Railway_Digest__February_2018

Readers Write
My first comment would
be to ask whether there is the
political will to do anything
about gauge conversion? I have
seen no evidence of a will to
change. Secondly, I wonder
about the magnitude of the
task, as I think of the length
of track to be changed and
changing from narrow gauge
to a track that is approximately
a third wider. The article re
the Victorian project in the
December issue suggests
wide gauge to standard is
comparatively simple.
Does the failure to adopt
standard gauge when the coal
network was being established
decades ago and when the
Great Northern Line was rebuilt
mean that it will never be done?
I hope I am wrong. I also hope
that any new rail construction in
Queensland is being designed
for future standard gauge use.
John Parker
Boyne Island, Qld
Rail Travel in NSW
Referring to Stephen Miller’s
Letter on Rail Travel in NSW
(Readers Write: Railway Digest
December 2017)
I have to say that I agree
with what Stephen has said in
his submission on Rail Travel in
NSW. Rail travel in Sydney and
NSW compared to the rest of
the world is quite poor. I have
travelled on the bullet trains in
Italy and on the rapid transit
system of Vancouver in Canada.
Here are some of my
suggestions to help the network:
1. Duplication of the line
in between Schofields and
Richmond. More services
cannot operate in between
Schofields and Richmond until
the line is fully duplicated.
The minimum would be more
sidings along the line to allow
trains to pass; in a way, this
would be a step backwards,
however, when the line is
duplicated, it would be three
steps forward.
2. Half hourly frequencies
should be abolished across the
suburban network (bordered
by Berowra, Macarthur,
Waterfall and Emu Plains). An
eight-carriage set every 30
minutes? In off-peak? Seriously?
I think most would agree that
a train every 15 minutes being
four carriages is better than an
eight carriage train, especially
in places like Waterfall, where
the train population wouldn’t
usually fill a single carriage.
3. Unnecessary services
8 car air-conditioned Waratah
at Leppington? The place
that has so little for a current
population. It is a wonder why
Campbelltown residents don’t
drive to Leppington to receive a
better service.
Eight-car S set, in off-peak
to Olympic Park, when the
number of people on the train
wouldn’t even fit in a carriage.
4. The extension of train
services. Trains terminating
at Epping, Hurstville, Revesby,
Liverpool, Lidcombe, Clyde and
Penrith. These services should
be continued. Hurstville: All
stops to Waterfall to provide
more services to the suburbs
after Sutherland and also for
Como and Oatley. Epping:
Continuation of the service to
Hornsby or Berowra. Currently,
Berowra (Asquith, Mount Colah,
Mount Kuring-Gai, Berowra)
commuters only have a half
hourly frequency even in peak.
Wouldn’t be better to provide a
limited stops service to the City
via Strathfield from Berowra?
(enter stopping pattern here)
Revesby: Why not continue
the service from Revesby to
Leppington. This way, everyone
east of Revesby on this line, has
a direct connection to everyone
west of Revesby on this line.
Liverpool: Now that there are
no more direct train services
in between Liverpool and
Campbelltown, why not
continue the Bankstown Line
from Liverpool to Macarthur.
Lidcombe: Trains from the
Bankstown Line terminating at
Lidcombe? And before the 2013
timetable these trains continued
to the City via the Inner West,
this provides a more circular
network and decrease commute
times.
Clyde: Carlingford Line services
start and end at Clyde. The only
use of Clyde station is to serve
a small industrial area and to be
a terminus. These trains should
continue to Olympic Park or
Lidcombe. In this way, it would
link the two lines together
no longer requiring multiple
interchanges.
Penrith: Trains should continue to
Emu Plains instead, it’s only one
suburb.
This is just some of the many
changes that need to be done
to help Sydney have a better
rail network, and I haven’t even
started on NSW Rail Travel yet.
David McCafferty
via email
Rail transport and the
Queensland election
I rang the LNP during the recent
Queensland state election,
congratulating them on their
policy of providing free off-peak
transport for pensioners and
seniors, and I discussed a viable
and affordable means of fixing the
Inlander and Westlander trains.
The ALP was returned to
power, and I urge the government
to either accept the concept
of free travel off peak as I have
outlined, or having a reasonable
‘cap’ on go card users, who are
on a concession. Perhaps $5.00.
Which is in fact, double what
concession card holders in NSW
pay!
I suggested that two sitting
cars be converted to rail bed
cars, and placed onto the Spirit
of the Outback. Then place one
sleeping car onto each of the
Westlander and Inlander trains,
plus a dining car. The SOTO
would then have two sleeping
cars and two Rail Bed cars, plus
the existing dining, lounge and
sitting cars.
The total failure of the LNP
to take up the suggestions
would indicate that the party,
and for that matter the current
Government, are intending to
replace the Western Queensland
train services with a bus service!
John Coyle
via email
Re: Nathan Watson’s
letter in January Railway
Digest
Thank you to Nathan Watson
for making readers aware of
possible errors in the Westlander
article by Rod Milne in December
2017 RD.
However, phrases like, ‘If Rod
Milne had done some research,’
and ‘sweeping, ill-informed
statement’ that were used in
Nathan’s letter give the, perhaps
mistaken, impression that he was
not really interested in making
readers aware of those errors
but was more concerned about
showing us that he knows more
than Rod.
Highlighting possible mistakes
in articles should be handled
sensitively and relationally. The
best way to achieve this is by
writing a three-part letter:
1. Thank the article writer
for the work that has been
put into the article. I can
vouch from experience
that articles like this take
considerable time and
effort to write.
2. Respectfully point out the
errors.
3. Outline the corrections
that are required.
It is often a good idea firstly
to write a fridge letter, where
the letter is left for a day or two
before posting. It is amazing
what changes are made after
the passage of a little time.
If Nathan’s letter had been
written in this form I, for one,
would have better appreciated
his input.
Neville Pollard
via email
A Grand Day Out
I’m writing to tell you about
a day I spent using public
transport.
With a friend, I boarded a
Brisbane city bus from Stafford
Heights to the city, there we
boarded a Gold Coast train at
Roma Street station. That train
has limited stops to Beenleigh;
after that stop the train runs
high speed between stations.
On arrival at Helensvale we
got off the QR train and boarded
the light rail to travel to the
terminus. The light rail was very
well patronised. It took a total of
nearly two hours from Stafford
to the light rail terminus. The
line from the previous terminus
to Helensvale is duplicated and
built to a very high standard.
Speeds of seventy kilometres per
hour are attained between stops.
We gave public transport
a very big tick for a stress-free
day of travel, and the fares
are not expensive. We would
recommend this form of public
transport to anyone looking for
a different day out.
Graham Larkin
Greenslopes, Qld
58
RAILWAY DIGEST