Re: [NSW] Skipping stations - is it a common practice?

[craigd@lios.apana.org.au (C. Dewick)]

Hi Danny,

>I like to know is how often the trains skipped stations (average per
>day/week)? And is it a common practice if the train is running late as I
>heard a lot from the media "bashing" about the trains skipping stations -
>please verify?

Stopping patterns can only be altered from what's in the working
timetable(s) by Network Control officially (We all know that train drivers
are human and sometimes forget to stop at a particular station, but that's
not the point being discussed), and it really depends on what is going on
where.

The people in Network Control have access to running information for the
entire CityRail network, so that can co-ordinate together to work out the
best way to get trains running on time again with as little overall
disruption as possible, and often that will involve changing the stopping
pattern of one or more trains (called 'transposing' the train), and if the
situation is very bad, some runs may be cancelled or terminatated short of
their destination and sent off somewhere else.

There's no way to really put a figure to the number of transpositions that
are issued in any one week, since it depends on what incidents take place.
Some weeks are fairly free of incidents which require trains to be
transposed and/or cancelled, while other weeks can see major problems almost
every day due to any number of factors (not always railway-related).

The problem is that you, as an individual, might be on a train that is
transposed or cancelled or delayed, and because you'll probably only look at
it from your personal perspective, you don't see the overall picture, and
most people assume that they've been 'done a dirty' because *their* train
has been singled out for a change of plans. That's where the Network Control
people come in because they see the overall picture and often if one peak
hour train is cancelled, it might directly affect 1000 people, but that
single cancellation could indirectly improve the situation for many
thousands of other passengers who are waiting for other trains which are
also running late.

Regards,

Craig.
--
            Craig Ian Dewick            |       Stand clear - jaws closing
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