RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Sent to all outlets:

5th August 2019

The disconnect between Queensland Government spin and reality - a good example

Greetings,

In a Media Statement ' Yandina Industrial Estate almost sold out ' 3rd August 2019 http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2019/8/3/yandina-industrial-estate-almost-sold-out the Honourable Cameron Dick Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning points out that " Yandina Industrial Estate is 124 km from the Port of Brisbane, 19.6 km from Sunshine Coast Airport, 8.5 km from Nambour Central Business District and 1.7 km from Yandina railway station. "

Does Mr Dick know that Yandina railway station only has two trains per day inbound and outbound?  And these are at times generally not useful for workers at the estate. The rail service between Nambour and Gympie North is lacking, it is an appalling level of service.  We have long campaigned for improved services between Nambour and Gympie North ( e.g. > https://www.facebook.com/RAILBackOnTrack/posts/2419454511402055 ).

Hopefully Mr Dick's good news about the Yandina Industrial Estate might help to get some decent rail services north of Nambour.

Best wishes,

Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

There is also an industrial estate to the north of Yandina, including home to The Ginger Factory (Buderim Ginger), a tourist attraction.  Many jobs are created at the Yandina Industrial Estate - now almost sold out - and the Yandina North Industrial Precinct.  This gives an example of the type of businesses at Yandina, all substantial employers.

https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/for-sale/yandina-qld-4561/industrial-warehouse

In addition to industrial land being almost sold out at Yandina, the next state-controlled industrial estate further north is Nandroya Industrial Estate, Cooroy, and it is sold out too!  https://industrial.edq.com.au/?name=Nandroya-Industrial-Estate

That industrial estate is 2.4km from the Cooroy Railway Station.

Quote from: Stillwater on August 04, 2019, 20:33:02 PM
bus stop at caravan park/industrial estate - 631 and 630

Different industrial estate, the one referred to above is Industrial Place on the eastern side of the Bruce Hwy. Currently 631 doesn't go near it, and going near it looks rather difficult. Maybe an indented bus bay could be put on the roundabout that leads on to Paulger Flat Rd, it could be used both north and southbound, and passengers wouldn't have to cross a busy road, but it would add a few minutes to what is already quite a long route.

https://industrial.edq.com.au/?name=Yandina-Industrial-Estate

The bus stop is shown in the 631 and 630 timetable as "Old Bruce Hwy at Yandina Caravan Park, Yandina".  That serves the industrial estate near the Yandina cemetery, but not the one on the north side of town or on the other side of the highway, on the road to Coolum.

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 6th August 2019 page 17

Hoping announcement means decent services

Sent to all outlets:

29th August 2019

Improving rail services between Gympie North and Nambour

Good Morning,

We note that yesterday's evening rail service to Gympie North was terminated at Nambour, and there is no morning rail service today from Gympie North.

https://www.facebook.com/139321872752848/posts/2732970443387965/

QuoteSUNSHINE COAST LINE: Customers, please be advised that Thursday morning's 5.56am inbound service from Gympie North will be required to be replaced by buses from Gympie North to Nambour due to a rostering issue.

This is a flow on impact from the partial cancellation of this evening's 5.49pm Central to Gympie North service, which was also required to be serviced by buses between Nambour and Gympie North.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these alterations and will be online from 6am Thursday morning to assist with any queries.

We renew our call for rail shuttles be introduced between Gympie North and Nambour.  This would provide a local transport connection and would overcome the gross unreliability of the present Gympie North rail services. See the article below for more detail.

Best wishes,

Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
(07) 3437 8254   0412255927
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org
13 Storr Circuit
Goodna Qld  4300

The Cooroora Connect February 2019 page 15

More trains please, as station works proceed

They pay tax too! Maybe the entire region should ask for a land tax reduction because no decent rail!

Quote from: #Metro on August 29, 2019, 08:34:59 AM
They pay tax too! Maybe the entire region should ask for a land tax reduction because no decent rail!

Most Queenslanders don't pay land tax anyway, so not sure it'd help the majority of residents.

Some comments by Noosa Shire residents about using trains from Cooran, Pomona and Cooroy stations... poor frequency and unreliability means that people are having to stay overnight in Brisbane if a train breaks down, or (as increasingly is the case), people in towns north of Nambour drive there to catch a train:

Manda Keane: I try to use the train for training in Brisbane but the times make it a bit awkward and often mean I need to go the day before and pay for accommodation. Then coming home the train has often broken down or been delayed and I get home quite late. Also with young kids the limited times don't make it easy to use for casual weekend trips. I am not complaining, just sharing my experience. I still appreciate that we have a service at all. I like using the train.

