20 Dec 2011: SEQ: 15 minutes frequent service on Ferny Grove Line possible now

[ozbob]

Media release 20 December 2011

SEQ: Core Frequent Network: 15 minutes frequent service on Ferny Grove Line possible now

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers calls for trains every 15 minutes out of peak to be placed on the Ferny Grove Line.

Robert Dow, spokesperson for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Off-peak train frequency on the Queensland Rail train network is the elephant in the room, our recent survey responses quite clearly show that passengers think low train frequency is a major issue (1). It is increasingly out of step with other Australian cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and most starkly, Perth, which is a city smaller than Brisbane and yet manages to have 15 minute frequent trains all day to all stations on its network."

"With the completion of the $46 million dollar Keperra-Ferny Grove duplication and an upgraded Ferny Grove Station, we think decent service-level improvements to complement the infrastructure-level improvements should naturally follow. After all, the whole idea of spending $46 million dollars was to allow more people to use trains wasn't it?"

"How is this going to happen without more actual trains on that line?"

"With the ongoing sector 2 timetable review, extra trains starting at Roma Street could be put on to achieve 15 minute service on the Ferny Grove lines, cutting journey times into the Brisbane CBD by up to 15 minutes and potentially doubling patronage on that line (2, 3, 4)."

"Increasing fares but little or no improvement to all-day off-peak rail frequency is eroding passenger's perception of value-for-money on the rail network. Unlike the bus system which has seen many decent upgrades, rail passengers by-and-large will have to pay more for the same infrequent and inconvenient services that other Australian cities have long fixed up. Further fare increases on January 2nd will only act to increase the public pressure for more frequent, all-day services."

"It is a myth that we have to wait for big ticket, multi-billion dollar cost projects that take decades to deliver before we can get improvements to train frequency. There are many parts of the rail network that can have more services now with little or no new infrastructure."

"As RAIL Back On Track has always said, services must be frequent, bottom line!"

References:

1. 2011 RAIL Back On Track Public Transport Passenger survey http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=7144.0

2. Building a Core Frequent Network
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5173.0

3. BUZ, frequency and reliability, the winning formula
http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/6058/1/thredbo10-themeA-Warren.pdf

4. Keperra to Ferny Grove Duplication
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2011/07/keperra-to-ferny-grove-duplication-100m.html

Contact:

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

[#Metro]

Doesn't the FG line go through Ashgrove, that key seat...