Parramatta light rail

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mandonov
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by mandonov »

Ah, so Macquarie will become eastbound and be pedestrianised from Horwood Place to the Parramatta Square car park entry/exit near Smith Street, with a single eastbound lane from Church to Horwood that you can see in the artists impressions. Seeing as the car park the lane leads to will be demolished for Metro West, and that Horwood Pl itself will become the Civic Link pedestrian mall to the river, I could see pedestrianisation eventually extend to Marsden once station construction begins.

This is in addition to Church Street being pedestrianised from Macquarie to Market, the grass track sections that were announced, and the extensive wire-free battery operation in Westmead and the CBD.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Swift »

Light rail and metro will be a the antidote to Parramatta's stagnation since the 1980s. I'm now wishing I'd heeded the advice of a gentleman 25 years ago to look at North Parramatta as a first home purchase.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by marcnut1996 »

simonl wrote:Noticed traffic lights being placed on George St in the Westbound direction, while it currently is one way eastbound.

Does this mean that Macquarie St is being closed to traffic to make way for the light rail and George St is being made two way? Or perhaps just Macquarie St is being narrowed and they hope a two way George St will take some of the load? Either way, I'm not looking forward to this. Traffic is going to be hell and so is parking.
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simonl
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by simonl »

So Macquarie St being reduced is not too far away.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by marcnut1996 »

Probably when construction starts in June 2020.
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Campbelltown busboy
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Campbelltown busboy »

Will this light rail kill the everlasting Parramatta free shuttle bus service witch was originally operated by Parramatta council with Veolia Transport allowing Parramatta council to use the Villawood depot to store their 3 buses overnight along with the supply of drivers and to perform routine maintenance work those 3 buses are now at Transit Systems region 3
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Fleet Lists
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Fleet Lists »

Nothing is everlasting and I expect that will also be the case with this free shuttle.
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tonyp
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by tonyp »

Given there's a significant amount of route duplication I have no doubt the tram will replace the shuttle. They could then make a section of the tram route a fare-free zone like in Melbourne and Adelaide. However, unlike every other state, NSW government seems to have a set against the concept of free CBD circulator services. It's enough of a struggle keeping the Gong Shuttle going. I don't give any others much of a chance.

In any case, the beneficiaries or their representatives (or the parking space levy) should be providing substantial part-funding of these services.
neilrex
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by neilrex »

The only time I ever used the free shuttle bus, was to go somewhere up near the old jail.

Neither the tram nor the metro go anywhere near there.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Swift »

^ what about catching a flick at Roxy should out ever reopen.
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neilrex
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by neilrex »

It's two minutes walk from the station.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Fleet Lists »

The route 535 timetable is now available https://transportnsw.info/routes/detail ... /535/23535 and it will be operated by Hillsbus,
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swtt
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by swtt »

Fleet Lists wrote:The route 535 timetable is now available https://transportnsw.info/routes/detail ... /535/23535 and it will be operated by Hillsbus,
Wow, only every 20 min during the off peak. I guess it won't have much chance of growing patronage in anticipation of the new LR line!

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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Swift »

swtt wrote:
Fleet Lists wrote:The route 535 timetable is now available https://transportnsw.info/routes/detail ... /535/23535 and it will be operated by Hillsbus,
Wow, only every 20 min during the off peak. I guess it won't have much chance of growing patronage in anticipation of the new LR line!

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boronia
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by boronia »

swtt wrote:
Fleet Lists wrote:The route 535 timetable is now available https://transportnsw.info/routes/detail ... /535/23535 and it will be operated by Hillsbus,
Wow, only every 20 min during the off peak. I guess it won't have much chance of growing patronage in anticipation of the new LR line!

