News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Trains

[Pistol]

This is a real disappointment for something that supposedly cost $11m.

[cocoiadrop]

Eventually the government will need to make a serious investment into upgrading every train station, especially those that are currently glorified bus stops. Ovingham now represents the bare minimum.

[ChillyPhilly]

Photos of new Ovingham train station (from the DPTISA Facebook page)

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It's a significant improvement, but a bit of a shame that it was not incorporated into the Torrens Road bridge.

[Spotto]

The government aren't real bright (obvious, I know):

Islington station (and many of the other Gawler line statons) has been refreshed with new signage, fences, shelters and a yet-to-be-operational active pedestrian crossing. The platforms also have fresh bitumen. Time, money and thought has been put into this and it looks really good... all expect raising the platform height for level boarding.

You'd think raising the platform height would be priority number one. If they raise it in future, all the work they've just done will need to be torn out and redone.

[MT269]

In regards to the above, South Australia has never been renowned for having forward thinking pollies in office. The Oaklands re-rebuild is an example of this, amongst many other things. They can't even provide a half hourly service on weekends between Dry Creek and Adelaide during the day. And what about the single lane Elder Smith Rd bridge?

With 1 electric set is being commissioned every 3 months, it will be a while before the new timetable is introduced.

And look at the 'ticket barriers' at Noarlunga. Most of the time, you can walk around them.

[TorrensSA]

It's every 30 min weekdays for the inner stops on the Gawler line and hourly on weekends, absolutely terrible. I live near a minor stop further out and the frequency is half hourly at all times, that includes peak hour, the station is on a main road with a carpark and has only about 3 cars parked during the day. It's terrible. The skip stop pattern saves 5 min, that's it, you could double the frequency for most people and it will cost you 5 min. A simple every 15 min all stop service will do the most to increase patronage with the smallest cost.

[SBD]

It's every 30 min weekdays for the inner stops on the Gawler line and hourly on weekends, absolutely terrible. I live near a minor stop further out and the frequency is half hourly at all times, that includes peak hour, the station is on a main road with a carpark and has only about 3 cars parked during the day. It's terrible. The skip stop pattern saves 5 min, that's it, you could double the frequency for most people and it will cost you 5 min. A simple every 15 min all stop service will do the most to increase patronage with the smallest cost.

If the timetable is kept at diesel speed between stops, would adding those stops and five minutes fit in the current daily timetable? I'm not sure how long it takes to turn the train round at the end, nor how long they are actually allowed. If the extra five minutes would mean they need an extra train set (and driver), it's much more expensive than if it only means less slack in the turnarounds. Presumably stops have to be scheduled to be long enough for passengers with limited mobility to safely board or alight, too, so can't just be five seconds stopped.

[MT269]

From what I can tell, the inter-peak services that leave at xx:53/:23 all sit around for 23 minutes at Gawler. It is possible to have trains serving Gawler Central every 15 minutes, as the turnaround only takes 4 minutes.

It's not like there are steam locos which require turntables. It's a simple changing of ends nowadays. But for some reason, the department chooses to terminate every second service at Gawler, with this hastily written 'hi frequency stations' trash embedded in places.

When the electrics are commissioned, it will presumably take around 56 minutes for an a service from the city to Gawler Central, which matches the timetable from the early 2000s on weekends. But with one extra station. Unfortunately, departments tend to be dead when it comes to customer complaints, and will ignore them for decades. This is unless there is some kind of protest/lobby/whatever, which can get the message through to the brains of the those in that improperly used building on North Tce.

The trains arrive at :11, :28, :41, and :58 respectively with 54 minutes to get to Adelaide, despite skipping 9 stops. Adding those stops does not equate to 63 minutes with an electric set. There is no intention of providing any benefits to those who use the so-called service. It is all designed to minimise costs. IE take into account the fuel savings by not having to accelerate out of every station, as well as the idling time. The electrification of the line is just a convenience in regards to the prospect of a new timetable. You can say goodbye to the concept of express services following stoppers. It won't happen. But if something can get the pollies heads out their backsides, then it would be a significant improvement.

Would it be ok for buses to have a similar stopping pattern on major routes? I doubt it. Imagine if the 202 ran express from 34 Briens Rd to 21 Hampstead Rd on every second service, with the other service running express to 34 Hampstead from 35A Ingle Farm, then express from 21 Hampstead to stop 2 Melbourne St. I don't think it would go down well with the residents who rely on the service. This is equivalent to what the case with the Gawler line. And it's primarily about money, and politics.

