Article: Stuck on a train with no toilet - what are you supposed to do?

[Stillwater]

Could it be that what QR thinks is vandalism (so-called vandals stuffing toilet down the gurgler), be a simple case of normal law-abiding passengers not knowing how the toilets work?  Is there any worth in placing within the toilet cubicle a simple guide and wording along the lines of 'no more than xx sheets of toilet paper with each flush'.  It is more of a suck than a flush.

[Fares_Fair]

Could it be that what QR thinks is vandalism (so-called vandals stuffing toilet down the gurgler), be a simple case of normal law-abiding passengers not knowing how the toilets work?  Is there any worth in placing within the toilet cubicle a simple guide and wording along the lines of 'no more than xx sheets of toilet paper with each flush'.  It is more of a suck than a flush.

You're right, it sucks! 

[ozbob]

From the Sunshine Coast Daily click here!

Train fares up, but-toilets-work

Train fares up, but-toilets-work

    Kathy Sundstrom
    19th Dec 2013 6:00 AM

TOILETS are working and more trains are mostly on time, but Sunshine Coast rail commuters are going to have to brace themselves for a fare increase from January 6.

Fares are going up by 7.5% - from about $15.08 to $16.22 a trip from Nambour to Brisbane on a Go Card.

It will go up from $21.90 to $23.60 a trip without the Go Card.

Regular commuter Jeff Addison says the increase is extra money people cannot afford and will make more of them question whether the train is worth the exercise.

Mr Addison, who is holidaying on the Gold Coast, said our region could do with the type of regular service enjoyed down south.

"On the Gold Coast, trains running from Brisbane are every eight minutes," he said. "On the Sunshine Coast, it is 24 minutes to 90 minutes. It is no comparison. That is why the Government has to duplicate the railway line.

"The population on the Sunshine Coast is 330,000, yet we have a single-line track and ad hoc services.

"The Gold Coast population is 500,000. Proportionally, we are so far behind."

Mr Addison has welcomed the State Government's announcement of two new Sunshine Coast services: one departing the Coast at 5.07am and the other departing Brisbane at 4.22pm.

He said the service would be "good for those who need to get to work early, but not much help for the majority who work nine to five".

The Government's plan to bring off-peak time back by half an hour to 8.30am from 9am was also appreciated, even though it might not benefit the Sunshine Coast.

Transport Minister Scott Emerson has announced Sunshine Coast commuters over the past two quarters have experienced about 95% of peak trains reaching their destination within four minutes of the timetable.

IMPROVEMENTS

     Halving proposed fare hikes under the previous government
     Adding additional peak services (January 20)
     Providing access to TravelTrain services
     Providing free travel after nine weekly journeys
     Expanding the off-peak discount to start at 8.30am (from January 6)
     Significantly improving reliability and on-time running
     Fixing blocked toilets

[Gazza]

The population on the Sunshine Coast is 330,000, yet we have a single-line track and ad hoc services.

"The Gold Coast population is 500,000. Proportionally, we are so far behind."

Yes, but people actually live around the Gold Coast railway. The Sunshine Coast line mostly runs through subtropical bushland and quaint towns, away from the actual true population centres of the Sunshine coast.

Does the Sunshine coast line have anything like this on it?



It does have this however 

[Fares_Fair]

Hello Gazza,
Yes, the big New Coles Nambour e.g.
New Beerwah IGA supermarket (under construction)
Palmwoods IGA and multi-residential development to begin work shortly - right next to rail corridor.

[Stillwater]

It raises a point ..... with prospect of ICE sets being retired in five-six years and also with the prospect of trains to Flagstone (eventually), maybe Beaudesert, as well as Gold Coast, should QR be looking to include in its train set ordering/purchasing planning the purchase of an ICE replacement inter-urban fleet of trains equipped with toilets (of course), but designed for, say, a fast 200km haul?

[Arnz]

^

A suggestion, wouldn't isolating the older IMU100s with ATP (for Gympie North services) serve that purpose?

That is assuming they even start on installing ATP on the IMU100s, considering the state government awarded the contract for it.

[Gazza]

Yes, the big New Coles Nambour e.g.
New Beerwah IGA supermarket (under construction)
Palmwoods IGA and multi-residential development to begin work shortly - right next to rail corridor.

An IGA is hardly noteworthy...every small town has one!


Regardless none of those things compare to a David Jones or Myer, do they? Or all the other facilities (Two major sports stadiums, office towers, resdiential towers along the line)


And the GC line has had these things along them for years (Eg even the Helensvale Westfield has been there for over 7 years)

[James]

The big thing which I think has been ignored is the rail line, and the history of rail to each coast.

Had the Sunshine Coast had its railway line torn up in the 1960s, it too would probably have a train line running along a super-fast 130km/hr alignment now. To that extent, the original GC Line being ripped up was probably the best thing that ever happened, as it compelled the government to then build a new one built for today's (very fast) trains, and subsequently be taken up at a very fast rate due to the train line being competitive with the car.

Instead, the Sunny Coast is left with a milk run railway line alignment, which is further back from the coast than the highway (not like the GC line, which is closer to the coast), slower than the car, and requires considerable investment for a small political gain (faster trips does not gain headlines like 'NEW RAILWAY HERE' does).

