NSW Railway Observations 2020

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
Stonesourscotty
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Stonesourscotty »

I observed Graffiti removal on the line yesterday outside St Marys Station yesterday don't normally see this during the day??
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by boxythingy »

Looks like they only do it when passenger numbers are low, I also witnessed drenched floors during the daytime over the weekend presumably from the same type of cleaning. Otherwise look at how wet passengers could get:
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Frodo »

Many BMT and CCN line services this afternoon peak are 4 carriages only due to what I calculate as 5-6 8-car sets being unavailable due to "an operational issue at Flemington Maintenance Centre" - anyone know what this may have been?
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by boronia »

Derailment or points failure in the yard?
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by boronia »

Question for Sydney Trains people:

While browsing through the Railsafe DRK Diagrams the other other day, I got to Villawood and noticed in the instructions that Down trains terminating at the station could reverse and return to Chester Hill via the Down Relief Line. But the diagram doesn't show any Down Relief Line.

I'm guessing this line was removed as part of the SSFL project; but the instructions haven't been updated?
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Stonesourscotty »

How long have Oscars been stored at Penrith for?
It appears to be a dailly occurance again?
Do any run in service west of Blacktown?
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by boronia »

I think this happened last year while they doing some work around Blacktown sidings?
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Scott4570 »

Currently, under normal arrangements, 4 x 8H sets are Tabled to Stable at Blacktown Weekdays, between the Peaks, as follows:-
Run 286: Car Sidings 0858 hours - 1632 hours
Run 287: Up Loop 0916 hours - 1531 hours
Run 288: Car Sidings 0946 hours - 1617 hours
Run 289: Car Sidings 1001 hours - 1602 hours

Currently, under normal arrangments, no OSCAR sets are Tabled to run beyond Blacktown.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Scott4570 »

boronia wrote:Question for Sydney Trains people:

While browsing through the Railsafe DRK Diagrams the other other day, I got to Villawood and noticed in the instructions that Down trains terminating at the station could reverse and return to Chester Hill via the Down Relief Line. But the diagram doesn't show any Down Relief Line.

I'm guessing this line was removed as part of the SSFL project; but the instructions haven't been updated?
Someone in the Department will pick this up as an Error, and it should be amended in a future version.

Maybe one of the Crew Training Schools will run to Villawood and Terminate a Train there, and possibly realise the DRKD is incorrect.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Scott4570 »

Frodo wrote:Many BMT and CCN line services this afternoon peak are 4 carriages only due to what I calculate as 5-6 8-car sets being unavailable due to "an operational issue at Flemington Maintenance Centre" - anyone know what this may have been?
According to some information received, a C set derailed in FMC on Tuesday, May 12. Not confirmed, possibly set C10.
Set C10 consist: 3587, 4253, 4270 (ex C4), 3604 (ex C4).
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Re: Private Bus Observations 2020

Post by Stonesourscotty »

Another two Oscars at Penrith today definitely arrived today as nothing was stored there yesterday.Image

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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Aurora »

OSCAR day stable at Penrith due to the normal road at Blacktown required for other purposes.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Fleet Lists »

I believe all services returned to normal on the Blue Mountains line as from yesterday.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by tonyp »

Looking for any excuse they can not to rebuild the South Coast line:
Illawarra Mercury, MAY 25 2020 - 8:30AM
A faster South Coast rail service of limited benefit, says new report

Glen Humphries

Faster services between Wollongong and Sydney would benefit commuters already on the train, but wouldn't lead to more people jumping on board, a new report claims.
While the South Coast rail line to Sydney is one of the most sensible in terms of an upgrade, its benefits have been overstated - and improving connections within Sydney would have a bigger pay-off.

The Grattan Institute analysis also poured water on the long-held dreams of high-speed rail along the east coast, saying it's not realistic and a waste of money.

The Fast Train Fever report found the Wollongong-Sydney commuter line ranked third out of all regional lines when it came to the number of passengers, with more than 19,000 commuters.

Only regional lines in the Gold Coast (28,528 commuters) and the NSW Central Coast (25,059) were higher.

The report found that upgrades to the South Coast line and the Gold Coast "would lead to the most feasible commutes".

But the report opposed several commonly-held ideas, including that a one-hour commute to Sydney would see more people catching the train.

