Re: [Melb] Hillside Trains takeover: farce?

[Gareth Lumsden <s9763278@minyos.its.rmit.edu.au>]

On 23 Jul 1999, Paul Dwerryhouse wrote:

> MTE claims it will upgrade four stations to "premium" status (ie, it will 
> put the staff back at these stations for the whole day, and re-open the
> toilets), refurbish and improve waiting rooms and add 130 services per week.

Macleod, Surrey Hills, Bayswater?, and Mooroolbark.

> Now, let's see... 130 extra services per week. Let's be generous, and assume
> that all 130 services will be added on working days... that means 26 extra
> services a day. Now, divide this across five railway lines (Ringwood, 
> Glen Waverley, Hurstbridge, Epping, Alamein) ... that brings us to an
> average of 5 extra services a day per line.
> 
> Not much, is it? Probably doesn't even bring us back to the service levels that
> we had pre-Kennett.

There aren't any spare trains and drivers to run these extra services.
Regulars on the Ringwood lines would not be very familiar with the 16:53 &
17:09 Mooroolbark trains, as they are frequently (3+ days per week)
cann'ed.
More services on weekends mean more km's for more trains, more wear-&-tear
for more trains, more breakdowns for more trains, less 16:53 & 17:09
Mooroolbark trains.

> I would like to see a frequency of 3 minutes between trains in peak times and
> 10 minutes during non-peak times. Cut the trains in half, if need be, but
> do something about it. Smaller more-frequent trains are a much better 
> proposition than long trains with millennia between services...

Sorry Paul, but that won't happen in Melbourne - not enough population to
support it.  More and smaller trains is just not feasible either - more
dollars spent on driver's wages, and more wear-and-tear on trains.

Gareth.


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 Gareth Lumsden     s9763278@minyos.its.rmit.edu.au    glums112@yahoo.com
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