[Norman]

From what I can tell, the inter-peak services that leave at xx:53/:23 all sit around for 23 minutes at Gawler. It is possible to have trains serving Gawler Central every 15 minutes, as the turnaround only takes 4 minutes.

It's not like there are steam locos which require turntables. It's a simple changing of ends nowadays. But for some reason, the department chooses to terminate every second service at Gawler, with this hastily written 'hi frequency stations' trash embedded in places.

I don't think it's that simple. After an hour of driving a train the driver should be given a break before going for the same hour long trip back to Adelaide. You also need to make provisions to allow the train to catch up to the timetable if running late and if the driver needs to make a pit stop at Gawler (I wouldn't want to "hang on" for another hour if I only have a 4 minute turnaround time, or less with a late arrival).

Regarding the frequency and stopping patterns... Before 2003, weekend services were hourly until the new Rann government committed to doubling the frequency on both the Gawler and Noarlunga lines on weekends.

The High Frequency Stop concept was introduced in 2008. Before then, on weekdays, stations between Adelaide and Dry Creek had a service approximately every hour and every 30 minutes between Dry Creek and Gawler.

There has been steady progress made over the last few years, and the people have been making use of the increased services. Between 2007 and 2019, there has been a 50% increase in patronage on the Gawler Line, which is higher than the 40% increase experienced network-wide.

I believe that more should be done, including doubling the number of weekend services again now that the service is being used more and more. I don't think that the High Frequency Station system is really that bad, but maybe Adelaide Metro could trial having a different system and see how people respond to it.

[AG]

There are also operational limitations to running more services between Gawler and Gawler Central due to this section only having a single track. Running a 15 minute service would force quick turnarounds at Gawler Central and doesn't allow recovery from late running.

[MT269]

Hence I said it is possible. Never did I mention that it was practical to have minimal turnaround time. I have seen a driver switch ends on a 2 car set at Gawler Central in 2 minutes at some point.

The same can be said with bus shifts. There was one which had zero minutes to go around the corner (about 400 metres) to start what was essentially a 90 minute journey.

If the line from Gawler to GC could be duplicated to at least Gawler Oval, it would allow more time for the driver to catch their breath. But it is clear that Labor are not interested in spending an additional cent on public transport. They're almost as bad the LNP.

Theoretically, a 15 minute frequency to Gawler Central allows up to 7 minutes of dwelling time, which is surely enough on most occasions. It is not like the Seaford timetable with minimal slack, and having to change ends in 2 minutes, with the same skeleton timetable back to the city at 6PM on a Saturday, with an event on,then having 4 minutes to start their next trip from the city.

[cocoiadrop]

Introduction of CBTC and faster acceleration/braking on the 4000 class may help in reducing time between stations. That's definitely not in the short term pipeline for SA however.

[rubberman]

Hence I said it is possible. Never did I mention that it was practical to have minimal turnaround time. I have seen a driver switch ends on a 2 car set at Gawler Central in 2 minutes at some point.

The same can be said with bus shifts. There was one which had zero minutes to go around the corner (about 400 metres) to start what was essentially a 90 minute journey.

If the line from Gawler to GC could be duplicated to at least Gawler Oval, it would allow more time for the driver to catch their breath. But it is clear that Labor are not interested in spending an additional cent on public transport. They're almost as bad the LNP.

Theoretically, a 15 minute frequency to Gawler Central allows up to 7 minutes of dwelling time, which is surely enough on most occasions. It is not like the Seaford timetable with minimal slack, and having to change ends in 2 minutes, with the same skeleton timetable back to the city at 6PM on a Saturday, with an event on,then having 4 minutes to start their next trip from the city.

The State has spent billions of dollars on resleepering, underpasses, and electrification.

Having spent those billions, the question needs to be put as to how much faster that's allowed the trains to run.

Now, if the schedules have improved a lot, then spending more as you suggest might be worth it.

If, however, they have not improved, then perhaps get that right first before spending more money.

So, the question is, how much faster are the schedule speeds as a result of the billions already spent?

[RetroGamer87]

Something going on with a train on the Gawler line. Stopped at Dry Creek. Driver said there's a problem with the signals and keeps on walking up and down the platform inspected the train. Two other workers arrived and are inspecting the train from the other side, opposite from the platform. The seem to think some problem with the train is causing the signalling problem.

[SRW]

Apparently a train has derailed (through fence) at Grange this evening: https://twitter.com/micwoodward/status/ ... 5629621248