News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Trains

[Will409]

Privatisation would be an outrageous and unnaceptable outcome. When a vital public service is privatized is goes from providing an essential public service to becoming a profit generating apparatus that only serves the benefits of shareholders. If TransAdelaide is privatized, await huge cost increases in fares, and the elimination and reduction of routes which although provide a vital public service are not profitable.

I don't want to see a flame war develope but I would like to point your attention to Melbourne. The service is run by Connex which although has had some rough patches is doing well at the moment with a similar overcrowding problem to Adelaide but they are getting more rollingstock to handle it. Under private ownership, the Melbourne system has seen a great deal of modernisation as well as new rollingstock. Besides, all the bus services in Adelaide are privately run. The ticket prices have remained the same since the ticket prices are under direct Government control through AdelaideMetro.

[jimmy_2486]

I think Will raises a very good point. I mean if we lack so much funding to make a decent PT system, then why wouldnt we allow funding from a private firm?

I mean how much worse could our rail system possibly become??

Our bus network is private and its the only service that is actually reliable, comes at a decent frequency, and covers a wider demographic than any other type of service. I know bus systems are cheaper to implement, but in saying that, it raises a question that why is it only the bus service that is privately run?

[muzzamo]

I think that transadelaide clearly has a lot of dead wood - i am all for some sort of privatisation model, be it similar to the busses or otherwise.

You just have to walk through Adelaide train station to see the amount of dead wood - workers just standing around trying to look busy etc. And do they really need two people to open the gate for wheelchairs?

And likewise the cleaners that clean the train stations occasionally are public servants - why would you not contract this out to a cleaning firm who with funding could probably clean the graphiti while they are at it? It seems to me that a lot of the jobs in transadelaide are there just to keep useless people in a job. Even in the private sector hardly any firm directly employs their own cleaners!

I dont know if I would be up for full privatisation but surely some sort of private model would be better than what they have now... At least then there might be some more accountability etc.

Of course the private model might only work once funding is increased for trackwork, rolling stock etc since otherwise the private mob are going to be able to blame all problems on that.

[crawf]

After riding those horrid trains and the worst system around today I don't care what happens, All I want to see is a major, i mean a major upgrade for the train network.

I seriously feel for the people who have to use these pieces of shit every day

[Bulldozer]

How surprising, the voters are making it known just how displeased they are with something that has been festering away for a long time so out comes Good News Mike from his bunker to attempt to appease the voters in the hope that come election day they'll forget about it all.

I thought TransAdelaide was already a corporatised organisation? Whatever it is, it certainly needs to be run in a business style. Perhaps the government could float it on the stock exchange but retain majority ownership or majority voting rights. That way you could get an infusion of capital while increasing efficiency and providing motivation to be profitable, thus returning a dividend to the public purse and retaining public control.

[Will409]

Got the AdelaideNow article which does go into slightly more detail until it goes off topic about the derailment (again).

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 10,00.html

THE State Government will move to appoint people with extensive rail operations experience to all levels of TransAdelaide as part of a major restructuring of the troubled rail operator.

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon will this morning meet Transport Department chief executive Jim Hallion ahead of making a formal submission to State Cabinet next week.

Mr Hallion will deliver a review of TransAdelaide management and operational expertise, which Mr Conlon ordered fast-tracked after a series of major rail bungles in recent days.

Premier Mike Rann yesterday said: "I expect there will be changes at TransAdelaide."

Earlier yesterday, Mr Conlon told Adelaide radio that "one of the outcomes we want to get is to bulk up the operational expertise in there (TransAdelaide)".

The Advertiser understands this involves key appointments across the organisation, from the board down, of people with significant experience in daily operations of a major metropolitan rail system.

A tram derailment stranded thousands of Melbourne Cup revellers and city workers on Tuesday – the third major rail incident in less than a week.

A breakdown on the Noarlunga line during afternoon peak hour last Friday and an ongoing technical problem with the computerised train control system during morning peak hour last Thursday also stranded or delayed thousands of passengers.

It is understood the contract of TransAdelaide's general manager, Bill Watson, is due for review by the board this month.

Mr Watson yesterday said it would be inappropriate for him to comment and referred questions to the board.

TransAdelaide Board chairwoman Virginia Hickey yesterday declined to be interviewed.

The board is responsible for the operation of all metropolitan rail services.

Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith, speaking at the scene of Tuesday's derailment at South Tce in the city, yesterday said the problems stemmed from a "belligerent, bully-boy management style".

"The result is nothing but chaos," he said.

Mr Watson said a full report into Tuesday's derailment was expected within a week and preliminary inquiries indicated "the only explanation is driver error".

[Will]

When I raise my opposition to privatization, it may come as a shock to people in our neo-liberal society, that I am against privatization not because it will affect me, but rather because I understand that there are others in society who are living in near poverty. I am gainst privatization of state-owned services, because there are people who cannot afford to have private cars. There are people, such as pensioners who rely on public transport to be independent. If the system is privatized, many of the non-profitabloe routes will be discontinued. This would leave the people who use such routes disadvantaged. I am not denying our public transport system requires vast improvements. But in a private model, the private operators will recuperate costs associated with improving the system from the user of the service. In Adelaide this will mean huge increases in fares.

[crawf]

Aren't the buses privately ran?, if so than I don't think it will be bad thing at all and could be what this train network needs to get it back to a decent level again.

The bus system here is not bad, though its about 10 times better than the current train network. Plus the fairs are done by Adelaide Metro not the bus operators.

[bmw boy]

well if the buses are privately run... then thats the only part of the 3 Public transport modes that non profitable services can be discontinued.

They wouldnt get rid of any current train services would they..?

[Will409]

The only line that I could imagine being closed is the Tonsely line if it was kept in it's current form by a private operator. The Grange line, while still a rather small run and has the operational burden of going through the middle of a golf course does carry more passengers and actually operates on weekends (albeit with a single railcar). I should add that the Grange line has had some track work done over the past 6 or so months with new gauge convertable concrete sleepers added near Grange station as well as at the level crossings (including Port Road. By the way, it has also got a third rail added for standard gauge).

[crawf]

The tonsley line should be extended to Flinders University/Medical Centre

[AG]

Why our trains fail
MICHAEL OWEN, POLITICAL REPORTER
November 09, 2007 01:15am
A TRANSADELAIDE board member has accused the State Government of failing to properly fund the metropolitan rail network.

(Send in your photos of our faltering transport system to [email protected] or MMS to 0429 078 685, then check AdelaideNow to see if we publish them.)

And World champion Paralympian shooter Libby Kosmala, one of five board members, yesterday said Adelaide's rail problems were a result of equipment failure caused by a lack of resources.

She said the Government's decision not to electrify the rail network, as every other mainland capital had done, was a problem.

The Government was in a Catch 22 situation, because "it hasn't got the money, so they can't give it to us".

Her comments will intensify pressure on Transport Minister Patrick Conlon and Premier Mike Rann to fix Adelaide's ageing rail network, which was again hit by delays yesterday on the Belair and Noarlunga lines, although these were much less serious than major train and tram problems of the past week.

The board, chaired by lawyer Virginia Hickey, is responsible for the operation of all city rail services. Members are appointed by the Transport Minister.

Mrs Kosmala yesterday said the board had confidence in TransAdelaide general manager Bill Watson and his staff, but not Government support.

"We feel the general manager is doing all he possibly can," she said. "Sometimes it's not the staff, it's the equipment. It's the very old trains we have and the very old tracks.

"We are not electrified like the other states. We are the only state that does not have electrification and that makes a huge difference.

"Until we get resources to be able to run our trains and trams on equipment that's capable, what can you do?

"I believe we're trying to use sophisticated, wonderful computing equipment with old tracks and old trains and it just doesn't match up and I think that's part of the problem.

"Until we can get further and better resources and better equipment, I think it's really a very difficult job."

Mr Conlon yesterday met Transport Department chief executive Jim Hallion to receive a review of TransAdelaide management and operational expertise, which Mr Conlon ordered fast-tracked after a series of major rail bungles.

The review will form part of a Cabinet submission next week to restructure TransAdelaide.

It is understood that involves key appointments across the organisation, from the board down, of people with significant experience in daily operations of a major metropolitan rail system.

A tram derailment stranded thousands of Melbourne Cup revellers and city workers on Tuesday - the third major rail incident in less than a week.

A breakdown on the Noarlunga line during afternoon peak hour last Friday and an ongoing technical problem with the computerised train control system during morning peak hour last Thursday also stranded or delayed thousands of commuters.

