Epping to Chatswood's underground line has been built too steep to accept modern train carriages. Instead, only the older carriages, that Morris promised to phase out can work on the line. Yet another mistake by a tired administration which still has much popular press support.
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Epping to Chatswood underground rail link a disaster
by Heath Aston
THE Epping to Chatswood underground rail link has become the Iemma Government's latest disaster, after engineers bungled the $2 billion line's tunnel.
A section of the tunnel for Sydney's missing rail link is too steep to let CityRail's modern trains run on the line.
It will have to be serviced with older trains, which the Government had promised to phase out.
The latest scandal, uncovered by The Daily Telegraph, topped one of Premier Morris Iemma's worst days in power as he staggered from one crisis to another.
Mr Iemma faces a growing list of dilemmas including two damning reports into DOCS and our health system and attacks from the businesses threatening to derail plans to privatise the $15 billion power industry.
The 12km Epping to Chatswood link was billed as the crowning glory of the Labor Government's infrastructure program.
Instead, an embarrassing design failure condemns passengers to travel on clapped-out 30-year-old suburban trains that are past their retirement age, because the newer trains are unsuitable to work the line.
RailCorp last night confirmed that Tangara and Millennium trains would not service the line.
The Epping-Chatswood fiasco can be traced back to 2001, when pressure from residents forced the abandonment of a planned bridge over the Lane Cove River in favour of a tunnel. The design change created Sydney's steepest 3.5km section of track.
The "big dipper" debacle has emerged amid an embarrassing three weeks for RailCorp in which corruption watchdog ICAC exposed $6 million in rorts by managers and executive pay packets doubled to a combined $10 million.
Transport Minister John Watkins will fly to Europe and Hong Kong today where he will "inspect Euro-style" metro train systems.
CityRail is aware newer Tangara trains are vulnerable to breakdowns in the section under the river and cannot be used, according to sources.
The Daily Telegraph understands a crisis team plans to use six-carriage older-style silver "K, R and S-set" trains with four motor units.
RailCorp CEO Vince Graham said some interurban OSCARs, designed for Central Coast and Blue Mountains commuters, will be used.
"All types of rollingstock are capable of running on the link (but) RailCorp deploys sets on lines based on what is best for the performance of the network as a whole," Mr Graham said.
"There are performance differences between different train types, these are well understood and were factored into the overall design of the link."
"In this case that means a mixture of K, R, S and OSCAR sets will operate on the line."
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