[nsw]CityRail Guessing Games start for 2000

["Bill McNiven" <wmcniven@gunzel.ozemail.com.au>]

The Year 2000 CityRail guessing game has started.  The game consists of
reading the CityRail web pages at http://www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au/upgrading
and trying to guess what train service will really be operating.

This week, the web site told us
North Shore Line
2.50am Saturday 22 January until 2.00am Monday 24 January
Buses will replace trains in both directions between Berowra, Hornsby and
Wynyard. Please allow for an additional journey time of 30 minutes.

What the web site might have added ...
* North Shore trains will not run between Central and North Sydney.
* Customers from Strathfield (and beyond) travelling to North Sydney will
experience minor delays between Redfern and Sydney Terminal as 15
trains/hour make their way to apparently random platforms.
* Customers alighting at Sydney Terminal will not be bothered by any
platform announcements or signage.  Those familiar with Sydney Terminal will
be able to find the main concourse ticket barriers and enquire there.
Others may, out of pure Lemming instinct, proceed to Central Electric
platforms 16/17, where announcements will advise that a bus service will be
provided between Wynyard and Berowra.
* Customers will find the usual frequent City Circle service operating from
platform 17.  As it's the height of the Sydney Festival, all trains will be
full.
* Customers may encounter amusing announcements at Town Hall.  (Around 16:45
on Saturday I heard "attention please on platform 6 please ignore the
indicator board this train will stop at Wynyard and Circular Quay ONLY".
Was it then tabled to vanish off the track circuit?)
* Customers who haven't completed previous guessing games successfully may
become lost at Wynyard, as the "CityRail Bus" signs lead to the pedestrian
tunnel under the former Transport House to Clarence St., not to the
better-known York St. escalators.
* Customers returning from the North Shore or the city to Strathfield and
beyond will be entertained.  Particularly entertaining at Town Hall around
17:10 was the announcement every two minutes to a deserted platform 3
"Attention Customers! A bus service will be operating between Wynyard and
Berowra via the North Shore CityRail regrets the delay and any inconvenience
caused".  (To have mentioned that the trains to Wynyard were departing from
platform 6 would have spoiled the guessing game?)
* At Central Electric platform 19 there will be clear announcements that
Penrith, Richmond and Hornsby via Strathfield trains depart from platforms 4
to 15.  (The sequence of departures around 17:20 was platforms 15, 8, ?, 8,
6.)
* Western Line passengers desiring information on stopping patterns are
strongly invited to walk from platform to platform checking indicators until
they find a train that stops at, say, Wentworthville.  Since the video
screen on platform 15 doesn't work, this will be a whole new bonus guessing
game.  (I noticed some  passengers using this procedure joining Inter-City
trains for Parramatta etc. that didn't leave for ages!)
* Passengers for Hornsby via Strathfield should note that their trains will
depart one minute earlier than usual so as to ensure "an additional journey
time of 30 minutes".

Rgds

Bill :-)