Letters to the editor - Published

[Fares_Fair]

Published Nambour Weekly 26th January, 2012, p21.
Games will cost us

[Fares_Fair]

Published Nambour Weekly 26th January, 2012, p20.
Wearing us down

[somebody]

Re: the first letter.

Sydney has a $2.50 all day ticket, but it's for pensioners only.  Other concession holders don't get it.  There is no $5 daily full fare ticket.  In our dreams!  There is a $58-60 (can't remember exactly) across system weekly ticket though.

[SurfRail]

The first letter is written by somebody who sounds like they have never actually caught a bus on the Sunshine Coast.

[Fares_Fair]

Voice of the Coast : Letters to the Editor
Rail line saga drags on and on 'beyond infinity'
Sunshine Coast Daily
Saturday 28 January, 2012
p31

Clarification:
The contract in question is the $300m Beerburrum to Landsborough rail duplication, the second stage of the Caboolture to Landsborough works.

[mufreight]

Voice of the Coast : Letters to the Editor
Rail line saga drags on and on 'beyond infinity'
Sunshine Coast Daily
Saturday 28 January, 2012
p31

Clarification:
The contract in question is the $300m Beerburrum to Landsborough rail duplication, the second stage of the Caboolture to Landsborough works.

Now if we had a decent opposition these documented facts that were presented in the article would be raised in question time but with the pathetic rabble that the opposition has been to date and now being concentrated on the task of attempting Dictator No Policies Newman appear to be a Knight in Shining Armor and saviour for the oppressed people of Queensland for the election rather than the aspiring Emperor without robes (read policies) that we all know him to be.

[Fares_Fair]

Published Courier-Mail
Friday, February 3, 2012, p73.
Fare rise clears out buses

Interesting letter by interstate tourist ...

[ozbob]

Published South West News 8th February 2012 page 11

We need to shift our focus from roads

[Fares_Fair]

Published Nambour Weekly 9th February, 2012, p32.
Rail duplication could be a myth

[O_128]

replace could with is.

[Fares_Fair]

Published Nambour Weekly 9th February, 2012, p32.
Rail duplication could be a myth

I have never heard of anything like this being done in all the reports I have read on the subject.
mufreight, I would appreciate your critique of this persons opinion in a letter to the editor and whether it is plausible?

Regards,
Fares-Fair.

[Stillwater]

The basis of this thinking - a dedicated freight line through Brisbane - is sound.  Diverting freight trains via Theebine and Kingaroy then to Toowoomba and Ipswich is not practical.  Under this plan, a freight train from up north would have to ascend and descend the Great Dividing Range to get to Brisbane.  Approximately half of all the exports through the Port of Brisbane originate from the Darling Downs and Surat Basin.  So, the writer would have NCL freighters combining with the Toowoomba coalies up and down the Toowoomba Range.  Impractical.  The Theebine-Kingaroy track/alignment is a basket case.  Much of the freight traffic from up north is destined for Acacia Ridge or domestic markets in Sudney and Melbourne, not the Port of Brisbane.  One idea being put forward is that the Brisbane markets should be relocated to Caboolture-Elimbah to get the markets out of a flood-prone area at Rocklea.  This would cut down on rail freight traffic movements through Brisbane.

[somebody]

I don't think the letter suggested going via Toowoomba though.  However, the point about combined traffic through Ipswich remains.  Perhaps triplication could be a goer in this scenario.

[mufreight]

Published Nambour Weekly 9th February, 2012, p32.
Rail duplication could be a myth

The theory holds some basis but is so impractical that it is beyond rational belief.
The costs of the line upgrades and new construction to achieve a line between Acacia Ridge and Gympie is greater than the costs for a full duplication between Beerburrum and Nambour and extending selected crossing loops between Nambour and Gladstone which is a far more cost effective solution with more operational advantage for both freight and passenger services and be of greater benefit to the north of the state by reducing not only transit times but also the operating costs for freight services.

[Stillwater]

We are brought inextricably back to the logic of numerous government documents that examine the problem of mixing freight and passenger trains on the North Coast Line and, essentially without dissent, recommend what Mufreight has espoused.  While incorporating the practical solutions into its own strategy documents, the government denies them funding or urgency – even ignoring its own published timelines.  Meanwhile, stations constructed using plywood and fencing wire attract destructive fungi that eat at their decay.

