I took a trip to Belair and back yesterday afternoon to check out progress along the line. With the exception of scratched grafitti on the window glass, I rode in the front seat of a very clean, attractive and comfortable 3000 interior looking out on a well maintained track. There were ticket machines and validators with an ease of use that make Myki look like a very sick joke. A cleaner boarded the train as soon as it pulled into the Adelaide Station on the return trip.

"Scrat" is a problem everywhere - when I was in Perth last year I noticed that they'd put steel reinforced grids on windows to stop it. That actually made me worry about how you'd get out of a burning vehicle!  I'm not sure what the solution to that problem is, the little turds seem determined to keep doing it.  Maybe a Singapore style solution to anyone caught doing it could put a stop to it.

I have to agree about the refurbished 3000's, I caught a couple last Xmas when I was in Adelaide and I was really impressed with how clean and efficient it was, you could even buy a ticket on the train (wow!).  If they do have to operate side-by-side with the 4000's for a long time it won't be that much of a disaster.

Let's give the SA Government credit where it is due. I will want to see the Liberals give a pre-election guarantee that they will continue the modernization of Adelaide's suburban transport within a reasonable time-frame before I abandon the horse we know (albeit with some dissatisfaction with its performance) in favour of the other one which in all the years since Tom Playford left office has done sweet Fanny Adams to improve South Australian infrastructure.

I'm actually really impressed with how much has happened in SA since I left, the last time I went back it felt like a completely different city.  Public transport in particular, always the thing I disliked about Adelaide the most, has improved markedly - the only thing that needs substantial improvement is the train frequency in the evenings/weekends but maybe with the advent of electric trains this will improve.  It would be really wonderful if an incoming Liberal government decided to keep the program going but I'm not holding my breath given what I've seen here in Victoria...

SAR526, I hold with all you comments including almost all of the political statements. One Lib Minister did get some PT things moving and had some respect among the PT fraternity, even got a 3000 DEMU name after her. Since Playford most Lib governments have found themselves cleaning up the financial mess left by previous Labor governments. They just get it right and get rewarded by being turfed out of office.

Unfortunately a next Lib government will be in the same position unless BHP takes the lid off Olympic Dam.

Since 1914 standard gauge has screwed the Australian rail system.

All that is carried on the TAR and CAR/NAR could be carried on Cape Gauge; The Sarf Efricuns can do it. The Easstern states did not want SA or WA having any real advantage so sandwiched SG between two NG systems. At that time BHP had Australia's most powerful locomotives operating on NG.

Roll on December 1.

...One Lib Minister did get some PT things moving and had some respect among the PT fraternity, even got a 3000 DEMU name after her...

You are joking aren't you.

Surely 3030 was not named after her because of the "respect" (and I use that word very loosely) that she garnered in the PT industry locally. Dinky Di was the relevant transport minister at the time that we regressed to a quasi private system. I say quasi because at the end of the day the majority of the infrastructure is still owned by the Government and the timetables and fares are effectively set by the same.
The private operators that we have now are glorified labour-hire companies providing drivers at a cost to the Government via the way of subsidies from the same Government.
I hold absolutely no respect for the woman as a transport minister - nothing personal as I know that she was the figurehead of the transport portfolio and was just enacting the Liberal partys' ideology at that time. I think that she should have just stuck with Arts/Status of Women which I believe were also her portfolios at the time.

To this day I still do not understand why she had a railcar named after her. The only thing I can think of is someone in Junior to Middle management wanting to garner some 'Brownie points" to try to fast-track their career within TransAdelaide at the time.



Sorry to wander off topic.
Back to Noarlunga closedown now.

Tom K has just been on 5aa giving an assurance that the Noarlunga line WILL be open by the end of this month.

Take that as you will.

Yeah, I caught that speech also.

Sooooooo....  November 30 falls on Saturday next week. If services aren't resumed NEXT WEEK then the Labor Party ought to crash and burn even more spectacularly at the March election.

Next week. No more excuses accepted.

The private operators that we have now are glorified labour-hire companies providing drivers at a cost to the Government via the way of subsidies from the same Government.

You clearly don't understand the situation. It's not a subsidy, it's a contract, very different my friend. If the bus companies were not paid for the contracted services how would you expect them to pay their drivers, maintenance and fuel bills?

