> Time tables are devised to suit locomotives used, time tables can be
> changed. If total journey time is 10 minutes longer, so what, as long
> as that is the advertised time, and the service is reliable and
> connects with other services.
>
Timetables cannot simply 'be changed'. There are:
Commercial factors (departure/arrival times, overall journey times,
times for connecting services)
and
Operational factors (train crossing and pathing, turnaround times etc)
to be considered (among other things).
If you increase the journey time, you will lose passengers. Why do you
think passengers prefer the express trains? Because you get to where
you're going _faster_. Who (other than railfans (: ) want's to spend
all day getting to where they're going?
> Purley politicians balanceing budgets to get re elected next time,
> they don't care about long term survival of railways.
That's exactly right - they don't care. Private companies do. That's
why private rail operators will be successful, while governments will
offload as much of their rail responsibilities as they can.
> Were is the new trains and railways associated with the WCR, just
> recycling what the PTC sold.
What difference does it make? We've been through all this before Terry,
a 40 year old B class will get to Warrnambool just as fast as a 10 year
old N class, so what difference does it make? Ditto the carriages,
which remain safe, comfortable, airconditioned etc etc. V/Line are also
still using S and Z type carriages, as do WCR.
> In the long term this type of semi privatisation will cost more for
> the tax payer, resulting in greater pressure to close the rail system.
> The current victorian system will limit infracture investment thus
> limiting the ability of rail to compete with road and air transport.
Rubbish - private rail will remove a massive liability from the
taxpayer.
Terry, take a look around you....where do you propose investment in
Victorian rail is going to come from? Haven't you noticed - the
government is BROKE. Not only broke, but BILLIONS of dollars in debt.
Where's the "government investment" going to come from? NOWHERE. It
ain't coming! V/Line has new Sprinters. Just great. Yours and my
taxes are paying for them. Does that make the investment worthwhile? I
don't think so. Will they last long enough to every pay for
themselves? Apparently not, they bend kind of easy......
If WCR (or any other company) invests in rollingstock, the cost will
come out of their pockets, not the pockets of taxpayers.
If private companies have sufficiently long contracts which allow them
to recoup their investment costs, then they'll invest....but we've been
through all this before, and you don't seem to have understood that.
Cheers,
Craig.
-- Craig Haber albatross@harnessnet.com.au Manufacturing Systems Engineer (almost) Web Page Designer, Harness Racing, Railways, and Essendon Football Club fanatic http://www.harnessnet.com.au/