[Western Advocate] Bathurst to Sydney rail service

[gilberations]

all sources say the stopping pattern, as discussed earlier in this thread if you looked, will be (Initially) Stable - Lithgow - All to Bathurst - All to Lithgow - Mt Victoria - Katoomba - Springwood - Westmead - Parramatta - Central (i) - (Empty to Maintainance Centre) - (Empty to Central (i)) - Parramatta (u) - Westmead (u) - Springwood - Katoomba - Mt Victoria - Lithgow - All to Bathurst - All to Lithgow - Stable

should this service be well utalised, then the introduction of a Lithgow - Bathurst Shuttle be trialed in a simmilar manner as the Nowra - Kiama is

[captainch]

what doesn't stop at strathfield a MAIN TRANSFER POINT!!!!!!!!

[gilberations]

because its not a commuter service, it is designed to get people to Medical Appts and other CITY appts. hence the westmead and parramatta stops

[captainch]

STRAFIELD/BURWOOD has one of the highest doctor/medical centres appart from westmead for all of sydney!3 trainning colleges for doctors I know because I attend like many ppl from central coast/hunter.ppl from the country who attend there get off coaches at strathfield!for their medical appointments!there is a big dental trainning college there also.also a lot of vetrans attend the old repat hospital at concord. a couple of stations from strathfield which is a majour sydney hosptal plus burns unit!many country ppl attand this hospital!big insight on someones part these ppl are not using the train if provided just for a day out they now have to use the xpt and spend a overnite stay in sydney at even more cost!

[gilberations]

big dental training college in bathurst too. i dare say they did there research and discovered where most of the people wanted to get to and this is how they came up with the stopping pattern.

[simonl]

what doesn't stop at strathfield a MAIN TRANSFER POINT!!!!!!!!

Not unprecedented. Both peaks have trains non stop between Parramatta and Redfern.

Strathfield is an overhyped transfer point. It's really just the Northern Line which branches there.

[captainch]

yes overhypyed, tell that to ppl who catch buses to concord repat hospital, hurstville, ryde, macquarie uni,ect and the main nth line,and factories bewteen strathfield and parramatta, not to mention olympic pk.newington,if strathfield is so uniportant why have these services going thru there, and the buses are not carrying fresh air have you traveled on a bus to mac uni there packed!

[Aurora]

Fleetwise, I think Barry O'Farrell should try to order 5 - 10 more Hunter Car Sets to free up Endevours to the Blue Mountains.

I'm inclined to agree that looking past the immediate term (when the order was made by the previous administration), the order for Hunter Railcars should have been roughly ten or eleven sets rather than just the seven which we have now but I'm not sure if there was perhaps a motivation to not spend more than they absolutely had to with the previous administration as they were I think a replacement for the 620 Railcars and probably a simple avenue to woo Hunter voters. I also don't think the current administration would be willing to spend the many millions to make additional Hunter Railcars happen (especially since the order was finished a few years back) and they will have no qualms making do with what they have and pocketing the money that would have to be spent to make more of them.

[captainch]

just a point my 87 year old grandfather travels twice a week by coach to concord from bathurst been doing that for years.so does that mean he either gets off at parra changes again at strathfield train to concord or goes to central catches train back to concord? whats so special about SPRINGWOOD didn't realize that all these doctors sugureys have spung up there,what treatments the cold mountain air and coffee shops/antique shops!allread send a note to our glad that is if her blouse is tucked in and no sun glasses on head or sleves rolled up

[CityRail]

all sources say the stopping pattern, as discussed earlier in this thread if you looked, will be (Initially) Stable - Lithgow - All to Bathurst - All to Lithgow - Mt Victoria - Katoomba - Springwood - Westmead - Parramatta - Central (i) - (Empty to Maintainance Centre) - (Empty to Central (i)) - Parramatta (u) - Westmead (u) - Springwood - Katoomba - Mt Victoria - Lithgow - All to Bathurst - All to Lithgow - Stable

should this service be well utalised, then the introduction of a Lithgow - Bathurst Shuttle be trialed in a simmilar manner as the Nowra - Kiama is

Interesting Question, why this service does not stop at Penrith or Blacktown? I think people would also love to go to Nepean or Blacktown Hospital for medical appointment than Westmead right?

Hopefully when this service becomes available I will one day go to Westmead and try this service out.

