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How was your train trip today? Notice anything interesting? Got a relevant topic to raise that’s not covered in the posts? Let’s hear it.
This is a short term experiment based on requests for a general debate section for passing interest items (today’s trains were a breakdown disaster!) or things not raised in other posts but relevant.
I’ll run it for about a week and see how it works.
If it’s not on the home page in the side Auckland or Top Debate panels, it will just to the right of that under Spotlight.
91 Comments
Good idea Jon
Again poor communication from Veolia , turned up at the train station a few minutes before my train. There was a westbound train on the platform which is quite common and it headed off. A few minutes later another train heads westbound and doesn’t stop. We keep waiting and waiting with not a word over the loud speaker about any delays. Eventually the train that ran non stop heads back and we get on that 20 minutes later than our train was due to arrived.
I have signed up to the new text service and had the old one but didn’t get any notification of delays and as mentioned there were no station announcements and just lots of people huddled under the shelter trying to stay dry.
Also I noticed someone paying for a ticket on the train by cheque. I was quite surprised they would even take them.
There were a number of announcements at Panmure this morning, mentioning delays to the Eastern and Southern Lines due to problems at Britomart. For the record I did not get any TXT notifications.
The announcer would repeat the same sentence 2-3 times and then start with another announcement and stop mid-sentence. It sounded like he did not know what was going on. Either the system had problems or he just stopped mid-sentence.
Another issue I have, what is the point of announcing that all trains are delayed by 10-15 minutes if they run at 10-15 minute intervals? The only services impacted will be the first and last during peak time - there will be an extra one at the end
All I want to know is when the next train will arrive, since the trains haven’t been following any schedule over the last few weeks.
Heard that there was a security issue with a trespasser at Britomart this morning, causing some delays. Someone boarded the roof of the train, heading into the tunnel? Not sure I can give much weight to that rumour.
Hopefully we will not get some idiots taking up the sport/hobby of Train Surfing in NZ.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5117318.stm
GJA - once we get electrified trains, Darwin will take care of any train (roof) surfers. We don’t have much height clearance (evil grin).
@Mark - the trains in Joburg are electrified. Apparently these guys are doing it to impress the girls - “The girls think we are clever”.
Yes, bring on Darwin.
You won’t even be able to touch the roof of any electrified unit. The radiation of 25kV will cook you before you even touch the catenary!
Confirmed that the trespasser on the train this morning climbed on to the roof of the 0610hrs service to Pukekohe. Ballsy.
I’ve noticed the platform extensions at Penrose and the start of the extensions at Remuera.
Just read that Greenlane platform will be extended and will take up to 4 months with the station being closed for some of the time.
Papatotoe’s platforms extension starts mid Febuary’
This just leaves of favourite Otahuhu.
I wonder if Otahuhu is being delayed while they sort out the long term plan for upgrading the station
Trains were fine in both directions this morning, just a few mins late. I caught the 0829 ex Mt Albert to Avondale (departed around 3mins late) and the 1718 ex Avondale to Mt Albert (departed about a minute late).
The text service seems to work well for me — I think people need to remember they only text on delays more than 10mins (or thereabouts) or outright cancellations. Both of these are pretty rare from what I’ve seen over the last few months on the Western Line at least. They’re pretty useful as it helps me plan whether or not to take the bus/train.
@Jon , do you know anything about Otahuhu?
Another meltdown this afternoon resulting in the 5:24 out west being cancelled and the following train running 20 minutes late. All up today I have been delayed for 50 minutes and not had one text message.
Also I see the New Lynn trench has been heavily tagged again after been cleaned at Christmas, I hope we aren’t waiting till next Christmas to get that lot cleaned off.
Though airport aren’t really a crucial PT infrastructure here. I Thought i’d tell you that Christchurch Airport is About half way through its domestic terminal renovation. i had to have a sneek peek over the barrier and saw a really grand check in hall, which is due to be completed soon.
Buses from Pakuranga that travel via the Ellerslie Pakuranga highway need to stop on the bridge above the station. Same with Greenlane.