As for the Opposition?  Perhaps its transport policy sits at the heart of the OJ287 quasar, who knows.

A train journey to Nambour is redolent of the Voyage of the Damned.

[HappyTrainGuy]

This would cut down on rail freight traffic movements through Brisbane.

Not really. QRN and PN/PNQ are both national rail freight operators with QRN being the biggest in Australia (When they were owned by the Government they were having talks with buying out Linfox to improve their road freight haulage...  ). PN freight is offloaded at Acacia Ridge where its split up and either driven to the Toll facility or driven to Moolabin before loaded on to a PNQ train (apparently its cheaper than paying QR and QRN different network and access fees between the two as QR own the track to and from but QRN own the freight facility) and sent to Rocky, Mackay, Townsville (Repeat for reverse travel). QRN is the same. Since it owns the Acacia Ridge facility its their major freight interchange hub. Freight is exchanged between different gauge rollingstock and between their incoming and outgoing owned trucks.

[ozbob]

Published Couriermail 20th February 2012

Transport policy vital for win

Congestion in and around Brisbane is worsening by the day .

Futile attempts to manage congestion by building more roads is actually exacerbating the problem.  This escalating congestion is compounded by a failure to organise the public transport system around a core frequent network, both bus and rail, with good feeder options.  

It is the frequency of services that makes public transport an attractive option, most of our public transport network has very poor service frequency, particularly outside the peak times.

State election outcomes in NSW and Victoria were heavily impacted by public transport concerns.  The Queensland election will be no different.

One bright spot in this election campaign already has been the policy committment by the LNP to increase train frequency to four trains per hour between the peaks on the Ferny Grove line.  More needs to be done though.

Parties and candidates need to commit by definitive policy with time-lines on improving our public transport networks.

Robert Dow
Goodna

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 25th February 2012

Stranded at station by public transport idiocy

I am writing you this letter sitting on the platform at Goodna railway station, waiting for a train.  I have been  waiting since 9.04am, I caught the 524 bus from my local stop at Curnow St at 8.55am.  The bus was due at 8.41am at the bus stop to connect at Goodna rail (bus due at 8.52am at Goodna rail) with the 8.57am City bound rail service. Of course we (my self and numerous other pax) missed the connection.  The next City bound train was due at 9.27am - if we are lucky.

This is not an unusual occurrence and highlights just what a struggle it is with poor bus and rail frequency for the citizens of south-east Queensland.

We have fools at Brisbane City Council suggesting such idiocies as "Maroon CityGliders" when out in the suburbs, high fares, poor frequency are making life very, very hard for the battlers. Funding must be directed to improving services for those who are currently subjected to public transport mediocrity.

Enough of this mediocrity.  The public transport system must be improved.

Robert Dow
Goodna

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 28th February 2012

Make the connection

[achiruel]

The problem with waiting for buses is simply that it then feeds into further lateness in the system, e.g. people on the return route will then miss their train as the bus to the station is too late.

The better idea is to make the trains run on time.  I don't understand why it can't be done, the Germans seem to get it right!

[ozbob]

Not necessarily, as I suggested where practical.  A few minutes can make a lot of difference.  There is usually enough fat, particularly on weekends.  During the week it is a bit different.

The trains don't run on time (frankly, the system problems are such now that I have given up on that admirable aim at a personal level, it is now about mitigation), particularly at weekends it seems.  If you had to wait an hour because the bus left one minute before the train arrived you would think it would be reasonable.  It is a matter of setting up some sort of communication system so that bus drivers can make an informed decision.  Say the train is two minutes away, they could wait.

One evening at Oxley, I watched a bus waiting for a late train.  The driver actually waited for around 10 minutes, felt couldn't wait any longer, and yes, as he pulled out of the station the train arrived.

Rail bus / train connections on the North Coast are often held to allow connections, they have a communication system in place.

Footnote:  Where there is frequency bus/rail connections are of course a lot less problematical, stating the obvious I know but this is the fundamental problem, woeful frequency generally.

[somebody]

Even with the timetable slow downs reliability not improved.  Sounds like it is getting worse!