Re those who grumble against the train does not stop at Strathfield - Change at Westmead for a connecting train service, stopping at Granville and then Strathfield.

[Fleet Lists]

what doesn't stop at strathfield a MAIN TRANSFER POINT!!!!!!!!

Not unprecedented. Both peaks have trains non stop between Parramatta and Redfern.

Strathfield is an overhyped transfer point. It's really just the Northern Line which branches there.

Bankstown Line users also use Strathfield as their change station to the west.

[simonl]

Bankstown Line users also use Strathfield as their change station to the west.

Doubling back from Lidcombe? I doubt that.

[captainch]

why would you be doubling back from lidcombe the train doesnt STOP at lidcombe its parramatta then central! that why it should stop at STRATHFIELD!

[boronia]

People who need to go to Strathfield can change to a local service at Parramatta, just as all Blue Mtns pax have to if they wanted to go to, say, Lidcombe. Penrith has a big hospital too, so pax wanting to go there would have to change at Springwood

[Fleet Lists]

Bankstown Line users also use Strathfield as their change station to the west.

Doubling back from Lidcombe? I doubt that.

You do not double back. Obviously again you do not know what you are talking about.
It is a straight connection from Bansktown to Strathfield. I used it hundreds of times when I lived at Bankstown/Punchbowl to go west or north.

[CityRail]

should this service be well utalised, then the introduction of a Lithgow - Bathurst Shuttle be trialed in a simmilar manner as the Nowra - Kiama is

We will need 2x Endevour Sets to make this happen alongside the morning Bathurst - Central(i) service.

With the introduction of the Shuttle service, I would suggest it could be a good idea for this shuttle train to start from Central(i) early in the morning and late at night, enabling tourists to catch this service as an express to/from the Mountains for a day.

If passengers will need to change trains at Springwood for Penrith, I just hope the train they are changing to is NOT the next train departing Lithgow or Katoomba but a Springwood - North Sydney train or there's no point for passengers to catch the Bathurst direct to Springwood than change. Personally Emu Plains will be a better transfer point, provided CityRail would need to extend 1 or 2 Penrith Exp St Marys/Mt Duritt service to Emu Plains that would allow passnegers the least disruption to go to Nepean, Mt Duritt and Blacktown Hospitals.

[CityRail]

It is a straight connection from Bansktown to Strathfield. I used it hundreds of times when I lived at Bankstown/Punchbowl to go west or north.

But can your ticket allow this to happen, in particular if you are holding Single/Return? (MyMulti/PET does not apply in this case)

PS: I think there are a lot of trains from Lidcombe to the West if you need them right?

[simonl]

why would you be doubling back from lidcombe the train doesnt STOP at lidcombe its parramatta then central! that why it should stop at STRATHFIELD!

Doesn't change that Parramatta-Strathfield-Lidcombe IS doubling back. Once the Lidcombe turnback timetable is operational, you won't be saving a change by going via Strathfield either unless a very strange decision is made. Parramatta-Lidcombe is actually connected every 15 minutes. 131500.com.au never suggests going via Strathfield.

You do not double back.

Say what??

It is a straight connection from Bansktown to Strathfield.

Well I would expect that it won't be for much longer. I suppose I haven't seen that officially.

[simonl]

But can your ticket allow this to happen, in particular if you are holding Single/Return? (MyMulti/PET does not apply in this case)

What are you getting at? You can buy a single or return from any Cityrail station to any other.

[gilberations]

But can your ticket allow this to happen, in particular if you are holding Single/Return? (MyMulti/PET does not apply in this case)

What are you getting at? You can buy a single or return from any Cityrail station to any other.

but you have to travel via the most direct route on a single

[Fleet Lists]

Eg If you buy a ticket at Bankstown to the west, it covers the trip via Strathfield as that is considered the connecting point and the most direct - not via Central.

[BroadGauge]

I would think not stopping at Penrith would be far stupider than skipping Strathfield. Lots of people get on at Blue Mountains stations and travel to Penrith to go shopping etc just for a start.

[boronia]

But this service is a bit too early for shoppers, and there are already adequate services for them

[745-Castle Hill]

But isn't skipping all stops from Springwood to Westmead a bit much if anyone wants to travel in between, they can take up to 3 trains to some destinations (i.e. St Marys, Mt Druitt, Seven Hills).

[gilberations]

seems to me that by the rough timing of this service, it would meet the Sprigwood to Hornsby Service, thus creating only one change of service for western line