Re: [NSW] More Complaints on CityRail Southern Highlands

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

David
I think you have been living in Bowral for too long. Decentralisation is now
dead and buried. It costs TOO MUCH to provide the infrastructure to these
remote areas. Not only transport, but other services such as sewerage, power
and the like. There are far more commuters travelling between Kiama and
Wollongong than those even from Picton, let alone Bowral, Mittagong or Moss
Vale. In time these areas will receive improved services and that time may
not be as far off as you infer. In the meantime you and your silvertail
neighbors will be stuck with the train service that was there when you
decided to move to the Southern Highlands. You would have room to complain
if the frequency was now worse, but I suspect that it is in fact now better
and will get better in the future.

Governments are faced with a two-edged sword when it comes to spending money
on transport improvements. If the service to a government electorate is
improved, they are accused of supporting their voters; if they improve the
service to an opposition held electorate they are assused of attempting to
buy votes. The plain facts of the current debate are that the population of
areas such as Albion Park, Oak Flats, Minnamurra and Kiama have increased in
recent year FAR MORE than the Southern Highlands, despite its modest
increase. Furthermore the money now earmarked for improved services on the
Bondi Junction to Hurstville route will service a THREEFOLD increase in high
density housing adjacent to Rockdale and Hurstville stations in the last 5
years.

David, I can assure you that the Southern Highlands line is not the only
CityRail services disrupted by trackworks on weekdays. Just ask any commuter
trying to travel over the Harbour Bridge or around the City Circle after 10
pm on Mondays to Thursdays!

--
Geoff Lillico


"David Bennetts" <davibenn@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:fyAQ6.1979$Yr1.86273@ozemail.com.au...
<SNIP>
> >
> I think it'll be a long time before we get 6 services an hour to the city
> from here!  You make a valid point about people retiring to areas such as
> this, but if you look at the increases in services to the Central Coast
and
> Illawarra which have occurred over the past decade, the Southern Highlands
> ranks a poor cousin.  Two car Endeavours from Sydney on a roughly two
hourly
> service obviously can't meet the demand.  There's also the point that
south
> of Macarthur to Bargo there is a large population increase, and with no
> shorter distance trains there is massive overcrowding on this section.
> These aren't the retired/semi-retired people to which you allude.
>
> I can understand the need for trackwork and bus substitutions, but if the
> track had been more regularly maintained in the recent past and not
allowed
> to degenerate into such a poor state, only weekend substitutions may have
> been necessary instead of the weekday disruptions now occurring.
>
> I think that the antiquated nature of the track can be demonstrated by the
> time it takes an Endeavour to travel from Bowral to Campbelltown 1 hr 10
> minutes with 8 intermediate stops.  These railcars are capable of 145
km/h.
> Observing all speed limits, from Bowral it takes me 45 minutes by car.
The
> first ten minutes of that are on speed restricted roads until I reach the
> freeway, and there are also a number of traffic lights at the Campbelltown
> end.
>
> There is definitely scope for improvement in the rail service to this
> region, and if the Government is serious about decentralisation it will
> provide adequate services to meet the demand.
>
> Regards
>
> David Bennetts
> Bowral
>
>