Redcliffe Peninsula Line [was MBRL (Petrie to Kippa Ring)]

[HappyTrainGuy]

social media (and possibly mainstream media) backlash

With social media now everyone has something to complain about. Oh my blue city glider didn't turn up in peak hour and I have to wait 4 minutes for hte next one rant rant translink rant rant. And for the main stream media..... well, they are useless and will fuel any fire. Like the war with cyclists. The Bombay Gold Coast line. Someone knitting a cosie for a bus stop.

[ozbob]

I have just returned from my morning perambulation around the good streets of Goodna.

Always pleasant to note the many school children who actually walk to school here.  And adults who walk too.   

Not that many on the push bike.  The shared pathway for RPL (MBRL) is a good thing.

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/-/media/Projects/Featured-projects/MBRL/Publications/sharedpathwaysfactsheet1115.pdf?la=en

A key feature of the Moreton Bay Rail project is the
construction of a shared pathway adjacent to the rail line
providing access to the stations from Petrie to Kippa-Ring,
with connectivity to the region's existing pathway network.
The Moreton Bay Rail shared pathway provides an off-road
dedicated facility for both pedestrians and cyclists and has
been designed with significant input from the Department of
Transport and Main Roads, Emergency Services and Moreton
Bay Regional Council.
Who can use shared pathways?
Shared pathways can be used by:
• Pedestrians, including mobility scooters and motorised
wheelchair users
• Cyclists
• Scooter, skateboard and inline skate users
• Pram users.
Petrie to Kippa-Ring connection
The shared pathway connects into the region's existing
network at Petrie Station and runs parallel to the Moreton Bay
Rail line through to Anzac Avenue, Kippa-Ring

[techblitz]

social media (and possibly mainstream media) backlash

With social media now everyone has something to complain about. Oh my blue city glider didn't turn up in peak hour and I have to wait 4 minutes for hte next one rant rant translink rant rant. And for the main stream media..... well, they are useless and will fuel any fire. Like the war with cyclists. The Bombay Gold Coast line. Someone knitting a cosie for a bus stop.

and a lot of problems in ozbobs westside region have been highlighted well by social media.....how yu doin...

[petey3801]

But apples and oranges there. Complaining about a cancelled bus that is on 30-60min frequency is quite valid. Whinging because you had to wait 6 minutes for the next one, while still a valid complaint, it has significantly less impact on that person.

[Gazza]

Oh boo hoo.

The lack of compassion for commuters who may not be able to board a train in a few weeks amazes me.

Unable to board where? On those trains where you can still get a seat at Carseldine?

I can't speak for the 3 car set issues, but are people genuinely unable to board, or just quitters compared to commuters on the tube etc?

[tazzer9]

On some services, yes, people are unable to board.   Most morning peak ferny grove 3 car services all seats are gone by grovely.   newmarket and wilston people are choosing not to board.  Windsor most are unable to board.   You could fit these people in if qr had those japanese subway packers. 

My only worry with kippa ring is the current petrie all stops are already mostly full, and the removal of the 4 inner city stations is somewhat offset by many at northgate and eagle junction choosing to use the new express.  People will eventually figure out which ones are the busiest.

[Arnz]

The Nambour 3-car services in the new timetables are the AM peak and PM peak services that has the same express stopping pattern as the Gympie North services (express between Caboolture to Bowen Hills, stopping only at Petrie and Northgate & v.v.)

I wonder how the loads is going to be on the 4:00pm Roma Street to Nambour service, which is the only afternoon peak service being downgraded from a 6-car to a 3-car (but now with less stops).  But the trade-off is that the existing 4:22pm Nambour service that originates from Springfield Central is being upgraded from 3-car to 6-car as that service now has extra stops under the new timetable.

[ozbob]

There is a 3 car AM inbound peak service on the Ippy,  but no one is particularly phased about it. 

[ If it looks like being a basket case I get off at Dingo Hill (Gailes  ) and boost passenger numbers at Gailes .. lol ]

People work around it ...

[SurfRail]

I think virtually all of us agree overcrowding is going to worsen in the immediate short term.  It won't be as big an issue this time next year.

The January fare reforms will improve patronage so hopefully the NGRs start being rolled out sooner in 2017 rather than later.

[tazzer9]

The Nambour 3-car services in the new timetables are the AM peak and PM peak services that has the same express stopping pattern as the Gympie North services (express between Caboolture to Bowen Hills, stopping only at Petrie and Northgate & v.v.)

