Re: 20 mins to get from Parliament to Flinders St (the short way!)

[cmgord@ecr.mu.oz.au (Christopher_Martin GORDON)]

: Half the time though, you would be stuck in the Northern Loop for anywhere
: between 5 and 25 minutes waiting a clear platform at Flinders Street. Got
: pretty boring looking at dark concrete, at least you can watch the world
: moving on the viaduct, even if you aren't. To be honest, I think it makes a
: joke of the platform rationalisation at Flinders Street - unless something
: is done to improve train through-flow, it just means the trains have less
: platforms to go to and hence longer queues. As if they aren't long enough
: now.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]

I currently have exams at the Showgrounds and Catch a Train to Flinders
Street and change to a Broadmedows train, for newmarket and catch a tram
or walk.  I don't like going through the back streets of North Melbourne
on the tram.

Any way the last couple of exams I have caught the 7:49 train from Flinders
Street I usaly get there about 10 minutes before and in Platform 4 a direct
train will arrive from Richmond, this will sit here for about 10 minutes to
change directions, in Platform 5 is the train for North Melbourne, the time
I have been there the train leaves platfrom 5 about 1-2 minutes late.  While
the train is leaving the next train is waiting in the loop for platform 5.
This trin in the loop waits a long time after the other train has cleared the
platform to get going.

I think the following is needed to improve the northern loop service:
* A crossover into Platfrom 6, (like there was)
* Less time for the direct train in platfrom 4 (maybe go to another platfrom,
just not 12, like it does at the moment)
* Trains to leave on time, instead of the drivers talking for an extra 1-2
minutes
* better signalling so the train in the loop can start moving sooner.
                
--
Chris Gordon
..............................................
  email - cmgord@ecr.mu.oz.au
  http://www.ecr.mu.oz.au/~cmgord
..............................................