@Matt L Is the new text service better than the old one when messages used to arrive hours later (they blamed the telcos)
@Antz Sounds great.
Jon - I have only had about 2 messages from it since the new year and both for the wrong line so it seems like rubbish to me
I rang railway about 10.45 tonight re crossing alarms going off with no train. It’s at Tremaine Ave Palmerston North. The road parallel to it is Midhurst St a no exit Street but there is a large turnaround for trucks with trailers as there is a major sandblasters the rear entrance to Nivens Engineering and Firths concrete.
It is a problem from time to time at this crossing and at others I presume. The people doing it think its a bit of fun. However I don’t think the cost to all others inconvenienced by the “fault” before the Police arrived.
I helped two trucks and trailers back up so they could turn down the road parallel to the railway so they then use the loop at the end of the road to enable them to head out and go in the opposite direction they intended to go. The cost of the Police and the fact that any train approaching the crossing has to do it at such a speed that they can stop very quickly. About 10km/h.
For those enquiring about Otahuhu, the issue stems from the decommissioning of the station’s historic signal box, which will be carried out in July when WESTCAD/ETCS1 signaling reaches Otahuhu and covers track from Otahuhu to Quay Park, and Onehunga. After that, there is the massive job of removing/relocating the historical building, and its associated paraphernalia, which isn’t a job for the faint-hearted.
It is quite good to see that ‘ticket checks’ are taking place as you enter Britomart in the afternoons. Was it only for the past two days or will they continue doing it going forward?
I wonder what the cost is to have the additional resources at Britomart, compared to the additional revenue being generated?
You should check out what is happening at the site of the old Tamaki Station, seems like a prime oportunity to establish a decent park and ride has been lost, unless of course that is what they are doing?
Kiwiblog..
“It reminds me of something Maurice Williamson has often pointed out – that many of the noisiest advocates for public transport never use it themselves. They just think everyone should be forced to”
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/01/train_trips_1_photo_ops_1.html
Shane Jones has become Labour’s transport spokesman. Can’t find any statement he has ever made concerning transport.
Aust’s federal government will spend $20 million on a detailed study into high-speed rail on Australia’s east coast. It has commissioned a consultant that has already indicated a fast train should be possible.
Proposals for high-speed rail in Australia have emerged sporadically since the mid 1980s.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/fasttrain-study-consultant-favours-link-20110201-1acgk.html
T2 and T3 North Shore lanes under review
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10704359
heres something good from Shane Jones from the herald today:
“He will be fighting for a less extravagant approach to National’s $1.69 billion “holiday highway” from Puhoi to Wellsford, which Jones says seems to be about the minister’s and his colleagues’ property investments around the Mahurangi area. It may be unpopular among Jones’ Northland mates, but then, he is used to rubbing a few people up the wrong way.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10704490
On the 5:40pm train from Britomart to Papakura via Newmarket. No explanation as yet why we aren’t moving other that the driver has no idea and the train manager just came through to say we
Could be here for 10 more mins for all she knows….
We have been stuck just after penrose for over 30 mins now.
Also nothing from maxx’s new train txt message system. Major fail with communication and updates to all of us on the train.
Not good if this is what they are trying to improve for the world cup…
We started moving again at 6:55 but stopped again at the junction of the eastern and southern lines. Must be signal failure of some kind as there is an eastern line train stuck too.
We are now moving towards the platform at Westfield, still nothing from the staff as to what’s happened! And we are now over an hour late.
We have since started moving again, and I am about to step off the train in Manurewa one hour or so late! There has been no communication via text or announcements by the staff on the train.
I’ve been a train commuter for 15 years, and even though there are now speakers in each train compartment, and speakers at each station, there has been no communication at aol about the issues tonight reminiscent of the system 15 years ago. A major failure for Veolia tonight but what can be done now? Another lesson learnt perhaps…
[...] Today’s chat for accounts of the [...]
