SEQ - timetable fat (rail)

[dancingmongoose]

Onboard the southbound Spirit of Queensland this morning, we were around an hour late into Gladstone, more than 40 minutes late into Gympie North, only 5 minutes late into Caboolture and bang on time at Roma Street. Just a little fat.

[tazzer9]

My sydney to brisbane XPT this morning (left sydney yesterday) was 15 minutes behind from gosford due to trackwork speed restriction.   20 minutes behind from broadmeadow due to ARTC controllers snoozing on the job.   5 minute extra delay due to random emergency brake when departing wauchope.   

But magically arrived into roma street 13 minutes early.     I repeat the XPT was early (probably so they had time to fix the bungled inter carriage connection and the EFTPOS terminal) I also noticed the the 4:42 park road to ferny grove chills at park road for a while.   

more than 40 minutes late into Gympie North, only 5 minutes late into Caboolture.

Gympie to caboolture has an amazing amount of fat, I have arrived 25 minutes early into gympie north before. 

[aldonius]

Gympie to caboolture has an amazing amount of fat, I have arrived 25 minutes early into gympie north before.

They've probably got to leave time for a dance of the trains...

[tazzer9]

They've probably got to leave time for a dance of the trains...

That particular service was done by 2 IMU100's but it had the usual dance at palmwoods.   Not really sure why it has so much fat considering(northbound) it doesn't encounter any long distance passenger trains and southbound it has a perfect cross with the ETT at woodnum.  There were a few stopped freights in loops from memory. 

Maybe to allow for overlength superfreighters slowing everything else down?  It is this run that made me assume IMU's were allowed that 10% overspeed revenue ICE services have.

[aldonius]

I should elaborate: dance of the trains at other times of day, and keeping to a clockface timetable throughout.