Re: ARTC Vic Train Control

[mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie Daly)]

In article <36b7782c.0@139.134.5.33> "Rod" <berlina@guvsucks.bigpond.com> writes:
>From: "Rod" <berlina@guvsucks.bigpond.com>
>Subject: Re: ARTC Vic Train Control
>Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 09:19:30 +1100


>Tony Gatt wrote in message <36B6C6E0.D042BA77@eisa.net.au>...
>>
>But there won't be. To travel from Tottenham B Box to Newport, the driver
>>> will have to call Centrol, who will then have to contact Adelaide for a
>>> Train Order.
>>
>>That sounds a bit far fetched to me. Why would centrol still exist if it is
>no
>>longer the train control centre?
>>If that was the case, they could just keep centrol and issue the train
>order
>>from there.
>>
>>I would be checking that out..
>>

>>Thanks, Tony.
>>
>>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>--
>Gidday Tony!
>                       might be some truth in it mate! Last several trips to
>Dynon on 9692 / 9691 have been bloody awful!
>Depart Wodonga Coal Sidings at 1210 hrs about 70 mins early and sit in
>Wodonga Loop till timetabled  departure time, then wait another 30 mins
>because a very late running Narc, is almost at Chiltern.
>Sit at McIntyre for 2 hours, because no roads available Nth Dynon. We
>normally try to get down to Melbourne before they put TNT together , or we
>sit at McIntyre till it departs. Train was bushwhacked here and they opened
>a couple of containers of Dog food , which cost me another hour! As I
>departed all these people started throwing stuff into the 5'3'', some were
>jumping off and others were trying to get on....???? Train Control was not
>helpful, in fact he deserved a kick up the arse or worse, his attitude was
>bloody awful!
>Made an official complaint to the Senior T.C. and was told it was all done
>in Adelaide now and it would get worse. Next day departed Dynon at 0450,
>again early and sat at Donnybrook for the XPT, and everything else that they
>could throw at me, including a  light 81. Could have got to Tallarook,
>without holding anybody up.
>       Seems to me that I don't want to work on this bloody job
>anymore...now where else can I make this sort of money............
>Rod ;-}


Part of the problem here is the divided train control , ie ARTCs controllers 
in Adelaide trying to run trains via another set of controllers in 59 Collins 
St.
Its very hard to make judgements about train operations in environments where 
there are a lot of trains movements when you cant directly see the trains on a 
diagram.
The problem is made worse by the requirement to share both BG and SG from Sth 
Dynon Jnct to West Footscray with both BG and SG trains and the two sets of 
fixed points at both ends of the double track , which impose a permanent speed 
restriction on BG trains.
A better solution which would speed up operations immensly would be to signal 
the dual guage tracks for both way running and then to permanantly run SG 
trains on the up track and BG trains on the down.
This removes both sets of fixed points and all that is left is a grade 
crossing at Sth Dynon Jnctn and at Totty Box.
It also separates to a large degree the BG and SG traffic in and out of 
Tottenham Yard.

And Rod , if you want to make a heap of money, just call yourself a Consultant 
and move to Canberra.
You dont need to know anything as the people who will be employing you dont 
know anything either.
You could even make some submissions to the Productivity Commissions enquiry 
on Rail reform which would immediately cause you to be known as a Railway 
expert.

cheers
MD