While those already on the train would benefit from a faster service, those driving to Sydney would likely continue to do so.

"Most metropolitan jobs aren't in the CBD. In Sydney and Melbourne, about 15 per cent of jobs are in the CBD," the report stated.

"That dispersion of jobs explains in large part why most people drive to work. While most CBD commuters take public transport, most commuters to anywhere else in the city drive to work.

"It's the same for regional commuters. Most work in the suburbs, not the CBD. And people who are commuting from regional cities are only taking public transport if they work in the CBD."

The NSW government's planned rail upgrades for the South Coast line are aimed at moving towards a 60-minute trip. The Grattan report noted that would be equal to if not better than the CBD commute from some of Sydney's outer suburbs.

Improving those outer Sydney services would be more beneficial than upgrades to the South Coast line, the report found.

"Because of the numbers of people affected, improving outer-suburban public transport and suburban black-spots can make commuting to jobs beyond the local area more feasible for a much larger number of people than regional rail renovations," the report stated.
In view of this, one has to ask what is the sense of extending the parallel motorway, that competes with the railway, towards the Sydney CBD. I have long held the view that the M1 south should be diverted at Heathcote across to Alfords Point and then on to connect with the ring road system at Padstow (M5). This would get the car commuters more centred on the metropolis to distribute across it than pushing it east towards Newtown. But there's always some other agenda .....

My evolving answer for the Wollongong rail commute is a metro (rapid transit) line. Think about it. Wollongong is about the same distance from Sydney as Mandurah is from Perth. The train takes 50 minutes to Mandurah with ten stops. An underground line would, not only be able to obtain a more direct route, but holds out the possibility of bypassing the geotechnical issues that bedevil the possibility of straightening the south coast line (put the tunnel under the seashore from Royal National Park to Thirroul, east of the mines and the scree slope). Such a line could go through the Cronulla peninsula on the way - indeed it could be an extension of a converted ESR and Airport line. Enough visions for today!

Do I hear somebody mention seats? Seats per hour again. When the NIF comes along we are facing a reduction in seating compared to the existing trains, with a general inability to run trains at better than 30 minute headways.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Linto63 »

tonyp wrote: IMy evolving answer for the Wollongong rail commute is a metro (rapid transit) line. Think about it. Wollongong is about the same distance from Sydney as Mandurah is from Perth. The train takes 50 minutes to Mandurah with ten stops. An underground line would, not only be able to obtain a more direct route, but holds out the possibility of bypassing the geotechnical issues that bedevil the possibility of straightening the south coast line (put the tunnel under the seashore from Royal National Park to Thirroul, east of the mines and the scree slope).
And how many tens of billions would that cost? This is pipe dream stuff.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by Stonesourscotty »

B3 appears to be on a Tangara diagram

MTPV1 is on the Fast lines City Bound @ Seven Hills currently.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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https://transportnsw.info/news/2020/rai ... al-service
Rail services on the western line return to normal service
Tuesday 26 May 2020

The state’s western rail line will be fully operational from Saturday 30 May after crews worked more than 150,000 man hours to rebuild the track infrastructure from extensive damage caused by bushfires and flooding.

The restoration of the line through the Blue Mountains would allow Intercity services to Lithgow to resume and ensure the freight industry can keep goods moving.

More than 200 employees worked to replace more than 50 kilometres of fibre optic cables and 37km of high voltage power lines damaged in the fires.

Seventy-five power poles, a signal control hut, a substation and thousands of small pieces of safe-working systems were also destroyed in the fire. The high-voltage power supply had to be rebuilt, and more than 540 dead or severely burned trees have been removed.

A limited number of passenger and freight services resumed on 20 January, but electric passenger trains like the Intercity services were unable to operate until further repairs to the 25-kilometre rail corridor between Mount Victoria and Lithgow had been made.

The fully operational western line will allow for the return of recreational travel in NSW, along with essential travel for commuters and school children.
Bus replacement services appear to have ceased since last Friday which was confirmed by https://www.railexpress.com.au/full-sch ... tern-line/
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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https://transportnsw.info/news/2020/new ... rst-bullet
New Tarana bus service connects Oberon residents with Bathurst Bullet
NSW Trainlink staff and customer before boarding the coach
Tuesday 26 May 2020

A new bus service will make it easier for Oberon residents to connect to the Bathurst Bullet train service at Tarana.

