Re: My trip to Adelaide

Neil Waller (nwaller@denr.sa.gov.au)
Wed, 29 Apr 1998 15:58:10 +0930

Barry Campbell wrote:
>
> Robert Howard wrote in message <6i5d0s$a58$1@monty.tassie.net.au>...
>
> <snip>
> >
> >I doubt that rail could compete over a given route based solely on the time
> >taken to travel from point A to B. I would like to know if the costs of
> >such travel is proportionate. That is, I would expect it to cost less to
> >take the train (being the slower service) than the plane.
> >
> >Over the route in question (Melbourne - Adelaide) is this the case?
>
> I would assume that rail probably be cheaper, provided it did not offer
> wasteful services such as sleeping cars, club cars and full dining cars.
> However, cheapness is not really an issue for most travellers by public
> transport. By far the bulk of these travellers are business people who are
> time sensitive and rail will never compete there with the limited traffic we
> have in Aust.
>
> Barry Campbell

Agreed - Qantas and Ansett have 18 to 20 fights at 120 - 130 seats
between
them every day on the Adelaide Melbourne sector and never seem to have
too
much trouble filling them. (and if they do they have promotional fares)

The flying time is 70 minutes with a 20 minute check in at the
originating
end (90 minutes) and 15 or so minutes to collect your luggage (105
minutes)
but if you are travelling with cabin luggage only 90 minutes.

Add 15 minutes in Adelaide (20 in peak) to get from the city centre to
West Beach and you are back to 105 minutes. Add another 30 to 45
minutes
in Melbourne and you are looking at 135 to 155 minutes (2.25 to 2.5
hours)

If you apply the German maxim - "half as fast as flying" the transit
time
should be of the order of 4.5 to 5 hours which is not feasable with the
current track.

BUT - spend $100m and you cut 3 hours off the run (12.5 down to 9.5) -
spend
some more on the sharper curves in Victoria easing them slightly and you
could save another half hour (9 hours).

($80m regrade Mt Lofty to Murray Bridge and $20m resleepering in
Victoria)

Add a nice light fast railcar that tilts and increase the speed by only
10%
and you are looking at a transit time of a little over 8 hours.

Spend $300m on a new alignment Adelaide to Murray Bridge and $50m in
Victoria and the total time saving could be of the order of 4 hours
(8.5 hours) and with even a 10% increase in average speed over this
you get 7 hours 40 minutes.

Its all possible.

But the real saving here is the saving in freight transit times between
Adelaide and Melbourne and the possiblity of double stacking containers.

This should bring the freight costs between the two cities down
considerably.

-- 
Neil Waller	(nwaller@denr.sa.gov.au)
Department of Environment Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs
Telephone:	Oz: (08) 8204 9218; International: (618) 8204 9218
Mail:		GPO Box 1047, ADELAIDE 5001     Australia


Unless explicitly attributed, the opinions expressed are personal
and not those of DEHAA or the South Australian Government.