Re: XPT Whinge,(cont)

["Michael Walker" <walker@hotkey.net.au>]

>No the point is if pple were aware that there are only 7x 7 car sets to run
>the whole program (xcludin the Dubbo) and that these things run almost
>constantly.... theyre criticisms of XPT's may be a little more informed
>
>Lots of pple bag Countrylink  but with the equipment and resources provided
>by the state govt, they provide a pretty good service.....  I find myself
in
>total agreement with David in regards to cancelling services to get clean
>trains.... there is not the time to give  em the attention they require
>

I guess I agree with both sides. On one side we have a poorly resourced
passenger rail organisation who try to provide the maximum service they can
with the meagre resources they have. On the other side is the customer whose
concern is with getting from point A to point B as fast, as cheaply and/or
as comfortably as they can.
At the end of the day it is a Catch 22 situation neither can win. With
stretching their resources as thinly as they do, Countrylink trains will
probably not be maintained as much as they need (which from comments from a
similar thread some time ago appears to be a fair bit as part of the design)
and will have their cleaning rushed. Also, there is reduced chance of
upgrading the rolling stock as every car is more or less needed and can't be
spared. Thus we end up with unreliable motive power pulling deteriorating
carriages.
On the other hand we have the passengers. There are two types - those who
pay full fare and those who get concession or free ride due to theri social
status or because they have travel vouchers or are employees. The latter are
a captive market who will ride the train whether it is the best service in
the world or the worst. The former are a small proportion of Countrylinks
market hence the poor opinion of CLs customers as expressed by many in this
group - after all if you pay peanuts, you expect to ride with the monkeys.
For Countrylink to be taken seriously enough by the government to get money
to upgrade, it needs to attract more full fare paying customers who ride of
their own free will. To get these customers it needs to provide a better
value for money service than the alternatives of flying or driving. To do
this it needs a fast, clean, comfortable service. To get the fast clean
comfortable service that attracts these people, the government needs to
spend money on upgrading track to allow faster running times and speeds, it
needs to spend money on extra train sets to cover faults, maintenance,
refurbishment needs. The government won't spend the money unless it
perceives there to be a profitable market for it as opposed to a lowest
common denominator 'service' run as a tax loss. Thence begins the circle
again.
The only ways I can see the circle breaking is for the XPT to become a
bigger political issue than roads thus becoming a means to woo
voters(unlikely unless hell freezes over or we have a major train accident
involving an XPT - something I hope never happens, we don't need another
Granville) or else privatisation playing some part either through someone
buying the Countrylink organisation and being paid full fares either by
passengers or CSO payments thus providing some incentive to run a good
service and spend money on it. The other privatisation scenario would be for
CL to curtail some of it's services in order to improve others and a private
operator running trains in the place of the abandoned CL services. The most
obvious service for this to happen is Sydney-Melbourne. Cut the XPT back to
Wagga or Albury and have a private operator run the Sydney-Melbourne
service. The most likely contenders for this would be GSR running a Southern
Aurora / Spirit of Progress / InterCapital Daylight style service using
spare Overland carriages or else possibly a privatised Vline Passenger
providing the service.

>As for cranky PA's i can't comment on that side..... but i guess if the
>people who are travelling on the trains (most of em either free or at
>concession), were to treat the PA's with a bit of respectand understanding,
>well maybe they may receive the same back... As for travelling by
plane.....
>well that costs money....  No travel  vouchers on them
>
Yes, but should they treat all passengers like crap because most of them
are? I pay full fare on CL services on the few occasions I use them so
should I also get treated like crap because I am stupid enough to use the
same services as the so-called low life who ride free or concession?