Inner West Light Rail observations

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
matthewg
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by matthewg »

Tonymercury wrote:It looks like the wheelchair hump now actually matches the tram floor, which is more than can be said for any of the other stops.
The other stops used to be perfectly level but when the Varios got loaded, the doors dragged on the platforms, so they raised the suspension a little.
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jpp42
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by jpp42 »

Tram 2112 is running today with some sort of electrical problem - no aircon and only half the interior lights. Traction power seems normal though. Any idea what causes this?
matthewg
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by matthewg »

jpp42 wrote:Tram 2112 is running today with some sort of electrical problem - no aircon and only half the interior lights. Traction power seems normal though. Any idea what causes this?
One of the two auxiliary converters offline. The tram can run perfectly normally with only one auxiliary and they can 'run to end of diagram' in that condition. The 'house' loads are probably split more or less evenly between the two converters hence half the lights out.

As long as the 2nd converter doesn't fail they have 24v to keep all the control systems alive and the tram will drive more or less normally.

I imagine if there was a spare tram available, they would swap it over at the end of a trip. Car swaps have been observed to occur at Central in the past.
mandonov
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by mandonov »



Found this video from this past December.

Far too much waiting for traffic lights on Hay Street to cross minor streets. Also what's with the speed restrictions around John St Square and Wentworth Park?
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rogf24
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by rogf24 »

I think there are speed restrictions where ever there are points. There was also a speed restriction at near the Lewisham points when I was on it last week. It seems like Transdev doesn't know how run trams through points properly.
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boronia
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by boronia »

mandonov wrote:
Found this video from this past December.

Far too much waiting for traffic lights on Hay Street to cross minor streets. Also what's with the speed restrictions around John St Square and Wentworth Park?
I watched a couple of trams at Darling Drive today, An inbound tram arrived at the lights, and an outbound service arrived at the other side a few seconds later. When the T phase came around only the inbound tram got the light; the outbound tram had to sit there until the next cycle.
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mandonov
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by mandonov »

I find the forced wait at Darling Drive especially pointless. Even at peak hour it's very lightly used.

They don't even wait that long at Pitt Street, and it's the busiest intersection on the line now that George has been effectively shut.
Frosty
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by Frosty »

Darling Drive use to be busier but while the construction of the ICC Darling Drive was closed so often I guess traffic declined and traffic hasn't yet returned.
tonyp
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by tonyp »

TfNSW has finally published a timetable for IWLR after 20 years! Type "L1" into the search box and it will bring up a pdf tt:

https://transportnsw.info/timetables#/

It's no guarantee that the tram will be there at a given time of course, but at least it's a tacit admission that the service isn't actually "turn up and go".
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Fleet Lists
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by Fleet Lists »

20 years is a bit of an exaggeration as there was a timetable there until about three or four years ago
see https://web.archive.org/web/20131222033 ... index.page in December 2013 - unfortunately the link from there no longer works - By March 2014 the links were removed.

and tghe fact the timetable had been added back was already commented on the the thread concerning the major update to Transport Info last week http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewt ... &start=100
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Linto63
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by Linto63 »

Would be nice if the station displays could actually reflect when the next tram departs rather than arrives. Was at Central with the next tram shown as departing in 3 minutes. It duly arrived and them proceeded ECS pack to the depot. To the collective groan of many, the display then updated to show the next departure as 15 minutes.:evil: Same thing happens at Dulwich Hill where the display shows the tram as departing in 1 minute while it sits there for 10.
Frosty
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by Frosty »

Thats the feeling if you ever wait at a terminus i.e. Coogee or something and the bus is simply sitting there as your ready to go and the bus is timetabled to leave.
tonyp
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by tonyp »

Fleet Lists wrote:20 years is a bit of an exaggeration as there was a timetable there until about three or four years ago
see https://web.archive.org/web/20131222033 ... index.page in December 2013 - unfortunately the link from there no longer works - By March 2014 the links were removed.

and tghe fact the timetable had been added back was already commented on the the thread concerning the major update to Transport Info last week http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewt ... &start=100
The 2013 one must have been a flash in the pan that I missed as otherwise there hasn't been a tt since one was briefly released on opening in 1997. They've studiously avoided having one as a matter of policy because they could never get their timekeeping and also preferred to run trams on an "as needed" basis. I think TfNSW has spent a bit of time trying to bash the operation into shape in order to be confident enough to publish a timetable. Tram trips also weren't in the journey planner until a few years ago (about 2013?). They've also perhaps realised that their claims of "turn up and go" weren't being swallowed by the travelling public.
sunnyyan
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by sunnyyan »

^ Youtube video
Why is there a sign on the dash for Lilyfield right side only? I did notice when I was on a Vario a few years ago the driver briefly opened the doors at Lilyfield on the left side, before closing them again.
user13548
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by user13548 »

sunnyyan wrote:^ Youtube video
Why is there a sign on the dash for Lilyfield right side only? .
A reminder for the centre platform.
Glen
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by Glen »

Airvan00 wrote:
sunnyyan wrote:^ Youtube video
Why is there a sign on the dash for Lilyfield right side only? .
A reminder for the centre platform.
It's the only stop where drivers have to open the right side doors, so could be easy to forget by habit.
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jpp42
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by jpp42 »

Besides the signs, they have installed a cover for the button that opens the right side doors, which has some sort of electronics that only opens the cover when approaching Lilyfield. Pretty fancy setup for what seems like a small issue.
tonyp
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by tonyp »

jpp42 wrote:Besides the signs, they have installed a cover for the button that opens the right side doors, which has some sort of electronics that only opens the cover when approaching Lilyfield. Pretty fancy setup for what seems like a small issue.
Perhaps some passengers don't like doing faceplants into a sandstone wall.

