Re: No Express Service on CityRail compared to TransAdelaide

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

I'm glad someone brought this up. The stopping patterns on Cronulla 
peak-hour trains are a joke, and it's time something was done.

The main reason all trains stop at Kogarah is because St George Bank 
picked up part of the tab for the station upgrade a few years ago, and 
naturally, wanted a return on their investment (hell, they even wanted 
Sth Coast V-sets to stop there, but thankfully, there are limits to 
folly). 

That all trains stop at Rockdale is due to this being in the former 
Transport Minister Langton's electorate (this practice started in the 
twilight of Langton's political career). This in itself is lunacy in peak 
hours as trains from Cronulla are already overcrowded and Rockdale is 
already adequaltely served by trains from Waterfall & Sutherland.

I also recall typical peak-hour stopping patters in the single-deck days 
(pre July, 1980) being....
Redfern, Sydenham, Jannali all to Cronulla
Redfern, Tempe, Hurstville, Mortdale, Jannali all to Cronulla..
to name a few. Interestingly, quite a few Cronulla expresses stopped at 
Erskineville & St Peters then.

What this means is that peak-hour trains to Cronulla today are 
considerably slower now than when served by 50-year old rolling stock 
(wouldn't the media love that little gem!)...

Roy H