Towards an acceptable commuter system.

Now that the state election is over both sides of politics have four years to plan an acceptable way to convey commuters who live in the Illawarra and work in Sydney. The present government pins it's hopes on OSCARS - outer suburban rail carriages - which contain toilets !
Unfortunately, whilst these will be a welcome improvement on the present deplorable rolling stock their provision ignores two basic factors that make it impossible for an acceptable commuter service to be achieved.
The first factor is the nature of the rail line. This was built with horse and cart, pick and shovel labour way back in the steam age. It's twists and turns forever preclude any hope of a high speed service.
The other factor is that this relic of bygone years has to share commuter traffic with a growing freight service. The two are simply not compatible.
Present thinking is that the only way to improve speed is to construct a tunnel from Thirroul to Waterfall. This has been set aside as too costly - so we are back to square one.
Lets forget that tunnel and have a fresh look at the situation. From Bulli tops the land is relatively flat all the way from Maddens Plains to Waterfall. Perhaps the answer is to think of a light rail service from various parts of Wollongong and Shellharbour to Bulli Tops - which would then connect with a new rail line to Waterfall.
This light rail innovation would need to accommodate a climb from sea level at Bulli to a height of fifteen hundred feet at Bulli Tops. That sounds difficult, but the technology exists - and has existed for decades - to allow rail to surmount difficult grades. Such a " cog system " is used on the west coast of Tasmania to cart ore over grades that were once considered impossible.
Basically, the answer to the Illawarra problem is a split system. Light rail to assemble commuters from the various Illawarra suburbs - and get them to the top of the escarpment to join the existing rail service by a new spur line from Waterfall to Bulli Tops - which would be much cheaper than the tunnel idea.
A by-product of such a system would be freeing up the existing rail line to allow cars from the new facility at Port Kembla and other freight to be moved by rail rather than clog our road system.
What we badly need are politicians with both imagination and the will to make things happen. Hopefully this session of parliament may blow the winds of change through both houses of parliament !