It's not a minor issue when it happens out in the centre lane of traffic - that challenge will be coming up for CSELR. What happens when you think it's a railway and breach the basic tramway design principle of nearside platforms.
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by Frosty »

They manage it in Melbourne with a mix of safety zones, kerb side stops and platform stops. Maybe we should take care when getting off. Sadly common sense doesn't exist today.
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jpp42
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by jpp42 »

tonyp wrote:
jpp42 wrote:Besides the signs, they have installed a cover for the button that opens the right side doors, which has some sort of electronics that only opens the cover when approaching Lilyfield. Pretty fancy setup for what seems like a small issue.
Perhaps some passengers don't like doing faceplants into a sandstone wall.

It's not a minor issue when it happens out in the centre lane of traffic - that challenge will be coming up for CSELR. What happens when you think it's a railway and breach the basic tramway design principle of nearside platforms.
How do regular railway guards/drivers (in e.g. Melbourne) avoid opening the doors on the wrong side? I've never heard of that being a problem, and railway platforms are certainly varied in what side they're on.

Doesn't Melbourne's light rail, e.g. the St Kilda line, also have varying platform types?
tonyp
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by tonyp »

jpp42 wrote: How do regular railway guards/drivers (in e.g. Melbourne) avoid opening the doors on the wrong side? I've never heard of that being a problem, and railway platforms are certainly varied in what side they're on.

Doesn't Melbourne's light rail, e.g. the St Kilda line, also have varying platform types?
Wrong side door openings happen on both modes (in San Francisco somebody once fell to their death from a train at a viaduct station) but there's an increasing use of software (= more costs) that "remembers" the route and of course we all know computers can be totally trusted?). Melbourne's light rail lines have side platforms but they've been forced against their will to use centre islands on some street routes. I think some of these have a fence on the outside of the track which is about the only other precaution they can take against a driver error.
moa999
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by moa999 »

Doesn't need to be software. Could do it with old school loops
tonyp
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by tonyp »

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-commut ... wntil.html

Sydney commuters bear brunt of overcrowded trams on inner west light rail

Matt O'Sullivan

Commuters face a frustrating wait before they get relief from chronic overcrowding on trams on Sydney's inner west light rail line during peak travel periods.

Passengers say the crowding is a "nightmare" during peak periods despite the introduction of an extra 90 weekly services last year on the 12.8-kilometre line from Central Station to Dulwich Hill.

A quirk from the time of paper tickets means some commuters are unwittingly paying to travel further than the actual distance of their trip.
And the most recent government statistics show the number of passengers using the light rail line surged by 59 per cent to 9.73 million in the 12 months to June last year.

Transport for NSW, the government agency charged with oversight of the networks, said it would continue to monitor passenger numbers on the inner west line but declined to say whether it planned to boost tram services during peak periods.

The agency said it put on an additional 107 services during off-peak periods on weekdays and on Saturdays in January as part of a trial.

"This trial is due to conclude at the end of June and the data gathered will help to guide the development of future service delivery requirements," it said.

The introduction of an extra 90 services early last year led to trams running every eight minutes during peak periods instead of every 10 minutes. The afternoon peak was also extended by an hour to 7pm.

Patronage has soared since a 5.6-km extension of the line to Dulwich Hill in the inner west was opened in early 2014. The line carried about 4 million passengers a year before the extension.

Lex Wills, a commuter who works as a contractor at Pyrmont in the inner west, said more services were needed because trams were regularly packed at Central Station during peak periods on west-bound journeys, making it difficult for people to get on at other stops along the line.

"There is not only no standing room – there is no breathing room. It is an absolute nightmare," he said. "I try to avoid it at peak hour."

Lane Cove resident Dinah Cota said the crowding had worsened in the past few months, and she often chose to walk to work at Pyrmont instead of taking trams.

"It is not too rare to come here [at Central] and see a crowd of people waiting and waiting [for trams]," she said.

The demand for light rail underscores the pressure on public transport across Sydney from a growing population. Patronage on Sydney Trains' network has risen by 10 per cent over the past year, resulting in overcrowding at peak travel periods.

The public transport network is especially stretched during spells of wet weather.

ALTRAC, a consortium of four companies building a $2.1 billion light rail line from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kensington in the city's south east, operates the inner west light. Construction of sections of the new line in the central city has been dogged by delays, raising the ire of retailers.

Meanwhile, the government has shortlisted three groups – Laing O'Rourke Australia, CPB Contractors-John Holland, and Lendlease – to build new platforms for a metro train line and a major new walkway at Central Station.

The contract for the work at Australia's busiest railway station is due to be awarded early next year.
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jpp42
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by jpp42 »

I've noticed that during the shut down this week, a few trams are parked on the main lines near Convention station. They appear to have a security guard stationed at the station too, perhaps to protect them from graffiti. Is this because there's no other stabling space, or is there other work being done that prevents them from stabling elsewhere?
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jpp42
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Re: Inner West Light Rail observations

Post by jpp42 »

The light rail bus route being used for this shutdown is not very convenient departing Central, running via the colonnade then Pitt, Campbell, Elizabeth, Eddy Ave, George St, Ultimo Rd, then Darling Dr. Interesting that Google Maps has been programmed with the bus route. Can anyone think of any better ways this could operate?
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