Some comments re New Lynn transport hub redevelopment.
When I look at the redevelopment of New Lynn roundabout and Rankin Ave, construction of the new station as a whole project my feedback is far from positive for the following reasons:
- the undergound trench under the street has not resolved the congestion issue as much as aniticpated by me. This is mainly due to a transition of the old roundabout into a 3 street intersection. Lynmall shopping centre is now much less accessible coming from Rankin Ave with 3 set of lights to go through not being synchrnonised.
- closure of old ‘park and ride’ car park by old Lollipop and not replacing it with an alternate adequate car park is far from international standards and certainly not encouraging people to switch to trains (public transport). This should be a top priority for the city couincil and the Ministry of Transport.
- redevelopment of Ranking Ave with arrangement of new bus bays seems to be a waste of money. The two bus bays accomodate about 6 buses and are empty for most of the time (I have noted only 1 or max 2 at a time) and further reduce car park availability in the area – one of the bus bays replaced small parking along Rankin Ave by International College of Auckland which was for about 20 cars.
- for me the trench project lacks some underground pedestrians passages at least along the railway trench which probably could have been funded from the money spent on redevelopment of not much needed bus bays.
While completion of double tracking on Western line improved the network reliability, the new train station doesn’t seem to have brought much quality in a practical sense apart from visual factor and as such I am disappointed with the taxpayers’ money spending.
Anyone agree or disagree?
the main issue I see with the New Lynn development is that the bus services have not been reorientated to feed the trains or seemingly improved at all.
We can probably blame Joyce again for mucking around with the public transport management act that would have allowed the council to force this to happen.
I am writing to complain about the unfair monthly pass prices.
I would like to use the train for going to and from work five days per week. My journey would be from Waitakere to Britomart a fairly straight forward commute. I don’t need the train for anything else, niether do I need the train to go anywhere else.
However the most affordable monthly pass price option that you have to offer is the following ($ 170.00 for Unlimited train travel between Papakura and Waitakere. Includes bus travel within the Inner City Zone on Waka Pacific, North Star, GO WEST and Metrolink EXCLUDING LINK, Ritchies, Urban Express, Howick and Eastern, Birkenhead Transport and Airbus services.)
If I used this option I like many fellow commuters ( possibly 1000′s)would be paying for something I don’t want or require.
Now I can’t believe that I am the only person that has realised this, niether am I prepared to believe that no one has ever raised this before, finally whoever designed this system obviously knew what they were doing, ie. the current monthly pass system inflates the statistics for number of train journeys per month etc. It would not surprise me if this inflated figures were then used to justify further price rises in the future. Please sort this out.
I am however more than willing to pay for a monthly pass that gets me from Waitakere to Britomart. I don’t wish to use the current product as I and thousands of others have come to realise that it was designed to rip us off.
I think you are completely wide of the mark on this one. From some stations the monthly pass is great value and my wife and I who catch the train from Sturges Rd to Britomart daily both use them.
In your case a standard trip from Waitakere to Britomart is 6 stages which costs $6.70 and a 10 trip pass is $60.30. In a normal month there are usually 20-23 working days, if we assume that you will take two trips per day, one to work and one home and use the lower end figure of 20 days that equates to 40 trips per month. To pay the single trip price you would be paying $268 per month for travel, with a 10 trip pass it would be $241.2 per month. That means that even off the next cheapest option you would be saving just under 30% and off the single ticket price you are saving over 36%. To look at it another way if you only took 40 journeys per month you would be paying only $4.25 per trip or $8.50 per day.
The fact that the pass includes travel anywhere on the rail network to Papakura is a bonus, as is the free city bus allowance which is something I suspect most people don’t know about. It is also incredibly useful in the sense that you can get on and off at places without incurring an extra charge e.g. if you decided you wanted to go to Newmarket after work to pick something up, you could jump on the train, go and do what you wanted to at Newmarket then jump back on another train for no charge. With every other ticketing option out there at the moment you would have to pay a one stage trip to Newmarket then another fare out to Waitakere.