Mrs Kosmala said the intense political pressure on TransAdelaide was "very disappointing" and, while general manager Bill Watson's contract would be reviewed this month, no date had been set.

"His contract is up for renewal early next year and so, as a board, we look into it and make sure everything is under control," she said.

Mr Conlon last night declined to comment, but Ms Hickey, in an emailed statement, apologised to Adelaide commuters for the recent "unrelated" incidents.

"We acknowledge the State Government's efforts to improve services through their injection of more than $325 million into the train and tram system and the purchase of the 11 new Flexity Classic trams," the statement said.

Mr Conlon yesterday received an interim report on Tuesday's tram derailment, which his office said confirmed infrastructure and signals were not at fault but that "human error" was to blame because a driver continued through a red signal without being told to do so. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union is conducting its own investigation.

Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith yesterday said his office had received information the experienced driver "had done everything he was asked to" and called on TransAdelaide to release tapes or transcripts of radio conversations between the driver and the Glengowrie depot immediately before Tuesday's derailment.

A spokesman for Mr Conlon said those claims required further investigation, but did not change the basic facts of the incident. A technician will arrive in Adelaide from Sydney today to begin specialised work on trying to fix an ongoing glitch in the $9.5 million computerised Central Train System.

[AtD]

Will, I disagree that privatisations is necessarily a bad thing. Yes, there's been some shocking examples of privatization in this state, but it all boils down to how it's managed by the government. It's safe to assume that business are out to make a buck and nothing further, so if the structure of the privatisation rewards good service with profit, then it should succeed.

Taking the current arrangement with our bus system as an example. Correct me if I'm wrong, but under the current arrangements, the government, though the PTB, defines the routes and timetables. It then tenders out the operation on services on these pre-defined timetables to private enterprise, who receive a negotiated price for the services regardless of patronage. The contracts include financial rewards for good service, and impose costs for bad service. I remember reading in the past that if a bus is over six minutes late to its terminus, the operator relieves a fine of some description. The specifics of this I'm not sure on.

All ticket sales in Adelaide go straight to the State Treasury, not to the operators. Thus, issues like ticket prices and pension discounts are of no concern to the operators. The patronage of the route is also the government's problem, because the operators are paid the same regardless whether the bus is empty or full. There's limited opportunity for the private operators to exert monopolistic power on the market, because (as with Serco), there's plenty of other firms willing to take over the contracts should one operator lose favour with the PTB.

The benefits of this system from the consumers perspective is the incentives built into the contracts coincide with the quality of service. From the consumer's perspective, price and quality are disassociated. Secondly, it removes the burden of micromanagement from the government, such as human resources. Finally, through the tendering process, it places competitive market principals on an otherwise monopolistic state enterprise.

It's a very neo-liberal argument, and we've all seen the past failures of miss-managed public/private partnerships. But if the regulatory framework is sound, then so should the service. It's just a matter of striking the balance of incentives to operators.

[thechap]

I'm not necessarily for or against privatisation, I don't think its been the best thing for the Bus system, but thats an arguement for another forum. What gets me is that it takes major issues and weeks of bad media to make Mike or Pat even think about cleaning the system up. Why cant we just once have a government that is proactive rather than reactive?

[jk1237]

just got back from town. I noticed transadelaide had a interesting way to clear the remaining tram passengers from the pageant. 1pm hits so they give the all-clear for trams to return running from south tce to city west. You would think about 2-4 trams would be waiting at south tce, to head down to pick up the 500-800 people waiting at train station, Rundle Mall, Pirie st. But no, 1 tram heads down, and is full after the train station going to Glenelg, and there are no more trams for about 45 mins.
Reminds me of the last arts festival when there was that big flying ball concert over the Torrens at Elder Park. There was heavy advertising to use public transport, but TA was unaware. Belair trains heading into town were still 1 car every hour, and were full by Blackwood.
Then last year after the Clipsal, there were about 600-700 people attempting to catch the last train service on sat/sun night to Gawler. TA dont seem to realise that there are thousands of Holden supporters that live in Salisbury and Elizabeth, and that some may stay on drinking after the race. TA puts a 1 car train, and even employed security to block people getting onto the platform. There must have been some happy people who were exepcting a $4 train ride to Gawler, and instead had to get a $50+ taxi ride.

I think there needs to be some people changes at TA