Re: U Stops For Blue Mountains Trains

["Chris Downs" <cvdowns@ozemail.com.au>]

The other difficult issue regarding Mountains' services is trains not
stopping at Penrith.

In the am no trains from west of Springwood stop at Penrith between 6:55 and
7:55.  You can catch The Chips and change to the 7:07 ex Springwood service
after a 9 minute wait but in practice I and few others ever do this to
arrive 17 minutes before the next direct service.

In the pm the direct trains from Penrith to west of Springwood leave at
4:49; 5:32 & 6:47.  You can catch the 5:39 (only 7 minutes after a direct
service) and change at Emu Plains with a 6 minute wait.  Also you can catch
the 6:02 from Penrith (which leaves just after The Fish sprints through) and
change at Emu Plains with a 12 minute wait.

The am service is ok if you start work in Penrith at 8am or later but the
afternoon's not much chop either way.  I know a couple of people that now
drive, in no small part due to the restricted travel options.

Chris

Eric Cartman <erk_cartman@yahoo.com> wrote in message
391e7e77@news.iprimus.com.au">news:391e7e77@news.iprimus.com.au...
> The absurd thing about these afternoon mountains trains we are talking
about
> is the stops like Strathfield, Parramatta and Blacktown in some cases are
> not "u" stops but Penrith (which is further from the city than those
> stations mentioned) is. Is this another case of people taking up room for
> mountains commuters or people taking advantage of seats that are there? If
> the trains didn't stop in the metro area, some people would catch the
train
> to the first stop after (for example Glenbrook) and come back. Also, it
has
> to be remembered that a lot of people travel to/from the mountains from
> places other than Central (esp Parramatta).
>
> I know that a lot of people alight from these trains at suburban stops
like
> Penrith each day but I have not seen chaos like on the Southern Highlands
> services that I have seen reported in their smaller trains.
>
> Personally, if we are going to be serious about Blue Mountains services
(all
> of them, not just the peaks), there should be a timetable like for the
> Newcastle/Central Coast line. For instance:
>
> Train one - (from North Sydney) all Redfern, Strathfield, Parramatta,
> Westmead, Blacktown, Penrith, all Springwood (G or T or V - if spare). If
> this train was run by a V, it could extend to Katoomba or Mt Vic stopping
at
> Lawson, Wenty Falls, Leura, Katoomba, all to Lithgow/Mt Vic.
>
> Train two from Central - as per train one to Penrith, Glenbrook, Blaxland,
> Springwood all to whether. (V of course)
>
> There's my Airport Line station access fee's worth..............
>
> --
> Eric
> http://www.erk.au.com
>
>