Lastly I also find that monthly passes mean I am more keen to use the train. If know that I can just turn up and go somewhere knowing that the travel is effectively free as it isn’t going to cost me any more for that month.
Matt, you typed that in 7 minutes? Better typist than me, but I agree with your reasoning completely. The monthly pass is a bargain if you catch the train daily to town.
Owen - Haha, I can type pretty fast when I want to
Why does all the info about the next due train disappear off the electronic boards as soon as its scheduled time has passed?
I experienced this at Newmarket station past sunday. The train wasn’t there at the scheduled time and I saw confused passengers all around me - me included. For all we knew it could be just around the corner, cancelled or anything in between.
Does anyone know if this was a one-off? And if not, then are there any plans to improve this situation?
I’ve been on the 7:20 am train from Papkura to Britomart. It is the only express train to the city and by the time we reach Papatoetoe the carriages are pretty much filled to capacity. Also school kids these days have an expectation of keeping their seat while elderly members of the public are made to stand. There were some very rude young ladies on the train today, and I’m sure their school’s principal would also be shocked. Whatever happened to children with a concession fare to give up their seats for adults? I remember always having to do that in my youth on the western line!
I hope that like Wellington that there will be more express trains alongside normal services both ways during peak hours. I hope Veolia transport and the Auckland Council are thinking of this on their strategy. I gather this might not happen until electrification but i do think there should be at least two services running express both ways during peak hours right now.
@Aaron B There were two girls yesterday who refused to give up their side seat by the door to a woman struggling with a pram and kid even though the sign says mothers have preference there.
I wish more train staff would say something in these circumstances and not just walk by.
Orangekiwi - The PIDs that have been installed to date only run off the timetable and not off what is actually happening. It has been on the list to use GPS to track trains for some time but seems to always be some time off. I think they might now be planning to tie it into the new signalling system but I’m not 100% on that.
Veolia and Communication - We experienced it again today!!!
I arrived at Britomart around 16:52 for my 16:58 Eastern Line just to hear the announcement that the Eastern Line trains were impacted by 30 minutes (they said this for the 10 minutes I was on the platform). Once again we did not have an announcer whose first language was English, so he would stop in mid-sentence or just say badly constructed sentences that do not make sense
I asked the first Veolia person (with a clipboard) what the 30 minutes meant and he wasn’t sure and said that I should listen to the announcement. So what is the point having him there? I then asked a lady with a red jacket what it meant and she confirmed that there would be no Eastern Line trains for 30 minutes (I still do not know when the 30 minutes started…) The lady and the announcer both said that we should all get on the next Southern Line to Otahuhu and then catch the Eastern Line back to our respective stations. We left Britomart around 17:05 and all worked out well and the connecting train got us at Westfield for our trip on the Eastern Line (waited for less than a minute). Thank goodness I did not get off at Otahuhu, since I would have missed that train.
I was however quite annoyed arriving at Sylvia Park at 17:33 when I saw a large number of people leaving the station, I can only assume the train was from Britomart. According to the Eastern Line timetable the train take about 19 minutes to get to Sylvia Park. So the train would have left less than 10 minutes after we left Britomart. There were two more trains coming past us between Sylvia Park and Panmure.
This is a major fail. Sure the trains break down, but it is how Veolia handles it. Surely they know where the next trains are, or don’t they???
I got to Britomart at about 5:18 and there was a train on platform 2 and the announcer (probably the same one) kept repeating not to board it but he would start as again as soon as he finished i.e. “don’t board the train on platform 2, don’t board the train on platform 2″ I think I heard it 5 times just going from the top of the stairs to the bottom. Shortly after the train left empty so perhaps it had broken down and might have been one of the ones you saw.
I defintely saw people getting out of train number one (at Sylvia Park) and train number three (at Panmure), I cannot say if there were anybody in train number two - my eyes are a bit too slow when both trains are at speed
I saw a large snapper card adverisement on the back of a bus driving past middlemore today? I thought it would be called a hop card in auckland though.
