Re: How to save Countrylink

["Geoff Lillico" <glillic@msn.com.au>]

Unfortunately, you have overlooked a major point.

As romantic as your proposals are, they do not address the fact that the
government believes it has a mandate to provide the top class train seats to
pensioners at next to no cost. If they could be fobbed off to the bus lines,
then we might be able to provide a premium service to those willing to pay
without having to provide the same service to pensioners.

--
Geoff Lillico


"David Bromage" <dbromage@fang.omni.com.au> wrote in message
3AA30B5C.210171E6@fang.omni.com.au">news:3AA30B5C.210171E6@fang.omni.com.au...
> The XPT hasn't changed all that much since the early 1980s. It was great
> then compared to what it replaced, and before the advent of cheap
> airlines. Certainly the trains have got longer and they added sleepers,
> but it's simply not going to work.
>
> I'm wondering if the XPT has outlived its usefulness on its current
> routes. That doesn't mean it's totally useless. It should be used on the
> sort of route it was designed for, that is a semi-intensive service of
> fast sprints of a couple of hours. For example, 6 express services per
> day to Canberra (this was envisaged back in 1980).
>
> But where does this leave Melbourne and Brisbane? I've been thinking
> about this for some time, and something radical. There was another
> proposal to complement the XPT on longer journeys such as this - the
> HPT. It was to be a 140km/h train with a 3000hp loco on each end.
> Initially it would use existing 50t stainless steel cars, but they would
> eventually be replaced with new cars of about 42t each. The project was
> abandoned after a change of government, but the loco lived on as the EL.
>
> I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that Countrylink needs to transform
> itself into something different, but not too different. It doesn't have
> to be a GSR or a QR. If you can't compete on journey time or
> "experience", you have to compete on service.
>
> The best parallel I can find is EuroCity and EuroNight. Passengers
> regularly cover similar distances and journey times to the XPT in these
> trains, and at premium fares. But you need a new fleet of cars to
> emulate this, and probably new locos (i.e. "real" diesel locomotives
> suitable for 160km/h running).
>
> One of the shortcomings of the XPT is the fixed set. The advantage of
> loco hauled trains is that you can divide and join trains wherever you
> need to, eg. through cars for Murwillumbah detached at Casino.
>
> It would need proper sleeping cars, couchettes (doubling as 6 seat
> comparments during the day), dining cars, sitting cars with decent
> seats, and sufficient luggage space. You can still offer el cheapo coach
> class for the backpackers, since the cheap airlines don't service Coffs
> Harbour and Byron Bay.
>
> An option which I don't think has been tried on rail yet is the sleeper
> beds used in first class on many airlines. You should be able to fit
> about 9 rows of 1+2 into a 24m car, which is about 35% more than for a
> full sleeper.
>
> I know much of this is wishful thinking and Scully isn't going to fork
> out for new trains. But any thoughts on the principle?
>
> Cheers
> David