The new service will begin on Monday 1 June, replacing the Oberon to Mount Victoria coach service which ended on Sunday 24 May.

This new service will run five days a week, making life easier for those who need to travel to and from Sydney. Opal card readers are installed at Tarana Station making it easier to join train services into Sydney and take advantage of cheaper tickets traveling from Tarana instead of Mount Victoria along with other Opal travel benefits.

The new Oberon service will connect at Tarana with the second Bathurst Bullet which departs at 8.07am and arrives into Sydney at 11.19am.

The return train departs Sydney at 3.05pm and arrives at Tarana 6.14pm and the bus will then depart Tarana at 6.30pm arriving in Oberon by 7pm.

The Bathurst Bullet will operate to slightly revised times on Wednesdays due to the pre-existing Indian Pacific timetable, departing Sydney at 3.57pm and arriving at Tarana at 7.05pm and the bus service to Oberon is altered to take this into account.

If you need to travel between 24 May and 1 June please call the NSW TrainLink Contact Centre on 13 22 32.

You can now plan your trip or book tickets for the new coach service.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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Does anyone know if the Oberon to Mount Victoria trips being replaced relate to trips 552, 553, 554, 555, 556, 557 and 558 which are in the full Western timetable?
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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I dont think the trip finder caters for this as yet.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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From SMH 28/05/2020:
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$100m Redfern station upgrade to start late this year
URBAN GROWTH

Matt O’Sullivan
City editor

A $100 million upgrade to Redfern train station, one of Sydney’s busiest, is due to start by the end of this year and be completed by mid-2022, more than a year later than originally planned.

The plans for a southern concourse involve construction of a six-metre wide walkway over the busy rail lines, linking the east and west sides of the station. New lifts and stairs will give commuters access to platforms one to 10, ensuring the station meets accessibility standards.

A new entrance will be built at Little Eveleigh Street on the western side, and an entrance upgraded on the other side at Marian Street. Little Eveleigh Street will become a shared zone for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles with a 10 kilometre an hour speed limit.

An environmental report for the project, released yesterday, shows construction is due to start late this year or early 2021 and be completed within 18 months. The government had originally planned for it to start in late 2019 and be finished by the end of this year.

Roadworks in Little Eveleigh Street will take place over a ninemonth period, occurring during the longer construction of the southern concourse to reduce disruption to residents.

The upgrade is aimed at ensuring Redfern can handle more passengers and meets accessibility standards after years of refusals by successive governments to upgrade the heritage-listed station. Funding will come from the government’s transport access program.

The station had a lift installed in 2015 but it serves two of its 12 platforms. A new entrance to the station on the corner of Gibbons and Lawson streets was opened in 2018.

Before the coronavirus lockdown, about 70,000 passengers a day were using the station. The government forecasts about 100,000 pedestrians to use the new southern concourse each day by 2036 because of a large increase in people living, working and studying nearby.

Conversion of the TNT buildings into residential apartments has been under way, as is construction of a 24-storey tower for student accommodation by the Aboriginal Housing Company at The Block.

The station acts as a ‘‘transport gateway’’ to the nearby Sydney University campus, Carriageworks and the $1 billion Australian Technology Park, where Commonwealth Bank was relocating thousands of staff.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the upgrade would ensure all customers, including those with limited mobility, could safely and easily access the station.

‘‘Station entries on Little Eveleigh and Marian Streets will make it easier for customers to get from platforms to streets and shared zones,’’ he said.

Residents’ main concern about the design of the southern concourse has been that it will funnel thousands of commuters every day onto Little Eveleigh and Marian streets, making them congested.

Several of the options for the upgrade considered bypassing Little Eveleigh Street via an ‘‘aerial walkway’’. However, these were dropped because of factors such as longer distances for commuters to walk from platforms to nearby streets.

The proposal is subject to final planning approval by the Department of Planning.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

Post by lunchbox »

REDFERN STATION.....
If readers spot any problems with the Redfern Southern Concourse proposal, (^^^^^^^^) I'd like to hear about them. Submissions responding to the EIS close Wednesday 24 June 2020.
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Re: NSW Railway Observations 2020

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