Also a heads up that rail tracks are starting to be put in place along the western motorway towards the new manukau station.
@Chris Thanks. Snapper announcement only days away http://www.aktnz.co.nz/2011/03/04/auckland-snapper-launches-wednesday/ Cheers
@Chris Snapper remains Snapper but can be used instead of Hop card.
Chris - http://www.snapper.co.nz/newsroom/2011/03/02/snapper-launches-in-auckland/
So why did the peaktime western train to britomart hurtle by without stopping with the announcer apologizing saying it wasn’t stopping because of “operational issues?”
I was out at New Lynn last Saturday and it was raining. I was catching the train further west.
Rather than stopping near the main entrance (and therefore under cover) the train stopped nearly 100m away. It meant all passengers boarding and alighting had at least 50m of open trench to negotiate before reaching cover.
Can anyone explain this in terms of some operational requirement, or was the driver just having a laugh?
I’ve never understood why the trench doesnt have more shelter. Sure it can’t be totally enclosed but at least some cover to stop much of the rain over the plaforms would be nice.
I noticed that the clocks on the different platforms and on the main timetable (below Westpac building) are out of sync.
I arrived at Britomart yesterday for the 16:58 eastern line and the main clock (one level below Westpac) showed that it was 16:56, so I thought I had enough time to get to the train on platform 4. As I went down the escalator the time on platform 3 was still 16:56, so all was good, but platform 4 was 16:57 and before I knew it, it changed to 16:58 and the Train Manager started closing the doors. I think the time on platform was still 16:56, but I had to run.
What I would like to know is how will it work, when they roll out all the electronic signs, will they be getting the time from a c central server? If they can’t even get it right in one location, how will they manage Auckland wide?
Seems like somebody either received my email to Britomart or read this blog, all the clocks were in sync yesterday afternoon and today (as far as I could see).
Well done Britomart / Veolia - not sure who owns the clocks
Major delays on all trains from the south up to 45 mins at the mo. Appears there is an operational fault at Takanini holding things up.
Veolia have been keeping in touch by making announcements at platforms. However the time to resolution has increased as time has passed and the Manurewa station that I’m at is chocker full.
However they’ve not updated communication via txt since 7:10am where they said that 7:10 from Manurewa is cancelled. So those people who are traveling to the stations have no idea there is a delay.
So both a win and fail for Veolia this morning, I’ve been waiting though since before 7, and it’s now 7:49.
Update: the operational issue was a train breakdown.
On loudspeaker.
All trains suspended until further notice, you may wish to seek alternative transport…..
They could have said something earlier…..
Trains started running again from 8:44Am but they asked people to
pay on chocker full trains….
Explains the huge crowd at Manurewa station at 7:40am when I walked past.
Another peak hour service failure today at 7:10am,this time break failure. But this time they told people at the stations of the problem and I even received a text. They dropped everyone at Manurewa station and getting on the trains was a bit hellish…the joys of no contingency!
Veolia and Kiwirail have had real issues this week. There have been problems at all peak times so far this week, and even this morning services are delayed due to signal failure at Westfield. Yesterday morning all services were running 10-15 mins late, and last night there were operational issues with trains causing cancellations for some services. The train system is turning more and more into a joke that shouldn’t be ignored, but it somewhat by the current government. It’s very embarrassing to arrive at work late each day with the trains being the cause, and being the excuse. Not once have the trains run on time this week, can’t wait till electrification and new trains. Those coming for the world cup are going to be lucky to get to games on time on the trains if the current trend continues.
Aaron I agree with you. I even want to turn the TXT notification of, since I’m getting new messages of new problems every few minutes.
Once again this morning there was no fare collection on the train from Panmure. The train was very full, so we are losing massive amounts of revenue, just because of Veolia. Where will this all end?
I felt sorry for the groups of passengers waiting for the train tonight in this horrible weather(no trains running this weekend on the southern) Everybody seems confused at the Greenlane Station by the 2 signs at the top and bottom of the access ramp saying the station is open however to one side at the top of the ramp there is a sign saying buses are replacing trains.
