Random observations around the network ...

[somebody]

The Gympielander operated on the mains (instead of the usual suburbans) into Brissy this Arvo.

Timetable says that is normal for inbound.  Only outbound uses the suburbans.

[Fares_Fair]

UPDATE: 5:04pm Nambour train left Central station 25 minutes late, arriving at Palmwoods 14 minutes late at 7:02pm
NO ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE MADE FOR THIS DELAY.

No twitter alerts were issued and no erail alerts issued either.

Does the Sunshine Coast not exist or just not matter?

Similar scenario late last year on Sunday 18 December at midday when a major disruption went unreported in the hope that:
a) no one would notice or
b) QR and TransLink don't care for Sunshine Coast customers.

Tell that to the 'customers' waiting for their train which turned out to be a substituted bus in lieu.

Sure, Sunny Coasters are used to buses, we get 26 every day pretending to be trains, but this is appalling behaviour by QR and TL.

EDIT:
I have also been informed that QR and or TransLink 'do not respond to direct tweets from stakeholders such as politicians, journalists or major interest groups' (unquote)... not sure which one of those categories I fall into, but that said no point in tweeting to them about all of this.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Arnz]

The Gympielander operated on the mains (instead of the usual suburbans) into Brissy this Arvo.

Timetable says that is normal for inbound.  Only outbound uses the suburbans.

Only for Morning Peak inbound trains.  Outbound afternoon peak uses the suburbans.

The daytime Gympielander normally uses the suburbans both ways (Most likely to insert in a extra Ipswich service on the mains in the afternoon).  

Timetable isn't exactly right on one or two things, the 3:23pm service out of Caboolture usually departs out of Caboolture #3 instead of #1 for instance.  A number of stations still issue the July timetable despite the minor timing adjustments to #X970 (morning inbound from Gympie)

[Arnz]

Just got report that #TL19 (4pm from Roma st to Nambour) got downgraded to a 3-car unit due to a unit fault (according to the guard of that service)

[Fares_Fair]

Just got report that #TL19 (4pm from Roma st to Nambour) got downgraded to a 3-car unit due to a unit fault (according to the guard of that service)

I received a report that there were a lot of peeved people on that crowded 3 car service.

On another note, Question. If I catch a bus and go just 1 stop, does it count as a trip journey?

My experience today would suggest that it is not so. I went from Adelaide Street, Stop 28 to Queen St, Stop 67 (just around the corner) and received no charge (darn!)
It was a stand alone trip journey hours apart from my last touch off on a train.
I am trialling extra Go card journeys to see how much a Sunshine Coast commuter can save with the 10+ trips free routine.


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[longboi]

Do you mean journey? Yes it counts as a new journey if you touch on more than an hour after your last touch off. What does your history say?

[Fares_Fair]

Hi Nikko,
Sorry yes, a new journey.

It was over 2 hours since the last touch off. Nothing is showing on my go card history of this 1 stop bus ride. I didn't see the screen as I touched off at the front of the bus as it was too low to see. I can only recall a slightly longer touch off tone as I egressed.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

Seems like it was just a miss touch FF, or you touched on but the system didn't move to the next stop and when you touched off it was interpreted as a cancellation. When doing short hops particularly best to touch on at front, touch off at the rear doors.  If the go card system is on and working properly a one stop trip, at least one hour after your last touch off is a new journey, if you touch on properly, travel the one stop, and then touch off properly.  The bus go gear is a bit more tricky at times to use than the rail go gear I have found.  Just make sure the go gear is working properly when you touch.  Stop location changes between touch on and touch off.  Also with bus go transactions can take a while to show on your history as the bus needs to upload the go data at the deport when it returns at the end/change of shift. This can take a while, not the same as rail which is immediate.

[Fares_Fair]

Thank you, Ozbob. 

