News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Trains

[PeFe]

Yes you're right, those passenger numbers surely refer only to the Belair line. I wonder how those numbers are collected ?
Metrocard requires no tap off, so maybe Adelaide Metro collated the figures from monitoring cc-tv at the stations and on the trains.

[monotonehell]

Yes you're right, those passenger numbers surely refer only to the Belair line. I wonder how those numbers are collected ?
Metrocard requires no tap off, so maybe Adelaide Metro collated the figures from monitoring cc-tv at the stations and on the trains.

Nothing so technical. It's people with clipboards.

[ChillyPhilly]

Yes you're right, those passenger numbers surely refer only to the Belair line. I wonder how those numbers are collected ?
Metrocard requires no tap off, so maybe Adelaide Metro collated the figures from monitoring cc-tv at the stations and on the trains.

Nothing so technical. It's people with clipboards.

That and boardings (tickets/cards) at embarkation.

[MessiahAndrw]

Is there a greater environmental benefit to electrifying the existing network, or keeping the existing network diesel powered and instead spend that money on increasing frequencies or adding new lines - removing cars off the road and decreasing our pollution that way?

[ChillyPhilly]

Is there a greater environmental benefit to electrifying the existing network, or keeping the existing network diesel powered and instead spend that money on increasing frequencies or adding new lines - removing cars off the road and decreasing our pollution that way?

Electrify. It'll give allow for greater frequencies anyway. With this, more people will be inclined to use it, more people will travel to stations - even if by car - and there is pollution prevented.

[metro]

Is there a greater environmental benefit to electrifying the existing network, or keeping the existing network diesel powered and instead spend that money on increasing frequencies or adding new lines - removing cars off the road and decreasing our pollution that way?

Diesel trains can only be fueled by Diesel, Electric can be fueled by anything that generates electricity, thus can be more environmentally friendly if powered by Solar or wind.. also here is the stark difference in performance:

Adelaide Metro - Diesel train on a new rail line



Munich Suburban (Oktoberfest ) - Electric train.



watching them together just shows how slow our trains are, and not just Adelaide but all Australian cities with a rail system

[[Shuz]]

The difference truly is apples and oranges...

#sighs

[Nathan]

Is that really how slow our trains go on brand new track? Ridiculous. Watching it, it felt like I could walk faster.

[Aidan]

Is that really how slow our trains go on brand new track?

Not usually. The normal journey time for Christie Downs to Seaford is seven minutes.
It will be less once we get enough electric trains so we don't have to run the (slower) diesels on the Seaford line.

[PD2/20]

Is that really how slow our trains go on brand new track? Ridiculous. Watching it, it felt like I could walk faster.

I did a rough estimate of the speed over the Onkaparinga viaduct (time 4:33 - 5:19) which is about 1.1 km, which gave a speed of ~86kph, which is reasonable given the 90 kph maximum for the 3000s.

I wonder if lens field of view could affect the subjective impression of speed. I have take photos through the 3000 front window from the passenger saloon and have had to use a comparatively narrow field of view to avoid including thw window frame in the shot. This would have the effect of reducing the apparent velocity of the train.

It should be noted that the Seaford run was taken on the first day of operation, as detailed in the youtube annotation. There was a noticeable slowing at the crossovers approaching Noarlunga (time 1:10) where a temporary speed restriction of 10 kph was signed. It is difficult to tell from the video but looks as if the restriction applied to trains crossing and not to the straight ahead movement. Currently no noticeable speed reduction takes place at the crossovers.

[mm42]

Perth trains feel like the S-Bahn, with rapid acceleration and a top speed of 130 km/hr. Brisbane's electrics also feel fast but for only small portions of their route, such as newer parts of the line to the Gold Coast. Victoria's regional trains have long sustained periods at 160 km/hr, but with the lower acceleration of diesels it takes them several kilometers to attain these speeds.

I suspect the reason the track rebuild to Seaford was undertaken in such a disorganised fashion was that funding for the Goodwood underpass was confirmed with relatively little lead time. In Victoria the Middleborough Road grade separation was undertaken with a track closure of under a month, during which the track was lowered 6m, a road bridge installed, a new station built, a rail-over-road bridge replaced, and the track re-electrified. However there was over a year of lead time, during which contractors would have been booked up and preliminary works undertaken. Where the Adelaide works would have struggled is waiting in line for people with key skill sets. People in demand are usually booked up well ahead.

[I Follow PAFC]

Outer Harbor train line closed between Woodville and Outer Harbor stations.
When: From Saturday 1 November 2014 to Sunday 2 November 2014.

http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Announc ... r-stations

[jk1237]

story in todays Sunday Mail, that Adelaide Metro or DPTI "forgot" to release public transport patronage data for end of 2013/14 financial year. Now I don't trust Sunday Mail/News Ltd at all, but something really odd or fishy is happening with Adelaide Metro/DPTI. All other Aust and NZ cities release monthly data on all lines, on all modes, yet we can't show stats on anything for 18 months. Seriously, WTF is going on. Would be slightly interesting to see the effects of the Seaford extension and electrification, and Adelaide Oval crowds is having on our train system, but absolutely no one knows

[jk1237]

btw if Howie or any mods are reading, that above post took me about 5 mins from hitting the reply button, to the post actually showing and redirecting me back to the page. For the past 3 weeks this site has been incredibly slow, if you need any feedback

[Maximus]

I'm no rail expert, so can't really offer any particularly insightful comment or opinion, but I thought this article was somewhat interesting...

Perth trains the fastest in nation
Kent Acott November 14, 2014, 5:45 am

Fewer stations are allowing Perth's passenger trains to reach faster average speeds than any other metropolitan rail network in Australia.

The revelation has emerged in a national rail report card released in WA this week.

The report found that fewer stations - and a greater distance between them - could help with timetabling and punctuality.

But it also discouraged patrons from walking to stations, placing extra pressure on park-and-ride facilities and bus interchanges.

The analysis by the Federal Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and the Australasian Railway Association was released by Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss at the opening session of the association's two-day conference.

It found the average distance between Perth train stations was 2.5km, compared with 1.4km in Adelaide, 1.9km in Sydney and 1.8km in Melbourne and Brisbane.

"Perth's network is almost 45 per cent longer than Adelaide's but has 16 fewer stations," it said.

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