I wonder how the loads is going to be on the 4:00pm Roma Street to Nambour service, which is the only afternoon peak service being downgraded from a 6-car to a 3-car (but now with less stops).  But the trade-off is that the existing 4:22pm Nambour service that originates from Springfield Central is being upgraded from 3-car to 6-car as that service now has extra stops under the new timetable.

That 4:22 will still be packed.  It is already very busy as a 3 car unit, but under the new timetable it really is express to northgate.  Currently that train is an all stations that doesn't open its doors since its running on reds.

[achiruel]

So if I understand correctly, the Main platforms at Nundah, Toombul, Wooloowin and Albion will now be unused. Will they just sit there, or is there a chance they'll be removed to save on maintenance costs?

[ozbob]

No way.  They will still be used from time to time and provide some operational flexibility when needed.  Things can change down the track as well.

[red dragin]

So the through road between Anzac Ave & Brays Rd opened this morning. The car parks and of course platforms are still blocked off. Mango Hill is still completely blocked off.


Brays Rd entrance - the shared pathway is open at this end, but is blocked at the other end near Mango Hill Station!  Possibly open somewhere in between though? The path from Mango Hill Station to Mango Hill East was open at the station end at least.  :conf


Station entrance - not that much different to our visit last year, just 100% finished.


West carpark - fully sealed rather than a dust bowl like last time.


Roundabout - Bus stop is located quite a way down (behind the tree in centre foreground of the picture.


Eastern Carpark - The other bus stop is much closer to the station. The "kiss n ride" stop is where my horseless wagon (ute) is parked. About two cars in length.

[ozbob]

  Neat!  Thanks.

It won't be long ...

[tazzer9]

So your saying the bus stop for the station is virtually in the middle of nowhere?

[red dragin]

So your saying the bus stop for the station is virtually in the middle of nowhere?

Not really, just when compared to the other stop. About three times the distance if you look on Google Maps. It's not a big distance, just further than I expected it to be. The roundabout kinda forces it to be there.

I would have thought a second kiss and ride bay opposite the "distant" bus stop would have been a good idea too.

[tazzer9]

So people who do use the bus won't have the luxury of being very close to the station for security, weather protection, bathrooms, general comfort etc.

[red dragin]

Yep. I imagine locating a bus stop after a roundabout is the preferred location for safety. Vehicles are slowed by the roundabout before ignoring the give way to turning bus sign and crashing into it 

Although around here they are more like a chicane to the wanna be V8 drivers.

[HappyTrainGuy]

social media (and possibly mainstream media) backlash

With social media now everyone has something to complain about. Oh my blue city glider didn't turn up in peak hour and I have to wait 4 minutes for hte next one rant rant translink rant rant. And for the main stream media..... well, they are useless and will fuel any fire. Like the war with cyclists. The Bombay Gold Coast line. Someone knitting a cosie for a bus stop.

and a lot of problems in ozbobs westside region have been highlighted well by social media.....how yu doin...

As Petey mentioned below your post. Your talking about a train arriving 7 minutes later. Not a once an hour bus. And thats not even taking into account other methods to shift loadings such as same platform transfers.

[James]

Yep. I imagine locating a bus stop after a roundabout is the preferred location for safety. Vehicles are slowed by the roundabout before ignoring the give way to turning bus sign and crashing into it 

This is correct. According to current road design standards, if possible, bus stops should be placed after an intersection, rather than before one.

[red dragin]

The new road for Kallangur Station (Gallipoli Way) opened overnight. The station and car park are still fenced off.

There are PID's at ground level underneath each platform.

[bladesplace]

Signage on the eastern car park at Petrie station saying the new car park will open on 23 September, and the temporary car park (temp my rear end, it's been there for years) will close on 1 October.

There's just one tiny problem with that - the 'new' car park is about a quarter the size of the 'temporary' one, which is full before the morning peak finishes.

Oh dear. 

[red dragin]

Shared path is said to open in full on this Saturday.

[Gazza]

Signage on the eastern car park at Petrie station saying the new car park will open on 23 September, and the temporary car park (temp my rear end, it's been there for years) will close on 1 October.

There's just one tiny problem with that - the 'new' car park is about a quarter the size of the 'temporary' one, which is full before the morning peak finishes.

Oh dear. 

Will Petrie still be as busy?

[mufreight]

If you use Darra after Richlands opened as an example, the answer would be a definite yes.

