NSW Railway Observations 2020

[boronia]

Video released by ST yesterday on FB showed a rake of V set carriages being towed back to Sydney (?FMC) behind diesels.

For servicing and "to get their batteries recharged".

[swtt]

Video released by ST yesterday on FB showed a rake of V set carriages being towed back to Sydney (?FMC) behind diesels.

For servicing and "to get their batteries recharged".

16 carriages in total. Not everyday you see 16 V set cars marshalled together!

[BroadGauge]

C8 + C12 have been running all day today on T8 Macarthur and T2 Homebush services. Very unusual for a Sunday as all weekend services are scheduled as Waratahs on Sector 2, aside from the 4 car M sets on the Cumberland line.

[neilrex]

"Sydney's train network has been thrown into chaos this morning with major delays on several lines after a work car derailed near Circular Quay.

Key points:
The meltdown has had a major impact on peak-hour services
Passengers have reported delays of up to an hour
The track is now clear, but the knock-on effect is expected to last for hours
Workers in a ute, which had been modified to drive on the rails, were inspecting the track early this morning when it derailed on the City Circle line between Circular Quay and Wynyard.

The maintenance vehicle was removed around 7:30am and services resumed on the City Circle shortly after.

The worst-affected services are for commuters travelling from Western Sydney, the north shore and the airport."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-03/ ... y/12019624

Well that makes sense. Of course the north shore and western lines wou;d be blocked by a derailment between wynyard and circular quay.

[tonyp]

It's from the ABC, it must be correct. The "Terror" is telling us it's T2. T3 and T8 and that an earlier trespasser on the track at Central caused delays to T1 NSL.

[boronia]

My feed from the Terror at 07.03:

City circle train derailment wreaks commuter havoc

Commuters are facing peak-hour chaos this morning with train delays of up to an hour and potential cancellations after a carriage derailed at Circular...

[tonyp]

My feed from the Terror at 07.03:

City circle train derailment wreaks commuter havoc

Commuters are facing peak-hour chaos this morning with train delays of up to an hour and potential cancellations after a carriage derailed at Circular...

That must be an earlier report before the vehicle was identified. Shortly after that they were identifying it as a ute type road-rail maintenance vehicle with photos.

[boronia]

Despite claims that BMT services were "back to normal" this week, the 07:23 Central to Mt Vic service this morning terminated at Katoomba. It was an 8V instead of the usual 4V. Last week it was an 8V terminating at Springwood.

Are there still problems at Mt Vic yard?

[Aurora]

Despite claims that BMT services were "back to normal" this week, the 07:23 Central to Mt Vic service this morning terminated at Katoomba. It was an 8V instead of the usual 4V. Last week it was an 8V terminating at Springwood.

Are there still problems at Mt Vic yard?

Planned possession during the day this week between Katoomba and Mount Vic.

[boronia]

Rail in the Illawarra about to hit congestion deadline

https://www.railexpress.com.au/rail-ill ... -deadline/

[boxythingy]

There is something very wrong about timetabling and peak AM hour fare charging on the T8 Airport Line. Late bus due to change of contracts in 2017 to an inferior service by different operator means constant missed connections between those services with the 737am train departing Campbelltown to City via Sydenham. THIS MORNING, Next service, 743am train via Airport is cancelled.

The next available train is the 753am, A WHOLE 15MIN GAP DURING PEAK HOUR, CHARGING 30% EXTRA FOR AN OFF PEAK FREQUENCY SERVICE.

GOOD LUCK TO THOSE WANTING TO GO TO THE AIRPORT BECAUSE IT'D BE A LONGER WAIT ASSUMING IT DOESN'T GET CANCELED, THE 8AM, 20 WHOLE MINUTES LATER! Meanwhile a crowded peak hour service becomes an even tightly compacted sardine box creating a more ideal breeding ground for the virus.

[tonyp]

Western Sydney train stations packed as passenger numbers rise
Ben Pike, Urban Affairs Reporter, The Sunday Telegraph
March 15, 2020 6:00am

Sydney’s train stations have experienced unprecedented growth in passenger numbers in one year, with western Sydney bearing the brunt of the increase.

