(AU) Railway Safety/Running

[Raichase]

1. Cityrail has yet to have a train come on time for the last year or so...

Although a significant proportion of trains I catch are late, I would not say that they are in the majority.

I would - I catch a train twice a week, usually at different times (all off-peak), and they are *always* late to some degree. Most not that bad, but still late...

2. Trains are usually overcrowded, or under-used.

That's what happens when you have infrastructure which cannot cope with peak hour loads and minimum expected service standards at other times during the day.

Yes, I agree - it doesn't help that the network isn't circular, it all extends out from Central.

7. We still have coaches in service from the 1950's (and they are *dodgy*)

There are 1950's passenger cars? Almost all of the trains I see now catch were manufactured in the 70s (tin-can sets) and late 80s/early 90s (Tangara).

The Tulloch coaches, retired in Febuary this year entered service in 1952/3 as red-rattler trailer cars. They were then re-painted silver and attached to the more modern sets. They were the aluminum coaches with the tiny windows that were only a bit better than the rattlers...

[Dundee]

I would - I catch a train twice a week, usually at different times (all off-peak), and they are *always* late to some degree. Most not that bad, but still late...

I catch at least eight trains a week. It would be a particularly bad week if more than half of those trains are late at the point of departure/the time of arrival.

The Tulloch coaches, retired in Febuary this year entered service in 1952/3 as red-rattler trailer cars. They were then re-painted silver and attached to the more modern sets. They were the aluminum coaches with the tiny windows that were only a bit better than the rattlers...

The Wayback machine on the CityRail site says they were made 1964-69. I'd be pretty impressed if they were over fifty years old.

I'm aware of them - but they're not in service anymore. They were all but gone by the the end of last year. And they weren't that bad - perhaps a bit awkward if you were sitting by the seats parallel to the staircases, and a bit annoying having 'fixed seats'. Their presence was certainly preferable to the seven car R/S trains which appeared when the carriages were gradually removed.

edit: run on sentence.

[Aegir]

I say privatise. Down here in South Australia the railways and busses were privatised and it has worked fabulously. Well, I cant comment much on the trains because we dont have many lines in SA, just a few lines running RailCar 3000's, which aren't too bad a ride.

Actually, Im not overly certain wether our rail lines are privatised or not, but I think they are.

[d00mh4mm3r]

wow, A LOT of you have problems... the area around me (west melbourne) the public transport are mainly on time in the peak hours, mid day is a different story. im glad i finnished school last year, it used to take me a wile to get to school (just 10 km away), sadly no transport went there from my place, so i got up at 6:30am, caught the 7am bus from my house, then a 7:45 train from sunshine to watergardens, then i change to a 8am bus, it got me to school at 8:45, or 8:55, (school alowed this 10min lateness from regulars, 24 of us)

now i drive, took me 8min to get to my old school, lol

there was this one time, a few years ago on the werribee line, no trains were running from 3pm to 6pm, and A LOT of us school kids decided to walk along the tracks to get home changed and go out, (i hated summer that day, 44degrees grrr )