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[somebody]

Seems like it was just a miss touch FF, or you touched on but the system didn't move to the next stop and when you touched off it was interpreted as a cancellation. When doing short hops particularly best to touch on at front, touch off at the rear doors.  If the go card system is on and working properly a one stop trip, at least one hour after your last touch off is a new journey, if you touch on properly, travel the one stop, and then touch off properly.  The bus go gear is a bit more tricky at times to use than the rail go gear I have found.  Just make sure the go gear is working properly when you touch.  Stop location changes between touch on and touch off.  Also with bus go transactions can take a while to show on your history as the bus needs to upload the go data at the deport when it returns at the end/change of shift. This can take a while, not the same as rail which is immediate.

Wouldn't touching off at the back have resulted in a fixed fare in this case, assuming that the system didn't move on to the next stop?

[ozbob]

No, based on feedback from folks who have been doing short trips on buses for a while (journey caps have been  around a while ... ), they have found even though the system appears to be ok, touching off at the same reader you touched on when boarding the bus usually cancels ...  they have found they need to touch off at a different reader.  We are only talking a stop or two here ...  no more.  Just seems to be a quirk of the system.

[ozbob]

Outbound on IMU124, 8.30am Ippy ex Roma St.  I think I need to go the 'loo' on principle ...  lol

[somebody]

I/B 100 waited for about 5 minutes at W'Gabba for the timetable to catch up at about 6:50pm last night.

How annoying!

[HappyTrainGuy]

Catch the 174

[Cam]

I/B 100 waited for about 5 minutes at W'Gabba for the timetable to catch up at about 6:50pm last night.

How annoying!

Does that mean that it was up to 5 minutes early leaving previous stops?

[Fares_Fair]

Outbound on IMU124, 8.30am Ippy ex Roma St.  I think I need to go the 'loo' on principle ...  lol

Loo's were locked on first 3 cars of 5:04pm service home last night, 10 December.
An announcement was made by the Guard apologising for the situation.
From now on I am going to add this as a note beside my on-time performance records, whether loo's are available or operational.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Arnz]

Outbound on IMU124, 8.30am Ippy ex Roma St.  I think I need to go the 'loo' on principle ...  lol

And that train to Ippy left Nambour at 6:40am this morning, lol (one of two Nambour-Ippy's, the other being the 3:13pm departure from Nambour).

[somebody]

I/B 100 waited for about 5 minutes at W'Gabba for the timetable to catch up at about 6:50pm last night.

How annoying!

Does that mean that it was up to 5 minutes early leaving previous stops?

Perhaps.  I'm not sure where the timing points are.  Apparently these aren't correctly noted in the public timetables.

[Otto]

I wouldn't bother waiting at the Gabba on an inbound service . Plenty others going through inbound... However, outbound, I would definitely wait for time to catch up.

[somebody]

I wouldn't bother waiting at the Gabba on an inbound service . Plenty others going through inbound... However, outbound, I would definitely wait for time to catch up.

Neither would I but it seems that its the official practice on the 100.  Sigh.

[barnesy]

Caboolture Station has new travel train signs on platforms and ticket office very bright. off topic Also read in the news paper tender for new narangba station

[Arnz]

The guard apologised for the toilets in lead unit 178 being out of order this morning, and had suggested anyone wishing to use the toilets to switch to 4th car (don't have trailing unit number) at the next station.

[ozbob]

A year ago today, underwater,  down service approaching Goodna



Photograph R Dow 12th January 2012

[Fares_Fair]

On 6:14 AM service from Nambour to City this morning.
IM7177 Carriage D was receiving intermittent Wi-Fi signals along the way.

Twittered it ...

@QueenslandRail
Very intermittent Wi-Fi signal on IM7177. Testing perhaps?

Queensland Rail
@name withheld
We're advised Wi-Fi on that train is indeed still in testing, signal will improve when Wi-Fi enabling is finalised.

Cool, look forward to enjoying it on the Sunshine Coast line in the near future.
Thank you QR.


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

On 6:14 AM service from Nambour to City this morning.
IM7177 Carriage D was receiving intermittent Wi-Fi signals along the way.

Twittered it ...

@QueenslandRail
Very intermittent Wi-Fi signal on IM7177. Testing perhaps?

Queensland Rail
@name withheld
We're advised Wi-Fi on that train is indeed still in testing, signal will improve when Wi-Fi enabling is finalised.

Cool, look forward to enjoying it on the Sunshine Coast line in the near future.
Thank you QR.


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[petey3801]

On 6:14 AM service from Nambour to City this morning.
IM7177 Carriage D was receiving intermittent Wi-Fi signals along the way.

Twittered it ...

@QueenslandRail
Very intermittent Wi-Fi signal on IM7177. Testing perhaps?

Queensland Rail
@name withheld
We're advised Wi-Fi on that train is indeed still in testing, signal will improve when Wi-Fi enabling is finalised.

Cool, look forward to enjoying it on the Sunshine Coast line in the near future.
Thank you QR.


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

Wi-fi has been enabled on IMU165, there are stickers next to each door notifying prospective passengers

[ozbob]

Down rail train (empty) through Darra

R Dow 17th January 2012

[ozbob]

Light engines pass through Darra UP

R Dow 17th January 2012

[ozbob]

Up coal train passing through Darra platform one

R Dow 17th January 2012

[ozbob]

Caught a train at Oxley this morning around 9am. How lovely to look at the PIDs (all working), touch on at the pilot go card reader, wonder at the 15 minute frequency, have toilet that was open, and board a train which is not congested.  Makes a change from Goodna ... LOL

[ozbob]

QRN Down coal train on the main down through Oxley, late morning peak ...

R Dow 18th January 2012

The way it was, a blast from the past ...

Preliminary work has started at Oxley for the track upgrade!

Looking north-west from the present platform at Oxley to the general area where the new additional platform will be located and new third track.  A solitary marker peg can be noted.

Photograph R Dow 2 May 2008



from http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=833.msg3659#msg3659

[HappyTrainGuy]

Wi-fi has been enabled on IMU165, there are stickers next to each door notifying prospective passengers

Indeed there are. Said stickers to be applied.

[Golliwog]

  for those stickers.

[Fares_Fair]

I can confirm that QR are currently testing Wi-Fi on IMU177.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

Presently at Goodna rail, waiting for a train. The advantage of a long wait is I guess, I can post reflective posts such as this ... LOL

Plenty of signs around for the coming closure this weekend Corinda to Rosewood.  Another nail in the electoral coffin ...

[ozbob]

Onboard EMU47, UP, just passed full down ballast train up from Goodna.

[Fares_Fair]

This week I travelled on a severely graffittied train where all of the windows and doors, for three-quarters the length of the carriage and half the length of the adjacent carriage were obliterated by paint placed by vandals. 3 youths were observed taking photographs of the train as it passed by the station.

I attempted to contact QR by phone to report this fact and the said persons, but no phone service was available, and it wasn't an emergency so I did not use the intercom.
I did however knock on the driver's door and received no response, even when the train was parked at a station for boardings.

I knew that the guard was in the rear 3 carriages of the train and so was also uncontactable.

What should one do in this circumstance?
Is it QR policy to ignore knocks at the drivers cabin, perhaps for (understandable) security reasons?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[HappyTrainGuy]

There are a couple numbers that you can call. 131617 is just the general enquiry number but 0736065555 is the number to call to report vandalism/tresspassers/suspicious activity on/related to QR property IIRC. I think it might be mentioned somewhere on the Queensland Rail website if you have a poke around there. If you have video/photographs of said persons there is also an email address (Sorry, I can't recall it) that you can send them to along with additional information which gets forwarded to the railway squad who look after that sort of stuff.

edit - fixed up errors.

[Fares_Fair]

Thank you HTG,

More graffitti again this morning, this vandalism is a real nuisance.
It must be disheartening for those QR personnel who have to clean it up.

A photographer observed taking pictures as train departed Northgate station at 7:50am, young female, possibly Asian, short black hair, sunglasses, blue dress, brown satchel bag and yellow bag.
She was photographed at Northgate Station, up on the carpark, behind the wire fence, as she moved away.

More photographers observed at south end of Albion Station platform at 8:05am, 2 young males in light grey T shirts and light grey shorts, another male further north, mid-way down the platform. One holding SLR type camera and clearly waiting to photograph the train, panned it as the train passed by.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Golliwog]

But were they waiting for that particular train, or were they just train/camera enthusiasts?