Huff and puff over tourist railway troubles

<p>It took a big earthquake in Tasmania on Sunday to get the troubles of a tiny tourist railway off the island’s newspaper front pages where they had been aired day after day.</p> <p>Things have been bad for the Abt railway since it wasn’t finished on target in December, its first trains had derailments and it just seems to need millions.</p> <p>The unusual 19 th-Century Queenstown-Strahan mining line &#8211 a Federation project aimed as a major tourist attraction on the west coast &#8211 has run into further delays and problems, not to mention the continuing political storm.</p> <p>Premier Jim Bacon revealed last week under opposition questioning that a $1.2m State Government loan had been made to the Abt railway operator 14 months ago, when the project ran into cash-flow difficulties </p> <p>The loan was to help purchase a locomotive and for infrastructure work, Mr Bacon said. </p> <p>Parts of the forest railway have to be re-laid and the project could be delayed at least another two months.</p> <p>The State Government has been questioned in both Houses of Parliament since October about its financial bail-outs for the Abt after disclosure in the Hobart <em>Mercury </em> that it had bought $2.1m worth of assets from operator Roger Smith. </p> <p>Opposition leader Bob Cheek accused Mr Bacon of misleading Parliament while Greens MHA Peg Putt accused him of playing games, but the first motion of no confidence in the government in four years was unsuccessful.</p> <p>The scene shifted on Saturday to the west coast, where Mr Bacon led a whistle stop tour for the media.</p> <p>Even that didn’t go as planned because a landslip brought trees and debris across part of the track.</p> <p>Tourism Council Tasmania chairman Simon Currant said while delays were disappointing, the Abt will be a vital piece of tourism infrastructure and had to be up to world-class standards.</p> <p>The issue is really to get it finished and get it right, he said. </p> <p>West coast mayor Darryl Gerrity said it was a shame about the political uproar and declared the Abt project as "the best thing since sliced bread for the whole of Tasmania". </p> <p>"Everyone wants it to go ahead," he said.</p> <br />