Re: State Rail - No, State Joke. [NSW]

["Bradley Torr" <truenorth@one.net.au.SPAMTRAP>]

David Bennetts <davibenn@ozemail.com.au> wrote in article
<ECVQ6.2506$Yr1.110366@ozemail.com.au>...

> I've ridden a lot of trains around the world, my personal favourite is
the
> Paris Metro.  Trains are clean, fast and frequent.
> They almost never stop in tunnels between stations.  New York used to
have
> the grottiest system, and it was unreliable.  Now it's been cleaned up.
> London Underground always seems in a mess.

That's because London itself is a chaotic mess! Thatcherisation (which
continues unabated under New "Labour") doesn't help matters much either.

New York also has a kick-a$$ mayor who, while being somewhat of a Napoleon,
has really cleaned up the city. Crime in NYC is at a low; urban degradation
is kept at bay and yes, the population of NYC is on the rise once again!
Mayor Guiliani also had the good sense to hire Bob Kiley to get the subway
back into order - a visionary who is now in the employ of the Greater
London Authority and whose plans to renovate the Underground have been met
with ideological opposition from the New "Labour" corporate socialists in
Westminster.

I can't speak for Paris as I don't know too much about that city.

> Actually CityRail's services to and from the Southern Highlands are quite
> comfortable in an Endeavour, when they run to time and aren't
overcrowded.

Endeavours are quite comfortable for short trips. The seats are too narrow
and rigid for anything longer than, say, an hour in my opinion. Not being
able to change seat direction isn't a good thing either. Still, the seats
are better than those in C-sets!

> The services around the city however leave quite a lot to be desired in
> terms of train presentation, staff attitudes, and general management.
> There's a take-it-or-leave it approach.  The system is capable of working
> quite well,
> as proven during the Olympics.

In my admittedly subjective opinion which has no basis in actual research,
whether mine or somebody else's, I ascribe these points to a general lack
of civic pride in much of the state of New South Wales. Society in other
states seems to take good care of its urban environment - wide roads,
rustic parklands, pleasant architecture, clean streets. I find VIC, SA and
TAS to be the cleanest states, and the states with the most 'civic pride' -
Adelaide tends to win on this count among the major cities. For all its
faults, the Adelaide transport system is generally clean and the urban
landscape looks like the people are proud of it.

I must say that Melbourne's relatively bad presentation of its transport
infrastructure and rolling stock seems to be relatively recent - I remember
visiting in 1997 and I was amazed at how clean and well-appointed the
stations, trains and trams seemed. Now, thanks to the Thatcherisation of
the State of Victoria into Victoria Ltd. and the removal of transport from
direct civic control, this has suffered, and can be seen in poor staff
morale, presentation and customer service.

You simply don't find that enthusiasm in Sydney. Sydney is largely chaotic,
dirty, smoggy, crowded, badly planned, badly lit, graffiti strewn, and
dingy (compared to other Aussie cities). I admit that much of this,
particularly in central Sydney, has changed due to Olympic streetscape
improvements and Lord Mayor Frank Sartor, who seems to be a Rudolf Giuliani
wannabe but can't be because local government in NSW is very weak and is at
the beck and call of the State Government. (Not to mention that the Sydney
City Council area of jurisdiction is restricted and tiny).

This isn't a new phenomenon - a literary traveller in the 1870's reported
on his Australian travels that Melburnians were energetic, hard-working,
ethical, mercantile and of good civic mentality, while Sydneysiders were
rude, indulgent, lazy, given to vices and insolent. Perhaps little has
changed!

Perhaps this lack of civic pride and presentation in Sydney harks back to
our convict heritage, which is much stronger in Sydney than in any other
major Australian city.

Just some points to ponder.

Regards
BT