Jenny Ryland: Shuttle trains are a must for our part of the world. I drive to Nambour to get the Brisbane train.

This further comment from the Facebook page for the new Pomona Station makes for some interesting reading:

"I have been using the Woombye Station lately just because of the lack of suitable trains at Pomona at the time I need them so was a bit surprised at having to use only one door at Pomona."

Firstly, commuters from north of Nambour are driving to hinterland stations on the Sunshine Coast to catch the train.

Secondly, the reference to there being but one door available for passengers to get on and off at the lovely long Pomona Station platform has to do with the placement of doors at the ends of the carriages on ICE trains. The platform curvature means that the doors a just that little bit further away from the platform. The guard supervises the entry and egress to trains at Pomona Station whenever ICE trains operates, which is nearly always.

All the more reason for replacement trains (and for shuttles, of course).

Sunday timetable will operate on Monday, a public holiday, except that QR has put up signs announcing that there will be a 'special' morning GympieLander running to Brisbane as per normal weekdays, setting off at 5.51am (off-peak for travellers touching on at Gympie North Station).

That's great.
A lovely improvement by Queensland Rail, TransLINK and the State Govt.
Here's to more improvements to make #publictransport great again.

Quote from: Fares_Fair on October 03, 2019, 13:48:09 PM
That's great.
A lovely improvement by Queensland Rail, TransLINK and the State Govt.
Here's to more improvements to make #publictransport great again.

Not to be negative, but this isn't an improvement, this has been standard operating procedure for Monday (possibly all?) public holidays for quite some time.

The Sunday timetable has two trains going from Brisbane to Gympie (at 11:59am and 5pm), and one going from Gympie to Brisbane (at 3:47pm), with the 11:59am train forming the 3:47pm train. If you don't have a 5:51am service from Gympie to Brisbane, you end up with two trains 'stuck' up there - one from Sunday night, and one from Monday (Sunday timetable) night.  Either a train has to dead run all the way back to Brisbane, or an extra service is run.

Noted, thank you.
A logistics based improvement.
As you say, they could have dead run it.
Thank you James. 

Quote from: Arnz on October 07, 2019, 23:58:52 PM

Quote from: achiruel on October 07, 2019, 08:04:15 AM
Honestly, until a reliable ATP-equipped set can be rostered for Gympie North services, I think QR needs to bite the bullet and roster three crew. Will it cost money? Yes, but the alternative is to destroy what little confidence the travelling public still have in the service. Sure, supplement the existing two trains daily with rail-buses, but I think eliminating the trains entirely is not a good idea.

Gympie North are also restricted on what type of rollingstock they can use. 

Outside of the ATP-equipped ICE, the IMU100/120s are the only non-ATP units permitted north of Nambour on revenue services (although with the 3-crew requirement north of Nambour). If there is no ICE or 100/120 class IMUs (and/or the 3rd crew member) available to operate the Gympie North, there's pretty much no choice but to cancel north of Nambour. 

A 160 class IMU (if available) could operate in the Gympie North slot, but in most cases are generally truncated to Nambour (again due to ATP requirements) with buses replacing beyond.

NGRs won't be operating north of Nambour for the foreseeable future due to numerous reasons (which include not being trained, nor being fitted for ATP).

That gives them a total of 16 IMU sets (12 IMU100 + 4 IMU120) to choose from.

The ICEs have clearly seen better days and should probably be withdrawn. QR should be able to allocate an IMU100 or IMU120 set and roster 3 crew to Gympie North services, pending the conversion of newer rollingstock to ATP.

Is there a special reason 160s can't operate north of Nambour in revenue service?

^ 14 sets (there is no 111 or 112).

I remember being on IMU176 from Cooroy back to Brisbane many moons ago.

Thank you achiruel and SR

Ice are the preferred trains to use for crewing, redundancy, passenger comfort and operation. The best advantage of the ice is the door operation at single platforms. Imu 100/120 actually use the emergency door release for the shorter platforms while the ice has the ability for single door operation - so to say. That's then followed by the 100/120 imus. Reason for them is fleet allocation numbers and maintainence schedules.

160/260 can operate north of Nambour but as listed above are preferred not to as to give greater flexibility of the suburban operations. Most of the gympie services that have been terminated at Nambour have been due to crewing (either route certified or number certified) and not the operation of the type of rollingstock.

