Re: Overland to continue 4 another 2 years

[mauried@tpg.com.au (Maurie Daly)]

On Sat, 09 Jun 2001 06:45:54 GMT, "Peter Berrett"
<pberrett@optushome.com.au> wrote:

>
>"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.

Its simply because of the route that the SG line takes to get to
Newport.
Peter, can I take from your comments that you havnt actually travelled
by train from Melb to Adelaide.
If so , then I suggest you do so before continuing this discussion.




>
>> 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?

Not in Victoria without a good deal of re ballasting .

>
>> 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.


The population of France is 60 million people living in a country 
smaller than the State of NSW.
Paris alone has a population of 11 million people .
There is no comparison whatsoever between the European situation 
and Australia .
We simply dont have enuf people to justify or support very fast trains