Based on that they won't be able to do it. So what happens to the currency of the of the first drivers in the first week. After 2 months they are expected to still be OK with it and then they might not go straight on to it. I mean how long does it take to learn the road for what is a few kms. There will be printed matter and diagrams. I seem to recall that for the SSFL there were some rail motor runs with not everyone sitting up the front, and it didn't take every day for 2 months, or did it? A signal is a signal, a speed board is a speed board and drivers aren't dills and have a skill set to drive according to whatever conditions they encounter. If that wasn't the case they would have had to be trained on going over the new Glenfield flyover and going through the new Glenfield layout.
However, I take the point that you guys do it and I don't.

If I get pulled up by the cops on the new M1 tunnel in 2017, I'll tell them I didn't know the road, needed traini

NSW Government delays decision on Narellan rail line extension
By Kerrie Armstrong

NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian speaking at a transport forum in Camden. Pictur: Jeff de Pasquale
THE state government would continue to seek community feedback on plans for the preservation of a rail corridor to Narellan until next year, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian told a transport forum last week.
Mrs Berejiklian addressed a group of invited guests at Camden Civic Centre on Friday.
The preservation of the rail corridor is part of a plan to extend the South West Rail Link to a future Badgerys Creek airport and on to Narellan. The corridor would allow room for six new train stations: Badgerys Creek, North Bringelly, Bringelly, Rossmore, Oran Park and Narellan.
When it was announced in April this year, the government promised a rail corridor would be quarantined by the end of this year, though the rail line itself is still several years away.
However, in response to a question from Dart West Developments property general manager David Taylor, Ms Berejiklian told the forum the consultation period for the rail corridor had been extended.
‘‘It was our initial intention [to announce it this year], but we had requests from certain sections of the community to extend that [consultation period],’’ she said.
She said the government had ‘‘very strong views on where we would like to see it go’’, but that it was important for the community have their say.
Ms Berejiklian said there were parallels with the consultation period for the North West Rail Link in which extensive community consultation meant the government made major changes to its initial plans.
‘‘I do like to spend quite a bit of time getting the planning right,’’ she said.
Ms Berejiklian also spoke about the work the government had already done in the Camden local government area, including widening Narellan Road and Camden Valley Way.

http://www.camdenadvertiser.com.au/story/2668908/narellan-rail-corridor-decision-delayed/?cs=1436

Giant road header Sharlea gets to work digging the Epping to the North West Rail Link tunnel

And the reason you have posted this in a thread about the South West Rail Link is???

These articles are mostly accessible through the news index.  Please stop spamming other threads.

I don't mind it being here. I don't read the news section. This forum isn't even that busy (only a few posts in a few threads daily in this section) so don't be such an smeg.

The article is available in the news section. I have deleted the above post.

Yeah, might as well get started a new thread for the NWRL construction. This one turned into a far longer thread than I thought it would. No doubt NWRL will be even larger given the amount of work to be done.

Yeah, might as well get started a new thread for the NWRL construction. This one turned into a far longer thread than I thought it would. No doubt NWRL will be even larger given the amount of work to be done.

There's no sign of a November GLRL CU, if for no other reason the line is declared 'Complete'. As the work at Glenfield this month is listed in a GTI CU it's reasonable to assume it is additional work needed of the Contractors. One expects therefore that an 'official handover' is more likely when both GTI AND GLRL are complete, so perhaps by the end of November? Crew availability could be down during late December/early January for Christmas hols. If a shuttle is introduced and a core of trained crews is implemented, the only obvious 'milestones' are start of train-ing crews and the ribbon cutting. Any thing after that will have to be in a new thread, 'SWRL Services Begin'.

Services to commence in the new year.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/south-west-rail-link-sydneys-latest-train-line-to-open-in-months-20141106-11htmf.html

Liverpool terminating shuttle will be interesting. Didn't think the new platform an arrangements there were really conducive to that approach - it seems to be all oriented around a city-end terminator.

Liverpool terminating shuttle will be interesting. Didn't think the new platform an arrangements there were really conducive to that approach - it seems to be all oriented around a city-end terminator.

At Liverpool, the Transit Road (Platform 2) is accessible in the Up Direction.

This Platform is a little more quiet now with Platform 4 in use for Down services.
Platform 2 is where Passengers can change for a service to the City (via Bankstown) without the need to use Stairs or Lifts.

Liverpool terminating shuttle will be interesting. Didn't think the new platform an arrangements there were really conducive to that approach - it seems to be all oriented around a city-end terminator.

