Re: [Qld] Country Alliance cant see logic in rail plan

[matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au (Matthew Geier)]

In article <396eada5$0$11210$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au>,
James C <noemail@emailsux.com> wrote:
>I hope QR can run some sort of tourist service bewteen Townsville and
>Cairns(similar to what they did with Kuranda service). The scenery along the
>line between these 2 stops are quite good.
>
>A frequent service like this maybe a solution to capture more passengers for
>QR, the service can even go all the way into Townsville city station once
>the new station opens at Flinder Street....Townsville

 I was in Townsville a week ago, how could the station get 'closer'. It
already is pretty well on 'Flinders St'. One diagonal block from the Mall.

 Would be kind of nice if the train made it to Flinders St East, where the
ferrys are, but the entire area is built up, and the trains would have to
reverse out. 
 A lot of work for very little gain and its not that far.

 Unfortunatly for us, the Spirit of the Tropics ran late. (We rode from
Proserpine to Townsville) and we almost missed our connection to Magnetic
Island. Fortunatly the train was not TO late, and the ferry stopped at both
'City Terminal' and the Breakwater, so a taxi got us to Breakwater in time.

 Just Nth of Proserpine they have been relaying track. Total formation
replacement, new balast, concrete sleepers and rail. On one section there
was 'old' rail sitting beside the track that still had a shiny head. May have
been pull out just before we arrived.


 Rod the tilt train earlier in the trip. Looks very much like a narrow
bodies air-craft inside. Same styling, except for the size of the windows
and lack of seat-belts. Like the 'cab cam' they have.....

 Surprising for an EMU (and Australian practice) the tilt train is
uni-directional. The seats (and TV screens) are fixed. They turn the train
each journey.
 I asked one of the drivers what happens if one of the 2 sets is unavailable,
do they run late?. Nah he said, we almost keep the Tilt train 'table with a
ICE set....