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How often does the train run?
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Campbelltown busboy
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Campbelltown busboy »

boronia wrote:How often does the train run?
It looks like the train frequency on the Carlingford line is somewhere around 1 train every 45 minutes
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by BroadGauge »

Campbelltown busboy wrote:
boronia wrote:How often does the train run?
It looks like the train frequency on the Carlingford line is somewhere around 1 train every 45 minutes
The train service runs every 30 minutes on weekdays until 7pm, aside from the hour long gap around 1:30pm, and every 45 minutes after 7pm plus all day on weekends.

When the 2017 timetable was first introduced there was a 30 minute weekend frequency as well, but it was quietly dumped when there was a timetable revision during the midst of the driver shortage. Prior to then all the line had was an hourly service.

They use two trains and crews to run the half hourly service, whereas the 45 minute frequency is run with a single train going up and down the line.
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swtt
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by swtt »

Swift wrote:
Read very carefully.
operated by Hillsbus
Planned and with the blessing of TfNSW. Hillsbus just runs what they're told to run.

So still not the best frequency to start building the patronage up.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Richard290 »

swtt wrote:
Fleet Lists wrote:The route 535 timetable is now available https://transportnsw.info/routes/detail ... /535/23535 and it will be operated by Hillsbus,
Wow, only every 20 min during the off peak. I guess it won't have much chance of growing patronage in anticipation of the new LR line!
At Carlingford Station, you could easily cross Pennant Hills Road at the signalised intersection at Coleman Avenue and wait on the opposite side for a more frequent 550 or odd 625 service which will be time competitive with the 535. The reliability and different travel times of the competing services may be compromised by the congestion on Pennant Hills Road, James Ruse Drive and other connecting roads entering Parramatta.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by motivepower »

I agree with you Richard290 customers will use regular route buses like route 550 from Carlingford and i also agree that Pennant Hills Road and James ruse drive in peak is shocking.

The Railway corridor already has well patronage regular route buses services already in operation to and from Parramatta. Rail customers will have choice take route 535 slower service or a faster regular route bus like 545, 550, M52 or M92 to Parramatta.

I used tripper planner as well as i rang transport info found out regular route buses will be faster than route 535 will be at least 8 minutes to 10 minutes slower than route 545.

535 will be cheaper take longer than regular bus route. Patronage numbers from opal will be intersting in a few months time to see if customers are using rail replacement buses route 535 or regular route buses in the area which are quicker services to Parramatta.

I can't see any additional services will be needed for route 535 maybe a reduction once customers find out there regular bus service is a lot quicker. I for one will be using the route 545 from Monday at Telopea might see additional rostered bendy buses used.
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Stu »

It would be a polItical nightmare if the government did not provide a temporary replacement service as the train line is converted to a tram line. The route 535 is a provisional rail replacement service, convenience and speed of journey are not major factors with this service.
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swtt
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by swtt »

Stu wrote:It would be a polItical nightmare if the government did not provide a temporary replacement service as the train line is converted to a tram line. The route 535 is a provisional rail replacement service, convenience and speed of journey are not major factors with this service.
Just had another look at the 535 TT - haven't seen it since its original release.

There seems to be a far more frequent service in the peak, at up to 7-8 min intervals (10 min intervals more the norm), and not just the 15 min service that I initially saw. Was there a thread I missed?
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Fleet Lists »

This does not seem any different from one archived on 19th December https://web.archive.org/web/20191219005 ... 200105.pdf
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1whoknows
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by 1whoknows »

I wonder how well the 535 will be used as a lot of the passengers on the train went to/ from Clyde for city connections. Now why would you go backwards to Parramatta to get a city train when there are bus options available from the corridor to Epping, Eastwood and West Ryde - I'd reckon rail patronage on the northern line will show a small increase from those 3 stations and a corresponding decrease on the western line. Time will tell.
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Linto63
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Re: Parramatta light rail

Post by Linto63 »

The journey time from Parramatta was probably comparable with that from Clyde courtesy of the former making fewer stops, although the bus portion will mean that overall journey times will increase. But it will still probably be quicker than when the light rail opens though. :D
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