Passenger loading and congestion reports

[p858snake]

QR seems to be sticking a few extra trains on this morning and afternoon/evening based on the comments in their twitter account.... also they are using their twitter now.

[petey3801]

169/181 should have been up there somewhere early this morning also.

I'm guessing you were driving those units this morning? 

Not this morning, but I did put them in Caboolture yard last night

[somebody]

Stood near the corner of Adelaide St and George St at 5pm.  Saw at least 30 buses go by without a single standee, until a packed 380 (Waterworks Rd/Settlement Rd) went by.  Another busy bus went by shortly afterwards.  Can't quite remember which one it was.  All the 119/129/131/133/137/156/141/142/374/375/4xx/179/201s were quite lightly loaded for peak hour.  Additionally, the 196s/199s were surprisingly lightly loaded i.e. no standees.

I'm pretty sure that the 120/130/140/150/157 all get a pretty fair work out in the PM peak.  A trip to QSBS A also indicated so.

[Sunbus610]

Gawd, I thought these new Queensland Rail timetables were meant to reduce overcrowding on peak hour services??? The o/b 5:15pm (from Roma Street) all stops Petrie service was uncomfortably over crowded this afternoon by the time we departed Brisbane Central. The guard should of announcing it as ~ this is a John West all stations service to Petrie.........stopping all stations  (it gets a double thumbs down from me)

[Fares_Fair]

5:22pm ex-Central station train packed like sardines again - I counted 60 standing. 84 seated on the new series IMU.
Equalisation did not occur until Burpengary (i.e. spare seats to accommodate those who are standing).
Arrived at Burpengary at 6:14pm - that's 52 minutes standing.

The customer charter is a joke if this is allowable.
QR MUST act to redress this situation. NOW.

Did not the Minister say that everyone would get a seat ? !!
Pax have taken to the road, someone check the Bruce Highway as it must be carrying more vehicles post June 6.
Pax have also taken to services each side of the 5:20 crusher train to the coast.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

At platform 8 Roma St the 8.15am Richlands left at 8.22am, you would think it was a PM peak Ippy service such were the numbers of pax who boarded at Roma St ....

[Cam]

A colleague told me that the 6.57am Bowen Hills service from Ipswich was only 3 cars this morning. He said it was too full to board at Goodna so waited for the next service.

[O_128]

Gawd, I thought these new Queensland Rail timetables were meant to reduce overcrowding on peak hour services??? The o/b 5:15pm (from Roma Street) all stops Petrie service was uncomfortably over crowded this afternoon by the time we departed Brisbane Central. The guard should of announcing it as ~ this is a John West all stations service to Petrie.........stopping all stations  (it gets a double thumbs down from me)

\

i was on this train to central last night and couldn't believe how many people were waiting for it.

[petey3801]

A colleague told me that the 6.57am Bowen Hills service from Ipswich was only 3 cars this morning. He said it was too full to board at Goodna so waited for the next service.

It is timetabled as a 3-car service. As is the 0722 ex-Darra and the 0807 ex-Ipswich.

[somebody]

Gawd, I thought these new Queensland Rail timetables were meant to reduce overcrowding on peak hour services??? The o/b 5:15pm (from Roma Street) all stops Petrie service was uncomfortably over crowded this afternoon by the time we departed Brisbane Central. The guard should of announcing it as ~ this is a John West all stations service to Petrie.........stopping all stations  (it gets a double thumbs down from me)

Actually this one isn't surprising.  What do you expect when there is a 9 minute gap for Toombul-Northgate, a 12 minute gap for Virginia-Lawnton and a 6 minute gap for Albion-Eagle Junction.

The proposed 5:12pm (5:16pm ex-Central) service would reduce this.

[ozbob]

Outbound on SMU278, crikey the train is around 500 pax ... and it is only 2.15pm or thereabouts ...

[Stillwater]

Could we be seeing a new timetable that is more convenient and in tune with people's travel patterns (with one or two notable exceptions) so more people are using the trains?  Fifteen minutes frequency to Darra must be mighty attractive, especially as time moves on a more people are aware of the convenience.

[Zoiks]

I would love to see the passenger increases we are seeing on a line for line basis.
I am seeing increased loadings on both express and all stations services from/to eagle junction.
Due to uni I tend to get to travel on a fair spread of services too

[BribieG]

10:26 from Caboolture to Ipswich this morning was a 3 car unit for some reason. By the time it got to Bald Hills where I got on, it was packed worse than a peak commuter train except that being off peak there were a lot of elderly people, women with strollers and kids with bikes (it's school hols). At Zillmere several people just refused to crowd on and got left.

A QR guy got on and squeezed through the mob at the door, ended up next to me. I said "what's the 3 car in aid of? Is it an emergency or something?". He said he didn't know but he would be making some pointed phone calls when he got to central as he's in the Workplace health and safety section so he's got some questions. As he agreed elderly people and ladies with young babies shouldn't be crowded in like that - plus it was the oldest of old crappy dirty ripped seat and carpet EMUs they could dredge up, and no dedicated seating for elderly or disabled. And they were obviously going to run the piece of S...t all the way to Ipswich.

