Re: Met Card machine for V/line?

[trambuff@hotmail.com (Daniel Gerrard)]

On Thu, 10 Dec 1998 01:21:58 GMT, thalytgv@my-dejanews.com wrote:

>
>
>Most V/line service are now don't requre reservation. I started to wonder if
>they going to replace manual selling tickets with ticket machines
>
>Indeed this would be logical as now most V/line service is just like any other
>met train (or tram) service, would they call "V/line card"? "Validates your
>V/line card please?"
>
>James "just in suspecious"
>
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The money that would need to be spent for the return would be
prohibative. I live on the Seymour line (Kilmore East) it is fairly
busy and even with the recent additions to service all trains are
packed. Even so, the station has (figures from an interview by local
paper of Station Master) 90 commuters a day. Compare that with the
Melbourne stations and the figures just don't add up for that sort of
capital investment. Also, our station has manual signals (almost 100
years old) and I think (am not sure) it also controls signals for
other nearby stations. To actually save the (24 hr) wage you would
have to replace them as well. This would cost $1m+ (Station Master
estimate) and increase unemployment in a marinal seat. Replicate these
sort of numbers across the state by (don't know how many, but it must
be a lot) sations and you end up many many many 100s of millions in
the red, with out it being able to give a return within a resonable
timeframe.