Depends if they think they can do efficient turnback with the single platform at Shorncliffe to match the 15 minute frequency coming off Springfield. I have my doubts. Better to have 30 minutes to Shorncliffe and 15 minutes to Sandgate.
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We did a plan up for the second platform at Shorncliffe and sent it in to them. They don’t want to do it.
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That’s annoying! Surely that is such low hanging fruit.
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For what reason did Queensland Government not support the Shorncliffe 2nd platform? There is a second track at Shorncliffe station that was used for locomotive turnback during the old days. Surely they would plan to build a second platform on the second track.
But if they want to stick with ETCS, then let them be. At least turnbacks will be more efficient with that in place.
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i swear they literally forgot for like 2 or 3 years they where doing renovations at Shorncliffe station
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Is the wye at Shorncliffe still operational?
Shorncliffe needs a second platform, historical considerations be damned.
If you really want to keep the old station building intact then a more radical solution would be to close the station altogether (and make it into an historical museum or something) and move everything to a new terminus down at the corner of Allpass Parade and Friday St.
The new complex could have two island platforms with three tracks for extra flexibility.
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It’s mind blowing that a simple second platform at Shorncliffe which would be minimal investment in the scheme of things is scoffed at by the powers that be.
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That and a fourth electrified platform/track at Oxley…
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For a fourth platform at Oxley, they need to fix up the messy track layout between Oxford and Corinda. Currently the electrified quad-track from the City merges into tri-track, with the unelectrified fourth track coming from Tennyson.
OpenRailwayMap screenshot of the track layout south of Corinda
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I was just looking at the timetable for the Beenleigh line and there are some things that puzzle me. In the PM peak, there are several services that run express past a number of the inner Beenleigh line stations. I’ve noticed that the running time for the express routes are the same as the running time for all stations routes. I’ve also noticed that as a result there is a 60 minute time period where the inner Beenleigh stations are getting trains every 30 minutes during the PM peak.
Does anybody know why this is the case? On the surface this looks ridiculous, but I’m not sure if there’s something I’m not aware of that causes this.
I believe they are running on the DG line where there’s no platforms for reasons related to CRR construction. Exactly what these reasons are us beyond my understanding.
That’s interesting. So I wonder why they can’t run on the regular Beenleigh line and the Gold Coast services on the other line? I guess in theory once all those stations have 3 platforms this will be eliminated? A 30 minute frequency in the peak time is just ridiculous, especially in a spot so close to the city.
The express running is due to stop in a few weeks. After this it’s just Salisbury while closed, then Moorooka when they start on that.
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I have some thoughts regarding Cleveland line stopping patterns. This would likely have to be post CRR coming online.
There is a lot of padding in the timetable. I’m assuming this is because of the single track section between Manly and Cleveland as well as the junction at Boggo Road and then sharing slots with Beenleigh and Gold Coast services. After CRR is operational, the line will have that inner city section all to itself. As a result, I think much of the padding can be taken out again.
I’ve attached a screenshot of what I think the running time could be. Currently it is a 62 minute running time between Cleveland and Central with a 3 minute time saving for peak ‘express’ services. I grew up in Wynnum and the Redlands area as a kid and for a number of years took the train every day from Wynnum to school at Redlands College. I think from memory at the time the timetabled running time from Cleveland to Central was 56 minutes, so over the years they have added quite a bit of padding.
I’ve attached what I think would be a realistic timetabled running time post CRR. It is factoring in Manly-Cleveland remaining single track, and also closing Wynnum station - something I have felt should be done for a long time due to close spacing between Wynnum Central and Wynnum North, low patronage and nothing that really generates trips to there. I’ve calculated a running time of 55 minutes from Cleveland to Central. This is faster than current express services, but with no other lines competing for slots leaving it all to itself, I think it is doable as delays won’t have such a knock on effect for the rest of the network. It would also benefit Redlands travellers who have a long journey from there to the inner city. It is often twice as long to take the train as driving (at least in the off peak), so making the time a bit more competitive will be beneficial in my opinion. They already suffer from long trips and 30 minute frequencies, which is why I believe Redlands stations have low patronage overall. I think with this stopping pattern, just keep all services all stations even in peak, and just run higher frequencies instead (something I know is limited by single track sections, but technically possibly from Manly inbound).
Anyhow, I’m sharing for thoughts in case I’m missing something. Hopefully the powers that be might see this and consider when planning for future timetables.
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Apparently its for the construction of the Clapham yard, one track needs to remain closed to add a track switch to access the yard on said track. One Clapham yard construction is complete, then the messy stopping pattern will be fixed.
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So I did some math regarding the distance between the preceding Beenleigh train and the trailing GC train travelling northbound.
If a northbound GC train overtook a Beenleigh train at Kuraby, then the GC train (later an SC train) would collide with the preceding Beenleigh train (later a Redcliffe train) before Bray Park. I know that my calculations are very rough and I assumed 100% service reliability.
So a few solutions for northbound I have in mind is to switch the Redcliffe train to the middle track at Strathpine to allow the SC train to overtake, or to have the SC train stop all stations from Strathpine to Petrie during off/counter-peak.
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I recall reading somewhere that the plan for quadrupling the north coast line between Northgate and Petrie was to start at Petrie and work south, rather than starting at Northgate and moving north.