Sunshine Coast Timetable

[Fares_Fair]

New Timetables release notes ... from TRANSLink's website.

Gympie North to Yandina•   The morning peak service will depart Gympie North four minutes earlier at 5.56am:
•   the service will stop all stations to Caboolture, before operating express from Caboolture to Bowen Hills, arriving at Central station at 8.44am.
•   The afternoon peak service will depart Roma Street five minutes later at 5.45pm:
•   the service will operate express from Bowen Hills to Caboolture, before continuing all stations through to Gympie North.
•   Off-peak services:
•   a daytime service to Gympie North will be introduced, departing Central at 9:30am and arriving at Gympie North at 12.39pm. This service will replace the existing daytime Brisbane to Cooroy service
•   a daytime service from Gympie North will be introduced, departing Gympie North at 1.20pm and arriving at 4.17pm. This service will replace the existing daytime Cooroy to Brisbane service.
•   Weekend services:
•   weekend services will be maintained with some changes to departure times
•   inbound services will depart Gympie North for Central station at 5.50am and 8.47pm on Saturdays and 3.50pm on Sundays
•   outbound services will depart Central station for Gympie North at 5:37pm on Saturdays and 12.17pm and 5.37pm on Sundays.
•   Connections will be available between Gympie North services and Caboolture all stations services at Caboolture.

Nambour to Elimbah•   Connections between express and all stations services will be available at either Caboolture or Petrie stations. This will provide Sunshine Coast commuters with access to stations between Morayfield and Virginia.
•   Six morning peak express services will arrive at Central station between 6am and 9am.
•   Six afternoon peak services will depart Central station between 3.30pm and 6.30pm.
•   Some changes to the express services will be implemented to maximise the capacity of the network, including:
•   Sunshine Coast express services will now stop all stations between Northgate and Bowen Hills
•   some Sunshine Coast services will stop between Caboolture and Petrie.
•   Off-peak and weekend passengers will benefit from trains which will operate every 90 minutes
•   The timetable of the 649 RailBus service will change to integrate with the new rail timetable.

CabooltureAll Caboolture and Sunshine Coast trains (all stations and express) will stop at Caboolture station.
•   Connections will be available between Sunshine Coast express and Caboolture all stations services at Caboolture station.
•   During high demand peak periods, Caboolture services will operate express between Petrie and Northgate stations. Connections to all stations services will be available at Petrie station.
•   18 morning peak services will arrive at Central station between 6am and 9am:
•   five all station services
•   13 express services.
•   17 afternoon peak services will depart Central station between 3.30pm and 6.30pm:
•   four all station services
•   13 express services.
•   Off peak and weekend passengers will benefit from trains which will operate every 30 minutes, stopping all stations.


We need to see the actual arrival and departure times, and number of services, before we respond.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

Do you have an url for this information please?

[Fares_Fair]

Sure Bob,

News from Translink website below ..

http://translink.com.au/travel-information/service-updates/queensland-rail-timetable-changes/caboolture-and-sunshine-coast-line


No arrival and departure times mentioned for the Nambour services !
All the others show them - this is inexcusable.
TRANSLink know that that THESE were the number one issue with us !!

Our express legs are no longer 20 stations except for the Gympie North services.
Nambour commuters will only be express from Caboolture to Northgate. (14 stations) and some even less.

No mention of Rail bus services either !!

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Arnz]

That link still shows the draft timetable written up from November 2010.

[Fares_Fair]

Hello Arnz,

Yes, that's right. No new timetables are up yet (that I can see)
The old draft is still on the website so confusion reigns.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[BrizCommuter]

Hello Arnz,

Yes, that's right. No new timetables are up yet (that I can see)
The old draft is still on the website so confusion reigns.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

As this page isn't yet linked to from TransLink's home page, I would suggest that a few here are jumping the gun!

[Stillwater]

If I was in the Minister's office, I would delay putting up revised timetable information until after tomorrow's shenanigans.  Otherwise, I give Thursday's protestors one more bit of ammunition to fire back.  Better, when the media comes knocking on Friday to say: 'yep, heard what people have been saying and here is the new timetable in response'.  Either that, or release the new timetable on Thursday afternoon so that it becomes the story, swamping the negativity of the protest.  The Minister's office could then wear a story along the lines of .... 'the state government was quick to respond to the concerns of protestors today when it released a revised timetable that answered the critics.'