In yet another symptom of our ongoing property development and population boom, construction hot spots, Epping (46 per cent growth), Schofields (45 per cent), Mascot (17 per cent) and Parramatta (11 per cent) have seen some of the biggest increases in train passengers between 2018 and 2019.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal western Sydney is home to 18 of the top 20 fastest growing stations, with Auburn, Doonside and Leppington all experiencing double-digit expansions in passenger trips.

Commuters Ariadna Mares (left) and Sara Le Youghun have noticed more people travelling on trains. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
North shore and eastern suburbs locations such as Waverton, Artarmon, Milsons Point and Kings Cross have become “ghost stations” in comparison, however, seeing drops in passengers tapping Opal cards.

Sydney Trains acting chief executive Stewart Mills said, as services improve, additional demand is created.

“Customers now have more choice and options to catch the train instead of driving their car, and this is a great outcome for everyone,” Mr Mills said.

The biggest increase in Opal taps have been seen in weekend journeys, as people try to avoid Saturday road gridlock.


Growth in patronage at Sydney stations

Assessment over three consecutive years
Search by Station

Search...
CAMELLIA
FY 2018
39,488
FY 2019
68,801
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
29,313
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
74%
EPPING
FY 2018
7,134,414
FY 2019
10,409,464
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
3,275,050
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
46%
SCHOFIELDS
FY 2018
980,314
FY 2019
1,417,431
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
437,117
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
45%
EDMONDSON PARK
FY 2018
819,932
FY 2019
1,122,709
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
302,777
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
37%
LEPPINGTON
FY 2018
976,791
FY 2019
1,323,080
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
346,289
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
35%
CLYDE
FY 2018
738,437
FY 2019
936,630
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
198,193
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
27%
CARLINGFORD
FY 2018
189,246
FY 2019
226,366
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
37,120
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
20%
WOLLI CREEK
FY 2018
4,999,387
FY 2019
5,949,096
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
949,709
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
19%
RIVERSTONE
FY 2018
468,795
FY 2019
559,607
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
90,812
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
19%
MOUNT COLAH
FY 2018
296,752
FY 2019
353,470
FY 2019 V FY 2018 (# DIFF)
56,718
FY 2019 V FY2018 (% DIFF)
19%
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There has also been a huge increase in trips taken outside of the traditional peaks — especially between 12am and 6am.

“People are working earlier and later, venturing out more and socialising later on weekends and we need to adapt,” Mr Mills said.

“It’s time we move closer towards our global peers by providing more trains on weekends so customers have a greater choice and, most importantly, a service offering that is more evenly spread across the day so people can travel when and where they want.”

Commuters getting on board a train at Newtown in Sydney’s inner west. Picture: Nicholas Eagar.
The increase in Sydney’s train passengers been driven by Sydney’s population hitting 5.1 million at June 2017, an increase of 101,600 people — or 2 per cent — since June 2016.

This was the first time on record Sydney’s population grew by more than 100,000 people in a year, according to the ABS.

Greater Sydney’s population will grow to approximately 7.1 million by 2041.

University students Sara Le Youghun and Ariadna Mares, both 18, spend 90 minutes and 45 minutes respectively travelling on public transport from Western Sydney.

Ariadna Mares (left) and Sara Le Youghun both commute east from western Sydney to attend university. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Ms Le Youghun said she has definitely noticed an increase in the number of people using trains travelling from her home station of Penrith to the city.

“In the mornings trains will often be full, so people will wait for the next one to come along,“ the UTS student said.

“I do use trains out of hours a lot more now and find that those trips are a lot better.“

Ms Mares, who gets on at Schofields, said the platform there and at Quakers Hill is packed.

“All the new homes in the area have made a big difference,” the Windsor woman said.

[BroadGauge]

It's interesting that they use the Richmond line as their example of strong patronage growth, as the interesting thing is that according to their data, patronage is growing strongly from Marayong - Vineyard, but is stagnant or declining from Mulgrave - Richmond.

