Re: mel loop operation

["John Wayman" <trecker@bigpond.com>]

It wasn't dumb to build the loop, certainly for the Box Hill and Caulfield
groups of lines. Trains used to spend 10 to 20 minutes most mornings waiting
for trains ahead of them clear the Flinders Street platforms.

It was a mess that was only sorted out by the opening of the loop,

Cheers
John Wayman

"Vaughan Williams" <ender2000@MailAndNews.com> wrote in message
3ADED0A4@MailAndNews.com">news:3ADED0A4@MailAndNews.com...
> Well, the rapid decline in absolute numbers stopped, mostly (I think) due
to
> the introduction of multimode ticketing. Patronage then increased slowly
> through the 80's, but market share after briefly levelling off resumed its
> decline and remains at its lowest level ever (it might have levelled off
> again
> in the last couple of years). Mostly, the decline was arrested and
patronage
> has since increased in line with population. It hasn't kept up with growth
> in
> car usage.
>
> When patronage is in free fall, the most obvious response is to work out
> what
> the problem is and try to stem the decline. Working on infrastructure to
> increase capacity seems like a dumb thing to do - A bit like expanding
your
> restaurant to fit in more tables when you are getting fewer and fewer
diners
> and having no trouble finding tables for them.
>
> >===== Original Message From "Daniel Bowen" <dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au>
> =====
> >"Vaughan Williams" <ender2000@MailAndNews.com> wrote in message
> >3AD7DF21@MailAndNews.com">news:3AD7DF21@MailAndNews.com...
> >> And yet the loop was designed and built at a time when patronage was in
> >free
> >> fall. Spending a fortune on infrastructure to increase capacity at a
time
> >> when patronage is rapidly declining seems to me to be a dumb thing to
do.
> >
> >But didn't patronage jump in the 80s? That's supply-led growth, Vaughan!
> >
> >
> >Daniel
> >--
> >Daniel Bowen, Melbourne, Australia
> >dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au
> >Melbourne public transport FAQ http://www.custard.net.au/melbtrans/
> >
>
> Vaughan Williams
> Secretary
> Public Transport Users Association
> 247 Flinders Lane
> Melbourne 3000
> http://www.ptua.org.au
>