Hi all,

Here's some video from last weekend

Just out of interest, does anyone know when the columns at Maryborough station were painted white? I've seen early pics with an AEC in the south dock where the columns appear to be rendered, and a later pic with a Walker in the north dock where the columns are brilliant white.

Thanks

Rick

People are rumbling and no doubt they should.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/ballaratmaryborough-day-trip-a-no-go/1905960.aspx

Ballarat-Maryborough day trip a no go
BY DAVID POLKINGHORNE
06 Aug, 2010 12:57 AM
IF YOU think the opening of the Ballarat-Maryborough railway line means you can visit Maryborough for the day, then think again.

With the line opening on July 25, 558 passengers have made use of the train in the first week.

Those 80 passengers per day were on the morning train departing from Maryborough or the evening train from Ballarat.

But there is no equivalent service travelling in the other direction, as one retired Ballarat resident — who wished to remain anonymous - found out when he called V/Line.

"I was under the impression you could take a train up and back,'' he said.

An overnight stay was an option, "but what's the use of it if you have to come back at 7am".

Forty passengers each way wouldn't even fill a coach.

So much for the rail renaissance.

Forty passengers each way wouldn't even fill a coach.  

So much for the rail renaissance.

 

It is more of a great idea, flawed execution. A fix to the timetable and the times it runs should see a marginal improvement to passenger patronage. Possibly even enough to fill a whole carriage on a service!

(After seeing the timetable, One service a way each day is ridiculous. There should be at least 3 services In each way every day)

Both the Government and VLP have got the whole service provision and timetable wrong on both the Echuca &  Maryborough services, although Echuca is carrying much healthier numbers .

Both services should be run as dedicated captive shuttles connecting with mainline trains to/from Melbourne at Bendigo and Ballarat .

The shuttles should run as a Single Sprinter on the Maryborough line providing minimum 3 return trips daily . With Echuca as 2 x Sprinters running minimum 4 return trips .

This way the need for local travel to/from Bendigo & Ballarat can be met much better, also pax wishing to travel through to/from Melbourne can have a much wider choice of travel times; and day return trips would be possible from Melbourne to both centres .

The signalling arrangements at both locations allow for Low Speed aspects so the passenger transfer between trains can be at the same platform .

Kuldalai - I've said before, I'd love to see a Sprinter arrive at Ballarat from Geelong, 5 minutes later a down V/Locity pull into the same platform behind it. 5 minutes later the Sprinter head off to Maryborough and 5 minutes later the V/Lo head off to Ararat (or back to town).

Later the reverse could happen with the Sprinter arriving from Maryborough just ahead of an up V/Lo. Sprinter off to Geelong and V/Lo back to city.

Is it cheaper to run a sprinter than a contracted bus service?

Possibly even enough to fill a whole carriage on a service!  

Awesome. And the 7:30am from Watergardens to City Loop fills six carriages within 5km of leaving the first stop. So does the 7:40am train. And the 7:50am City Loop.

So much for the rail renaissance in Maryborough like zh836301 said.

Possibly even enough to fill a whole carriage on a service!  

Awesome. And the 7:30am from Watergardens to City Loop fills six carriages within 5km of leaving the first stop. So does the 7:40am train. And the 7:50am City Loop.

So much for the rail renaissance in Maryborough like zh836301 said.

Have you tried comparing apples with apples instead of convuluting the discussion to suit your own purposes

40 pax on a service that until a fortnight ago didn't exist, be it bus or any other means of transport except private car, and in a catchment of around, at best 10,000 in the Maryborough/Creswick district is an excellent result and most likely beyond V/Line's expectations.

To have the sort of patronage you and others expect would probably require approximately 10% of the whole district to be travelling by train to Ballarat, clearly a ludicrous proposition.

Mike.

Possibly even enough to fill a whole carriage on a service!  

Awesome. And the 7:30am from Watergardens to City Loop fills six carriages within 5km of leaving the first stop. So does the 7:40am train. And the 7:50am City Loop.