I felt sorry for the groups of passengers waiting for the train tonight in this horrible weather(no trains running this weekend on the southern) Everybody seems confused at the Greenlane Station by the 2 signs at the top and bottom of the access ramp saying the station is open however to one side at the top of the ramp there is a sign saying buses are replacing trains.
A complete meltdown this morning on the Eastern Line. when the train eventually arrived at Panmure, we all packed it. At GI they were able to sqeeze a few more in after some people got off. When we got to Meadowbank they tried to fit 1 or 2 people in and we the just went straight through at Orakei. At least we had enough announcements. First, “the trains are delayed by 5-10 minutes”, then 5 minutes later “the trains are delayed by 15-20 minutes” then 5 minutes later “the trains are delayed by 20-25 minutes”.
On a positve note it was fantastic to come up the stairs at Britomart and walk ‘into’ the new Westpac / EY building. The Britomart precinct keeps on improving.
I hate to gripe….but…none of the peak hour services from Manurewa have run on time in the last two weeks. Even this morning getting off the train 10 minutes late a message wails over Britmomart “For those getting off the train on platform one, we apologies for any inconvenience caused by the late arrival of your train, thank you for your patience”. I’ve heard this over a dozen times now, when the heck are they going to do anything about it. Trains have run upto half an hour late in some cases. The patience is wearing thin….
Aaron welcome to the world of western line passengers, I can count on one hand the number of trains I have had arrived on time since September. In saying that you should see improvements after easter when the new signalling goes live. As much as they try to avoid works affecting services they always do.
On a positive note I have noticed that the Darby St Shared space is now pretty much finished and workers have moved on to Elliot St. A few cars were using it and it seemed to work like it is meant to
More Wellington overcrowding issues today- “The 0640 & 0732 from Wgtn and 0707 & 0759 from Johnsonville are replaced by Buses due to carriage shortages today.”
I find the trains a little quiet inside and I think having stop announcements would be a good touch.
Daryl, there is a new invention on trains called windows. The trains I catch are far too noisy, without adding white noise as well. Also, some have electronic signs inside advising the next stop.
interesting article in the ODT here
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/155107/hints-wagon-contract-go-china
“Hillside Workshops were overlooked last year for the $500 million contract to build 38 three-car electric trains for the Auckland railway network. The contract was given to China CNR Corporation.”
Not sure whether this is reporter confusing the DL deal with the EMU’s, or an accidental release of information.
The announcement of the successful tenderer for EMU’s is now overdue by a month or so, but they probably have been selected, now just going through the signing formalities.
@Luke The Alliance party (I didnt know they still
existed!) put out an odd statement yesterday saying The Alliance Party is appalled that the National Government is betraying New Zealand workers by allowing KiwiRail get another 2000 of its wagons built in China.
Alliance Party co-leader Kay Murray says for Transport Minister Steven Joyce to dismiss opposition to this as xenophobic is outrageous and inflammatory.
@daryl They will one day have station announcements like every one major city has! Some places like Brisbane are experimenting with quiet carriages where you are not allowed to make a noise but when I was there people were noisy in the quiet cabs and no one was policing it
http://www.aktnz.co.nz/2010/09/21/where-is-my-long-quiet-cab/
I was waiting in my car at traffic lights and they short phased by 0.04 seconds and I had to wait another 90 seconds before I could drive off. In this time I realised what a bunch of moaning complainers there are on this site.
Com’mon guys…. wake up about some of the complaints you have.
good to note in the Kiwirail Express newsletter today that the new DL locomotives are entering full serivce this week, and that will allow more locomotives to be transferred to run Auckland Metro services!
Hopefully will mean a few more 6 car sets out and about soon.
Another great saturday on Wellington trains:
“Services are running up to 30 minutes late on the Kapiti line between Waikanae and Wellington due to Passenger loadings. Normal services resume by 16:00″
Were the passenger numbers underestimated before this was introduced or should they have waited until Matangi was running?