IIRC there's a facing crossover from the DM (P2) to the UM for access to the storage siding on the western side of Liverpool, south of the platforms. If the crossover is wired for opposite movements, trains coming from Glenfield could cross to P2 with Bankstown trains usually departing from P3, also putting the ex-Glenfield on the right track for the return trip to Leppington. Most people interviewed on TV news last night complained of having to change trains, but if a walk across the platform is an issue then heaven help the country. Considering Leppington's current entire township could probably fit in a 2 car train, it makes (to me) very good sense to see what patronage can be pulled to it from surrounding suburbs, before doing a final timetable hack to fully blend the line into Sydney's services.

Most people interviewed on TV news last night complained of having to change trains, but if a walk across the platform is an issue then heaven help the country.

I agree but I hope there is sensible timetabling. When I visit Sydney I stay with relatives in Chatswood. While it does not affect me, I notice that on the weekends every 2nd train from Epping terminates and people are required to transfer across the platform. The train arrives 2 minutes after the departure of a train to the City and people need to wait 13 minutes for the next one.

I agree but I hope there is sensible timetabling. When I visit Sydney I stay with relatives in Chatswood. While it does not affect me, I notice that on the weekends every 2nd train from Epping terminates and people are required to transfer across the platform. The train arrives 2 minutes after the departure of a train to the City and people need to wait 13 minutes for the next one.

Even bus timetables that include train connections seem to show the connecting trains as the one AFTER the one pulling out just as the bus comes to a stop at the the station. There SEEMS little obvious culture of punctuality, and given all the road variables for bus connections, it seems services are timed to allow for a 'realistic' lateness in a typical day; if a service is on time it can frequently mean seeing the tail lights of a connecting service just leaving. Platform to platform changes can often be especially annoying if there is strict adherence to departure times by station staff. Granville is one case in point; many times a train from the west will pull in on P3 as a South Line train exits on P4. Never actually checked to see if the services are tabled that way, but sometimes there will be an announcement to 'Hurry across', and others may be flagged out just as the ex-west train comes to a stop.

A 13 minute wait can be 'unbearable' if say late for work or an appointment, but with 30 minute service frequency there is often twice that time to fill.

Starting from and ending at Leppington would leave a transport issue getting crews to/from Leppington, so I suspect they will start from Liverpool and end back there, which will provide more 'getting home' choices... if they come Liverpool, they can do the loop without the delay of a shunt from P2 to P3 at Glenfield, that would be needed if they start from Leppington.

Anyone know where crew training trains will originate from? Starting from and ending at Leppington would leave a transport issue getting crews to/from Leppington, so I suspect they will start from Liverpool and end back there, which will provide more 'getting home' choices... and am guessing two trips a day at least, since, if they come Liverpool, they can do the loop without the delay of a shunt from P2 to P3 at Glenfield, that would be needed if they start from Leppington.

Flemington. Liverpool may be full but that isn't an issue.

Flemington. Liverpool may be full but that isn't an issue.

Thanks for the info! Hopefully I can hang around Glenfield long enough tomorrow to get pix of an electic train on the Leppington DN and UP ramps.

A signal is a signal, a speed board is a speed board and drivers aren't dills and have a skill set to drive according to whatever conditions they encounter.

The hardest thing for a driver to learn is surely:
* "where does one start to slow down in order to stop accurately (+- say 2 metres) at the next platform."

The are no signals or speed boards which tell you, in as many words.

One has to learn that the "slowing down" marker is
* a convenient bridge,
* so many metres past a signal or that convenient bridge,
* a distinctive tree, which may of course get chopped down between trips, or when you return from holidays
so that you overrun the platform by 100s of metres.

This particular task is akin to landing on an aircraft carrier, but without the scariness.

The stopping marker also varies with the speed that you are doing, like what you do when running on caution or medium signals.

Do drivers commit this info to memory, or do they have notes given to them, or made by themselves?
Or is there a display in the driver's cabin which calculates the "slow down point" from info found in the train's destination display system?

And how does this system work at night or in fog, when that special tree is hard to see, anyhow? Or slippery rails?

The braking distance for stopping at a platform could be 600m or 1000m depending on gradients and overall speed limits.

In a lifetime of train travel I can only remember 2 or 3 instances where a driver has overshot or undershot a platform, and 1 or 2 times when he had to make a "Double Movement", like in Rugby League.

It helps if the platforms are say 20m longer than a train of 160m, since the increased margin for error, allows the driver to approach at a higher speed, with a higher braking rate. Such as:
* Chatswood, P1-4
* Gordon, P3

On the other hand, some platforms are a tight fit:
* Hornsby P1&2.

According to documentation issued, Crew training trains have been timetabled 7 days a week, commencing from around 0745 hours finishing around 2000 hours, with up to 2 x 4S sets from FMC operating at some stage during this period.