So much for the rail renaissance in Maryborough like zh836301 said.

Have you tried comparing apples with apples instead of convuluting the discussion to suit your own purposes

40 pax on a service that until a fortnight ago didn't exist, be it bus or any other means of transport except private car, and in a catchment of around, at best 10,000 in the Maryborough/Creswick district is an excellent result and most likely beyond V/Line's expectations.

To have the sort of patronage you and others expect would probably require approximately 10% of the whole district to be travelling by train to Ballarat, clearly a ludicrous proposition.

Mike.

Personally, I think you both comparing pear with pine apple!

Both the Government and VLP have got the whole service provision and timetable wrong on both the Echuca &  Maryborough services, although Echuca is carrying much healthier numbers .

Both services should be run as dedicated captive shuttles connecting with mainline trains to/from Melbourne at Bendigo and Ballarat .

The shuttles should run as a Single Sprinter on the Maryborough line providing minimum 3 return trips daily . With Echuca as 2 x Sprinters running minimum 4 return trips .

This way the need for local travel to/from Bendigo & Ballarat can be met much better, also pax wishing to travel through to/from Melbourne can have a much wider choice of travel times; and day return trips would be possible from Melbourne to both centres .

The signalling arrangements at both locations allow for Low Speed aspects so the passenger transfer between trains can be at the same platform .

Why waste Sprinters on lines with 50-70km/h speed limits? A P class and a couple of H type carriages would be sufficient. Keep Sprinters on the main lines (and Stony Point).

Both the Government and VLP have got the whole service provision and timetable wrong on both the Echuca &  Maryborough services, although Echuca is carrying much healthier numbers .

Both services should be run as dedicated captive shuttles connecting with mainline trains to/from Melbourne at Bendigo and Ballarat .

The shuttles should run as a Single Sprinter on the Maryborough line providing minimum 3 return trips daily . With Echuca as 2 x Sprinters running minimum 4 return trips .

This way the need for local travel to/from Bendigo & Ballarat can be met much better, also pax wishing to travel through to/from Melbourne can have a much wider choice of travel times; and day return trips would be possible from Melbourne to both centres .

The signalling arrangements at both locations allow for Low Speed aspects so the passenger transfer between trains can be at the same platform .

Why waste Sprinters on lines with 50-70km/h speed limits? A P class and a couple of H type carriages would be sufficient. Keep Sprinters on the main lines (and Stony Point).

P's would work well on the Maryborough line with the 50 - 70km/h speed restrictions would be suited to running at an 80km/h speed limit. If that's the speed limit? Would the P's even be allowed to use N or Z car/sets on the line?, besides a H Set?

Vline should move to a shuttle system Ballarat, Seymour and Geelong all have enough facilities to stable and start and end services. Eg a sprinter could run from Ballarat to Maryborough a number of times a day and then run back to Melbourne so that they are rotated

40 pax on a service that until a fortnight ago didn't exist, be it bus or any other means of transport except private car, and in a catchment of around, at best 10,000 in the Maryborough/Creswick district is an excellent result and most likely beyond V/Line's expectations.

So we're glossing over the fact that this loading would easily fit on a bus - a woeful result by any rational person's standards.

To have the sort of patronage you and others expect would probably require approximately 10% of the whole district to be travelling by train to Ballarat, clearly a ludicrous proposition.

So where's the need for a train then?

40 pax on a service that until a fortnight ago didn't exist, be it bus or any other means of transport except private car, and in a catchment of around, at best 10,000 in the Maryborough/Creswick district is an excellent result and most likely beyond V/Line's expectations.

So we're glossing over the fact that this loading would easily fit on a bus - a woeful result by any rational person's standards.

Well I guess it is a bit of a risk catching the train (especially if you are catching a bus to the station) as if you miss the train (or it departs slightly early) you can't exactly wait for the next one.

So we're glossing over the fact that this loading would easily fit on a bus - a woeful result by any rational person's standards.

snip extraneous propaganda

Sure they would have fitted on onto a bus, probably would have over filled the capacity available as well.
No, these 40 are extra to what has been carried out of Maryborough and additional to what any corresponding bus service would have carried.

