Random observations around the network ...

[aldonius]

Today at Boggo Rd platform 6 (UQ bound): massive passenger buildup at 10:30-10:40.
Compounded by at least two full buses going past.

[ozbob]

Have noticed the last few days that the auto station announcements are now indicating the platform when indicating an express train service  " an express train will be passing this station in one minute on platform 2 " .  Previously there was no indication of the platform ......

Good!   

[DayboroStation]

Yes, a good improvement. At Toowong Station, it was often hard to work out what platform the express train was passing, as the announcements tend to echo a bit at this station.
Sadly, there are more express announcements at Toowong Station than stopping train announcements. 

[ozbob]

Noted a down service ex Springer at Oxley on the DOWN sub (plat one), normally UP main (plat two).  This is bit unusual, perhaps related to the track closures this weekend in from Corinda.

[jesse]

Have noticed the last few days that the auto station announcements are now indicating the platform when indicating an express train service  " an express train will be passing this station in one minute on platform 2 " .  Previously there was no indication of the platform ......

Good!   

yep that has been put in at morayfield station too!> 

[petey3801]

Crossed that problem 3-car Cleveland PM peak train (5:46pm or something out of Central?) at Murrarie, noted several standees in every vestibule, with a fully seated load also (so people standing were not just getting ready to get off).

[Otto]

Sitting on a VERY empty 6 car Express Cleveland train
@ 4:39 from Bowen Hills.
Just at Morningside now.

I caught the 3 car Nambour service from RS to BH immediatly prior to boarding the Cleveland train.
The Nambour train was packed ( like sardines ).


Tapatalk is EVIL !

[techblitz]

Onboard the dreaded 5.47 to cleveland....

Carriage 3 after murrarie..i count 4 spare seats and about 20 standees 

[petey3801]

First train to the Airport this morning (first train now arr BDT at 0455 in the new TT):
3 off at International, 4 on
12 off at Domestic.
Not too bad considering there are no connections from other lines for this train.

[STB]

Queensland Rail still hasn't updated the on board VAS (Voice Announcement System) for the Cleveland line to state that you can now transfer at Park Road for the Gold Coast line.  This is after 2 months of hounding them and them stating that they will fix it by the end of March. 

[James]

Queensland Rail still hasn't updated the on board VAS (Voice Announcement System) for the Cleveland line to state that you can now transfer at Park Road for the Gold Coast line.  This is after 2 months of hounding them and them stating that they will fix it by the end of March. 

I wouldn't hold out hope. For years Gold Coast line expresses would announce "This is a Brisbane City and Brisbane Airport train, running express from Beenleigh to Park Rd, stopping only at Loganlea and Coopers Plains, ... the next station is Beenleigh. Customers for stations from Holmview to Park Road, please change trains at Beenleigh." (Should be Dutton Park)

This still happens now, even though all trains stop at Park Rd, just replace Coopers Plains with Altandi.

[techblitz]

ive noticed on the beenleigh outbound trains @ altandi they dont do the 'passengers for the gold coast please switch here' suggestion....prerecorded call or train guards....not a biggie but would go a long way to highlight the importance of altandi station with new passengers and also a timely reminder for GC bound passengers to hop off. Perhaps the announcement is made at loganlea? not sure on that one....

[James]

ive noticed on the beenleigh outbound trains @ altandi they dont do the 'passengers for the gold coast please switch here' suggestion....prerecorded call or train guards....not a biggie but would go a long way to highlight the importance of altandi station with new passengers and also a timely reminder for GC bound passengers to hop off. Perhaps the announcement is made at loganlea? not sure on that one....

That is probably because in the off-peak, there is no trip time saving for pax to disembark Beenleigh trains at Altandi to get to GC stations faster, or vice versa. The time saving exists in peak only, and is probably marginal if it exists.

[dancingmongoose]

As far as I am aware there is no Kuraby service running express South Bank to Kuraby stopping only at Runcorn

[HappyTrainGuy]

Saw 4 buses following each other along Kelvin Grove Road this arvo. 2x 345, 1x 343 and 1x 360.

[dancingmongoose]

Hats off to the guys who finally fixed the automatic announcer for the Springfield line. There's now a smooth transition between the words 'The' and 'Springfield Central', instead of the 3 seconds of silence that gave away the destination better than the actual destination itself

[STB]

Queensland Rail still hasn't updated the on board VAS (Voice Announcement System) for the Cleveland line to state that you can now transfer at Park Road for the Gold Coast line.  This is after 2 months of hounding them and them stating that they will fix it by the end of March. 