[ozbob]

Interesting read ..

http://www.patrec.org/web_docs/atrf/papers/2009/1768_paper64-Coxon.pdf

The effect of suburban train carriage design upon punctuality, ingress and egress occlusion and passenger comfort.
Authors: - Selby Coxon, Dr Karen Burns, Associate Professor Arthur de Bono, Robert Napper.
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

[Arnz]

Was surprised to see a slightly busier than normal loading on Ipswich Train #T5X6 this evening (Nambour to Ipswich departing Central at 5:04pm).  Quite a number of standees.  At least they had a toilet since the train came from Nambour.

The 5:04pm to Nambour this evening was a SMU tonight (didn't catch number).  Left Fortitude Valley with a few standees per aisle, and equalization occurred at Northgate.  

From colleagues, the 4pm to Nambour (#TL17) this afternoon I was told had standees all the way to Elimbah this evening  , with a few passengers reporting a broken toilet and having to hop carriages to a working toilet.  I'm assuming that was a 6-car IMU.

Had another report that the 4:30pm train to Nambour had equalisation at Petrie.  Had not been able to get train type for this one.

[BribieG]

I got to the bottom of the 3-car from Caboolture as I again had to take the 10:26 and it was again a 3 car. I asked the station staff what was going on and they said it was always a 3 car, it's always an EMU and yes there is no provision for elderly, mums or disabled. The station guy said they, the drivers and the guards are always protesting to management as it's a horror trip especially in school holidays but nothing gets done about it. He gave me a card with contact details to email QR.

The 10.26 is a real living history lesson, like back to the 70s.

[david]

Yes, that 3-car service leaves Ipswich at 8:07am. It's always puzzled me as to why it is 3-cars. There are services which are much more deserving of a 3-car unit than that one.

It may also interest you to know that this service existed prior to the June timetable revamp as a Darra-to-Caboolture service departing Darra at 8:37am, and was a 6-car service!

[Fares_Fair]

Was surprised to see a slightly busier than normal loading on Ipswich Train #T5X6 this evening (Nambour to Ipswich departing Central at 5:04pm).  Quite a number of standees.  At least they had a toilet since the train came from Nambour.

The 5:04pm to Nambour this evening was a SMU tonight (didn't catch number).  Left Fortitude Valley with a few standees per aisle, and equalization occurred at Northgate.  

From colleagues, the 4pm to Nambour (#TL17) this afternoon I was told had standees all the way to Elimbah this evening  , with a few passengers reporting a broken toilet and having to hop carriages to a working toilet.  I'm assuming that was a 6-car IMU.

Had another report that the 4:30pm train to Nambour had equalisation at Petrie.  Had not been able to get train type for this one.

Thanks for the update Arnz,

I was on the 5:28pm on Thursday night and equalisation occurred at Burpengary.
It appears that there may be little room for growth in patronage, with more standees.
So far the Nambour services are proving very popular - with standees but not the gross overcrowding we first experienced,
It points to the the real reason for our rail woes and that is infrastructure.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Arnz]

Boarded the 3:30pm Roma Street to Nambour service at Caboolture this afternoon at 4:23pm.  Good to see this new 3-car only service still popular as it usually leaves Caboolture with all-seats taken.  Instead of the usual orphaned IMU101, SMU265 came up instead.   Seems there are a few standees per aisle (standing on the express leg from Northgate to Caboolture) on this service, judging by the loads.

[Arnz]

IMU161 and 168 operated the #TL17 (4pm to Nambour) this afternoon, and to quote one commuter 'both toilets' are working.

Equalisation on the 4pm service didn't really happen till Beerwah, though fortunately those standing to Caboolture got a seat, only to be replaced with another set of standees that got on at Caboolture.  This service seems to be more loaded on Friday than the other days of the week.

[Fares_Fair]

IMU161 and 168 operated the #TL17 (4pm to Nambour) this afternoon, and to quote one commuter 'both toilets' are working.

Equalisation on the 4pm service didn't really happen till Beerwah, though fortunately those standing to Caboolture got a seat, only to be replaced with another set of standees that got on at Caboolture.  This service seems to be more loaded on Friday than the other days of the week.

I fully concur with your findings Arnz. Everyone seems to want to get home earlier on Fridays.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

Travelled into Roma St on the 6.59am Bowen Hills service ex Goodna.  3 car SMU228.  Noted many pax choosing not to board at a number of stations, est. around 400 pax after Indooroopilly.

[BrizCommuter]

5:17pm from Central to Ferny Grove (Exp) became a 5 on the Derwen scale at Bowen Hills (at least in car 2 anyway) tonight. Some passengers were unable to/chose not to board. This service was unusually busy for the school holiday period.

[Golliwog]

Lucky I missed that one at South Bank then! Though I would have gotten a seat...

[somebody]

Saw an O/B 217 with 3 people on it approach stop 48, 3 more people boarded.  Last night around 6pm.

