Re: Whale watching observations.

[Craig Haber <albatross@harnessnet.com.au>]

Michael Walker wrote:
<snip about Michael doing our Whale Watching day trip>

> POSITIVES
> - Excellent value for $25. I would recommend anyone wanting a brief day > trip to Warrnambool or couple of days taking it.
> - The phone service was good although some of the people in our > compartment complained of getting an answering machine and having to try > a couple of times to get through.

There are two staff dedicated to taking 'whale' bookings.  As luck has
it, you get periods where no phones ring, then you get all of them
ringing at once!  The answering machines are provided and request that
people leave their name and number, our staff call them back asap.

> NEGATIVES
> - The PA system is typically appalling. It was extremely difficult to
> understand what was said and was an annoying interruption rather than
> helpful. Having said that it was an unrefurbished carriage (BS201) and maybe
> in the newer carriages, a better PA system has been installed.

I accept that quality of PA's can be up and down.  I recognise that as a
day tour passenger you aren't really interested in most of the
announcements, but it's important to remember that we also have many
'roadside' travellers (ie, not going Melbourne-Warrnambool, just going a
section or so), so things like station stops, opening and closing of the
snack bar etc are essential.

> - The people in our compartment complained of not being able to sit with
> their friends despite reserving seats. Whilst I think they mistook booking
> seats/buying tickets with reserving seats, their point is valid. Perhaps WCR
> should consider reserving seats for small groups, especially in a tour
> situation such as this.

What we try to do is reserve compartments for groups of 6 or more (there
are 8 seats in a compartment).  Often passengers don't read the signs
that we put up, and people end up separated.  I accept that it's a
downside of a non-seat-booked train, but the pros outweigh the cons.

> - The information given seemed to be not quite accurate. The people in our
> compartment argued over whether the first, first 2 or first 3 carriages were
> set aside for whale tour people. They each spoke to somebody in authority
> and received totally different answers. In addition, despite the carriage
> being reserved for whale tour passengers, three people in our compartment
> got off at Geelong including a lady with a dog in a bag!

We always put day tour passengers at the front of the train.  The number
of carriages depends on the number of bookings.  The first 50 or so were
probably told the first carriage would be set aside.  The next 50 or so
were probably told the front two carriages etc. We put signs on the
train doors, and on the whiteboard at the top of the ramp at platform
7.  Unfortunatly, most passengers don't read them......one of the
hardest things when Conductoring is placing passengers where you want
them to be.  The best way is the lock the train doors, position the
passengers on the platform, then allow them on.  This is the way I board
the train at Warrnambool.  That way all the day-tour passengers board
the correct carriages, and non-day-tour passengers board other
carriages.  But it's much harder at Spencer St in the morning, you have
lots of things to do, and it's harder to control where passengers
board.  I once wrote on the whitboard "day tour passengers please board
the first carriage of the train", first meaning at the front of the
train.  I got about half of them in that carriage, and the other half
down in the First class carriage (at the far end of the train)!  Now I
write "front carriage" and it works much better :)  Still, I wouldn't
mind a dollar for every passenger who's asked me "is this the front of
the train?"  A lot of day tour passengers are once-a-year travellers,
it's very difficult to position all of them correctly on the train.

> QUESTIONS
> - When WCR first took over the service, I remember there being talk of
> having a dining car with all sorts of promises made of supporting the local
> food technology industry by using their products and almost showcasing them
> on the train. Was I hallucinating or what is the current status of this? 

The dining car (RMS2380, ex Southern Aurora) is currently under
restoration at Ballarat.

> - How hard would it be to run a Motorail service between Warrnambool and Melbourne?

Wouldn't be particularly hard, but I don't know what sort of costs we'd
be looking at (shunting, loading cars at Spencer St etc).  I'm a big fan
of motorail service, my family have used it a few times (to Mildura and
Adelaide), I think it's something which rail operators under value and
under-market.  It's certainly cheaper than hiring a car at your
destination!

> - Why do WCR charge $20 extra return on Mondays compared to the rest of the
> week? ($66.40 vs $46.40 return per person)

We use the standard V/Line pricing and ticketing.  For all inter-city
services (services beyond South Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Seymour,
Traralgon), Off-Peak saver tickets ($46.40) are available only on
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, returning on a Tues, Wed or Thurs
within 14 days.
The dearer fares also apply on Fridays, they have a 3 month return
availability.  They can be used on any train, any day of the week. 
There's all sorts of quirks in the ticketing system, this is just one of
them!  

> Am I being unreasonable, anyone like to comment?

Not at all, you're a passenger and it's our business to meet your
requirements.  It appears we've done that in some respects, and have
work to do in others.  Your post will be passed on and the points drawn
to the attention of those responsible.

Regards,
Craig
West Coast Railway.
-- 
Craig Haber
albatross@harnessnet.com.au
Manufacturing Systems Engineer (B. Eng, RMIT 1998)
Web Page Designer, Harness Racing, Railways, and Essendon Football Club
fanatic
http://www.harnessnet.com.au/