[Fares_Fair]

I think you may be right BrizCommuter.
The link provided must be from the original draft information.

My apologies to you all.

Regards,
Fares_Fair

[mufreight]

If I was in the Minister's office, I would delay putting up revised timetable information until after tomorrow's shenanigans.  Otherwise, I give Thursday's protestors one more bit of ammunition to fire back.  Better, when the media comes knocking on Friday to say: 'yep, heard what people have been saying and here is the new timetable in response'.  Either that, or release the new timetable on Thursday afternoon so that it becomes the story, swamping the negativity of the protest.  The Minister's office could then wear a story along the lines of .... 'the state government was quick to respond to the concerns of protestors today when it released a revised timetable that answered the critics.'

I feel quite sure that should you apply in writing using the quoted post as a reference that the Minister would consider appointing you as either a political adviser or as a spin doctor.

[Stillwater]

It's only logical. mufreight .... let the Opposition pollies blow off like farts tomorrow morning at their pre-arranged media interviews, without the full knowledge of the timetable changes, then follow up with a revised timetable announcement.  The media caravan is fickle and will move on quickly.  The story of substance is the new Minister announcing the timetable.

[mufreight]

It's only logical. mufreight .... let the Opposition pollies blow off like farts tomorrow morning at their pre-arranged media interviews, without the full knowledge of the timetable changes, then follow up with a revised timetable announcement.  The media caravan is fickle and will move on quickly.  The story of substance is the new Minister announcing the timetable.

But are we talking about opposition politicians espousing hot air with no substance, or commuters having their say and expressing their disgust at the mismanagement of public transport and the exorbitant fare rip off by the Government and Translink.
As for the new timetable it would seem that it leaves much to be desired due to lack of funding for long overdue infrastructure upgrades and the actual provision of services.

[Stillwater]

Of course we are talking about commuters having their say and protesting at the rising level of fares not commensurate with a good, or even mediocre, train service leaving and arriving at times that suit their travel patterns.  People obviously will continue to have their say once the new timetable is released. 

[Fares_Fair]

Hello Stillwater, mufreight,

I have finally been contacted by TRANSLink.
This was after my 3rd call (within a week) to the Minister's office.

I told the Minister's office that it was brave of TRANSLink to ignore her office. 
Seems to have worked.

I have been told by TRANSLink that the Minister will release the new Sunshine Coast timetable "in a few days."
TRANSLink have offered to contact me directly as soon as it is made available.
I was appreciative of the offer.

Regards,
Fares_Fair

[Stillwater]

That's excellent FF.  Thanks.  Then we will have the formal government response to the consultation, as represented by the revised new timetable.  And, hopefully, we will have the background material, including a summary of the representations to the Minister and to Translink, and how both reacted.  People will then be in a position to judge whether:

- QR has done all it can with available resouces and operational restrictions to provide an 'improved' service
- QR/Translink/the government has understood what people are saying

That could be the basis of an informed and intelligent ongoing conversation with government and its agencies, using a common set of data and feedback.  The best way forward will involve a meticulous gathering of information that supports the SCL upgrade.  It's there.  It just has to be gathered, ordered and proven -- and presented publicly before the next state election.

[Fares_Fair]

Hello All,

Did anyone hear the Transport Minister's response on the Channel 7 Local News (Sunshine Coast) interview on Thursday 17 March, 2011.

I understand that she stated that "as far as she knew, the timetable changes would not result in longer train journeys for Sunshine Coast commuters."
Is this correct ? Did anyone hear what was said or tape a copy of the audio to confirm the context please ?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Stillwater]

That is what I heard her to be saying, FF.

[Fares_Fair]

Thanks Stillwater.

That would be amazing if that is the case, and a huge, huge win for long-haul sunny coast commuters.
Let's hope the Minister is well informed on that point.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Golliwog]

And a fair sized loss for commuters inbound of Caboolture.

[Fares_Fair]

yes, that's why I doubt it is correct.
We cannot have extra services on the Caboolture line and retain the current express lengths.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Stillwater]

While I heard what she said, and my understanding is the same as yours FF, I believe she was referring to the train departure and arrival times at Central, where, presumably, there will be a better spacing of SC trains in the peak periods and, therefore, 'no delays' in that sense.  The stopping pattern for SC trains might alter, thus affecting running times, but I don't think Ms Paleszczuk is across that much detail.

