Re: [NSW] That infamous trackwork

["Dave Proctor" <daproc@sd5.mailbank.com>]

Ashley Wright <ajwright@spam.ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
381ec0ba.14952047@news.ozemail.com.au">news:381ec0ba.14952047@news.ozemail.com.au...

>   And what is your soloution to the problem?
>
> Do we not allow any track work and just patch it when a train comes
> off? Answer: Clearly not!

No.

> Do we only schedule track work in one area at one time? Answer: No you
> can only have so many people working in the same area at the same
> time. City Rail is a large network and needs to schedule work in
> multiple places as the same time to get it done! If not the
> maintenance doesn't get done and trains come off or have to go slow.

No. We schedule the trackwork at night. We do not consider residents who
live near the railway line. These people bought (or rented) houses close to
railway lines, they now have to put up with the consequences of that (trains
going past at all hours, trackwork at all hours).

>   Clearly City Rail choose two places on different lines which would
> minimise the number of people that needed to change like you did. They
> provided alternatives at no extra cost.

Some of those alternatives are bizarrely organised.

A few weeks back, I had plans to stay in the City overnight, so I did not
bother to check return times. However, something happened, and I had to
return home. I knew there was a train departing Sydney Central at 0009 (for
the Blue Mountains), and I arrived at Sydney Central at 2355.

BUT..... the bus to Blacktown had already left - it was scheduled to depart
at 2345 so that it would arrive in Blacktown in time to enable the Blue
Mountains train to leave Blacktown on time.

This is clearly silly. Casual users of the system (who do not go looking for
trackwork info on the website, and who *may* miss trackwork posters at the
stations) are only going to look at the timetable and plan their journeys
based on the info in the timetable. They should be able to turn up at 0005
for a service scheduled to depart at 0009 - if it has to, the connecting
train from Blacktown can run late. Better to run later than the advertised
timetable than early.

>They made it clear on their web site.

Not everyone checks the website - not everyone has net access.

>When I lived there at least they advertised on stations
> trackwork comming up.

Some stations are better than others. Penrith at the moment is WOEFUL. I
park my car on the northern side of the line, and as I haev a periodical
ticket, I do not need to go to platform 3 - but guess where all the
trackwork signs are? Platform 3. There are plenty of others in the same
situation.

> Advertising was always in places where it was
> hard to miss,

Not always these days.

> and they advised for lines other than that which passed
> through the station.

The posters are good these days - it has ALL the trackwork for the week on
it - it is not always available though.

--
DaveProctor
thadocta AT dingoblue.net.au