>Would Melbournians take that well to double decker trains given they are
currently used to the single deck Comeng rolling stock?
The current Comeng rolling stock has more comfortable seats, carpet, high
roofs, facing seats and panoramic windows compared to the 4D which is far
more cramped and spartan.
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This is just a matter of specification - its like saying all sleeping cars
are old and decrepit JUST by looking at one old car from the 1880's - the
'V'-sets used on NSW Interurban runs are extremely comfortable, for example,
so it is possible to have high standard DD stock.
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Michael Walker wrote:
The current Comeng rollingstock is excellent for accessibility by those
with bikes, strollers, prams, walking frames, etc as it is single deck
throughout as opposed to the 4D which is only accessible at the ends by
these types of passengers.
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This is splitting hairs, I know, but what difference would it make? The 4D
is the same length as a 3-car Comeng set, and there are 8 doors per side on
the 4D as opposed to 9 doors on a Comeng or Hitachi.
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Michael Walker wrote:
When the 4D was introduced, it was found it was considerably slower
loading and unloading compared to a Comeng as the 4D had only two doors per
carriage as opposed to the Comeng which had 3. This would need to improve
for future designs.
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Michael Walker wrote:
The 4D cost $20m for the four car set vs.. $6m for a Comeng three car set.
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Wasn't there a considerable time difference between the Comeng sets and the
4D? Also, the 4D was a one-off build, and a fleet build would bring down the
cost - economies of scale. We are also talking about four carriages, as
opposed to three.
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Michael Walker wrote:
Would the new private companies be so keen on double decker trains if the
cost continues to be similarly high compared to the equivalent Comeng. After
all, you can fit far more people into 3 three car Comeng sets than 1 double
deck four car set.
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Since when? There was considerable confusion when the 4D was introduced
amongst the media over the fact that one carriage on the 4D had the same
seating capacity as one Comeng carriage - the mainstream media was saying
things like "Whats the point of getting them if they dont hold any more?"
The point was that, although the carriages hold the same number of people,
they are shorter, and the standard length treain is four carriages, hence, a
standard train holds 33% more people.
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Michael Walker wrote:
I would suggest that most companies investing in transport would probably
see our current rollingstock being quite adequate for a number of years.
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There is nothing wrong with the rolling stock - it is perfectly adequate.
The issue is one of capacity. A lot of Melbourne's lines are at saturation
point in peak periods - there is no way to increase the number of trains.
The only way to carry more people, which is, after all how the private
copmpanies will want to increase profits, is to increase capacity, and if
they can't run more trains, they will have to carry more people per train.
This means either cramming more people in (with a consequent decline in
quality and comfort, and with it patronage) or going for higher capcity
rolling stock.
Regards
David "The Doctor" Proctor
daproc@spamsux.bigfoot.com
(remove the "spamsux" to reply)