> > So what fucking system does city rail use to notify its staff (and
> > computers) of route changes. Looks to be to be carrier pidgon. Havn't
> > City Rail heard of telephones.
Only communication recieved by the guard on the 6:08 service appeared to
be coming from the guard on the 4:36. A complete joke.
> Lightning strikes killed Sutherland and Waterfall at 1450 hours.
Okay, before I start my spiel it is only fair to warn everyone about the
absolute shit I have had to put up with from CityRail today and tonight.
I purchased my ticket at Katoomba at 3:16pm. That's 26 minutes after the
suggested time of horrendous problems at Sutherland and Waterfall. I was
planning to catch the 3:28pm and wind up at North Wollongong at 6:59pm. I
got in at 10:03pm, thanks to a cancelled train from Katoomba and the joke
of CityRail's handling of the Sutherland incident.
So anyway, I caught the 6:08pm Dapto service from Sydney. Why the fuck
was this train allowed to leave with the intention of normal operation?
Later conversations with the guard suggested a huge bankup of trains had
already formed when he had passed through on his way up from the gong.
We actually got to Hurstville early. We got as far as Oatley station. We
were stopped for about 20 minutes when the guard gave us this gem: "The
train has stopped [comic pause] for an indefinate period". Eventually he
opened the doors and many got out. After a further 10 minutes he
announced that it was possible to get out if we wanted. This was followed
no less than 15 seconds later by "We will now be moving on". We got a few
hundred metres down the line and spent a good 40 minutes in a very dull
area north of the Georges River. We had pulled up right behind the
preceding train at this stage. Again the doors were opened here. Many
people jumped off the train, walked through a gap in the fence and
proceeded into Como on foot.
After this fascinating period we were told "We will now be moving a few
hundred yards around the corner". Certainly had people falling about with
laughter at this stage. (Being pissed off had passed for most people).
We arrived in Como well after dark. Had an interesting chat with the
guard here... he suggested that it should have been possible to have
people manning the signals and getting trains through. About 3 trains
managed to get north through the area over the hours. Aparently they were
bussing people from Jannali to Sutherland.... too little too late. The
traffic at Jannali was at a standstill.
Got into Sutherland after 9pm. We stayed here for about 5 minutes despite
all green ahead while some of the remaining passengers relieved the
vending machines of their products. A poor Tangara was waiting two
signals behind us at this time. Station indicators read "CityRail
welcomes you to Sutherland station".
It was on our departure from Sutherland that the guard delivered his best
comic performance of the evening. "At this moment in time, this train is
running 2 hours and 24 minutes late". We were all completely falling
about laughing at this. We were still going when the ventilation and
almost all the lights went out. The system restarted itself after a few
minutes.... but not before more comments from the passengers.
At Thirroul an 8-car G-Set waited for the 5:38 and 6:08 services. Someone
was gathering supporters for a class action against CityRail.
First train spotted heading North was a two car Endeavour sighted at about
9:30pm at the Southern end of the Otford valley.
> Trains were running up to three hours late. Trains started running as
> normal through Sutherland in the vicinity of 2100 hours.
So why the hell did this take so long? Why weren't trains getting pushed
past the signal within minutes? I agree with the guard on my train: there
should have been no more than a 25 minute delay to trains.
> Como was absolute bedlam.
A complete mess. Trains backed up end to end, passengers jumping off
trains and walking alongside them, passing through a gap in the fence and
walking across the old bridge into Como.
> Communication was zero.
Again, a complete mess. What the hell happened? No-one knew what the
fuck was going on.... Why did the guards have no idea what has happening?
> The station assistant left the station open until at least 2130 hours to
> assist passsengers - She was due to sign off at 1900.
Not surprised... but all the train crews were working pretty late too I
reckon.
> There were at least 15 trains between Sutherland and Mortdale at 1800 hours.
This was before my train even left Sydney Terminal... and the guard was
totally unaware of the problem status. Did *anyone* know what was going
on?
So CityRail has done it again. Another fuck-up big time. If it was a
pure signal failure just before peak hour, why the hell were trains not
pushed through using some sort of manual system? Who is the person who
should have made this call?
Given that we were dealing with a big-time fuck-up with wall-to-wall
trains in the area why were trains being allowed to proceed beyond
Mortdale? Why were busses not replacing trains from Hurstville as far as
required? According to my radio at about 5pm, buses were being used in
two seperate places in the Campbelltown area to deal with the same problem
(signals fried by lightning).
Time and time again CityRail has been faced with just such a disaster and
time and time again CityRail fucks-up in spectacular fashion. (LPG at
redfern, Hornsby incident). Last time there were allegations that the guy
in charge at the Sydney Control Centre was pissed. I bet this gets a run
again.
So the question is: Who is responsible for dealing with unexpected
incidents? Why is he or she failing again and again? Quite simply, what
is wrong and when is it going to be fixed? If someone needs sacking then
get it done. If the system needs changing then change it.
Does anyone remember the campaign they had years ago that went: "When you
ride the Sydney System you're up there with the best"? Somehow I don't
think we are. If you plan on getting a train during the Olympics I can
only offer one piece of advice: Make sure you have a *really* good book
with you at all times.
I have only had one good experience with CityRail since I moved to
Wollongong in July. And this was just the fact that the 4:18pm from
Matrin place is now operated by an 8-car G-set. If I had any choice I
would no longer use this service. Most of the people in my carriage who
had left cars at Sutherland, Helensburgh or Thirroul will not be using
CityRail as of tomorrow.
Will CityRail ever provide an acceptible service?
-- Robs the Wollongong Quokka http://www.zip.com.au/~quokka/