Re: Towards a better Passenger Service [WAS:Wonderful, Customer-Responsive GSR]

[Alex Borodin <alex.borodin@qrail.com.au>]

David Proctor wrote:

> > This is true. Rail isn't terribly affordable either. In fact, it's
> > more expensive than air travel for a private (non-concession) fare
> > if you take into account the amount of money people have to spend
> > on food and drinks when they are sitting on a train for 14 hours
> > from Brisbane to Sydney.
> 
> As opposed to the amount of money you would have had to spend on food and
> drink at shops in Sydney having arrived there 12 hours earlier, plus the
> exorbitant amounts charged for buses to and from the airport, eyc., etc.,

Well, soon they will have a rail link to the airport in Sydney, won't
they.

> > 5-00am, actually... we don't have daylight saving in summer. I don't
> > mind this
> > so much if I've got a sleeper on the way up so I'm nice and refreshed,
> > but 90% of the population can't afford to get a sleeper, and even if
> > they
> > could they wouldn't get one because there aren't enough of them.
> >
> 
> The early arrival is okay for passengers (although it can be a killer when
> they put the lights on an hour before arrival so you can have breakfast -
> why don't they just let us sleep!) The difficulty with the early arrival is
> for people meeting arriving passengers, and people travelling from Brisbane
> to Sydney. Brisbane's public transport is not the best (I lived there for
> 12 months without a car, so I am aware of all its shortcomings!),
> particularly on a Sunday morning. If you dont have a car, and you dont have
> anyone to drop you there, forget Sunday mornings.

This is true, but a cab in Brisbane won't break the bank and they pretty
much all speak english and can read a street directory.

> > > 3/They are slow,even the XPT is slow compared to the busses.
> >
> > That's true, but that's because the busses ignore recommended speed
> > limits and such like whereas trains pretty much follow them.
> 
> All busses are speed limited, and cannot exceed 100km/h. Anyway, who said

Yeah, but RECOMMENDED speed limits like the ones on tight corners on
the Pacific Highway? They're famous for being ignored.

> they were faster than the XPT? I checked with Dial-A-Coash, and the fastest
> bus from Sydney to Brisbane is 14hrs15mins (XPT - 13hrs36mins) and Sydney
> to Melbourne is 12hrs10mins (XPT - 10hrs23mins).

13hrs 36mins for the XPT between Brisbane and Sydney - maybe with a tail 
wind and lot of luck! Out of every 12 XPT trips I've taken, only 3
has been exactly on time (give or two 5 mins or so.) 25% on time
running!

-- 
 o Alex Borodin B.Eng(Hons)        o Queensland Rail  
 o Software and Systems Engineer   o Ph: +61-7-3235-2482   
 o Signal and Operational Systems  o Fax:+61-7-3235-2747
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