Re: NSW Tilt Train Proposals (2nd Posting)

[matthew@sleeper.apana.org.au (Matthew Geier)]

"David Proctor" <daproc@bigfoot.com> writes:

>It concerns the NSW Parliament examining the introduction of tilt trains on
>NSW Interurban routes.

 Some of the tunnels on the interurban routes ( im thinking of WoyWoy and
some of the Illawarra tunnels ) are just big enough to take the current
narrow bodied rolling stock.
 To stay within the loading guage the tilt trains would have to be
single deck, and even then the tilt locked off in the tunnels.
 Loading guage contraints on the rest of the interurban system would
pretty well mean the tilt EMU's would have to be single deck, so the
trains would have some what reduced capacity - you cant make them longer
as all the platforms are 8 cars long. Im not entirely sure a double deck
tilting train would work all that well anyway, certainly the centre of
gravity is to high.

 The only Interurban region that could benifit is the main south, which
runs at the most 4 car (single deck) DMU's. (The line is also very twisty)


 On top of that, the current 'near' interurban time tables are pretty
tight already, a faster train would just run up behind the slow one in
front of it, and since a single deck train represents a reduction in 
capacity, you are going to need two tilt trains for every double deck
EMU.

 Unless they can get a double deck tilting EMU, the capacity problems
would be made worse.

-- 
Matthew Geier,                 | Australian Public Access Network Association
matthew@sleeper.apana.org.au   | +61 2 9587 9773  
matthew@law.usyd.edu.au        |   018 977 356