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2019/1781-2019.pdf

No. 1781
Asked on Thursday 24 October 2019

MR D PURDIE ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (HON M BAILEY)

QUESTION:

Will the Minister provide the metrics for on-time running (OTR) and reliability for the Gympie North
services which are presently bundled up with the OTR statistics for the Sunshine Coast Line for
the 2018-19 financial year?

ANSWER:
I thank the Member for Ninderry for the question.

Queensland Rail is focused on continuing to improve its on-time running performance across the
network, including for Gympie North services.

Last financial year (2018–19), Queensland Rail reliably operated 98.94 per cent of Gympie North
services, with 79.04 per cent running on-time, taking into account force majeure.

Gympie North services travel the longest journey on the South East Queensland network. They
also share track infrastructure with Caboolture and Redcliffe Peninsula trains, as well as freight
and long-distance travel services. This means delays on any of these services or lines can cause
flow-on impacts to Gympie North trains.

Queensland Rail works hard to minimise the impacts of any unplanned disruptions and has crews
and equipment positioned at both Petrie and Sunshine in the north to ensure rapid responses to
incidents, particularly during peak times.

Queensland Rail is investing in infrastructure and rollingstock upgrades to continually improve
the on-time running and reliability of Gympie North services. This includes the delivery of a
$43 million signalling system upgrade between Caboolture and Gympie North, to enable newer
trains to operate to Gympie North in the future, and a comprehensive maintenance program for
its current fleet.

Queensland Rail is also committed to working with the Department of Transport and Main Roads
on the Beerburrum to Nambour Rail Upgrade Project, which will provide additional track capacity
on the Sunshine Coast line to enable future timetable improvements.

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1199093114989711361

Given how frequently the Gympie North trains appear delayed, I find that difficult to believe. 79.04% means 1 in 5 trains are late. Aren't there more than that being reported as late most weeks?

Quote from: James on November 26, 2019, 21:39:19 PM
Given how frequently the Gympie North trains appear delayed, I find that difficult to believe. 79.04% means 1 in 5 trains are late. Aren't there more than that being reported as late most weeks?

That figure is force majeure adjusted.  I hate to think what the customer impact metric is. 

It has improved a bit this year.  Still far from acceptable.

Quote from: ozbob on November 27, 2019, 01:04:27 AMThat figure is force majeure adjusted.  I hate to think what the customer impact metric is. 

It has improved a bit this year.  Still far from acceptable.
a

Customer Impact should be the default metric, with FMA restricted to bad weather and the actions of third parties (e.g. vehicle incidents at LXs and overpasses, corridor trespassers).

"Force majeure adjusted" means little when the trains are having mechanical issues multiple times each week...

Quote from: James on November 27, 2019, 20:41:49 PM

Quote from: ozbob on November 27, 2019, 01:04:27 AMThat figure is force majeure adjusted.  I hate to think what the customer impact metric is. 

It has improved a bit this year.  Still far from acceptable.
a

Customer Impact should be the default metric, with FMA restricted to bad weather and the actions of third parties (e.g. vehicle incidents at LXs and overpasses, corridor trespassers).

"Force majeure adjusted" means little when the trains are having mechanical issues multiple times each week...

NGRs aren't allowed to operate north of Nambour and won't be operating north of Nambour for the foreseeable future due to ATP requirements. 

Any mechanical issues on the Gympie North service would either be a ICE or a IMU100/120 series units, which would be counted as "late" in the statistics.  As opposed to the FMA statistics which was introduced for the NGR services (due to the NGR units being owned by TMR).

FMA = Contractual with NGR faults included.  Contractual had NGR faults excluded.

Customer Impact OTR is what passengers actually experience. CI is always worse than FMA obviously, so if the FMA is 79% then the CI will be worse than that.  The QON should have requested both FMA and CI.  It didn't ...

Sent to all outlets:

28th November 2019

Gympie North  rail services - late again!

Good Morning,

A recent Queensland Parliament Question On Notice No. 1781 revealed that for financial year 2018-19 Gympie North rail services on-time running (force majeure adjusted) was 79.04% (target is > 95%) ( https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2019/1781-2019.pdf ).

Unfortunately the customer impact metric was not detailed. Customer impact is what passengers actually experience, it would be less than 79.04%.

This a poor result.  Presently the on-time running metrics for Gympie North rail services are included in the Sunshine Coast Line data.  We have requested before that Gympie North should be reported separately.  This is the case for example for the Rosewood line.  It is separate from the Ipswich line for on-time running purposes. Passengers who travel on Gympie North services clearly have an expectation that the data should be freely available as for the other lines.