[petey3801]

I saw someone post a similar question on the QR FB page, to which the response said something along the lines of the temporary part that is closing is only the small section that was opened recently while works were done to other areas and that there would be more parking at Petrie when the new section opens than what there is now.

[tazzer9]

petrie will be just as busy as before.  It will always be busy and have alot of car due to its location.

[OzGamer]

Petrie will have faster trains also. Only two stops between Petrie and Bowen Hills on the Caboolture/Sunshine Coast trains.

[jesse]

Platforms 4 & 5 at Petrie are now in full swing. My 7:38 Ipswich express from Caboolture was lucky to glide through platform 4  :bi

[ozbob]

AG @YvetteDAth opens new platforms at Petrie Station. Another milestone ahead of Redcliffe Peninsula line opening @7NewsQueensland pic.twitter.com/UniJ2IollD

— Simon Love (@SimoLove) September 23, 2016

[red dragin]

Platforms 4 & 5 at Petrie are now in full swing. My 7:38 Ipswich express from Caboolture was lucky to glide through platform 4  :bi

My wife recorded a video of her train going through platform 4 this morning for me. She should know better than to feed my addiction 

[ozbob]

With @king4kallangur and Alan Sutherland to open Platforms 4&5 at Petrie Station ahead of Redcliffe line opening Oct4 pic.twitter.com/bUVLbY1ILp

— Yvette D'Ath (@YvetteDAth) September 23, 2016

[SurfRail]

^ The PIDS seem to be different - almost reminiscent of the newer types in Sydney.  Anybody got closer shots of any in operation?

[ozbob]

http://paulfletcher.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/item/1792-redcliffe-peninsula-line-on-track-to-open.html

Redcliffe Peninsula line on track to open
Media Releases Friday, 23 September 2016

The successful testing of the Redcliffe Peninsula line signalling system moves the project closer to completion and the community open day.

Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher said the $1 billion Redcliffe Peninsula Line, which includes $595 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government, would improve travel times for commuters, providing an incentive for people to switch from private vehicles to public transport, which in turn will reduce congestion on the local road network.

"Thousands of people commute from the Moreton Bay region to the Brisbane CBD and beyond each and every day, and everyone who has ever commuted wishes they could spend less time in traffic and more time at home or productively at work," Mr Fletcher said.

"This rail line has been on the cards for many decades and I'm delighted the local community and commuters will now reap the rewards of this important project.

Member for Petrie Luke Howarth said the signalling system was tested successfully and new platforms four and five were set to open and be in use from today.

"It's great to see how the public have planned their trips during the track closure on the Caboolture Line," Mr Howarth said.

Transport and Commonwealth Games Acting Minister Yvette D'Ath said the signalling system had been fully tested for more than 36 hours.

"Queensland Rail has tested all possible train pathing routes, using both diesel and electric test trains," Mrs D'Ath said.

"The workforce was rostered around the clock with a peak of 120 workers on site, totalling more than 12,000 working hours," Ms D'Ath said.

"The track closure this week is the largest in recent history. I am happy with how it has gone and the good customer feedback received.

"I appreciate the disruption the closure has caused for commuters, however it was necessary to enable the commissioning of the new Redcliffe Peninsula line.

"We recently opened the 12.6-kilometre shared user path along the length of the line, and today we will open a new 100-space car park and park 'n' ride facilities for easy access.

"We already have more than 3000 registrations for the upcoming community open day, for which registrations close next Wednesday, 28 September.

"We've also received an incredible 2000 ballot entries for the very first train service, which closes midnight tonight (Friday, 23 September) and will be drawn Monday, 26 September.

"Everything is coming together and I'm excited to see this historic rail line open in coming weeks."

A community open day event will take place on Monday, 3 October (Queen's birthday public holiday) with a free shuttle train ride stopping at all new stations, before passenger services starting on Tuesday, 4 October.

Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Allan Sutherland said he was pleased the final testing of the signalling system had been a success.

"This line has been more than 100 years in the making, and now it's only 10 days away," Mr Sutherland said.

"It's great to hear the final testing of the signalling system went well and that the line is on track and ready to open as planned on Tuesday, 4 October, in time for the start of the school term.

"Once commuter services start, more than 34 per cent of the region's residents will be connected to a fast, reliable rail service for the first time ever, with a journey into the Brisbane CBD taking less than an hour.

"We couldn't be more excited here in the Moreton Bay Region for this historic rail line to open, and I encourage everyone to register and come down for the community open day to celebrate.

