Re: $550m to speed up Vic rail services

[Craig Haber <albatross@harnessnet.com.au>]

Hi,

Chris Gordon wrote:

> Dickheads, then they say the problem with the Ballarat line is that it
> is single line.

Closing Ballan made life very tough, the Ballarat line is now very difficult to
get paths, there's only a couple of slots available.

> Lots of work in the suburban area:
> Three track Aircraft - Laverton, Footscray - St.Albans

Aircraft-Laverton??  All the way to Werribee would be better...Footscray-Newport
would be nice, but cost big $$$$.

> Better junctions on the Geelong line (Laverton, Altona and Newport).
>
> I think Sunshine and Newport will get re-signalled (they were done in
> 1995 and 1997).

Hopefully they'll do it properly this time.

OK, here's CH's wishlist as a commuter and operator for trains on the Geelong
line.......

First (and cheapest) - fix the timetabling.  That doesn't need a kazillion
bucks.  Passes not to stop at Footscray.  Timetable down Werribee sparks
sufficiently ahead of passes to Newport, Geelong passes to stop at Newport, then
overtake the spark while it goes via Altona and pass burns down the straight.
Likewise on the up, Geelong pass to be just behind Werribee spark at Laverton
Jcn, Geelong pass stops to set down Newport, pax for Footscray and other
stations connect their, pass gets a clear run to Spencer St.  Geelong line
timetabling is a massive frustration to everyone I know (customers and
operators), resulting in longer than necessary travel times.  You can do
Melbourne-Geelong express in 45 mins _given a clear run_.  Only time that
happens though is when the sparks are on strike!  50 minutes should be
achievable by every express train.

Infrastructure:
Eliminate fixed speed restriction at Maribyrnong River jcn (65km/h), fix speed
"temporary" restriction at Spotswood (30km/h - been temporary for a long time
now), high speed turnouts at Newport (currently 40km/h), abolish poor track
layout at Newport sth (65km/h), speed signalling Footscray-Newport (raise pass
speed from 65km/h to at least 80km/h), re-locate or remove points on curve on
down side of Little River (115km/h), realign through North Shore (90km/h),
re-locate signal panels Lara and Corio to Nth Geelong 'A' box to allow full
bi-directional running all day (not just while Lara is switched in from
0500-1300, likewise Corio).  The 120km/h curve at Lara is a bit harder, but it
seems the Geelong line is to have only 130km/h running anyway.

And if we've got more bikkies to spend......three tracks all the way from
Laverton Jcn-Werribee, and flyover from West line to Altona line at Laverton Jcn
(the number of down passes which cop a spark across their bows at this location
is staggering).

It would be nice to see the Traralgon and Bendigo lines re-signalled properly,
ie bi-directional running on both lines.

Something of interest - the Seymour line has not rated a mention at all so
far......is it not in the report?

Regards,
Craig.
--
Craig Haber
albatross@harnessnet.com.au
Rail Operations Officer, West Coast Railway
Web Page Developer, Railway Enthusiast, Essendon Football Club Fanatic
http://www.harnessnet.com.au/ch/
I haven't really lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere......