Random observations around the network ...

[jesse]

Headed up to Noosa today with the intent of checking out the bus infrastructure, but got forced back by one of my medical things playing up.  The 7:20am route 649 failed to show (was actually running 25mins late), but thank goodness, IMU102 saved me with the 7:53am departure.

A handful of people heading up there, mostly school kids, some going from Caboolture to Glasshouse Mountains.

Majority of the times that service (train) is full of school kids, never manage to find a seat. 

[jesse]

hey guys, I apologise if this observation has been reported already on another thread but, EMU 41 is back on the rails after the banyo crash last year. It was spotted (by me ) at morayfield station working a 3:05pm Caboolture service. But with a change; it still has the handles to open the doors, but has the face of EMU 42.  :conf :conf

cheers, Jesse

[HappyTrainGuy]

But with a change; it still has the handles to open the doors, but has the face of EMU 42.  :conf :conf

What do you mean? Bandicoot face at one end while all yellow at the other end?

[petey3801]

Yes, has been back in service for a while now. HTG, it has yellow fronts on both ends, but no other "refurb emu" qualities, such as door buttons etc.

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Bayside couple travel by train from their wedding in the Brisbane CBD to reception in Wynnum

[Stillwater]

After being painted in heritage colours, mis-matched paint has been sposhed over the words 'gents' and 'ladies' above the toilets at Cooroy railway station.  A small notice on the noticeboard directs QR customers wanting to spend a penny to the nearby service station (across the street) or to the public toilets in the main street (over overbridge).  Seems QR wants to shift the total cost of toilet maintenance incurred by its Cooroy customers to a private business and the council.

[Gazza]

^As I've said before, we should be able to have toilets open at train stations, but unfortunately it is evident some passengers aren't toilet trained, so it becomes difficult to keep them open.

[Arnz]

I am on board the 3rd last 601 heading towards Caloundra.  A total of 6 people boarded at Sunshine Plaza.  In addition TransLink volunteers are at all major Sunshine Coast bus stations today handing out new timetables for the timetable changes kicking in this coming Monday.

Edit:  3 more boarded at the Homemaker centre down the road.  9 people on board now.

Farewell 601, at least those buses are put on the 600 to make that trunk route every 12 mins.

[ozbob]

Redbank - rail grinder and some interesting wagons ..





Ipswich





Booval







Photographs R Dow 23rd November 2013

[ozbob]

Morningside ..



Photograph R Dow 5th December 2013

[ozbob]

Richlands



Photograph R Dow 5th December 2013

[minbrisbane]

Roma Street

[jesse]

Hey all, yesterday I was at the Morayfield train station at about 3:05 pm and the Caboolture bound train had just pulled up at Morayfield station and it rolled backwards about 3.5 meters. Then it came to a complete stop ( these units were smu 249 and smu 238), any ideas of why this happened??.



cheers, Jesse

[STB]

Hey all, yesterday I was at the Morayfield train station at about 3:05 pm and the Caboolture bound train had just pulled up at Morayfield station and it rolled backwards about 3.5 meters. Then it came to a complete stop ( these units were smu 249 and smu 238), any ideas of why this happened??.



cheers, Jesse

Did it overshoot?  If it did, just would've been the driver backing it up to the platform.

[techblitz]

Hey all, yesterday I was at the Morayfield train station at about 3:05 pm and the Caboolture bound train had just pulled up at Morayfield station and it rolled backwards about 3.5 meters. Then it came to a complete stop ( these units were smu 249 and smu 238), any ideas of why this happened??.



cheers, Jesse

Hopefully the doors werent unlocked when they were reversing 

[HappyTrainGuy]

I highly doubt the driver would have pressed the left hand door release button.

[techblitz]

I highly doubt the driver would have pressed the left hand door release button.

Perhaps....but it has happened before....

interesting incident @ petrie rail yesterday that could have been a lot worse since there was no prams or wheelchairs deboarding at the time...

Train pulls in (coming from the city)
Doors open and passengers start to deboard
While this is happening train starts to roll back 
Rolls back a good 3-4 metres before finally stopping
While the rollback wasn't too fast...definitely fast enough to cause troubles if prams or wheelchairs involved due to height between platform & train

[HappyTrainGuy]

I highly doubt the driver would have pressed the left hand door release button.

Perhaps....but it has happened before....

interesting incident @ petrie rail yesterday that could have been a lot worse since there was no prams or wheelchairs deboarding at the time...

Train pulls in (coming from the city)
Doors open and passengers start to deboard
While this is happening train starts to roll back 
Rolls back a good 3-4 metres before finally stopping
While the rollback wasn't too fast...definitely fast enough to cause troubles if prams or wheelchairs involved due to height between platform & train

Not in what you are trying to compare it to as you have just compared two different issues where the circumstances aren't the same. The Morayfield incident sounds like a plain and simple overshoot (going past, reversing and then opening the doors) while the Petrie incident sounds like the brakes weren't fully engaged while stopped (stopped on the mark, opened the doors and in the process of people detraining there was enough momentum moving around that it made the train roll down the gradient towards the city). No driver in their right mind would reverse a train with the doors open.

[petey3801]

I highly doubt the driver would have pressed the left hand door release button.

Perhaps....but it has happened before....

interesting incident @ petrie rail yesterday that could have been a lot worse since there was no prams or wheelchairs deboarding at the time...

