Re: [NSW] Sydney Airport railway (with rave)

["Bill McNiven" <wmcniven@gunzel.ozemail.com.au>]

torpanint wrote in message (to misc.trainsport.rail.australia-nz) ...
>Could someone please tell me when the airort rail link will be
>operational.Secondly, i had an unfortunate disagreement wiyh someone over
>the fact that this will terminate at Central.I remember readig that this
>line will go around the city circle..please advise.
>The follow up is line coming out on the eastern side of sydney yard ...how
>is it planned to get the city circle connected ...cross existing traffic?
>--
>Erika<torpan@yahoo.com>
>See the home page at<www.torpan.com>
>Manly.Sydney,Australia


Operational around April 2000.

The junctions that have been constructed on the site of the former Prince
Alfred Sidings are
DOWN -- the Illawarra line no longer exists through Flying Junctions;  the
Airport line branches from the down Illawarra Local and climbs into the
tunnel portal in the park, then heads south under George Street, Redfern.

UP -- the Illawarra line no longer exists through Flying Junctions; the
Airport line climbs from the portal to join the former Illawarra line
alignment on top of Flying Junctions (with a new Up Airport to Up Illawarra
Local crossover so Airport trains have a choice of platforms 20 and 21).

The only reasonable destination for a train from the Airport is Circular
Quay via St. James, continuing back to Central and then on to any
destination other than the Airport.  Similarly, a train to the airport has
to originate anywhere but the Airport so as to traverse the City Outer to
reach platforms 22/23.

The crossover on the Museum side of platforms 20-23 appears to have been
converted to operation from Sydney Box (there's a brand-new shunting signal
labelled SY359).  I *guess* this is for emergency working only.

The tunnel to platform 15 in Sydney Yard is part of the Sydney / Canberra
Speedrail proposal ... nothing has been built yet.

<rave>

In another place, a writer asked why the junction arrangements did not use
the partly constructed "dives" from the Illawarra Line at Wells Street to
the disused platform space between Redfern platforms 10 and 11, and then
head south under Wyndham Street.  The only explanation I have heard is the
one given my mother at a PR display for the new railway:  "We didn't want to
go through Redfern Station because there are always train delays there!".
(I wonder whether "train delays" was code for "indigenous citizens"?)

There are two interesting consequences of the junction arrangements as they
have been built:

First, when RSA/CityRail decide to run trains one-way around the City Circle
(which currently seems to be four nights a week and every second weekend),
Airport trains will have to terminate at Platforms 20/21 or start at
Platforms 22/23.  Look forward to a Jumbo-load of non-English-speaking (and
non-CityRail-speaking) backpackers happily and obligingly trooping from one
platform to the other at Central every quarter hour!

Second, it is difficult to have dedicated rolling stock for a Circular
Quay - Airport - Turrella service.  At the very least, a train from the
Airport has to run Central - Quay - Illawarra Junction (reverse) - Quay -
Central to get back to the Airport.  More likely, they will run to Liverpool
or Campbelltown or Bankstown and back as part of integration into the
existing timetable.

"Standard" Sydney double-deckers are not really designed for trainloads of
people with luggage.  Indeed, any double-decker spells troubles for people
with the usual international airline luggage.  The "G" sets have token
luggage racks, but don't really resemble the dedicated rolling stock
provided on the Heathrow Express.

The track design rules out a dedicated fleet, so what we'll get in terms of
Airport rapid transit is something as tacky and aged as the Boston Blue
Line, as cramped as the Baltimore LRVs, with the unique complication of
being double-decked with narrow stairways!

</rave>
Rgds

Bill