Should Caboolture trains stop at Carseldine as part of Bus Network improvements?

[achiruel]

This would be part of wider network reforms. Petrie to Northgate is a fairly big chunk of stops to miss, I don't think 1 extra stop would make the service super slower, and Carseldine is well located for bus feeders. Much better than Zillmere (IMO). I could envisage buses from Bracken Ridge, Eatons Hill, Bridgeman Downs, maybe even Aspley and Taigum.  Tes, I realise Aspley is slightly backward and Taigum is close to Boondal, but I think feeding people to different stations/lines depending on their destination isn't necessarily a bad thing). And Boondall is well off the main road unlike Carseldine.

Carseldine to City is 25 minutes, on RPL service. Maybe 23 minutes for a Caboolture train that skips Zillmere-Virginia. P343 Aspley to Roma St takes 47-51 minutes during peak hour. I can easily see bus->train being time competitive, as well as allowing far more flexibility in destinations. Bus to train, then travel to RPL, Caboolture/Sunny Coast, Into city, change at Northgate for Toombul/Nundah etc. which currently requires either transfer to the horribly unreliable GCL at Chermside or travel all the way into city and back out.

And Eatons Hill bus service is horrible, could upgrade to improved frequency with train connection at Carseldine. It could even have train connections at 2 ends, Carseldine via Albany Creek to Eatons Hill then via Brendale to Strathpine. Probably extend the Carsedline end to Chermside to allow bus connections to many northside routes also.

[Arnz]

Out of personal reasons and living up north, my personal opinion is no. 

A more alternative way to get more people on the Caboolture/Nambour trains is to continue the duplication from Beerburrum to at least Beerwah, then start on the CAMCOS spur to Caloundra only (with stations at Caloundra South (Aura) and Golden Beach).  That way you fill up the off-peak Caboolture/Nambour trains with people from the Sunshine Coast, and also getting people from the buses via extending the main trunk Route 600 to terminate at Caloundra Station.

Extend all existing Caboolture and Nambour trains to terminate at Caloundra. 
Convert all existing Nambour and Gympie North trains into Beerwah-Nambour/Gympie North shuttles terminating at an upgraded 3-platform Beerwah station.  So it doesn't take up the current Brisbane City slots.   
Install ETCS2 from Northgate to Roma Street to allow more slots for Peak-Hour Caboolture-short runners and more Kippa-Ring services where required.
The new yards at Elimbah (for the peak-hour Caboolture (short-running) services, Woombye (for the Nambour-Gympie shuttles) and at Caloundra would take over the Nambour and (most) of the existing Caboolture yard operations.

Edit: An upgraded Kippa-Ring service through ETCS2 implementation would serve as the primary train line for any "bus feeders" going through Carseldine.  Whereas the Sunshine Coast/Caloundra service (the existing Caboolture/Nambour service) would run express for time competitive reasons for everyone from Petrie north through to Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast.

[Paul B]

Eaton Hills may be horrible, but at least it has hourly services into the evening (compare that with the 322, 310, 230) . Why couldn't it be a feeder?

[BrizCommuter]

Out of personal reasons and living up north, my personal opinion is no. 

A more alternative way to get more people on the Caboolture/Nambour trains is to continue the duplication from Beerburrum to at least Beerwah, then start on the CAMCOS spur to Caloundra only (with stations at Caloundra South (Aura) and Golden Beach).  That way you fill up the off-peak Caboolture/Nambour trains with people from the Sunshine Coast, and also getting people from the buses via extending the main trunk Route 600 to terminate at Caloundra Station.

Extend all existing Caboolture and Nambour trains to terminate at Caloundra. 
Convert all existing Nambour and Gympie North trains into Beerwah-Nambour/Gympie North shuttles terminating at an upgraded 3-platform Beerwah station.  So it doesn't take up the current Brisbane City slots.   
Install ETCS2 from Northgate to Roma Street to allow more slots for Peak-Hour Caboolture-short runners and more Kippa-Ring services where required.
The new yards at Elimbah (for the peak-hour Caboolture (short-running) services, Woombye (for the Nambour-Gympie shuttles) and at Caloundra would take over the Nambour and (most) of the existing Caboolture yard operations.

Edit: An upgraded Kippa-Ring service through ETCS2 implementation would serve as the primary train line for any "bus feeders" going through Carseldine.  Whereas the Sunshine Coast/Caloundra service (the existing Caboolture/Nambour service) would run express for time competitive reasons for everyone from Petrie north through to Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast.

I agree. Sunshine Coast services are better off actually serving the Sunshine Coast rather than some hinterland villages. Even with ERTMS, it will be difficult to reliably get more than 24tph from Caboolture/Sunshine Coast/Kippa-Ring (current capacity 20tph, with 18tph operated). To significantly increase or speed up services to/from Caboolture/Sunshine Coast would require the Trouts Road Line. I have a detailed blog post coming in a few days on this - even a proposed track schema!

[achiruel]

I get what everyone is saying re Sunshine Coast and Trouts Rd etc but I'm trying to suggest what could be done with existing infrastructure/rolling stock/staff. This could be done in a matter of months not several years, I don't see 15 minute services coming to RPL any time soon with ongoing driver shortages and I believe Carseldine is seriously underutilised as an interchange considering it's easy access to a main road. I don't think 30 minute frequency is acceptable for an interchange where buses are running every 15, hence my suggestion to add the station to Caboolture stopping pattern. It would add maybe 1 minute? But give both rail and bus passengers more journey options.

Clearly this would need to be reviewed when new tracks are open and more rolling stock and crew are available for better RPL services and/or Petrie terminators but in the mean time I think this is an idea worth examining.