Re: Overland to continue 4 another 2 years

["Peter Berrett" <pberrett@optushome.com.au>]

"Maurie Daly" <mauried@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
3b21bcaf.7540732@can-news.tpg.com.au">news:3b21bcaf.7540732@can-news.tpg.com.au...
> Its simplistic in the extreme to simply take the whole distance and
> divide by 8 .

It gives you something to an idea of what speed you need to average.
Simplistic yes, practical yes also.

> Some parts of the journey have very low speed limits.
> Spencer St to Newport takes 30 mins for a distance of 10 km, average
> speed 60 km/h . Nothing can be done to improve this short of completely re
routing the
line .

Why is this? If this is so perhaps consideration needs to be given to dual
gauging the broad gauge line to Newport.

> Going thru Nth Geelong there are 40 km./ h curves and restrictions
> where the dual guage track starts and stops , same at Gheringhap.
> There is a 40 km/h curve at Maroona .
> There are no cheap solutions to bypassing the Adelaide Hills.
> >
> >850 km/8 hours = around 106 km/hour average. Surely the line would in
places
> >permit 130 kmh running if not 160kmh.
> It probably would , but average speed isnt top speed .
> The Sydney - Melb XPT covers the 317 km from Spencer St to Albury in 3
> hours with 2 stops , travelling just about all the way at 130 km/h .
> Average speed = 105 km/ h .
>
> For Melb to Adelaide , 30 mins Spencer St to Newport (10 Kms) and 90
> mins Murray Bridge - Keswick (100 kms) means that the rest of the
> journey ,740 km needs to take no more than 6 hours , average speed =
> 123 km/h .

> Not possible with a max of 130 km/h  but just possible with max speed
> of 160 km/h .
> Currently in VIC , 160 km/h isnt allowed at all.

Why not? Can the line take it?

> 8 hours in the best now you can do , without massive track
> improvements and this just isnt practical for 2 trains a day.
> Besides , what evidence is there that reducing the travelling times
> will equate to a huge increase in patronage .

Look at France. Look at the patronage success of the TGV. Plus you have two
major cities with various incentives (football, shopping, cinema...) for
people to travel from one city to the other. Build it and they will come.

> Unless the times can be reduced to around 3 hours (VFT type speeds)
> then its simply not worth it.
>
> MD

I think a four hour service would be acceptable to the travelling public and
sufficient to get increased patronage. It is just enough to get to Adelaide,
spend the day there and come back to Melbourne.

I think that such a service has arguably greater justification that services
to country areas of Victoria.

cheers Peter