Trips to Leppington on the Down, passing times at Glenfield: 0749 (stops for Crew purposes), 0936, 0951 (runs Weekdays only and stops for Crew purposes), 1102, 1151 (stops for Crew purposes), 1302, 1336, 1441, 1505, 1703, and 1829 hours (Weekdays) 1836 hours (Weekends).

Trips from Leppington on the Up, passing times at Glenfield: 0905, 1035, 1119 (runs Weekdays only), 1236, 1310, 1406, 1435, 1559 (stops for Crew purposes), 1639, 1809, and 2000 hours (stops for Crew purposes).

All trips will run into Leppingon Yard.
Some trips have at least 30 minutes at Leppington Station and/or have some 30 to 40 minutes in Leppington Yard before returning.

According to documentation issued, Crew training trains have been timetabled 7 days a week, commencing from around 0745 hours finishing around 2000 hours, with up to 2 x 4S sets from FMC operating at some stage during this period.

Trips to Leppington on the Down, passing times at Glenfield: 0749 (stops for Crew purposes), 0936, 0951 (runs Weekdays only and stops for Crew purposes), 1102, 1151 (stops for Crew purposes), 1302, 1336, 1441, 1505, 1703, and 1829 hours (Weekdays) 1836 hours (Weekends).

Trips from Leppington on the Up, passing times at Glenfield: 0905, 1035, 1119 (runs Weekdays only), 1236, 1310, 1406, 1435, 1559 (stops for Crew purposes), 1639, 1809, and 2000 hours (stops for Crew purposes).

All trips will run into Leppingon Yard.
Some trips have at least 30 minutes at Leppington Station and/or have some 30 to 40 minutes in Leppington Yard before returning.

THANK YOU for the info!! I'll do my best to get at least three on 'film' by this time tomorrow. Flemington makes for a longer run than to Liverpool but obviously has the advantage of fewer 'train parking' issues at the start and end.

Just to clarify my previous post.

With the exception of the first trip from FMC, each set will shuttle between Liverpool and Leppington, until the last trip when each set returns to Stable at FMC.
Each Up trip to arrive at Liverpool is tabled to use Platform 2, and each Down trip to depart from the same Platform.

Down Trips commencing from FMC, Glenfield times: 0749 hours (1st 4S set), 0951 (2nd 4S set Weekdays) and 1151 (2nd 4S set Weekends).
Up Trips returning to FMC to Stable, Glenfield times: 1559 hours (1st 4S set), 2000 hours (2nd 4S set).

Lots of useful information. Just to update a point made earlier about "lack of people around Leppington", that is far from the case. The housing subdivisions are right up to the bridge just before it takes a left bend towards the station. Given another year or so and the entire area is subdivision central.  Camden Valley way is almost complete as a dual carriageway now. Another 3-4 months and it won't be recognisable.

Just to clarify my previous post.

With the exception of the first trip from FMC, each set will shuttle between Liverpool and Leppington, until the last trip when each set returns to Stable at FMC.
Each Up trip to arrive at Liverpool is tabled to use Platform 2, and each Down trip to depart from the same Platform.

Down Trips commencing from FMC, Glenfield times: 0749 hours (1st 4S set), 0951 (2nd 4S set Weekdays) and 1151 (2nd 4S set Weekends).
Up Trips returning to FMC to Stable, Glenfield times: 1559 hours (1st 4S set), 2000 hours (2nd 4S set).

Your info was invaluable; shame the weather wasn't as gracious.
DN trains used Glenfield P4 behind the terminator on P3, UP used P2 (at least up to 12.35pm).
Set S92 did trip 7.49/9.36/11.02 - no sign of 9.51.
Set S64 did trip 11.51 - Until return of S92/11.02 at 12.25 (tabled 12.36) there were 2 sets on the branch.
None of the 4 DN/3 UP trips seen took (optional) crew time at Glenfield.
Will put some less than brilliant (no pun) pix up when I can.

In my previous postings, from 9/11/14, in respect to the Crew Training trains and the times at Glenfield, please amend the annotation:-
"Stops for Crew purposes", should read: "Stops for Crew purposes, if required".


Today, November 10, noted at Glenfield on the Up: set S92 at 1559 hours, and set S64 at 1639 hours.

http://youtu.be/foK9Uz2jSB4
Above is a link to a video i filmed of 2 test trains on the SWRL.
The first train is S100 filmed next to a bridge between Glenfield and Edmonson Park.
The second train is S61 filmed on a bridge between Leppington and Rossmore Yard.

With the crew training, are they doing the full shuttle up to Liverpool, or turning around at Glenfield?