[Gazza]

Perth had a solution....One of these adjacent to each bus stand, positioned in view of the driver:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

While this doesn't apply to an inbound bus connecting to an inbound train, what it does do is say that the next train (and the one after that on the line below) is due at XX:XX with a delay of +X minutes.

Bus departure times probably already have about 5 mins of buffer normally to allow people to get off the train and to the bus. They then have another 5 minutes they are permitted to wait to compensate for lateness.

Its the right situation too, because going from train to bus often involves a drop in frequency, so that makes this connection more critical.
On the inbound, if you miss the train by 1 minute, its at worst a 14 minute setback, which is not the end of the world.

[ozbob]

Nice, thanks Gazza.   Perth seems to do a lot of good things.

[ozbob]

Published South West News 14th March 2012 page 14

Richlands needs services

[somebody]

Published South West News 14th March 2012 page 14

Richlands needs services

Hmm, 461 terminating at Indro?  I thought we all wanted it scrapped.

[ozbob]

Published South West News 14th March 2012 page 14

Richlands needs services

Hmm, 461 terminating at Indro?  I thought we all wanted it scrapped.

It is editorialised from here -->  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=7759.0

lol

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 31 March 2012 page 17

Error in Go Card fares gobble up user credit

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 2nd April 2012 page 9

Parking shows how Translink has let our area down

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 7th April 2012 page 17

Timetabled bus service wanted by residents

[ozbob]

Published South West / Springfield News 25th April 2012 page 20

Call for all-day frequent services

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 28th April 2012

Extra rail lines would ease motorway pain

The Ipswich Highway upgrade is almost complete (QT, April 26).  Some short term relief perhaps,
but the reality is choke points are just moved a little further in. 

It is obvious that the congestion car park that commences at Darra each weekday will simply get worse as vehicles
are delivered quicker and in ever greater numbers to that bottleneck as the result of the upgrade. 

All Ipswich political representatives should be pressing hard for the triplication of the Ipswich rail line from Darra West to Redbank as a priority.
This would allow more frequent passenger rail services and allow residents to escape the road nightmare.

The Ipswich highway upgrade will soon be overwhelmed again, the present rail line has the potential passenger capacity of a 30 lane highway utilised properly.

Strange priorities we have.

Robert Dow
RAIL Back On Track

[ozbob]

Published Couriermail 9th May 2012 page 32

Trains can be a road saviour

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 12th May 2012 page 17

Go card still needs tweaking for value

[somebody]

Published Queensland Times 12th May 2012 page 17

Go card still needs tweaking for value

I think we should include Go Card sales on buses in calls to remove paper tickets.

[ozbob]

Published Queensland Times 12th May 2012 page 17

Go card still needs tweaking for value

I think we should include Go Card sales on buses in calls to remove paper tickets.

Fair point but you can't include everything in anything.

It is understood that if they did take away paper tickets they would be replaced with go cards.

Having preloaded go cards on the buses will be necessary when they pull paper, and that is going to happen I reckon.

[somebody]

Having preloaded go cards on the buses will be necessary when they pull paper, and that is going to happen I reckon.

"When" is somewhat optimistic.

[#Metro]

Paper tickets should be cut. Duplication and waste!

[ozbob]

Published Couriermail 17th May 2012 page 30

Motorway just adds to traffic

POLITICIANS talked up the fact the Ipswich Motorway can be widened to four lanes each way.

When will they bite the bullet and realise building more roads just leads to more congestion?

Of course the highway will need to be widened, unless we start directing resources into more sustainable transport options.

Next to the Ipswich Motorway is a double rail line.  Properly used, it has the passenger capacity of a 30-lane motorway.

The motorway is a nice piece of engineering, efficiently delivering yet even more traffic rapidly to congestion choke points.

Robert Dow
Goodna

[ozbob]

Published Couriermail 21st May 2012 page 22

Help needed for disadvantaged

Our new State Government has trumpeted that public transport fares will now increase 7.5 per cent instead of the planned 15 per cent for 2013 and 2014. 

Fare increases of 7.5 per cent are still much greater than CPI, pension increases and so forth. 

On top of the 65 per cent increases over the last four years fare affordability is reaching a crisis point for many.

I support the Queensland Council of Social Service which has lobbied extensively for concession public transport fares be extended to all health care card holders and the unemployed.

Robert Dow
Goodna