Whilst hunting around the Internet for information on the Manukau City
spur line proposal, I came across some discussion of use of the rail
network by light tail vehicles.
I pondered this and remembered my experiences using the rail system in
Perth W.A.. They have electrified their rail system and built a new
northern line. Interestingly they sometimes refer to the trains that go
up this line as being light rail. I am confused where does light rail
stop and trains begin?
Perhaps Perth's train service is in fact a light rail service? I note
that there are some differences between their system and ours here in
Melbourne. The fist difference is that most trains are two carriages
long. The other main difference is the frequency of service namely every
15 minutes or sooner.
Having used the service I must say that it is one of the best suburban
train systems I have used in Australia. (The best I have encountered
outside Australia is in Hong Kong - The MTR). The best thing is the
frequency of service. No worrying about when the next train is going to
arrive - you just rock up at the station and you know one will be along
before long.
Perhaps this is the way Melbourne should go. Instead of running 6 cars
trains every 20-30 minutes in non-peak hours perhaps the service should
be run as 3 car sets every 10-15 minutes? obviously a greater number of
drivers would be necessary but this would be compensated for by more
passenegers
cheers peter