Another reason why the GC needs the railway line more is jobs. The Sunny Coast has a lot of retirees and a lot of its own job generators. The Gold Coast, however, is essentially one giant dormitory city for Brisbane. There are no serious jobs in that place aside from tourism (and your 'home' jobs - tradies, building, retail, small business/banks etc.).

Despite the Sunny Coast having more than half the population of the Gold Coast, the two coasts are very different. Of course there are other factors in this too, but those are the primary ones.

[STB]

I agree with James, the Sunshine Coast is demographically very different to the Gold Coast, and the Gold Coast is a heck of a lot more denser population wise than the Sunshine Coast which is very spread out.

Probably the only thing that saved the Sunshine Coast line is that it was part of the north coast line for freight trains etc, so I suppose they had no choice but to keep it, unlike the Gold Coast which back in the 60s during the car ownership boom at the time, building a major Highway was far more attractive than keeping the train which was purely for commuter and tourism at the time.

[ozbob]

It is time the SCL was upgraded.  What is achievable is well demonstrated with the Caboolture to Beerburrum section.

[Gazza]

Sure, I support it so CAMCOS can get built and for freight, but it annoys me when the whole of Sunshine Coast population gets used as a comparison with the whole of Gold Coast population.

I mean, you wouldn't justify the Springfield line based around the population of Browns Plains would you?

13km Springfield to Browns Plains
16km Landsborough to Caloundra.

Pretty equivalent right?

[BrizCommuter]

Had the Sunshine Coast had its railway line torn up in the 1960s, it too would probably have a train line running along a super-fast 130km/hr alignment now.

Since when has 130km/hr been super-fast?

[minbrisbane]

Had the Sunshine Coast had its railway line torn up in the 1960s, it too would probably have a train line running along a super-fast 130km/hr alignment now.

Since when has 130km/hr been super-fast?

Super-fast considering what was there before...

[Stillwater]

Springfield Line does not carry any freight.  Sunshine Coast line is a money-earner, due to freight.  Does the Sunlander travel to Cairns via Springfield or Ipswich?  And is the Springfield Line so congested during the day that 44 buses have to run, stopping at intermediate railway stations?

To say that the North Coast Line connect small hinterland towns (as if that is its sole purpose) ignores the fact that major bus connections are at Landsborough and Nambour.  And don't forget the freight!

Palmwoods can't have a major shopping centre, because the land on which it will be developed can't be accessed until the new railway line goes in.

[HappyTrainGuy]

The big thing which I think has been ignored is the rail line, and the history of rail to each coast.

Had the Sunshine Coast had its railway line torn up in the 1960s, it too would probably have a train line running along a super-fast 130km/hr alignment now. To that extent, the original GC Line being ripped up was probably the best thing that ever happened, as it compelled the government to then build a new one built for today's (very fast) trains, and subsequently be taken up at a very fast rate due to the train line being competitive with the car.

Instead, the Sunny Coast is left with a milk run railway line alignment, which is further back from the coast than the highway (not like the GC line, which is closer to the coast), slower than the car, and requires considerable investment for a small political gain (faster trips does not gain headlines like 'NEW RAILWAY HERE' does).

It's not a lost cause however as I personally think a realigned/straightened/high speed link via the existing line to Landsborough with the extension from there heading east would be the best of both worlds. There's nothing really between Caboolture-Sunny Coast where as there's some patronage along the existing route. Work out how to run the all stoppers (extending Cab services to Landsborough or Gympie-Cab servies). Run express services all stops to Landsborough exp to Cab exp to Petrie etc etc etc. The all stoppers would be faster. Freights would be faster. Express services would have access to a faster alignment. No need for building multiple railway corridors/issue of connecting and what not. Maybe still run the rail buses but have them as hail and ride feeder services.

[James]

Super-fast considering what was there before...

To extend on that, ignoring Caboolture - Beerburrum, it is probably the best engineered piece of dual track infrastructure in Queensland (until the opening of the Springfield Line).

That really says more about Queensland being a hick state than it does about the way the GC line was built, though.

It's not a lost cause however as I personally think a realigned/straightened/high speed link via the existing line to Landsborough with the extension from there heading east would be the best of both worlds. There's nothing really between Caboolture-Sunny Coast where as there's some patronage along the existing route. Work out how to run the all stoppers (extending Cab services to Landsborough or Gympie-Cab servies). Run express services all stops to Landsborough exp to Cab exp to Petrie etc etc etc. The all stoppers would be faster. Freights would be faster. Express services would have access to a faster alignment. No need for building multiple railway corridors/issue of connecting and what not. Maybe still run the rail buses but have them as hail and ride feeder services.

The more I think about it, the more I think the line should just be realigned in one big hit from Beerburrum to Nambour. Doing the thing piecemeal costs more and results in half-baked outcomes (take for example our beloved Northern Busway, which was built with the middle missing! ). CAMCOS, while I think might work nicely, may ruin the 'CoastConnect' concept due in 20XX (originally 2031, probably 2091 at this rate), and I'm not sure if the demand exists there for anything beyond LRT (done in a similar fashion to the Gold Coast).

Also solves the problem of serving the coast vs. the hinterland. Just run trains to Cooroy and have LRT linking at Landsborough and buses at Nambour/Cooroy. North of Cooroy can be permanently replaced by RailBuses as far as I'm concerned - servicing these communities by bus is a better way of serving them anyway, preferably under QConnect.