Please comment ... concerns on the Sunshine Coast line

[ozbob]

Feedback received.  Any comments?  Thanks ..

Can people with a greater knowledge of these things than I explain what happens when scheduling passenger trains on the North Coast Line north of Nambour?  There are only two return services Monday-Friday to Cooroy, with one of these having origin and destination at Gympie North.  The 11am (ish) service from Central to Cooroy arrives at Cooroy at 1.30pm, there to sit on the main line until it returns to Brisbane at 1.48pm.  On some days, depending on the operational schedules of the Sunlander and two Tilt Trains, these move back and forth through Cooroy (stopping to transfer passengers to and from Noosa and its hinterland areas), but can be held at Nambour, Pomona or on a crossing loop north of Eumundi.

Its possible for Cooroy-bound passengers to sit on the Citytrain service at the cooroy siding, within view of the platform, for up to 10 minutes, while waiting for a Tilt Train or Sundander to pass through, before being shunted back onto the main line, then to alight at Cooroy.  The same 'dance of the trains' can occur at Nambour.

It would appear that there would seem to be a slot allocated for all passenger trains on this section of the North Coast Line, and that is it (until the morning and evening train bound for Gympie North passes through.

For safety reasons, short station platforms on the North Coast Line to Gympie (with the exception of Traveston, which is likely to closed) have been lengthened.  QR/Translink say there are no plans for additional all-stations passenger trains north of Nambour, where the rule of thinking seems to be that no passenger train slots can be allocated without running longer freight trains.  This can't be achieved without having longer crossing loops/sidings on the single track.  And there is no money for that.

The "Bombay Express' from Gympie North in the morning is crowded beyond Nambour and only the old and infirm can expect a seat south of Landsborough.

[#Metro]

No plans for more services?
Perhaps they are using the age old excuse "there is no demand". I wonder why that must be.
Of course if there are zero services, there will be zero passengers.
If services are extremely poor, nobody can be expected to catch them.
Extreme gaps on the line leaving people waiting for insane periods also does not go down well.

[ozbob]

Some more feedback, thanks.

Re train stabling, QR is looking at three sites around Nambour for stabling trains overnight.  I have suggested that the stabling site be Yandina and that Nambour trains (not the buses from and to Caboolture) terminate at Yandina instead.  Nambour rail carpark is chockers all day and many people attending the nearby Nambour Hospital park there.  (The reason for this is that the railway carpark allows free all-day parking, while the parking spots around the hospital are 2-3 hours limit.  The parking inspectors police the hospital parking spots pretty effectively, forcing many to park at the station.)  Meanwhile, commuters park their cars in surrounding streets or on the surrounds of a sports oval.  People like me who live further north and drive to Nambour to catch the train usually push on, to park at Palmwoods or further south.  Having Nambour trains go one station north to Yandina (where there is room for stabling and parking) would allow Noosa hinterland commuters to drive and park there, thus relieving pressure on Nambour.  However, I am advised that the three sites being examined are in close proximity to Nambour station.

Constantly, we are being told that there is insufficient passenger numbers to warrant additional passenger trains north of Nambour, yet the figures reveal:

the annual compounded growth rate for morning peak passenger numbers on the North Coast line beyond Caboolture is six per cent, second only to 7.1 per cent figure for the Gold Coast line south of Beenleigh the Inter-City Express (ICE) trains provide insufficient capacity for the demand from Gympie and Nambour (Rail Service Infrastructure Requirements Study, October 2007)

annual freight growth on the North Coast Line is set to double over a 20-year period, creating conflicts for scheduling freight and passenger trains throughout the day, unless freight trains on this line are made longer, from 670 metres to 1500 metres, but this would require construction of longer passing loops, which the government is reluctant to do.

I had thought that one way of providing more passenger services north of Nambour would be to split six-car trains at Nambour -- three cars to go north to Gympie North and back and three cars to go to Caboolture and back, then for the six cars to hook up and become a six-car set for the journey to Central.

[ozbob]

Some more comments received,thanks.

Someting needs to be done about the lack of all-day parking spaces at the Nambour railway station.  Not only is the problem exacerbated by the popularity of the Nambour services, but also by a crackdown on street parking in and around the nearby Nambour General Hospital.  The problem is set to get worse as a further 98 beds are due to open at the hospital by the end of the year.

The council is enforcing the 2-3 hour parking limit around the hospital.  People accompanying those attending the emergency department (where the wait often is much longer than 2-3 hours) find it easier to park at the station car park than duck in and out trying to shift their car to a new location.

Parking is a problem for staff, with calls for Queensland Health to provide a remote car park for doctors and nurses etc and to run a shuttle bus to the hospital.  They find it easier to park all-day at the railway station, where the parking stay period is not policed by the council inspectors.

People from Coolum, Yandina and other places who want to catch the train at Nambour sometimes cannot find a parking spot and are forced to drive onto stations further south; that is provided they have enough time to outpace the train they want to catch from Nambour.

[#Metro]

The problem is: people can't get to the rail station.
The irony is, if more money is spent on car parks, there won't be so much money left over for service improvements for the people that will park. The cost of a single car park is similar and often more than it costs to buy a luxury car.

If the Jindalee car park is any guide to costs, you could buy an 2010 Italian luxury Alfa Romeo 147 1.9 JTD for
$39 990 and still have cash left over. (Source: Carsguide.com.au).

http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/search/vehicle-details/New_732701620090501/@N=4294962119&origin=browse&Nf=pPrice|BTWN%2025001%2050000&type=cars&searchType=5&vehicleType=5&pos=8&pr=D_14241109&nr=New_47711320090501

More trains and more buses to connect to those trains are what is needed.