Great, 6 people on the rocket 

[#Metro]

'Rocket to my house'

[HappyTrainGuy]

If you live right outside a bus stop that it served not a bad bargin for your own city chauffeur.

[somebody]

'Rocket to my house'

That's not the problem!  Problems are:

(a) City Stop locations
(b) 217 shouldn't exist as all its stops are served by the 207 and 201 except for Bennetts Rd which could easily be added to the 207 and it would be more logical there

[Mr X]

'Rocket to my house'

Hey where's my P197 rocket?    

Some of these rockets really need to be cut. Looking at this P217, I can't see anything at all that would differentiate it from sending the 200 via the Captn Ck Bridge and Eastern Busway. It leaves from inconsistent city stop locations too! UGH! SIMPLICITY is key. I want to go home, I don't want to have to take a stab in the dark and go between 5 different bus stops all over the city looking for a bus which I can get on!

[#Metro]

Some of these rockets really need to be cut. Looking at this P217, I can't see anything at all that would differentiate it from sending the 200 via the Captn Ck Bridge and Eastern Busway. It leaves from inconsistent city stop locations too! UGH! SIMPLICITY is key. I want to go home, I don't want to have to take a stab in the dark and go between 5 different bus stops all over the city looking for a bus which I can get on!

What a good idea.

I can't believe that there are TWO Buz services to Carindale, just because they didn't want to delete the other one. Cost of that would be like $4 million/year! That's money being locked up that could be spent on a BUZ 230 or BUZ 400! Places which DON'T have the luxury of having TWO (or even ONE) BUZ route.

No wonder we have to cough up 15% fare increases just so as not to offend anyone in Deshon Street!

Grow some backbone and CUT!!

[Derwan]

They still run 3-car trains during the weekend on te Shorncliffe Line. The one I'm on would probably rate a 1, with people sitting next to strangers and some just standing. How hard is it to run 6-car trains instead of 3?

[STB]

They still run 3-car trains during the weekend on te Shorncliffe Line. The one I'm on would probably rate a 1, with people sitting next to strangers and some just standing. How hard is it to run 6-car trains instead of 3?

Might be a case of not enough trains available in terms of their maintenance schedules, which weekends provide an open window for, compared to during the week.

[somebody]

They still run 3-car trains during the weekend on te Shorncliffe Line. The one I'm on would probably rate a 1, with people sitting next to strangers and some just standing. How hard is it to run 6-car trains instead of 3?

Might be a case of not enough trains available in terms of their maintenance schedules, which weekends provide an open window for, compared to during the week.

Or it might not.

Maintenance runs on weekends?

[petey3801]

They still run 3-car trains during the weekend on te Shorncliffe Line. The one I'm on would probably rate a 1, with people sitting next to strangers and some just standing. How hard is it to run 6-car trains instead of 3?

Might be a case of not enough trains available in terms of their maintenance schedules, which weekends provide an open window for, compared to during the week.

Or it might not.

Maintenance runs on weekends?

Of course it does. Maintenance runs all day and all night, 365 days a year (yes, including Christmas).

[STB]

They still run 3-car trains during the weekend on te Shorncliffe Line. The one I'm on would probably rate a 1, with people sitting next to strangers and some just standing. How hard is it to run 6-car trains instead of 3?

Might be a case of not enough trains available in terms of their maintenance schedules, which weekends provide an open window for, compared to during the week.

Or it might not.

Maintenance runs on weekends?

+1 to Petey.  Simon, I used to work in Mayne yards, I know that maintenance occurs 24/7.

Or, in some people's eyes (namely a few train enthusiasts who think they know more than those who used to work in and around the yards), no, they put on 3 car trains to p*** other passengers off for their own fun and games.

[somebody]

Ok, I've learnt something.

Still needs to run at a higher rate than on weekdays while touching a sizeable portion of the fleet for that to be a logical reason.

[Golliwog]

I expect weekend maintenance would also give you a good window to do some of the longer jobs as you have both days to work on it.

[Derwan]

Well there were a LOT of idle trains at Mayne when we went past.

[Derwan]

Feedback sent to QR (it'll go via TransLink):

Hi.  Today I boarded a train that was travelling from Shorncliffe to South Bank.  Being a Sunday, it was a 3-car train.

I boarded at Eagle Junction and the train was considerably full.  There were a few empty seats beside strangers - and some chose to stand up instead.

Being a Sunday, there were a lot of families boarding, however as there were only single seats available, families either had to split up or stand up.  Some parents were faced with the dilemma of sitting their child beside a stranger.  (Although one gentleman was kind enough to move to another seat to allow a mum and  daughter to sit together.)

The quiet car wasn't quiet.  Families had no option but to spread into the quiet car - along with their rowdy children.

This is not the first time I have been on board a crowded 3-car train on the weekend.

It is about time Queensland Rail ran 6-car trains throughout weekend instead of forcing families into uncomfortable situations and creating a negative experience on their journey.  Perhaps these families will take the car next time.