Brisbane to Sawtell by XPT

[colinw]

Just arrived in Sawtell (near Coffs Harbour) on the XPT.  It was actually a quite pleasant trip, and arrival into Sawtell was within a minute of the timetable.

After hearing some horror reports of NSW North Coast CountryLink services, I was expecting the worst, but the standard of service was actually quite acceptable. Staff were accessible, courteous & helpful. Announcements were clear & concise. No bad passenger behaviour was observed.

Departing Brisbane Roma St @ 7:30AM, I'd estimate the train was just over half full. Around 10 passengers boarded at Kyogle. Casino, Grafton & Coffs were all very busy indeed, and it is clear to me that the XPT is a well used service for local trips like Casino to Grafton. From Casino the seat next to me was occupied, by someone travelling through to Kempsey.

The ride was smooth, with a few temporary speed restrictions in evidence between Kyogle & Grafton where ARTC were performing various upgrade works.

Over all, I am pleased to report a well used & clearly appreciated service which continues to serve northern NSW well.

Having said that 'though, I still miss the Brisbane Limited & the Sydney Express via Wallangarra.

[ozbob]

Thanks for the update!

[colinw]

The section of line from Bromelton to Kyogle is always a delight. Just lovely.

[ozbob]

I can still recall the first time I went over the border loop as a young soldier on the Limited.  It was, and still is, very impressive.

[colinw]

My first trip on the Limited was Christmas 1973. The first year we went to Sydney via Brisbane, the Sydney Express via Wallangarra having stopped running the year before.

Because we lived in Toowoomba, until '72 we always went to Sydney via Wallangarra until that option was cruelly taken away. My earliest childhood memory of rail travel is a whistling English Electric hauling red QR carriages up toward the border, then dinner in the RRR at Wallangarra and finally going to sleep in our NSWGR sleeping berth.

Somehow the modern experience of rail travel just fails to compare.

[colinw]

I should add that the Interstate line was very quiet today.  The only standard gauge train crossed was a northbound PN freight at Greenbank. Otherwise, the only other standard gauge loco seen was a 48 class shut down at South Grafton.

[Stillwater]

Colin - Were there automated announcements at the stations as the XPT pulled in and pulled out?

[colinw]

No, didn't sound like an automatic system.

[triplethree]

Hope you enjoy your stay in Sawtell, Colin, a beautiful part of the world. Thanks for everyone sharing their rail memories too.

CountryLink have massively picked up their act in recent years in terms of customer service. I own a car nowadays so I drive whenever I visit friends and family in NSW and I haven't ridden the XPT in 3 years, but the last several times I travelled on the North Coast Line I was treated with as much courtesy and professionalism as on any airline.

Compare this to my very first long-distance rail journey in 1997 as a callow eighteen-year-old traveling Sydney to Melbourne and back with two mates. The XPT was the Gulag On Wheels back then. Surly, bossy, snarling, lazy attendants with Soviet-style customer service and Soviet-style featherbedding who would respond to a polite "Excuse me?" with " WHAT???!!!", would bark orders as if we were raw army recruits, and spent most of their time gossiping with each other in the corridors drinking tea while the queue at the buffet stretched into the next carriage. Not to mention the food was of worse quality than found in Oliver Twist's workhouse.

CountryLink has a long way to go - plugs for laptops and phones would be nice, and some sort of on-board entertainment, even if only in 1st class. But there's been definite improvement in the on-board experience.

[ozbob]

For interest, I was able to charge my laptop/phone on the Westlander when I went out to Charleville in April.  Each compartment had a power point.  Those carriages are around  50 years old not out ...

[triplethree]

There are plugs in the XPT carriages too (on the bulkheads), I asked if I could use it to charge my laptop, they said I could if I wanted to but it would be very risky because of power surges so they strongly advised me not to.

[colinw]

Hope you enjoy your stay in Sawtell, Colin, a beautiful part of the world. Thanks for everyone sharing their rail memories too.

CountryLink have massively picked up their act in recent years in terms of customer service. I own a car nowadays so I drive whenever I visit friends and family in NSW and I haven't ridden the XPT in 3 years, but the last several times I travelled on the North Coast Line I was treated with as much courtesy and professionalism as on any airline.

It was a great weekend of chaos on the model flying field, and I managed to leave one free flight model lodged 20 metres up a tree. The local club members will keep an eye on it and mail the engine back to me if/when it eventually blows down.

Sawtell is indeed a lovely town, and somewhere I'm now considering taking the family for a traditional beach holiday. Much nicer than Coffs in my opinion.

I agree with you about the lift in standards on CountryLink. I cannot find anything to criticise about the service, other than being unceremoniously dumped onto a bus at Casino on the return journey, a "nowhere" place to be the terminus of a service which IMHO should continue to either Brisbane, Lismore or Byron Bay (note: NOT Murwillumbah!).

After the comfortable ride on the train, lumping along in a bus on the Lismore - Bangalow road was a shock. Thankfully CountryLink buses do service Beenleigh, so I was able to get off the bus there and continue home by train rather than continuing to Roma St & then backtracking 20km. (Nearly forgot to touch on at Beenleigh!).

[colinw]

Colin - Were there automated announcements at the stations as the XPT pulled in and pulled out?

Automated announcement was noted at Coffs Harbour on the way home. Didn't hear anything at either Grafton or Casino.

[Fares_Fair]

Nice picture colinw.