[rob2144]

The 630/631 bus should be heavily upgraded from its crap timetable, this could help in the short term.

[Barbar]

Quote
"I had thought that one way of providing more passenger services north of Nambour would be to split six-car trains at Nambour -- three cars to go north to Gympie North and back and three cars to go to Caboolture and back, then for the six cars to hook up and become a six-car set for the journey to Central."

I like the idea of running a 3 car "shuttle"  for more passenger services north of Nambour and back. As a matter of interest does QR actually run any permanent shuttle service outside the CBD region i.e similar to Sydney metros very successful Chatswood <> Epping shuttle type services?

[somebody]

Quote
"I had thought that one way of providing more passenger services north of Nambour would be to split six-car trains at Nambour -- three cars to go north to Gympie North and back and three cars to go to Caboolture and back, then for the six cars to hook up and become a six-car set for the journey to Central."

I like the idea of running a 3 car "shuttle"  for more passenger services north of Nambour and back. As a matter of interest does QR actually run any permanent shuttle service outside the CBD region i.e similar to Sydney metros very successful Chatswood <> Epping shuttle type services?

Shuttles were only interim Epping-Chatswood.  Now there is a 15 minute service Chatswood-Hornsby via Macquarie Park, with at least half of those continuing to the city and on to Epping at the Chatswood end via North Sydney and Strathfield.

[Barbar]

Quote
"I had thought that one way of providing more passenger services north of Nambour would be to split six-car trains at Nambour -- three cars to go north to Gympie North and back and three cars to go to Caboolture and back, then for the six cars to hook up and become a six-car set for the journey to Central."

I like the idea of running a 3 car "shuttle"  for more passenger services north of Nambour and back. As a matter of interest does QR actually run any permanent shuttle service outside the CBD region i.e similar to Sydney metros very successful Chatswood <> Epping shuttle type services?

Shuttles were only interim Epping-Chatswood.  Now there is a 15 minute service Chatswood-Hornsby via Macquarie Park, with at least half of those continuing to the city and on to Epping at the Chatswood end via North Sydney and Strathfield.

Thanks somebody, its been a while since I was down in Sydney  ; still, it would be interesting to see whether QR would consider using that type of shuttle service ...perhaps its just too hard to schedule around the line timeslots allocated to freight traffic.

[STB]

The 630/631 bus should be heavily upgraded from its crap timetable, this could help in the short term.

The 630/631 timetable is based purely around the rail timetable.  Upgrade the rail timetable, you get an upgrade of the 630/631 timetable.

[Fridge]

The 630/631 bus should be heavily upgraded from its crap timetable, this could help in the short term.

The 630/631 timetable is based purely around the rail timetable.  Upgrade the rail timetable, you get an upgrade of the 630/631 timetable.

http://download.translink.com.au/timetables/080331_630,631.pdf

Not really.  The 630/631 meet the trains but it's only one or the other, not both.  I suggest that the 631 become a regular 1/2 hour/hourly service and the 630 become the dedicated train connection that meets all trains at Nambour.  This reasoning is because the 631 connects Nambour, Yandina, Eumundi, Cooroy across to Tewantin and Noosa Heads, where the 630 travels express from Nambour to Eumundi to Noosaville and Noosa Heads.

[rob2144]

The 630/631 bus should be heavily upgraded from its crap timetable, this could help in the short term.

The 630/631 timetable is based purely around the rail timetable.  Upgrade the rail timetable, you get an upgrade of the 630/631 timetable.

The bus timetable need upgrading immediately , its appalling that Yandina has pathetic transport when its only 10 mins from Nambour, so many people i work with are forced to drive to work as there in no alternative!

[somebody]

Maybe there is a need for a more far-flung northern terminus than Nambour?  That's not counting the Gympie North service.

[Arnz]

Maybe there is a need for a more far-flung northern terminus than Nambour?  That's not counting the Gympie North service.

Not really.  I'd have to go with the suggestion of upgrading Route 630 to a local half-hourly service (covering Yandina, Eumundi and Cooroy on the way to Noosa), whilst converting the Route 631 to the full-time "TrainLink" express service.

As for stabling, I'm still going with the suggestion of stabling south of Beerwah, allowing more frequent Landsborough turn-backs and improved service from Landsborough.  Beerwah stabling can be converted for future trains on the Beerwah-Nambour shuttles when CAMCOS is built in the future.   

A Beerwah stabling would work similarly to the Robina stabling-Varsity Lakes arrangement.  Trains would run empty Landsborough-Beerwah stabling yard, much like the empty Varsity Lakes-Robina stabling yard movements.

[somebody]

Isn't there room for stabling near Landsborough?

Besides, increasing the size of the Nambour facility would be more logical IMO.

[Barbar]

Isn't there room for stabling near Landsborough?

Besides, increasing the size of the Nambour facility would be more logical IMO.

Stabling at Landsborough ?  Yes, there is plenty of near vacant flat land next to the existing Landsborough station rail siding area that could be purchased for additional stabling, unfortunately, I doubt there is enough area available to increase the size of the Nambour facility.

[ozbob]

Some feedback received, thanks.

Re stabling of trains.  QR has three sites in mind, all close to Nambour station, for stabling trains.  Some preliminary work has begun on selecting the most appropriate site.  Yandina is an alternative (but not under consideration), as stabling of Nambour trains there would provide a defacto rail service to Yandina.  Space exists for stabling trains there.  Sunshine Coast Regional Council is actively planning a main street upgrade.  It is possible to co-ordinate this will a station revamp to allow more hinterland commuters to park their cars there instead of having to drive to Nambour, where there are no parking spaces and parking overflow from the nearby hospital is clogging the rail carpark.