Re: Booked out Melb XPTs

["WhaleOilBeefHooked" <daproc@sd5.mailbank.com>]

David Bromage wrote in message <37AA2DDF.28D0476E@omni.com.au>...
>WhaleOilBeefHooked wrote:
>> Thenormal composition for an XPT is now 4 cars for Dubbo and 6 cars for
>> elsewhere.
>
>The "normal" consist is 2+5 and 2+7, sometimes reduced to 1+4 and 2+6
>during low traffic times.

Which is all year, apart from school holidays. When they run 2+5 or 2+7 for
only 14 weeks of the year, and run with one car less for the remaining 48
weeks, then "normal" is 2+4 or 2+6.

>> I have been informed that the limitation on inserting
>> extra cars beyond 7 is (apart from the lack of cars) the capacity of the
>> buffets. They simply would not be able to stock enough food and drink for
an
>> extra 68 people. The train would lose time on some stretchs, but would
catch
>> up on others sue to recovery time.
>
>The limit of 2+7 is imposed by the track alignments and gradients. a 2+8
>XPT would not be able to maintain the already tight schedules.

A 1+4 can maintain the schedule of the Dubbo XPT, and you would only have to
slightly rework the schedules to allow foor a 2+8 XPT. What does alignment
have to do with it anyway?

>Cheers
>GOD!

DaveP