You clearly don't understand the situation. It's not a subsidy, it's a contract, very different my friend. If the bus companies were not paid for the contracted services how would you expect them to pay their drivers, maintenance and fuel bills?

I call it a subsidy because by its very nature Public Transport (overall) is NOT a profit making exercise. Fare revenue only represents a portion of the running cost of the system. The rest of the running costs are provided under the terms of the contract.
Sure, there are incentives provided for the contractors to meet KPI's and penalties for not meeting them but at the end of the day it is a service, not a business.
By privatising the 'Coal face' running of the system the Government has conveniently been able to wipe their hands of the expense of having public servants operating the service with drivers wages and conditions falling under a different award (Non-Government), no super/Long Service Leave obligations, and a contribution to the favourite election mantra of a reduced in size, leaner, meaner, public service which the electorate allegedly loves.

I could say more but this is not the thread for it.
If you want to chat more about it then by all means start a new thread or PM me. Happy to chat about it elsewhere.

The so-called 'Pox Boxes' are anything but that. I have travelled for several extended periods in Europe and the USA. So far as their internals are concerned, the diesel electrics are up with the best suburban trains in the world, and I think some people need to admit that. Yes the fumes are 'poxy', and the sooner we get all-electric traction the better.  Most of the buses on which I ride (often) are also modern and disabled passenger accessible.

I'd really love to know when and how the term poxbox came to the lexicon. I have always called them that based on the gutless noise their (semi) constant RPM motor makes. A mate of mine calls them poxboxes because he reckons if you board one after it's return journey from a harbor, Gawler or Noarlunga trip you are quite likely 'to catch the pox'.

We would have double track to Belair as we did for decades, trains to the South East, three different routes to Melbourne, and access for Steamranger from its Dry Creek Depot through the best part of the hills to Victor Harbour. Victoria, too, would have avoided many deleterious changes to her integrated system. There may even have been the incentive for a freight bypass from Murray Bridge to Mallalla if suburban trains on broad gauge had been running on the now narrower former up track from Belair to the city.

How many people (other than those making the return journey as a tourist) were on the train down from Blackwood, and up from Belair to Blackwood?

I call it a subsidy because by its very nature Public Transport (overall) is NOT a profit making exercise. Fare revenue only represents a portion of the running cost of the system. The rest of the running costs are provided under the terms of the contract.

Well I guess you can call it what you like, but that still doesn't make you right.

The businesses running the service are paid according to contractual arrangements.

The government is paid a part of of the contract cost according to ticket revenue.

The subsidy is effectively paid by the government direct to the commuter in order to make up the difference between the real cost of the journey and the ticket cost of the journey.

There is no subsidy to the service operator.

The bus operators are businesses in it for a profit.
They are subject to the usual employment rules including long service leave and superannuation.
The departure of Serco a few years ago because they could not make a go of it illustrates the profit making imperative of the contractors.

The murals are pretty great though, really like the stylised depictions of the Red Hens.

I spied another Red Hen picture inside the Goodwood underpass:

[img]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3826/10960320156_04a2ac3268.jpg[/img]

A weekly wire watcher's report.

1. Signs are up about the closure of Cross Rd level crossing on Sun 24th November from 6am - 6pm.  I assume this is for overhead work.

2. Earth and return are now run out on both tracks from Oaklands to E of Hove.  Catenary is run out from Oaklands to W of Warradale on both tracks.

3. At Marion Stn the fencing and rails seem complete.  The lighting around the stairs have still to be done.

4.  Late this afternoon 4001 was sitting in the Seaford end of Plat 1/2 at Noarlunga C, while a 3000 railcar was sitting in Plat 3.  4001 then continued testing passing the N end of Seaford Depot at speed.  Up till now test runs have generally shuttled between S of Old Honeypot Rd and N of Seaford Depot.  The signals at the S end of the viaduct are now lit but still face away from the track.

5. A motor car and trailer of 4003 were coupled together in the S depot yard.  No 3000's were visible at the depot.

Alex C

Contact wire is up through Oaklands now (Only up to right before the station heading north)

The contact wire appears to be a copper wire too (Im sure some nut will try and steal the live copper wire eventually and get himself killed)

The contact wire appears to be a copper wire too (Im sure some nut will try and steal the live copper wire eventually and get himself killed)

Well he'll get fried before he can actually touch it!

