerably less congested than in other states during peak hours, it is more congested off-peak than roads in Queensland and Western Australia, and almost as congested as those in New South Wales. It is thus a busy road by any Australian standard.〔〔 The South Railway Line ceased operation on a permanent basis by freight trains when Toll Holdings relocated its Intermodal operations from the Hobart Railyards to the Brighton Transport Hub in 2014.〔 As a result, traffic on the Brooker Highway is expected to increase. When announcing the construction of the Brighton Transport Hub, Premier Paul Lennon stated that when complete the Southern Railway Line - south of the Intermodal facility - would no longer be used on a permanent basis. He spoke of the possibility of the railway line opening up to commuter traffic. In 2008, The Australian Institute of Architects and the Planning Institute identified the South Line as an ideal route for an express O-Bahn Style Bus. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Riverline (Hobart)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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