Article: Bruce Highway a carpark as Easter break ends

[Fares_Fair]

Article: Bruce Highway a carpark as Easter break ends
Kristin Shorten
From:The Courier-Mail
April 09, 2012
4:56PM

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bruce-highway-a-carpark-as-easter-break-ends/story-e6freoof-1226322192302

FRUSTRATED travellers have taken to social networking sites - hopefully from the passenger's seat - to complain about traffic headaches as they make their way home after the Easter long weekend.

Traffic is reportedly almost at a standstill southbound from Gympie to Brisbane, with motorists warning others to delay their journeys.

"Just drove over the Bruce hwy at Caloundra. It's a carpark. Seek alternative route!!," John Massey wrote on Facebook.

"Driving north on Bruce highway from Mango Hill to Noosa, looking over at south bound traffic. It's a carpark for kilometres (good runs in short spurts), long trip ahead for anyone going that way" wrote Kirsty Shea.

This comes after a multi-vehicle crash in Tiaro, south of Maryborough, at noon which caused heavy traffic delays.
Karen McInerney said the southbound lanes from the Ettamogah Hotel was a "carpark".

Jodarella Axford said : "Sunny coast to bris is stopped caloundra turn off to bris... Dont leave till late people!!"

Kara Fitton said the Bruce Highway was "stop-start" from as far north as Bundaberg.

[Stillwater]

One of the endless reports in support of the rail upgrade to Nambour reported that the SC tourism industry risks being affected adversely as motorists report that Bruce Highway congestion is one of the factors that puts them off heading to the SC for holidays.

[#Metro]

Sunshine Coast Line trains???

[Stillwater]

Cost of SCL duplication: $1.7 billion
Benefits: $4.57 billion
Benefit-Cost-Ratio: 2.7
better than CRR

*$1.7 billion is Landsborough-Nambour estimated cost, Beerburrum Landsborough  now recosted at $460 million.

[Jonno]

Of course the RACQ will say the only answer is an upgrade.  Just shows how inefficient road transport really is!!!

[Arnz]

The ex-Gympie North train today was reported as full past Nambour this afternoon.  Standees from Landsborough onwards. 

Strong load from my own eyes reported on the 6:11pm Roma Street service out of Landsborough as well, with extra 605/615 buses being scrambled on at short notice for both the 5:19pm (ex-Gympie North) and 6:11pm departures out of Landsborough.

The 3:11pm out of Landsborough wasn't as loaded as the later 2 departures, but a bit more than usual.  That early arvo service is rostered only a Caboolture shuttle.

[Stillwater]

Jonno - RACQ backs SC duplication

[SteelPan]

Also, the upgrade to the Bruce H'way and the Sunshine Coast Rail Expansion are, in the main, two very different markets.

I back first the SC Rail plans - overall, the Bruce H'way for the first 90mins/2hrs or so north of Brisbane isn't to bad all things considered.  At holiday times there will always be traffic delays.

The SC needs better rail!

[ozbob]

Railways used to put on extra services at Easter.  The Sunshine Coast line could well do with the some extras for Easter.  Properly promoted and marketed they would be a real alternative to the bloodbath and chaos on the roads.  The limited rail services yesterday on the Sunshine Coast line were overwhelmed of course.

Honestly, what is wrong with them?  Another opportunity to do something positive for the community and rail, left begging.

Another Easter, another poor show Queensland Rail and TransLink ...

[SurfRail]

Railways used to put on extra services at Easter.  The Sunshine Coast line could well do with the some extras for Easter.  Properly promoted and marketed they would be a real alternative to the bloodbath and chaos on the roads.  The limited rail services yesterday on the Sunshine Coast line were overwhelmed of course.

Honestly, what is wrong with them?  Another opportunity to do something positive for the community and rail, left begging.

Another Easter, another poor show Queensland Rail and TransLink ...

Me and some "colleagues" were out taking photos at Byron Bay yesterday, and on the way back we noticed more than the usual number of Sunstate buses running the other way to Casino to connect to the XPT - so even CountryLink can arrange for double-headers at busy times!

[QRIG]

I was up the coast over the Easter weekend as well, staying at Landsborough with the caravan. The trip up the coast had the usual 20km/h crawl from Morayfield all the way up to the Beerburrum exit. With a clear run up the Steve Irwin way to Landsborough.

I was absolutely dreading the trip back, expecting a 3-3.5 hour trip back to Brisbane. We left Landsborough at about 10am and managed to get back to the Centenary suburbs by about 2pm. That's with a stop in Kallangur to see the old folks and at the Nudgee Roadhouse for lunch. We averaged about 90km/h on the Bruce Hwy, with barely a stop.

So it was the last minute rush back as per usual which caused the delays.

[Fares_Fair]

My family travelled back from Brisbane to Sunny Coast via car on Sunday afternoon (unfortunately, rail just way too expensive for families and sunshine coast services just way too infrequent to be of any practical use).
Traffic was smooth for us northbound travellers with no delays (going against the flow), but the southbound traffic was phenomenal, and banked up for many kilometers.