Re: Capacity to handle humungous crowds

[pcc@ocean.com.au (Leslie Brown)]

"David Proctor" <daproc@bigfoot.com> wrote in aus.rail:

>
>Dave McL wrote in message <350DC580.6DD5@iprolink.co.nz>...
>
>>> Weekday rail traffic is roughly 1 million return journeys, say
>>>500,000 people (270 million per year, incl. Sat/Sun).  It seems to
>>>stretch the system
>>
>>Very impressive figures. Melbourne rail traffic is what?  About 100
>>million a year? Yet Melbourne has more rail lines than Sydney.
>
>
>Thats news to everyone - it depends what you define as a rail line.
>
>In terms of the numbers of lines and terminii, Melbourne does indeed have
>more lines - but in terms of the complexity of the system, Sydney is a much
>bigger system - two ways to get to Hornsby, three to get to Liverpool, four
>to Campbelltown, all of the cross-suburban links (Campbelltown - St Marys,
>etc)
>
>I dont think that ANYONE could honestly say that Melbourne has more than
>Sydney of ANYTHING when it comes to railways (except maybe level crossings).

Without wishing to sound parochial (something I really detest), as far
as an intensive service goes, Sydney is tops, as it is in complexity,
but, come on you guys, when it comes to running a service well -
didn't David Hill have to come back for 6 months just to get it sorted
out? I think Melbourne's service just works better.

One thing that Melbourne certainly has plenty of over Sydney is a more
potential for a really superb rail service.

Na-na-nya-nah

Les Brown