Re: No Express Service on CityRail compared to TransAdelaide

[Eddie Oliver <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au>]

Albert Alcoceba wrote:

> 
> The problem in those times and right through to the early 80's was
> that just about every train departing the city in the afternoon peak
> had a different stopping pattern.  Apparently this led to confusion
> and made it hard to memorise timetables.  This applied on the Western
> and Liverpool lines as well.

True.

There is no doubt that "memory" timetables are a great asset
(marketing-wise and for passenger convenience) during off-peak periods.
However I am yet to be convinced that they are better during peak
periods than non-memory timetables optimised in other ways. For instance
if you need more trains (and more express trains) between (say) 4.30 and
5.30 pm than you do between 3.30 and 4.30 or between 5.30 and 6.30, then
a memory timetable over the whole of the period 3.30 - 6.30 is forced to
be inefficient in some respects, and moreover peak hour travellers
typically have a routine where they quickly learn the part of the
timetable which really affects them.

Eddie