Having to resort to Questions On Notice or Right To Information requests to find out basic on-time running data is not really transparent or satisfactory.  We again call for the on-time running data to be reported separately for the Gympie North line as for the other Citytrain lines ( see https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/ourperformance/service-punctuality-and-reliability select ' Monthly on-time running ' ).

Best wishes,

Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1199765977958764546

Facebook ...

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1199783393036136449

Quote from: ozbob on November 28, 2019, 11:24:53 AM

Quote from: Gazza on November 28, 2019, 10:32:47 AM

QuoteTwo services per day

Doesn't Cooran see 4 trains per day?

Only two services each way.  Cooroy is a stop for tilt trains.

Bob I think some other users have brought this up before, but do you think Translink/QR would be able to sort out a deal to allow passengers north of Nambour to use the Tilt Trains under regular go-card fares?  (to travel between Gympie-Roma Street that is) I think considering the otherwise poor service they have up there it would be a good temporary measure, and wouldn't be that hard to work out the logistics of surely.

Quote from: timh on November 28, 2019, 12:24:56 PM

Quote from: ozbob on November 28, 2019, 11:24:53 AM

Quote from: Gazza on November 28, 2019, 10:32:47 AM

QuoteTwo services per day

Doesn't Cooran see 4 trains per day?

Only two services each way.  Cooroy is a stop for tilt trains.

Bob I think some other users have brought this up before, but do you think Translink/QR would be able to sort out a deal to allow passengers north of Nambour to use the Tilt Trains under regular go-card fares?  (to travel between Gympie-Roma Street that is) I think considering the otherwise poor service they have up there it would be a good temporary measure, and wouldn't be that hard to work out the logistics of surely.

QR used to have an arrangement where people from Cooroy and Gympie North are able to travel to/from Roma Street on TransLink paper fares only.  Not sure if that's still the case or if that has expired.

You can travel from/to  Gympie North and/or Cooroy on the tilts but has to be prebooked.  It is allocated seating.
Also contingent on seats actually being available.

Fare Adult from Cooroy to Roma St is $39 normally.  They have a ' commuter fare ' at $33. 

That's it.

For those interested.  Details of the six month trial back in 2013 > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9873.0

Quote from: ozbob on November 28, 2019, 12:48:25 PM
You can travel from/to  Gympie North and/or Cooroy on the tilts but has to be prebooked.  It is allocated seating.
Also contingent on seats actually being available.

Fare Adult from Cooroy to Roma St is $39 normally.  They have a ' commuter fare ' at $33. 

That's it.

For those interested.  Details of the six month trial back in 2013 > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9873.0

Still seems unnecessarily expensive. I think a good move for us to push for better services north of Nambour would be to suggest a trial of allowing Cooroy/Gympie north customers travelling to/from Brisbane to use go cards on the tilts, without pre booking. I can't see how that would be too logistically disruptive to the traveltrain operation. It would be a small number of people travelling economy for about 20% of the total journey distance (less for the Cairns/Rocky trains). Personally I can't see why it couldn't happen (I'm sure someone smarter than me has a reason though). At this point though I think any improvement to the existing dismal service would be welcome

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

It is allocated seating.  No chance of using go cards without pre-booking.

We have been through this before.  The present arrangements appear to be working, concessions are available and it is manageable from both the operator and passenger perspective.

I think the election coming up is our best chance to get the shuttles in place. There appears to me to be a strong anti-sunshine coast rail push  in certain transport circles, politically is the way to get over that.  It has a lot of community support along the line and will be a very significant improvement.

Quote from: ozbob on January 20, 2019, 06:29:02 AM
Draft Letter to the Editor:

Improving rail services between Gympie North and Nambour

Dear Editor,

The Sunshine Coast community and public transport advocates are very concerned with the ongoing issues with reliability of the two daily trains between Gympie North and Brisbane.  The aged InterCity Express (ICE) trains which normally are rostered for these services are due for replacement, but delays with the new trains have kept them in service longer than they should have been, and the ICE trains regularly fail leading to service delays and cancellations.  Some people have been forced to give up the rail commute because of the problems.

With the station upgrades at Cooran (completed) and Pomona (underway) the time is right to set up the Sunshine Coast for better services.

We propose that Queensland Rail introduce rail shuttle services between Gympie North and Nambour, to connect to the more frequent Nambour to Brisbane services. Shuttle services, similar in operation as the Ipswich - Rosewood service, could operate at 3 hour intervals, using Interurban Multiple Unit (IMU) 100 class trains.

