Tall train problem can be cut down
Yesterday it was revealed that the first few trains of a new batch being made for the Queensland Rail CityTrain network will not fit under the train tunnel between Central and Brunswick Street stations.
Community Action for Sustainable Transport (CAST) are calling on Queensland Rail to put in place strict policies and protocols to ensure there are no accidents.
“We need to be certain that QLD rail staff and train commuters are not put at risk by this design flaw,” said CAST spokesperson Tristan Peach.
The group have suggested that if necessary the “tall” trains could bypass Central and Brunswick Street Stations by using the tracks between Roma Street and Bowen Hills, possibly utilising the Exhibition station to service Fortitude Valley and Spring Hill.
CAST are also urging the State government to quickly rectify the design flaw and to get the rest of the batch online as quickly as possible.
“This is an unfortunate mistake but we do not want the Transport Minister to be discouraged – he must fix the problem and press on full steam ahead with the rest of the batch”, said Mr Peach.
“New trains and more train services are a high priority for Southeast Queensland, and we’d also like to also see the Minister push ahead with the duplication of the rail bridge between South Brisbane and Roma Street”, said Mr Peach.
Media contact: Tristan Peach 0416478615
cast_qld@yahoo.com.au
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3 comments:
The idea of rerouting Gold Coast trains to avoid the city centre just to allow some new trains to run that are currently surplus to operational requirements is ridiculous.
The Gold Coast line is, probably more than any other line, city-centric. Few people use it to go to/from anywhere but the CBD.
To bypass these city stations is absurd. Is some service not better than no service at all?
I think the biggest problem here is that EDI just copied what they did with the P.U.R.D. (Perth Urban Rail Development) units.
They knew that these units had restrictions when traveling through Brisbane on the trip to Perth from Maryborough so I don't know why they wouldn't have considered this when it came to using the same design for the Brisbane Units.
I think QR should hold out on accepting the units for traffic till EDI fixes this issue.
I've been thinking for some time that the Normanby train station should be rebuilt next to the Busway station and some trains diverted through the Exhibition-Normanby-Roma St length of track.
It would mean better services for the Valley/Spring Hill area as well as being able to run more services from the North without getting stuck at the 4 platform stations (Bowen Hills and Brunswick St).
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