Anyone else experience this morning’s Western Line meltdown? When trains did come, they were too crowded to get on.
Yeah I waited almost an hour for a train after quite a few were cancelled. There were people crushed against eachother all the way from Sturges Rd.
Matangi project chief says delays bringing them on baord in Wellington were caused by problems with the trains’ sophisticated software, and adjustments were needed to make them compatible with the region’s upgraded rail network.
“The new sophisticated trains have 10 software systems with multiple micro-processes for functions including braking, auxiliary power units for doors, air conditioning and CCTV, compared with the old Ganz Mavag trains having only two micro-processes – radios and data loggers.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4870105/Train-roll-out-gathers-speed
Had to wait 45 minutes for the train to arrive at Sunnyvale. The train was already full and not everyone on the platform went on the train. The worst place was at Glen Eden and New Lynn where people couldn’t get on the train.
train was running on time this morning(which doesn’t happen often) let hope it stays this way for today
I’m always wondering if an over packed train is breaking the health and safety act.
@James It can’t be. I have actually raised that issue after the other morning’s meltdown.
“I’m always wondering if an over packed train is breaking the health and safety act.”
Even if it is, what can you do? (Apart from longer and more frequent, reliable trains.) You can’t have someone constantly trying to count how many people are in each carriage let alone tell someone they aren’t allowed because they would make the train “unsafe”.
You will be pleased you can again edit your comments or request a deletion.
Well im on Holiday in Perth right now, (last day though boohoo) and ive been experiencing the fantastic, high-frequency and reliable trains which goes up and down the area with an intergrated ticketing system.
All trains have plenty of seating, piority seating (for the elder and disabled), fold up seats in case of handicapped people on board, they allow bikes on board except during peak times, electronic scrolling and voices telling the next station, I checked a staff member about the efficency and he said the on-time percentage is on average 95% on the minute
And that’s just the trains…The stations are also fantastic, every station is like Newmarket with a bus interchange and Park and ride, and they are all staffed, are all under a massive shelter and is well-lit with 4 security cameras.
ANOTHER fantastic thing is that they are building medium density housing and large malls near the stations, attracting even more people to use the PT system.
I can go on and on but I’ll just put in one last note, they mostly go down the middle of the freeway…
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://images.watoday.com.au/2009/01/11/345131/xtrains-chalpat-420×0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/new-trains-to-hit-tracks-in-march-20090109-7dki.html&usg=__7LZt1S3evlR9qsLWcNOsa9Xpk6c=&h=300&w=420&sz=39&hl=en&start=87&zoom=1&tbnid=SAZVPCssU4JklM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=181&ei=O0axTZPtPIa-sAPp_9j4Cw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtransperth%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26biw%3D1152%26bih%3D702%26tbm%3Disch0%2C2280&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=126&vpy=311&dur=261&hovh=190&hovw=266&tx=124&ty=89&page=5&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:87&biw=1152&bih=702
@Anthony Thats awesome.
Enjoy your break. Take some photos!
There is now a Facebook type LIKE button under every post. Feel free to like something!
On Thursday I went on the train from Onehunga to Glen Eden via Newmarket and when we got off at Newmarket we had to wait 15 minutes for the timetabled train which then turned out to be cancelled, so we had to 15 minutes for the next one, and it was 10 minutes late!
Bad weather in Wellington - The 3:40 train between Wellington and Masterton is being replaced by buses due to a slip on the line.
@ Anthony - like to know which staff member you spoke to, because that is a lie.
I live here and the trains are generally late or delayed.
everything else you have said, I’ve said it before a million times.
its a service, its nothing special. but yes the ticket system is one of the best I have used all over the world.
Saw someone sitting in the parcel tray yesterday night on a Dom Rd bus. I wish I had thought of that. Also this morning Hop readers were installed on the bus. At least one in the front and two in the back. I noticed that the next bus in line had them installed as well.