[Stillwater]

Given the battles Translink and QR have had to endure over the introduction of a new Sunshine Coast timetable, do any others see the irony in the Queensland Government's decision to chose the anniversary of the major counter-offensive of WWII, the June 6 D-Day landings, as the date for the introduction of the revised Sunshine Coast and Ipswich-Rosewood Line services?

Given the closeness of the date, about two months away, our new Transport Minister, Annastacia Palaszczuk, must have to reveal the timetable soon.  Maybe the tactic is to have minimal time between the timetable release and implementation to avoid another round of public scrutiny of this proposal.  However, websites and printed timetables have to be prepared and the public educated as to the changes.  Time is needed to ensure an orderly changeover occurs.

[PollyWouldLikeASeat]

Earlier this week the station master at Beerwah said they were expecting the new timetables to be released at the end of April.

[ozbob]

 

[Stillwater]

Thanks Polly.  It will be interesting to see just how the final timetable differs from the version released back in November.  The standard of infrastructure will always be a limiting factor for more frequency on the SCL.

[Stillwater]

Within Transport and Main Roads there is a belief that the announcement of new revised timetables for the Caboolture and Sunshine Coast lines may not occur next week, as speculation has is the new Minister's hope.  It may simply be just a delay in printing the timetables and they have been confirmed already.  Such an issue would have gone to the Minister for sign-off.

So, it remains to be seen whether Fares Fair's predictions come true.  It is worthwhile reprinting the information from one of his earlier posts:

Gympie North to Yandina
•   The morning peak service will depart Gympie North four minutes earlier at 5.56am:
•   the service will stop all stations to Caboolture, before operating express from Caboolture to Bowen Hills, arriving at Central station at 8.44am.
•   The afternoon peak service will depart Roma Street five minutes later at 5.45pm:
•   the service will operate express from Bowen Hills to Caboolture, before continuing all stations through to Gympie North.

Off-peak services
•   a daytime service to Gympie North will be introduced, departing Central at 9:30am and arriving at Gympie North at 12.39pm. This service will replace the existing daytime Brisbane to Cooroy service
•   a daytime service from Gympie North will be introduced, departing Gympie North at 1.20pm and arriving at 4.17pm. This service will replace the existing daytime Cooroy to Brisbane service.

Weekend service
•   weekend services will be maintained with some changes to departure times
•   inbound services will depart Gympie North for Central station at 5.50am and 8.47pm on Saturdays and 3.50pm on Sundays
•   outbound services will depart Central station for Gympie North at 5:37pm on Saturdays and 12.17pm and 5.37pm on Sundays.
•   Connections will be available between Gympie North services and Caboolture all stations services at Caboolture.

Nambour to Elimbah
•   Connections between express and all stations services will be available at either Caboolture or Petrie stations. This will provide Sunshine Coast commuters with access to stations between Morayfield and Virginia.
•   Six morning peak express services will arrive at Central station between 6am and 9am.
•   Six afternoon peak services will depart Central station between 3.30pm and 6.30pm.
Some changes to the express services will be implemented to maximise the capacity of the network, including:
•   Sunshine Coast express services will now stop all stations between Northgate and Bowen Hills
•   some Sunshine Coast services will stop between Caboolture and Petrie.
•   Off-peak and weekend passengers will benefit from trains which will operate every 90 minutes
•   The timetable of the 649 RailBus service will change to integrate with the new rail timetable.

Caboolture
All Caboolture and Sunshine Coast trains (all stations and express) will stop at Caboolture station.
Connections will be available between Sunshine Coast express and Caboolture all stations services at Caboolture station.
During high demand peak periods, Caboolture services will operate express between Petrie and Northgate stations. Connections to all stations services will be available at Petrie station.
•   18 morning peak services will arrive at Central station between 6am and 9am:
•   five all station services
•   13 express services.
•   17 afternoon peak services will depart Central station between 3.30pm and 6.30pm:
•   four all station services
•   13 express services.
Off peak and weekend passengers will benefit from trains which will operate every 30 minutes, stopping all stations.