QueenslandRail Network Reliability

[#Metro]

This has been a bit of an issue. Every week there seems to be a signal fault, points failure, boom gate smash (or five!) which makes things difficult to use because the next service is not around for another half hour.

So rather than complain, is there anything that can be done to improve the reliability of the network from our perspective?

[mufreight]

More flexibility for train control to initiate alternative safe working systems.

[somebody]

There's no excuse for a motorist to hit a boom gate and even less for a professional driver like a truckie.

[SurfRail]

People are fundamentally stupid.  I believe that passionately, and I don't make any exemption for myself.

I think we need to idiot-proof the rail network as much as possible to prevent any sort of nonsense going on at low bridges and level crossings. 

Apart from physically eliminating level crossings and improving the road geometry to prevent bridgestrikes, more failsafes needs to be initiated.  Height gauges, traffic signals and warning lights before instead of only at level crossings, tyre spikes if necessary, increased barrier-down time.  And disqualify any person who strikes a bridge from holding an MR or HR licence for X years except in exceptional circumstances.  And make the truckie and the employer (where applicable) jointly and severally liable to contribute to the cost of fixing the damage.

You can't rely on people to be competent, otherwise we wouldn't need most of the crossing protection we have in the first place.

[colinw]

What the world really needs is a road equivalent of an ATP system, and application of equivalent safety standards to the roads. 

[#Metro]

We need more grade separation and to incrementally remove level crossings, starting with the worst ones.
This boom gate nonsense is ridiculous. There are already enough things wrong with our train system- it is fast heading towards "THE worst train system anywhere in the developed world".

Cameras first and fines go into a fund to help grade separate these crossings. Class A all the way!

[Golliwog]

There are already enough things wrong with our train system- it is fast heading towards "THE worst train system anywhere in the developed world".

Calm down, we're nowhere near the worst. You're being a bit hyper-critical.

[#Metro]

Maybe I am... but...

Golliwog, I think we are getting there. Perth got their upgrades and have double the off peak frequency to all stations. Adelaide has woken up and is now rushing to electrify the network, 15 minute frequency off peak at selected stations, get new trains and start building up core frequency. Of all places, Melbourne is now ramping up frequency and doing things to improve reliability.

Cross River Rail can start to turn us around (if they don't cancel it or it is priced into non-existence). But we have freight on the network, single track sections where precision crosses are required, a lot of level crossings which can shut down the system or lines a few times each month... all these are sources of unreliability. Rail patronage, within variation, has been rather flat, especially so vs buses etc... So in 10 years we may well be the city with the gong...

Don't get me started on the Sunshine Coast..

[somebody]

There are already enough things wrong with our train system- it is fast heading towards "THE worst train system anywhere in the developed world".

Calm down, we're nowhere near the worst. You're being a bit hyper-critical.

In 2007, CityRail was compared to a number of overseas rail systems by MTR (Hong Kong), and came out the worst by far.  I say CityTrain are worse than CityRail, except for the Gold Coast line, which is QR's shining light, but it still drops back to an hourly outbound frequency after 8:24pm, and 6:24pm on weekends.  QR don't have a slow timetable yet, but are to get one almost as bad from 6 June 2011 on the Ipswich and Caboolture lines, and the Varsity Lakes extension slowed the average speed of the line disproportionately.  Link: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/your-anger-over-cityrail-joke/story-e6frf0a0-1111113191203

Diesel rail systems in Auckland and Adelaide may be worse but both of those are being upgraded in the next few years.

Wellington, NZ may be marginally worse perhaps, but you are talking about a city 1/4 the size of Brisbane, let alone SEQ.

I challenge you to name a city with more than 1mil people with a worse electrified train system in the developed world.

[#Metro]

Just you wait... timetable obesity and pile on the fat in the timetable will hit the QR timetable I predict. The trains only have 2 doors...

[Stillwater]

TT, is your surname Hanrahan?  We'll all be rooned, said Hanrahan: http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/obrienj/poetry/hanrahan.html

[Stillwater]

With apologies to John O'Brien .....

Some extra verses:

He drew breath to continue his tale of woe
But there piped another from those gathered
In language as if he'd stubbed his toe
'The railways are fu%ked', TT did blabber.

'I've been to Perth where the trains are plentiful.
In Queensland, they are slow, if they come at all.
To Mandurah, the journey is swift and magical.
Oh to live in the West, where the trains come at call.'