We suggest trains depart Gympie North 5.30am, 8.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm, 5.30pm.
Depart Nambour 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm.

The surging population, the tourist industry needs connectivity north <> south. Access to Nambour for the towns north along the railway is important for medical, and community reasons. Imagine the positive impact of the lives of the residents and the economic benefit of a daily influx of visitors to towns such as Cooran, Pomona, Cooroy, Eumundi by regular rail shuttles.  Day trips from Brisbane would become a real proposition and could and would be promoted.

The Gold Coast has had very significant investment and improvements in public transport with excellent results.  But it is time that the Sunshine Coast's public transport was improved. The railway line is in place, stations are ready, all we need is more train services.

Yours sincerely,

Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

Using the available data now made public, the story could be written this way:

Every third day, 25 per cent of passenger rail services on the Gympie North Line are delayed or fail to turn up at all.

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 29th November 2019 page 15

Gympie North rail services fail by being late yet again

Sent to all outlets:

29th November 2019

Improving rail services between Gympie North and Nambour

Greetings,

The Sunshine Coast community and public transport advocates are very concerned with the ongoing issues with reliability of the two daily Citytrains between Gympie North and Brisbane.  The aged InterCity Express (ICE) trains which normally are rostered for these services are due for replacement, but delays with the new trains have kept them in service longer than they should have been, and the ICE trains regularly fail leading to service delays and cancellations.  Some people have been forced to give up the rail commute north of Nambour because of the problems.

It was recently revealed in an answer to a Question On Notice in the Queensland Parliament that on-time running for the Gympie North line was 79.04% (target > 95%) force majeure adjusted for 2018-19 ( https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2019/1781-2019.pdf ).  Customer impact would be less than that. This is by far the worse on-time running of all the Citytrain lines, which overall average around 95%.

Station upgrades at Cooran and Pomona are now completed, and Eumundi is nearing completion. Strong, durable, full length and full height platforms with proper accessibility.  Jobs well done, thank you.

The time is right now to set up the Sunshine Coast for better services. Two Citytrain services each way daily is grossly inadequate for the communities along the line.

We propose that Queensland Rail introduce rail shuttle services between Gympie North and Nambour, to connect to the more frequent Nambour to Brisbane services. Shuttle services, similar in operation as the Ipswich <> Rosewood services, could operate at 3 hour intervals, using locally stabled trains.

We suggest trains depart Gympie North all stations to Nambour at 5.30am, 8.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm, 5.30pm.
Depart Nambour for all stations to Gympie North at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm.
These services should operate 7 days a week.

The surging population, the tourist industry needs connectivity north <> south. Access to Nambour for the towns north along the railway is important for medical, and community reasons. Imagine the positive impact of the lives of the residents and the economic benefit of a daily influx of visitors to towns such as Cooran, Pomona, Cooroy, Eumundi by regular rail shuttles.  Day trips from Brisbane would become a real proposition and could and would be promoted. There would be JOBS! Day excursions on the Mary Valley Rattler heritage railway would be possible for day trippers from Brisbane .

The Gold Coast has had very significant investment and improvements in public transport with excellent results.  But it is way past the time that the Sunshine Coast's public transport was improved. The railway line is in place, upgraded stations are ready, all we need is more train services.

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org


Photographs R Dow:

1. Cooran 1st March 2019





2. Pomona 25th November 2019





3. Eumundi 25th November 2019

Quote from: ozbob on November 28, 2019, 05:00:41 AM
Sent to all outlets:

28th November 2019

Gympie North  rail services - late again!

Good Morning,

A recent Queensland Parliament Question On Notice No. 1781 revealed that for financial year 2018-19 Gympie North rail services on-time running (force majeure adjusted) was 79.04% (target is > 95%) ( https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2019/1781-2019.pdf ).

Unfortunately the customer impact metric was not detailed. Customer impact is what passengers actually experience, it would be less than 79.04%.

This a poor result.  Presently the on-time running metrics for Gympie North rail services are included in the Sunshine Coast Line data.  We have requested before that Gympie North should be reported separately.  This is the case for example for the Rosewood line.  It is separate from the Ipswich line for on-time running purposes. Passengers who travel on Gympie North services clearly have an expectation that the data should be freely available as for the other lines.

Having to resort to Questions On Notice or Right To Information requests to find out basic on-time running data is not really transparent or satisfactory.  We again call for the on-time running data to be reported separately for the Gympie North line as for the other Citytrain lines ( see https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/ourperformance/service-punctuality-and-reliability select ' Monthly on-time running ' ).

Best wishes,

Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org