Re: Gundagai - Last Use Of Line?

[ROY HOWARTH <rhowarth@tig.com.au>]

And bear in mind that on many of these branch lines, the intermediate 
stations (or halts) were situated nowhere near the towns they were meant 
to serve, and these stations were of a terribly rundown state. 

Also low patronage meant very infrequent services on antiquated, 
passenger-repellent rail motors or loco-hauled's (although the Junee - 
Griffith Budd railcars and were the only exception). As early as the 
1970's some lines reached the stage where railfans on NuRail passes were 
the only passengers! Many of these towns had moved on from the era of the 
"local mixed" and improvements in road transport meant many town were 
able to get by without the infrequent rail service, just as is the case 
today.

One benefit of the coaches was air-conditioned travel closer to the 
various town centres as well as other towns not previously served by 
rail. However, where State Rail went wrong was in maintaining their own 
fleet of road coaches. It made the Railways look like hypocrites. What 
they should have done instead was to contract the services out to local 
operators (which I think is the case today).

Roy H

>
>You cannot be serious! I, as much as anybody, like to see trains running
>instead of buses. However, you have to be realistic. There is no way that
>these branch lines could sustain a passenger service in this day and age. In
>the 1980's, 90's and beyond, there really is only a place for main-line
>services, and branch lines (as well as places that are not on the rail
>network) are definitely best serviced with coaches.
>
>Whilst the timetable mentioned above may be the "saddest" timetable, it is
>in no way the "worst" - in fact, replacing some of those branch lines with
>coaches, and thereby greatly reducing the amounts lost, they may have
>contributed to less cost-cutting than we have seen. This is certainly the
>opinion in Britain, where the Beeching era cuts, whilst drastic, are widely
>acclaimed to be what saved the railways from even more drastic closures.
>
>DaveP
>http://derek.jenkins.net/ozemail/index.html
>
>