Hanrahan nodded sagely as TT gathered steam:
'Why QR they are the joke of the world.
Four doors to a carriage, and stuffed, it would seem,
As he drew in the dust his rail plan unfurled.

[#Metro]

No its not... but if the train system is going to be carrying 100 million, 200 million passengers, which it well could be in coming decades... you just can't these level crossings are going to really become more and more disruptive.

[Golliwog]

I challenge you to name a city with more than 1mil people with a worse electrified train system in the developed world.

Why does it have to be electrified?

This is based purely on a tourist visit, but I would suggest Cardiff, Wales. http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/timetables/ (you want timetable no. 5)

The WORST timetable I've seen. It's one document, no map other than the very vague one on the front cover, and has the timetables for all of the lines over 92 pages. Theres no clear marking of whether services are running express over a section, or if the stations it skips are a branch line. Some services have an "A" next to them which means that engineering work often effects that service and you should check if its going to run or not. There could be a decent frequency (from memory when I was there it wasn't bad, but they've changed timetables since then) but I can't tell from these confusing timetables. I do know though that a number of services are scheduled to use Cardiff Bay station in the city, which is a single platform station where the train has to reverse to leave the station, back the way it came. When I was there, the shuttle running between CB and Cardiff Queen St had an issue and couldn't reverse. The driver basically explained it as the keys were stuck at what was now going to be the rear of the train and he needed them at the new front end to drive from there. From the way he was explaining it, it didn't sound like this was the first time this had happened. This shuttle service also had such brilliant passenger features as door where to open them from inside you had to open the adjacent window, reach outside and use the outside door handle as there wasn't one on the inside.

That said, I did enjoy my time there and would use the trains if I went there again, but it isn't a network where I would feel confident saying "I want to get to X station soI'll just catch the next train on the Y line" I'd have to ask the ticket seller which train to get.

[#Metro]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Lines

Shock horror!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cardiff/2011/mar/22/cardiff-trains-wales-power-failure

[somebody]

I challenge you to name a city with more than 1mil people with a worse electrified train system in the developed world.

Why does it have to be electrified?

This is based purely on a tourist visit, but I would suggest Cardiff, Wales. http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/timetables/ (you want timetable no. 5)

Doesn't exactly meet the criteria.  Cardiff only has a pop of 336k and it's not electrified.  I tend to think places without electrified rail systems aren't taking their system seriously.  I see what you mean about the map though: wiki has a better one.

However, while the Coryton line has a Qld frequency, and the Cardiff Bay bit has a CityRail inspired operating pattern (frequency divided between Cardiff Queen St & Cardiff Central), hourly frequency to Ninian Park-Danescourt and the Airport/Llanwit Major and a few others, the system does have a 15 minute frequency to Ystrad Mynach (and most stations beyond to Bargoed) and to Penarth 6 days a week.  Sunday service is pretty poor.  Also to 15-16 minutes to Barry, and Pontypridd.

[Golliwog]

If you included more than just the population in just the Cardiff council area though you got above 1 million. From memory the frequency wasn't that bad when I was using it, it was jsut working out which train you actually wanted. Which is something Brisbane (IMO anyway) does a damn lot better on.

[somebody]

If you included more than just the population in just the Cardiff council area though you got above 1 million. From memory the frequency wasn't that bad when I was using it, it was jsut working out which train you actually wanted. Which is something Brisbane (IMO anyway) does a damn lot better on.

Got a link for the 1mil?  Everything I can find supports 336k in 2009, but with significantly more density than BCC.  Another link is here: http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/objview.asp?object_ID=19201

It's a bit besides the point though.

I can see that the system could be a bit confusing, but I would still rather CityRail (and Cardiff) style confusion to the sheer non-performance of the CityTrain network.  Although the QR system is improving, I'll allow.

[#Metro]

It is still Rotten apple!!!

[Golliwog]

I think wiki had something. IIRC it was something similar to including the population of the greater Brisbane area in Brisbanes pop stats (So adding in Moreton Bay regional council, etc). Again, irrelevant.

I differ, I much prefer the legible network we have where, while the train may not come for some time, its much each to know which train to get to go wherever.

[#Metro]

The off peak frequency is really really really bad. As much as I like trains I would rather live near a busway station or BUZ route!

The level crossings are going to be more of an issue as more people are carried and frequency goes up (frequency up = boom gates down!) I'm not sure what the go is with the signal and track faults though. Is that just ageing infrastructure? There seems to be a few of these problems but not sure if we are better/worse on this front than say Perth.