I wouldn't hold out hope. For years Gold Coast line expresses would announce "This is a Brisbane City and Brisbane Airport train, running express from Beenleigh to Park Rd, stopping only at Loganlea and Coopers Plains, ... the next station is Beenleigh. Customers for stations from Holmview to Park Road, please change trains at Beenleigh." (Should be Dutton Park)

This still happens now, even though all trains stop at Park Rd, just replace Coopers Plains with Altandi.

And since putting in another complaint (22nd April), they still haven't contacted me, despite the previous complaints getting responded to about 2 days later.  C'mon QR, don't give me silent treatment for me catching you out on your mistakes. 

[ozbob]

Just watched EMU01 depart Roma St on the 12.45 Springfield Central service (trailing 3 car set) ...

kind of ironic, oldest set on the newest line ....

[ozbob]

Outbound Chelmer ...  UP cattle train on main up ...  now stopped ...  Queensland is the last place in Oz that still transports livestock on rail ...

[ozbob]

At Roma St  3 car Doomben service  about to depart plat 9 ...

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[dancingmongoose]

Railmotor went through on platform 2 at Oxley at 9:34 AM. Tried to get photo but my phone refused to take one

[BrizCommuter]

Outbound Chelmer ...  UP cattle train on main up ...  now stopped ...  Queensland is the last place in Oz that still transports livestock on rail ...

The Ferny Grove 3-car units could also be branded QR Cattle Train.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Outbound Chelmer ...  UP cattle train on main up ...  now stopped ...  Queensland is the last place in Oz that still transports livestock on rail ...

The Ferny Grove 3-car units could also be branded QR Cattle Train.

Just like the Bombay expresses on the Gold Coast line 

[red dragin]

Seemed appropriate for my "Steam Train Driver for a Day" with QPSR today 

[ozbob]

^   

QPSR --> http://www.qpsr.net/driverexperience.shtml

[BrizCommuter]

Outbound Chelmer ...  UP cattle train on main up ...  now stopped ...  Queensland is the last place in Oz that still transports livestock on rail ...

The Ferny Grove 3-car units could also be branded QR Cattle Train.

Just like the Bombay expresses on the Gold Coast line 

As far as I'm aware no GC trains are "overcrowded" anymore?

[James]

Just like the Bombay expresses on the Gold Coast line 

As far as I'm aware no GC trains are "overcrowded" anymore?

BrizCommuter, while I can't speak for HTG, I'm pretty sure his remark was a sarcastic poke at the (effectively) half-empty Gold Coast trains which depart Park Road in the PM peak which get labelled as 'overcrowded' due to having 1 standee.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Yep. Spot on

[techblitz]

Cant argue with this
Have to get from wynnum central to salisbury.
15 minute ex cleveland inbound frequency 4.30-8.30pm and then a very good 3 minute connection gap at park rd to o/b beenleigh train...

[Stillwater]

Northbound Gympielander arrived at Gympie North about 10 minutes late today -- a healthy number of people got off, 25-30.  Interestingly, after a quick shuffle, the southbound Rockhampton-Brisbane Tilt pulled in, also about 10 minutes late and about eight people got on. 

The Gympielander was a five-car ICE set.

[dancingmongoose]

This is probably the best place to post this without posting a new thread.

I had a job interview today. I didn't get the job for any wondering. It was at Hendra, but it would be quicker and more direct to catch a train to Toombul and then catch the 590 than catch a Doomben train. So I caught the 9:10 AM Caboolture from Oxley. All went well. Saw an empty Rocky/Bundy Tilt Train run past somewhere between Bowen Hills/Mayne and Eagle Junction, can't remember where exactly. Got onto the bus at the bus station and noticed this sign:
[IMGT]http://i.imgur.com/SIh2brH.jpg[/IMGT]
I find that quite hilarious that it has come to these lengths.

Next, I decided to walk down to Hendra Station after the interview. I could hear a train as I approached, and thankfully it was a Doomben train and I only had to wait about 15 minutes. There were only 2 others at the station, and one was a QR worker inspecting CCTV cameras.
[IMGT]http://i.imgur.com/Sq3lkii.jpg[/IMGT] [IMGT]http://i.imgur.com/dgCukLf.jpg[/IMGT]

What I did find intriguing was this unused platform face, approx 2 cars long, on the other side of the rail corridor. I know preliminary duplication works were attempted, this was obviously constructed during that time.

(From Wikipedia) Earthworks were undertaken to duplicate the line in the 1950s, including regrading the line which eliminated the Sandgate Rd level crossing, but the program was abandoned before the second track was laid.

