Here's some video from last weekend
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.
Possibly even enough to fill a whole carriage on a 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.
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 .
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).
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.
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.
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
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?