SEAFORD RAIL SERVICE

159 The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (24 September 2008). Can the Minister for Transport advise, in considering a resumption of passenger rail to Seaford, what cost savings are anticipated if the old Onkaparinga River bridge could be reused instead of building a new bridge over the river?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy): The Minister for Transport has advised that:

Previous studies on the costs and feasibility of three rail alignments from Noarlunga to Seaford concluded that the cost of an alignment that uses the old Willunga Corridor and the old Noarlunga Rail Bridge would be approximately 14 per cent more expensive than the more direct route over the Onkaparinga Valley.

The increased length of the rail track, increased earth works associated with a new alignment, plus the additional cost of strengthening the old Noarlunga Rail Bridge to bring it up to today's standards would be significantly more than the cost of building a new bridge on the proposed alignment across the Onkaparinga River.