Article: Feature comforts

[ozbob]

From Brisbane mX 7 Mar 2008 front page not online

Feature comforts

A super-train service with a first or business-class section that included wider seats, toilets and laptop facilities should be introduced as the trains of the future, an academic has advocated.

Griffith University Urban Research Program research fellow Dr Matthew Burke said train trips to and from the Gold or Sunshine Coasts into Brisbane should be seen as "inter-city" rather than suburban services.

Burke said the inner-city services should have faster travel speeds and more commuter comforts.

"Are there people willing to pay for a superior service?  I would argue there are," Burke said.

"Perhaps there should be a number of cabin options, with some sort of business or first-class section which has wider seats, tables, capabilities for electronic devices etc."

Burke said train services in the United Kingdom had started moving that way by introducing mobile phone-free cabins to improve commuter comfort levels.

"I think the market and the willingness to pay is there," Burke said.

Commuter group RAIL Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said our current system wasn't ready for superior first-class services. "But I think in the longer term, we have to make long-haul commuter travel more attractive," he said.

Translink general manager Luke Franzmann said TransLink's focus was to increase the number of trains on the Gold and Sunshine Coast lines.

"We would be concerned that the creation of first-class carriage would lead to social division and reduce capacity on services already in high demand," he said.

[Mozz]

Interesting article and at the risk of sounding a bit negative I had a chuckle at the "mobile phone free carriages" we can't get commuters to do the basics such as not eating, drinking, littering, feet on seats, loud music played through mobile phone loud speakers etc etc - but hey set the bar high and let's see how high we can get I say

[albiwan]

I have the used the "quiet" carriages on both Virgin and Cross Country Services in England and they are fantastic for getting work done or just having a read. Of course it is also good to watch the country side going past at 80 to 110 mph as well. I think we will be more ready to pay for such luxuries only when train become truly competitive with cars. Hopefully one day I would to visit my Parents in Nambour via train in a time less than the ridiculous 1.hr 50 minutes (minimum!) it now takes.

[monkey]

Interesting article and at the risk of sounding a bit negative I had a chuckle at the "mobile phone free carriages" we can't get commuters to do the basics such as not eating, drinking, littering, feet on seats, loud music played through mobile phone loud speakers etc etc - but hey set the bar high and let's see how high we can get I say

I've certainly wished to myself for something loosely like 'business class' - I use my 30 mins each way on the train to get my laptop out and get some work done - usually reading mail in the morning, and reports/documents in the afternoon.  Of course that's hard to do consistently - sometimes there's no seats, sometimes there's just no room even when you have a seat.  I don't need power for my laptop, or even a table - just somewhere where there's enough personal space to do something useful.

I'm with you on the "mobile phone free carriages" comment - I regularly see some or all of eating, drinking, littering, feet on seats, smoking in the walkway between carriages, loud music, bikes during peak hour.

Right now I'm the proud owner of a sore back due to the contortions I had to endure on the train yesterday - it was packed tighter than a sardine tin, with a bloody bike taking up the space of at least 4 people.

[johnnigh]

Good news from QR about the quiet carriage trial.
Leslie and I enjoyed a lovely quiet-car journey from Zurich to Chur, 1st class, on the busiest Saturday of the summer. It was the first sunny day in weeks, so everyone was keen to get out of Zurich. The flughaven bahnhof ticket saleslady advised 1st class for this reason. It did cost a motza, $180 for both of us to get to Arosa via Chur, but the quiet car was worth it. (most passengers have half-fare cards, but for tourists this is expensive unless you are travelling a lot in a month) So as an old f**t who doesn't like overhearing the worst of current pop muzak or overloud telephone conversations, I look forward to a quiet carriage, even if I have to hobble further to the lift! 

[ozbob]

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