Train pulls in (coming from the city)
Doors open and passengers start to deboard
While this is happening train starts to roll back 
Rolls back a good 3-4 metres before finally stopping
While the rollback wasn't too fast...definitely fast enough to cause troubles if prams or wheelchairs involved due to height between platform & train

Not in what you are trying to compare it to as you have just compared two different issues where the circumstances aren't the same. The Morayfield incident sounds like a plain and simple overshoot (going past, reversing and then opening the doors) while the Petrie incident sounds like the brakes weren't fully engaged while stopped (stopped on the mark, opened the doors and in the process of people detraining there was enough momentum moving around that it made the train roll down the gradient towards the city). No driver in their right mind would reverse a train with the doors open.

If it was a Caboolture bound train at Morayfield, you can't simply roll backwards, as it is a downhill grade towards Caboolture. Would have had to have been in reverse with power applied, which in that case, the doors were not released as the traction interlocking would not have allowed power to be applied.

[jesse]

Hey all, yesterday I was at the Morayfield train station at about 3:05 pm and the Caboolture bound train had just pulled up at Morayfield station and it rolled backwards about 3.5 meters. Then it came to a complete stop ( these units were smu 249 and smu 238), any ideas of why this happened??.



cheers, Jesse

Did it overshoot?  If it did, just would've been the driver backing it up to the platform.

no it didn't it just rolled back

[HappyTrainGuy]

Rollingback was referred to the Petrie comment when the train was already stopped at the station.

[ozbob]

EMU01 waits for guard's ROW at Ipswich ..  train departed 30 seconds after this pic .



Photograph R Dow 13th December 2013

[techblitz]

Really have to wonder why they redid the bowen hills toilet but couldnt put in an extra one to have seperate toilets. Bowen hills warrants it due to the amount of connecting services.

[petey3801]

Just arrived back into Brisbane after a week of no car and fantastic public transport in Melbourne and Sydney, to arrive back in to Brisbane and just miss the last Airtrain service at 10pm. Wow, I really did not miss Brisbane!
That's not even mentioning the trackwork from Roma St to Corinda/Y'pilly/Murrarie that was supposed to happen a few weekends ago but was rescheduled to this weekend!

[Otto]

Just arrived back into Brisbane after a week of no car and fantastic public transport in Melbourne and Sydney, to arrive back in to Brisbane and just miss the last Airtrain service at 10pm.

I had the same happen to me last year... Not a happy camper.. plus my flight from MEL arrived in BNE 5 hours late.. Grrrr

[BrizCommuter]

Santa express observed running 15 mins late to and from Ferny Grove today, delaying the scheduled train by approx. 3 mins.  Santa Express arrived at Ferny Grove at it's departure time, but had to wait for families to run to the barriers to touch off and back on again (many didn't and will get a fixed fare), and allow some of the staff to go to the loo. Quite why the Santa Express didn't allow the scheduled train to overtake it at Ferny Grove, I don't know!

[jesse]

any observations of the unit number/s for the santa express this year?

[petey3801]

168 I think it is, saw it today at Bowen Hills.

[minbrisbane]

I'm impressed. 

I gave feedback about a map being incorrectly labelled at stop 41.  After the first round of changes, 186 showed stopping at Buranda while the timetable didn't.  It's been fixed and replaced with a new map in the blade.

[techblitz]

Nice little police/t.o blitz happening at southbank rail this evening..

[ozbob]

This morning, I stood and cheered the Westlander as it departed from Ippy ...  and there was a lot, and I mean a lot of pax ...







Photographs R Dow 21st December 2013

[ozbob]

Mid morning Christmas day Goodna ..

Up Rosewood





Down Caboolture



Around 200 pax or so on this train.  Travelled to Oxley on board.

Photographs R Dow 25th December 2013

[p858snake]

^As I've said before, we should be able to have toilets open at train stations, but unfortunately it is evident some passengers aren't toilet trained, so it becomes difficult to keep them open.

I'm sure if they asked, They could find volunteers to manage the toilets at Cooroy in particular.

[#Metro]

Outsource the toilet operations. Sell the rights for toilet and bathroom management, cleaning and provision - toilet operation is not a core QR function. People can pay to use the loo, plenty of other cities do it, and it can be open 24/7.

This should see vandalism go down as well - vandals don't like to pay, because every toilet they enter, they have to pay each time.

Gives a new meaning to "spend a penny"!

As usual, Toronto is ahead of the game.

Model

You get what you pay for. The current system is failing and not good enough.

[James]

May I suggest go card integration, with CCTV in a portion of the bathroom. Vandals can subsequently be linked to go cards and apprehended. Given the tendency of vandals to also fare evade, I doubt they will have a go card either.

We do not need to 'gold plate' the toilets a la Toronto - simply attach go card readers to either side of the door. 'Touch on' to open the door on the way in, 'touch off' to open the door on the way out. Of course, card integration would be the most difficult part.

I can see this having an application at stations which are only staffed in peak, yet not terribly busy. Taringa comes to mind as one which could be a trial concept, Graceville/Sherwood could be some others.

[minbrisbane]

Is there any traction on the war between BCC and TMR about Southbank tunnel?

[jesse]

Any ideas on when IMU 173 will be back in service again/ or if it will ever?


cheers Jesse.

[Stillwater]

The saga of the Canberra 'Star Ship Enterprise' automatic loos:

http://the-riotact.com/whatever-happened-to-canberras-space-age-self-cleaning-toilets/10324

[minbrisbane]

[minbrisbane]

Liking the look of 'The' Optimus.