In fact, these people wouldn't have gotten on to a bus in the first place, so the net results is an increase in loadings.

Given the correct timetable, these numbers will increase.

So which scenario is it:

*Train replaced a bus service
*Train is a new service

The first would be a pathetic result, but the latter is not so clear cut.

Are you claiming an extra bus service would be incapable of building patronage?

And how much of this patronage has been leeched from the existing bus services?

It certainly will be interesting to find out which has occurred.

I suspect that the train service has stolen the bus service passengers, but this is pure speculation without hard numbers that can be compared on both services.

It's a wait and see until someone can supply the numbers.

Are you claiming an extra bus service would be incapable of building patronage?

Apparently, it hasn't happened so far....the demand, that is. Sadly, it's pretty much true that many people (incl. yourself) hate buses. For good or for bad.

And how much of this patronage has been leeched from the existing bus services?

Mostly, probably. Plus some add ons (bus haters but don't want to drive).

I caught the Maryborough service last Friday to Ballarat and I overheard the conductor making the comment of being blown away by how many people had tickets all the way to Maryborough and said the numbers were right up.  I actually knew someone on the service who was making the return trip to Melbourne for the first time.  For a 3pm service from Melbourne the front two carriages (which were going to Maryborough) had only a couple of seats left.  Half the carriages were still full when the Ballarat passengers got off.   Good to see, and I hope the powers to be have the sense to run more services in response to the good support.

I can only agree with Fishman.. I have taken the service quite a number times since its beginning and I am pleased to see the patronage that it has attracted. I understand it is MUCH more than VLINE management expected.

I do have a couple of comments regarding the existing timetable:

Firstly, the Saturday train should leave a little later than 0700. The 0805 departure time on a Sunday should apply to both days. I think that the early start of a Saturday morning would be a disincentive for some,

Secondly, and probably more importantly, the departure time of just after four o’clock from Melbourne on the weekends is far too early for many people. For travelers from Maryborough who have gone to Melbourne for football, races, a show or other entertainment, they will not use the service because the train will leave before the event is finished. A weekend departure time of around 5:30pm would seem to be more appropriate for such users. The current weekday timetable seems to suit most travelers although, as noted above a midday train would be well received.

Insofar as the overall level of service is concerned, I make the following points:

1. Maryborough should have a service which is akin to that being provided to Ararat. That is three trains each way. This will provide an opportunity to have day return services coming from Melbourne which will allow visitors to come to this district on a day return basis. It will also be far more convenient for local residents who do not wish to spend a whole day in Ballarat or Melbourne  for such things as a medical appointment.
2. The bus service to Melbourne or Bendigo via Castlemaine needs to be maintained and strengthened, particularly to maintain connection to Bendigo and access to the high speed express trains to Melbourne along that corridor. Bendigo is as important a medical and education service provider to Maryborough as Ballarat.
3. There should be co-ordination of the train and bus services. Maryborough should be set up as the interchange point for bus services heading further north to Avoca, Dunolly, St Arnaud and Donald and even Mildura.
4. VLine should be encouraged to engage in genuine community consultation in the final public transport plan for this district.

Regards

Blinky

Blinkey, I don't suppose you can supply numbers of passengers?
Do you have any feedback as to how this has affected the bus service or have the bus passengers jumped ship to the train?

Glad to hear the service is growing, can't wait for the introduction of daily services from Melbourne.

Sorry MOM can't supply  actual passenger numbers. I's say there was between 30 and 40 each morning train I took (except the inaugural train on the Sunday morning which was virtually full).

I have traveled on the 1750 bus from Castlemaine twice since the rail service started and the numbers into Maryborough itself were  right down on previous times. The usual number for Newstead and Carisbrook though.

Sorry MOM can't supply  actual passenger numbers. I's say there was between 30 and 40 each morning train I took (except the inaugural train on the Sunday morning which was virtually full)

85 passengers is not virtually full.