Re: Rail services return to Cooma

["David Bennetts" <davibenn@pcug.org.au>]

David Bradshaw <alkdrmc@ozemail.com.au> wrote in article
<3673614F.5739@ozemail.com.au>...
> For what reason was the Cooma line closed in the first place? It would
> appear to service a large area of Southern coastal NSW. 
> 
> Furthermore I understand a weekly train used to run to Cooma during the
> snow season - surely this (albeit seasonal) service would be a passenger
> drawcard, considering the drive and the nature of the roads to the snow
> (although admitadly a road journey is still required to get from Cooma
> to say Jindabyne.
> 

Passenger services were withdrawn because there were only a handful of
people using the service.  The daily DEB set service would typically carry
about half a dozen people in either direction.  With snow season services,
running one train each weekend for possibly eight weekends a year (now
there's no carriages to make up a train anyway) wouldn't help much. 
Freight lingered on for a few months on the line with a once a week
service, until one of the wooden bridges was condemned.
With virtually no passengers and no freight, there was really no reason to
spend millions on rebuilding life expired bridges.

David Bennetts
Canberra