Perhaps the unappealing 30 minute peak frequency, and relative accessibility of Sydney Metro (by road, that is ) is taking away both present and potential passengers from the Hawkesbury area?

I did notice on a recent trip on a peak service on that line, that the majority of passengers alighted between Blacktown and Schofields, then a significant chunk of those remaining left at Riverstone, with about 5-10 people left in my carriage after there!

[tonyp]

It's interesting that they use the Richmond line as their example of strong patronage growth, as the interesting thing is that according to their data, patronage is growing strongly from Marayong - Vineyard, but is stagnant or declining from Mulgrave - Richmond.

Perhaps the unappealing 30 minute peak frequency, and relative accessibility of Sydney Metro (by road, that is ) is taking away both present and potential passengers from the Hawkesbury area?

I did notice on a recent trip on a peak service on that line, that the majority of passengers alighted between Blacktown and Schofields, then a significant chunk of those remaining left at Riverstone, with about 5-10 people left in my carriage after there!

Because all of the dense housing development is occuring out as far as Riverstone, then prevented further west by the South Creek floodplain (this not being Bjelke Petersen's Queensland!), then Richmond and Windsor are relatively small settlements also constrained by floodplain. In addition, a lot of people from Windsor, Richmond and over the river to Kurrajong drive to the metro.

[boxythingy]

Admitting that stations and trains were not clean, but in fact filthy. Although I have seen some very clean, almost immaculate carriages in the past several months

[Fleet Lists]

I dont think they are admitting any such thing. These extra cleaning procidures are being carried out all over the world.

[Merc1107]

Hopefully some of the regimes stick permanently (obviously not the sanitising/disinfecting, we don't need more super-bugs!) as it seems the cleaning in some places was quite mediocre given the volume of people being handled.

[boronia]

Admitting that stations and trains were not clean, but in fact filthy. Although I have seen some very clean, almost immaculate carriages in the past several months

There are cleaning squads at the major terminal stations. They do a good with the stations and carriages.

[boxythingy]

Article dedicated to the great work of "coronavirus train cleaners"
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the ... 54bq9.html

[Scott4570]

Current status of Heritage Events:-
1/ 3801 Re-Launch, March 27, & Weekend trips, March 28 & 29: Postponed until further notice.
2/ Maitland Steamfest, April 18 & 19: Cancelled
3/ Sydney Terminal Expo 2020, June Long Weekend: Cancelled

[jaseee]

Came across this, thought it might be of interest to some people:
https://medium.com/@NextThere/the-coron ... a9371f1808

[mubd]

ABC News is reporting that NSW-QLD rail services will be terminated due to the border closure. I can't find anything about this through the TfNSW channels.

[Scott4570]

Found this Link in respect to NSW Passenger train services to Queensland Terminating at Casino, as from March 24.
https://transportnsw.info/news/2020/nsw ... queensland

[BroadGauge]

Noticed this morning that the end doorways have been locked off on the Endeavour sets running in the Southern Highlands, with notices informing passengers to utilise the middle doors.

Of course with the extremely low passenger numbers using the line at the moment, I doubt this will have any effect on dwell times. I'm on the 07:34 Goulburn - Central service at the moment, and there would be lucky to be about a dozen people spread throughout the whole train on departure from Mittagong

[tonyp]

Noticed this morning that the end doorways have been locked off on the Endeavour sets running in the Southern Highlands, with notices informing passengers to utilise the middle doors.

Of course with the extremely low passenger numbers using the line at the moment, I doubt this will have any effect on dwell times. I'm on the 07:34 Goulburn - Central service at the moment, and there would be lucky to be about a dozen people spread throughout the whole train on departure from Mittagong

It's as puzzling as blocking off the end seats of trams. I guess the reason is to prtect drivers as they change ends at the end of each run, but usually when they do this there are no passengers on board. Still better safe than sorry. However, they won't apply the same rigor to bus doors, where the risk to drivers is much higher.