[IMGT]http://i.imgur.com/8CXUEyl.jpg[/IMGT]

Hopped on the 11:33 AM Roma Street train. Line is so short I could hear it arrive and leave Ascot station. Obviously we went past Clayfield. Upon approach and arrival at Eagle Junction, the automatic announcer only mentioned to change for Shorncliffe and Caboolture, not Airport, which is surprising considering EJ is airport 0.5.
[IMGT]http://i.imgur.com/xJIpASz.jpg[/IMGT]

Jumped off at Central, had lunch with a friend, then jumped on the 301 back to Toombul (said friend lives along that route). Unfortunately I just missed the connecting 590 at 1:40 PM that I was taking to meet another friend at Garden City, so I caught the one at 2:10. It was interesting to note that the 301 route passes every station on the Doomben line except Clayfield. No wonder it has low patronage. No other line is practically entirely duplicated by a bus service, though to be fair no other line is as short.

While on the 590, I caught a glimpse of the old Meeandah station while crossing the track on Sugarmill Road. As we headed up KSD I also saw the old Bunour station. We picked up a dozen or so from Aviation College, which is surprising considering it is school holidays. Being less than 2KM from the old Bunour platform, I'm sure students there would use the station if it reopened. Also caught a glimpse of the Gibson Island branch while on the Gateway/Lytton Road. I got bored after that and played PvZ on my phone and listened to VxV. Amazing album.

After spending way too much time with my friend at Garden City, he gave me a quick lift to Altandi. I was lucky enough to catch an airport train, and also noticed a Beenleigh and Gold Coast train arrive at the same time as each other. One of the few stations actually benefiting from having 3 platforms. (This photo is shocking, sorry)
[IMGT]http://i.imgur.com/KlhuOvP.jpg[/IMGT]

Arrived at Roma Street at about 6 PM (2 minutes late), thankfully my connecting 6 PM Rosewood train was 3 minutes late so I didn't miss it. Spirit of the Outback was on platform 10.

So yeah, just a few random observations galavanting the countryside. I want to get back out there sometime and photograph all the stations on the Pinkenba line (eventually the entire network ideally, but this line intrigues me, dunno why, maybe cause it's closed and I never got to use it. And Steam Train Sunday is currently not possible with time constraints) with a decent camera and not just my phone.

[techblitz]

goodna station pedestrian footbridge lift (weroona hotel side) was out of order yesterday afternoon....should be interesting to see how that takes to get repaired 

[ozbob]

At Oxley, closure Corinda - Rosewood.  Interesting procession of buses - Kangaroo, Thompsons, Logan.  Lots of them ...

[ozbob]

Presently at BNE International ... good pax loads on Airtrains ...

[Arnz]

IMU's 123/124 operating today's daytime Gympielander.

[ozbob]

Inbound ex Goodna,  on approach to Sherwood guard announced GCL bus connection.  Noted on trip to Nambour last Wednesday guard also gave good announcements of bus connections at Landsborough on approach.  Good too hear these announcements.

[James]

Inbound ex Goodna,  on approach to Sherwood guard announced GCL bus connection.  Noted on trip to Nambour last Wednesday guard also gave good announcements of bus connections at Landsborough on approach.  Good too hear these announcements.

They've been making connecting bus announcements all along the Gold Coast line from Coomera to Varsity Lakes for the last 12 months. I think it is a very positive step - I would go one further and integrate it into the on-board announcements. For example, 'The next station is Park Road... Customers for the Cleveland line, or for buses to the University of Queensland, please change services at Park Road...'

[techblitz]

Inbound ex Goodna,  on approach to Sherwood guard announced GCL bus connection.  Noted on trip to Nambour last Wednesday guard also gave good announcements of bus connections at Landsborough on approach.  Good too hear these announcements.

Beenleigh i/b driver just announced "change here for tennyson-corinda shuttle" @ yerongpilly.

[dancingmongoose]

Had to go to Sherwood today, $3.53 to go 2 stations is outright ridiculous...

Saw two EMUs heading onto the Tennyson loop from Sherwood, one at 7:59 and one at 8:07. Presumably Kuraby or Coopers Plains starters. Wouldn't it be nice if they were revenue services

[techblitz]

Had to go to Sherwood today, $3.53 to go 2 stations is outright ridiculous...

Saw two EMUs heading onto the Tennyson loop from Sherwood, one at 7:59 and one at 8:07. Presumably Kuraby or Coopers Plains starters. Wouldn't it be nice if they were revenue services

Will be a long time before sufficient demand and RStock warrants it...
in-terms of cross-town demand there just isnt enough..the 104 only ever gets big numberes on its school loads other than that...pretty average..Seems to be slightly higher GCL demand from indro to garden city via sherwood salisbury.....for now though buses seem to be filling the void decently.
Tennyson still provides that important link for RStock between the 2 lines..and still a good backup if theres any issues between the city and corinda.
just wondering....did you take the old peak services on that line before they were canned? Would be interested to know what the loadings were like...