Yeah they also do it on some weeknights with all services using the suburbans, and in my experience without a single issue.
They also take platforms 3/4 at Bowen Hills and Fortitude Valley, 5/6 at Central and 8/9 at Roma St offline, once again… Without drama.
(To be fair, frequencies after 7:30pm are halved on the suburbans with pretty much 2 services to Northgate, 2 to Shorncliffe and 2 to Brisbane Airport running between 7:30-10:30pm)
Today at Darra, UP Ipswich trains were shown on the Translink web site and PIDs as using platform 3. Accordingly pax, including some disabled pax moved to platform 3. (Platform 1 is the usual platform). Train arrives at platform 1. Pax didn’t have enough time to move platforms. Another missed service. It is this sort of thing which is appalling, particularly when the next train is 30 minutes away. The next service was again showing as using platform 3. At this point a number of pax abandoned any notion of catching the train and went on their journeys by other means. Well done NOT QR!
I contacted QR on X.
Response:
Hi Robert we’re really sorry for the miscommunication at Darra today. We understand how frustrating this can be, especially with a 30-min wait for the next train. We’ve flagged this with our control team for their attention.
Prompt acknowledgement. If you know Darra, you would understand to move from platform 3 to platform 1 in under a minute would be a struggle for able bodied passengers, let alone those with a mobility impairment. Platform one is on the UP sub (side platform), Platform 3 is the UP main on an island platform with DOWN Sub platform 2. To get on to platform one from platform 3 you need to use a subway and then go right around to platform one entry which is halfway along the platform. There is a footbridge at the UP end of the platforms. Darra is a major botch to be frank, should have been two island platforms.
Agreed. And I think the line should be an up-up/down-down configuration as well.
Isn’t there some sort of issue with the bridges over the river that prevent an up up down down arrangement? I remember hearing that but can’t recall any reason for it..
And the 4th track isn’t completely electrified between Corinda and Darra, so they have to compress to 3 tracks for that section.
Such an easy fix that is still missing.
I would not be surprised if QR has the following mindset: “Easy solution = not important”
Yes, the UP sub is not electrified between Corinda and Darra east ( opposite Pannard St.). For a bit of interest, the engineer in charge of the Corinda to Darra track amplification was able to convince the powers to be that the original scope of just adding a single line (double to triple) was a missed opportunity. He was successful in getting the fourth line, but TMR didn’t want to pay for the additional platform at Oxley and the full electrification. Hopefully it will be sparked eventually. The UP sub, DOWN sub, UP main and DOWN main are all electrified for Darra.
Probably due to weight restrictions on the Albert Bridge at Indooroopilly. The Indooroopilly Railway Bridge is on the mains.
Trains have ran in an up-up-up-down configuration on that stretch previously during track closures so it should be possible unless the weight restrictions are new, see this video by dan b
Citytrain is not restricted, it is freight trains I think are the issue for the Albert Bridge.
The maximum allowable axle load is 20 tonnes between Roma Street and Corinda on the Mains
with all other sections having a maximum allowable axle load of 15.75 tonnes.
Loading restrictions apply to the Countess Street bridge near Roma Street and the Albert Bridge at Indooroopilly that carries the Up and Down Suburban tracks.
page 21
It creates a bit of a tricky scenario because you could, in theory, send north/south through freight via Tennyson and reorganise the ups/downs through Indooroopilly etc., but that probably means it ends up on the subs through the city and can’t get on the bypass track to turn onto the exhibition line at Roma St if it comes across Merivale Bridge (and of course it’s not practical pre-CRR given how busy it presently is through there).
I wonder what the loading restriction actually is and how much less than 15.75 tal we might be talking about 
I think the maximum allowable axle load of 15.75 tonnes for all sections would apply to the bridges. This seems to be the limiting factor on the subs.
It’s 15.75 tal between Rosewood and Toowoomba too (per West Moreton system pack), so even the big coalies from west of Toowoomba (even though they all go to the port anyway) are subject to such restrictions.
Interesting.
If that’s the case, then why would there be a restriction on freight going on the suburbans? It would make the system reliability and capacity much better if Milton-Corinda could be reorganised to be up-up-down-down, rather than up-down-up-down.
Albert Bridge across the Brisbane River at Indooroopilly is not currently capable of supporting
freight traffic
https://backontrack.org/docs/crr/db/MinervaPlan1.0.pdf page 96
The author goes on to suggest that "best outcome would be
to structurally reinforce the bridge to accommodate freight traffic … "