"The community open day is a chance to experience history in the making, and will be a great family day out where you can grab a sausage sizzle and familiarise yourself with your local station."

This project is part of a $1.2 billion program of public transport improvements for the Moreton Bay Region.

The program includes the $988 million Redcliffe Peninsula rail line and the $37.5 million Rothwell Intersection Upgrade which are jointly funded by the Australian Government, Queensland Government and Moreton Bay Regional Council; and the $139 million Lawnton to Petrie Rail Upgrade Project.

[ozbob]

Media Release
Acting Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games
The Honourable Yvette D'Ath

Redcliffe Peninsula line on track to open

The successful testing of the Redcliffe Peninsula line signalling system moves the project closer to completion and the community open day.

Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher said the $1 billion Redcliffe Peninsula Line, which includes $595 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government, would improve travel times for commuters, providing an incentive for people to switch from private vehicles to public transport, which in turn will reduce congestion on the local road network.

"Thousands of people commute from the Moreton Bay region to the Brisbane CBD and beyond each and every day, and everyone who has ever commuted wishes they could spend less time in traffic and more time at home or productively at work," Mr Fletcher said.

"This rail line has been on the cards for many decades and I'm delighted the local community and commuters will now reap the rewards of this important project.

Member for Petrie Luke Howarth said the signalling system was tested successfully and new platforms four and five were set to open and be in use from today.

"It's great to see how the public have planned their trips during the track closure on the Caboolture Line," Mr Howarth said.

Transport and Commonwealth Games Acting Minister Yvette D'Ath said the signalling system had been fully tested for more than 36 hours.

"Queensland Rail has tested all possible train pathing routes, using both diesel and electric test trains," Mrs D'Ath said.

"The workforce was rostered around the clock with a peak of 120 workers on site, totalling more than 12,000 working hours," Ms D'Ath said.

"The track closure this week is the largest in recent history. I am happy with how it has gone and the good customer feedback received.

"I appreciate the disruption the closure has caused for commuters, however it was necessary to enable the commissioning of the new Redcliffe Peninsula line.

"We recently opened the 12.6-kilometre shared user path along the length of the line, and today we will open a new 100-space car park and park 'n' ride facilities for easy access.

"We already have more than 3000 registrations for the upcoming community open day, for which registrations close next Wednesday, 28 September.

"We've also received an incredible 2000 ballot entries for the very first train service, which closes midnight tonight (Friday, 23 September) and will be drawn Monday, 26 September.

"Everything is coming together and I'm excited to see this historic rail line open in coming weeks."

A community open day event will take place on Monday, 3 October (Queen's birthday public holiday) with a free shuttle train ride stopping at all new stations, before passenger services starting on Tuesday, 4 October.

Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Allan Sutherland said he was pleased the final testing of the signalling system had been a success.

"This line has been more than 100 years in the making, and now it's only 10 days away," Mr Sutherland said.

"It's great to hear the final testing of the signalling system went well and that the line is on track and ready to open as planned on Tuesday, 4 October, in time for the start of the school term.

"Once commuter services start, more than 34 per cent of the region's residents will be connected to a fast, reliable rail service for the first time ever, with a journey into the Brisbane CBD taking less than an hour.

"We couldn't be more excited here in the Moreton Bay Region for this historic rail line to open, and I encourage everyone to register and come down for the community open day to celebrate.

"The community open day is a chance to experience history in the making, and will be a great family day out where you can grab a sausage sizzle and familiarise yourself with your local station."

This project is part of a $1.2 billion program of public transport improvements for the Moreton Bay Region.

The program includes the $988 million Redcliffe Peninsula rail line and the $37.5 million Rothwell Intersection Upgrade which are jointly funded by the Australian Government, Queensland Government and Moreton Bay Regional Council; and the $139 million Lawnton to Petrie Rail Upgrade Project.

[petey3801]

^ The PIDS seem to be different - almost reminiscent of the newer types in Sydney.  Anybody got closer shots of any in operation?

By what I have seen when looking across from p3, they are the same as the current ones except for being half as tall. Will be up there tomorrow, i'll try and get a pic if noone else has in the mean time.

[bladesplace]

Never fear, Mr Dingbat is here 

After I got off my train tonight at Petrie (Platform 1), on my way to the carpark I decided to nip down to the new Platforms 4 and 5 for a quick look (the new PIDs roused my curiosity as soon as they were on).

I'm really impressed with the new PIDs and the new next train information console. Although, given it's a junction station, I really do think Petrie should have the larger full sized screen PIDs on the platforms like Northgate. But I digress.

