Re: [NSW] - hilarious SMH article

[Magilla Gorilla <choochoo@spin.net.au>]

The difference is  less frequent trains that run on time or more frequent
trains that are always late. No matter what happens some people will
complain. In my view they should base the next timetable on the Olympic
timetable.

David Burns wrote:

> I hoped that the following article from the Herald was just a bit of
> humour ... Then I woke up...
>
> Certainly some of the operational ideas are sound. But reducing
> services? And Redfern an interchange???
>
> This is Yes Minister material: "Our population continues to grow. So we
> are forced to reduce services ..."
>
> dB
>
> http://www.smh.com.au/news/0010/03/national/national2.html
>
>                     Major overhaul for Sydney's rail system
>
>                     By ROBERT WAINWRIGHT, Transport Writer
>
>                     Sydney's rail system faces a major overhaul in the
> wake of the Olympic Games that may
>                     reduce the number of services and increase travel
> times on some lines to improve overall
>                     performance.
>
>                     Though transport officials remain tight-lipped about
> permanent changes, it is believed that
>                     it may include increasing "dwell times" for trains
> at busy stations, running fewer services
>                     each hour and even forcing commuters from outer
> suburban areas to change at stations
>                     such as Redfern to get into the city.
>
>                     One of the biggest changes may be allowing trains to
> sit at stations for longer than the
>                     current 60-second limit to take pressure off drivers
> and lessen mistakes.
>
>                     The Minister for Transport, Mr Scully, yesterday
> foreshadowed changes after the
>                     Paralympic Games but would not speculate beyond
> saying that "lessons had been
>                     learned" and that passenger patience and staff
> enthusiasm had contributed to the success
>                     during the Games.
>
>                     But CityRail officials released a document which
> revealed that several long-standing
>                     service principles had deliberately been broken to
> ensure the system worked smoothly.
>                     Some of the changes may be incorporated in permanent
> alterations.
>
>                     The main changes included:
>
>                      Extra running time between stations;
>
>                      Increased journey times of up to eight minutes for
> services;
>
>                      Extra stopping times at major stations, especially
> the city circle, where some drivers
>                     waited for more than three minutes;
>
>                      Forced train change for access to the city circle;
>
>                      Reduced capacity, which would mean overloading and
> some missed trains because of a
>                     lack of room;
>
>                      Passengers forced to stand on a train for more than
> 15 minutes.
>
>                     "The Olympic Games train timetable was designed to
> move approximately 250,000
>                     people to Olympic Park over three peak periods
> totalling 18 hours," the document said.
>                     "In comparison, the regular timetable delivers
> 33,000 people to and from the central
>                     business district in two peaks each lasting
> approximately two hours.''
>
>                     The document also revealed that some stations had
> been closed for the Games and many
>                     services had been cancelled, particularly to outer
> suburban and some regional areas.
>
>                     Other impacts included an overall cut of 20 per cent
> to normal suburban services and a
>                     30 per cent cut to city circle trains.
>
>                     "I guess the message has been that if the service
> itself is less flexible, and is designed for
>                     the majority rather than being all things to all
> people, then maybe it can be more robust,"
>                     one industry source said.
>
>                     "The principle has always been to be flexible, and
> to reduce the likelihood of people
>                     having to change trains to get where they are going.
> Maybe, some of those principles
>                     have to change for the system to improve.
>
>                     "But the first thing that has to occur is an
> assessment. We broke the normal timetable
>                     principles for a one-off event. Now we have to sit
> back and make a proper and
>                     considered evaluation of what lessons we have
> learned."
>
>                     One of the most controversial changes, if made,
> would be to force passengers from outer
>                     areas such as the South Coast to change trains to
> get to the city. During the Olympics,
>                     many had to change at Redfern, which officials say
> took pressure off Central Station.
>
>                     "There were some tough decisions taken, such as
> forced interchanges, which goes against
>                     the principle of trying to get people from the
> suburbs to the city in the shortest possible
>                     time. We broke that principle, just as we did with
> overcrowding."
>
>                     Mr Scully said he would make no decisions until
> after the Paralympic Games. He had
>                     asked senior officials to make submissions next
> month.
>
>                     "We have obviously learned some lessons and I will
> be considering changes but it is too
>                     early. I want to ensure that we refocus on the next
> task, the Paralympics, before we look
>                     any further ahead," he said.