Well he'll get fried before he can actually touch it!

Call me a sadist, but I look forward to this day! What was Darwin's theory again?

Contact wire is up through Oaklands now (Only up to right before the station heading north)

The contact wire appears to be a copper wire too (Im sure some nut will try and steal the live copper wire eventually and get himself killed)

At 4pm this afternoon the contact wires were not over the Diagonal Rd Xing, although on approaching the crossing the two catenary wires gave the illusion that a contact wire was there.  A closer look showed that it was just the catenary wires, which are of a twisted multistrand construction.  The contact wire is solid with a special cross-section which allow clamps on the droppers to be attached without fouling the contact surface on the underside.  The contact wire is run out in unjointed lengths of about 1.2km between section overlaps.

Alex C

Call me a sadist, but I look forward to this day! What was Darwin's theory again?

Like this guy...


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2_yYOr1pAc4

Like this guy...


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2_yYOr1pAc4

The arcing noise that comes from that video sounds truly terrifying and should be used as a warning to anyone who wants to steal or play with overhead train wires

It would seem that the training of drivers for service on the soon to re-opened Noarlunga Centre line is being stepped up – a good sign. I heard a train horn at about 22.00 this evening, and encountered 3004 at Warradale running towards Oaklands at about 16.00. A few minutes later, while I was on the platform looking at progress on the overhead installation, 3009 went past towards Hove. I think that it is highly likely that the line will be open for passengers by Saturday 24th.

The progress on wiring is such that I would not be surprised to see the contact wire installed by tomorrow (Friday) afternoon.

The line won't be reopening for at least another week I heard from a train driver only about half of the train drivers have done the training through the Noarlunga Line which is about 60 people and all of the drivers must do the training before the line can reopen which is about 120 then there is the final regulator sign off which might take a day or 2 so line should be ready to be reopened by the end of the month if nothing goes wrong (Seems Tom might be second time lucky)

It would seem that the training of drivers for service on the soon to re-opened Noarlunga Centre line is being stepped up – a good sign. I heard a train horn at about 22.00 this evening, and encountered 3004 at Warradale running towards Oaklands at about 16.00. A few minutes later, while I was on the platform looking at progress on the overhead installation, 3009 went past towards Hove. I think that it is highly likely that the line will be open for passengers by Saturday 24th.

The progress on wiring is such that I would not be surprised to see the contact wire installed by tomorrow (Friday) afternoon.

AM seem to be regularly running several route-learning railcars at any one time on the Noarlunga line

While standing at Goodwood station (yes, standing because when they removed the "say no to drugs" shelters last week, they removed all the benches too, with no sign of any replacements yet) - I've noted the following trains passing through the underpass.
Tuesday 19th:  3003 down at 0910, the 3029 up direction at 0930.
Friday 22nd:  3005 down at 0845, followed by 3001 down at 0905.

Re-occupying the line for that purpose would have slowed down electrification but I'm guessing they only do familiarisation during daylight hours.  Re-opening next week makes the assumption that all signalling and support works are ready and operational.

Has the contact wire progressed past Black Forest?

Re-occupying the line for that purpose would have slowed down electrification but I'm guessing they only do familiarisation during daylight hours.  Re-opening next week makes the assumption that all signalling and support works are ready and operational.

Has the contact wire progressed past Black Forest?

Most of the electrification work recently seems to have been done overnight, eg in the Oaklands/Warradale area.  The catenary on both tracks in the remaining short section between Warradale and Hove has ben run out.  The crossover at Oaklands has received the contact wire.  Yesterady there were a larger number of vehicles than I have seen before in the storage compound at Oaklands.  The compound at Marino has been empty for the last couple of weeks.

There are no wires north of Cross Rd yet, but there is a crossing closure scheduled for Sunday and pulleys have appeared as far north as Millswood.

Alex C

Thanks for that Alex, yeah, someone mentioned earlier about the closure of Cross Rd tomorrow and you'd have to assume that it was for the run-out of the catenary at that specific spot. I might come over for a look one weekend before Xmas, sounds like there's a lot to see even if the actual trains aren't running that far yet.

I see more wiring up in the Adelaide Yard from the hospital up to the Adelaide Showgrounds station. I wonder when they will start putting overhead wires through the underpass.

When they get around to it.