Here is a photo of the new PIDs showing the "Next Train" screen. It's just like the larger PIDs but, well, only shows the next three trains as opposed to, um, the normal larger amount? 



And here it is, toggling over to the actual next train on the platform. It's quite clever showing the picture of the train underneath, I'm assuming it refers to the amount of carriages the train will have, which will be useful for visually identifying 3car trains. Hmm, and the ICE is usually configured as a 5car? I wonder if it will show that, or the NGR as a 6car with no gap in the middle?



The new platforms have an interesting electronic next train information stand. It still beeps loudly every few seconds but it has an interesting addition - a touch screen! Here it is from a distance, showing the buttons and speaker box underneath:



One of the icons on the touch screen says "Train List", so out of curiosity I pressed it then took a photo. It shows a condensed listing of the next 6 trains north and 6 trains south, and if they are express or not. Conspicuous lack of TransLink branding, it's all Queensland Rail, and it's awesome



I pressed the buttons underneath the screen to hear the next train announcements, and the voice is different from the other units used all over SEQ. It's very robotic and has a peculiar accent. You can use the touch screen to also trigger the next train announcement, and after hearing it, you can use the touch screen to trigger an announcement of the next train directly after it, which I guess is to make it easier to hear Nambour and Gympie North train announcements ahead of time.

All South bound trains were supposed to depart P4 & P5 today. It was tonight, but when I came through around ten am it wasn't. QR have put signs up advising people of the platform changes though.



And finally, here's a weird little sign on the fence beside the car park, and I'm perplexed as to what it actually is.



I noticed while I was taking these photos that the evening Gympie North service (still express directly from the city to Caboolture), physically stopped at Petrie (even though it's still not supposed to). I didn't see the doors released, nor the signal ahead of it, but I wonder if it had something to do with the new signalling. Maybe all traffic has to physically stop here as part of the signalling debarcle? Stop, wait for the path ahead to be checked by staff before being manually changed to green? 

And now for the bad news.

Parking.

Petrie station is my nearest public transport (of any sort, excluding school runs). I have to drive about 30 mins to get to it, and I start my commute later in the day. So I've been keeping an eye on parking. And after arriving at 10am today, I'm very worried. The "temporary" car park has been reduced in size by about one quarter, and appeared to be full. So I went to explore the "new" car park, which is about one quarter of the size of the "temporary" car park, and it was full. While I was trying to work out what the heck to do, a QR/Construction 4WD pulled out of the end car park, and I promptly grabbed it. And this is school holidays, and it's the first day after the shut down, and a Friday as well. What the heck is going to happen when the close the "temporary" car park closes completely on 1 October and when school goes back a few days later?

I might have misinterpreted this, but the part of the "temporary" car park that had been chained off appeared to have been tampered with and there was a car-wide gap in it, and cars on the other side. I wouldn't in the least bit be surprised if angry motorists simply remove the barriers on 1 October and keep parking in the closed "temporary" car park.

I really don't think this was thought out very well at all. They were supposed to increase car spaces, not remove them. It's quite worrying. I can see a great deal of illegal parking happening again, a lot of it disappeared from the suburban streets around Petrie when the "temporary" carpark opened.

Cheers

A worried Dingbat

[Golliwog]

The sign on the fence is because one side will have fence that comes within 3m of one of the overhead masts. There will be an isolation panel in the fence either side of that (so there would have been another double post like that just adjacent to it) and the section of fence that is near the overhead mast will have earth bonding so that in the event of an electrical arc, you don't end up electrifying 12km of fence .

[ozbob]

^^ Thanks for the pics Julian!

Meanwhile ...

Moreton Bay: Hopes the new Peninsula Line will ease congestion in the South East. @SimoLove #bnetraffic #7News https://t.co/8KyvZh6XXP

— 7 News Queensland (@7NewsQueensland) September 23, 2016

[wbj]

[I really don't think this was thought out very well at all. They were supposed to increase car spaces, not remove them. It's quite worrying. I can see a great deal of illegal parking happening again, a lot of it disappeared from the suburban streets around Petrie when the "temporary" carpark opened.]
Parking has been an issue at Petrie forever.  It's the only station I can think of with a 2 storey QR carpark.  And that was almost filled by 7am a dozen years ago.

New Kallangur and Murrumba Downs stations will probably take the pressure off Petrie parking for a year, maybe two.  But development of the uni site will undoubtedly cause significant disruption for its duration.