I am wondering why...

[Zoiks]

I am wondering why they built our railroad as narrow gauge even when NSW and VIC had already selected standard gauge for their networks. This creates alot of inefficiencies having to transfer loads from one train to another simply to go across the border. Narrow gauge may be cheaper but it cannot hold as much and cannot be run at as higher speeds as standard gauge.

I am wondering why we still have railway stations that are on curves of tracks so that we cannot have level access to trains. This just seems utterly stupid to even design the stations like this in the first place. We are also removing any possibility of fixing this at our stations by building over them. Any station that gets upgraded or has another line through it should have the track realigned so that the station can be straight in preparation for level loading. Roma street needs to be fixed before it is built over.

I am wondering why more funding is not put into rail in QLD when compared to road infrastructure. The difference in spending is quite huge, and tipped in the favour of roads that will fill up more with congestion. At the moment the only infrastructure developments that I would call major is the new greenfield lines to Springfield (which is being botched) and the new sunshine coast line. The little extension to  the gold coast line is hardly major (why not just finish the line off already?). All other development on the lines are just upgrades, mostly done on the cheap (the new rail stations are rubbish compared to the new busway stations) and not even completed properly (coomera bridge being left out). WA has just doubled the size of their train network and are looking for more to build. They have high quality trains and great looking stations.

I am wondering why commuter rail operations are not more profitable. You have Jetstar offering flights to Rockhampton for $79 dollars while a ticket via tilt train is $102 and yes I know that both air and rail is subsidized by the government but how can Jetstar be making a profit while QR makes a loss on passenger services.

I am wondering why the QLD gov, QT and Translink are all anti rail and pro bus. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Rail is more expensive to build, and can only go on set tracks but hold alot more people, are less prone to congestion, can run faster and are generally more reliable. Buses can use the existing road network and can be alot more frequent. As such, buses should be collectors which distribute people to and from stations. The eastern busway should be rail and the Green bridge should have included or been rail.

I am wondering why we do not have more frequent services. A 3 car train running every 10 minutes will attract more patronage then a 6 car running every 20 minutes. There should be the same amount of staffing involved and if we need a guard on each of these 3 cars then we should be looking at the level loading issue again. Trains should also not stop. They should run hourly under the nightlink service to make brisbane a true 24 hour city. The amount of times I have had to walk home from the city because the nightlink buses are full and I have missed the 1 nightlink train and the lineup at the expensive taxis is huge is quite large.

I am wondering why the government and cubic can get away with giving us a out of date, late and lackluster smartcard. The issue first arose in 1998 and was promised to us by mid 2001. Its now 6.5 years after that and we still dont have it. The people that have been trialing it have been reporting issues left right and center but they are hardly ever followed up and and its very rare to get any feedback. The machines are very slow and unresponsive, the gates are slow, the bus GPS system has many bugs as does the new bus ticketing machines, the train stations are not designed to handle the number of passengers through the gates at peak hour and the ticketing options are downright pathetic. The slow roll out is a face saver, but in reality it is just an expanded trial because I dont think anyone expects the rollout to go smoothly. How come the smart state did not take the smart option and use a preexisting smart card system (WA). The rollout would have been smoother and the systems would have been compatible. Cubic very obviously lied when it said that it had a flexible state of the art system that would be in use quickly because of its plug and play nature. Its also making excuses when it and the gov say it has had to overcome some huge technical problems. Hell WA would have had to have had the same issues, as would London and Hong Kong. I must remind you that Hong Kong developed and rolled out its system in a much larger and more used network in under 2 years.

Wow.... thats a bit of a rant off my chest

[ozbob]

What a nice rant Zoiks!   Many valid points you make, folks will read it all in time.

Public transport, particularly rail has been a hot topic of late, maybe some messages are getting through in terms of sustainability for our transport solutions.



I might add this comment to our smart card thread if you don't mind. 

I am wondering why the government and cubic can get away with giving us a out of date, late and lackluster smartcard. The issue first arose in 1998 and was promised to us by mid 2001. Its now 6.5 years after that and we still dont have it. The people that have been trialing it have been reporting issues left right and center but they are hardly ever followed up and and its very rare to get any feedback. The machines are very slow and unresponsive, the gates are slow, the bus GPS system has many bugs as does the new bus ticketing machines, the train stations are not designed to handle the number of passengers through the gates at peak hour and the ticketing options are downright pathetic. The slow roll out is a face saver, but in reality it is just an expanded trial because I dont think anyone expects the rollout to go smoothly. How come the smart state did not take the smart option and use a preexisting smart card system (WA). The rollout would have been smoother and the systems would have been compatible. Cubic very obviously lied when it said that it had a flexible state of the art system that would be in use quickly because of its plug and play nature. Its also making excuses when it and the gov say it has had to overcome some huge technical problems. Hell WA would have had to have had the same issues, as would London and Hong Kong. I must remind you that Hong Kong developed and rolled out its system in a much larger and more used network in under 2 years.

[Zoiks]

OzBob, I hereby give you permission to use whatever I write in whatever article/letter/forum/meeting your write/attend if it promotes the development of rail and public transport in general.

I am a student of QUT studying civil and construction engineering. I have a huge interest in transportation systems and my last units of sustainability have increased my awareness and interest in sustainability and the green movement. It sickened me at the last election to see billions put on roads but only millions on rail.

The issue of the "Go" card is really quite pathetic. The system is way overdue and looks to be quite inflexible. There has been little feedback or updates to the enthusiasts and the public and i fear this is because the know the s#$t storm it would kick up if the public new the state it is in. The PUBLIC needs to be more involved in the development of PUBLIC'S Transport system. I mean how hard would it have been to come up with a vote where the public chooses a ticketing system from a few that are proposed or a competition to think up a better name and associated artwork rather then Translink or the Go card. ( I have seen some enthusiast designed Translink bus liveries and they look a multitude better then the ones that we got).

[ozbob]

Thanks Zoiks!   During the election campaign we and others lobbied hard for appropriate funding for rail without much immediate success.  I am hopeful that the growing awareness of sustainability issues in general will see a funding paradigm change in time.

We will continue to advocate strongly for sensibility and sustainability.

Regards
Ozbob