Blah, etc

Much better than the Gawler line closure, where they made the mistake of making every bus a stopper!

Blah, etc

Much better than the Gawler line closure, where they made the mistake of making every bus a stopper!

Yeah, the temporary Gawler line closure was dreadful when it came to the all-stations pattern both with the train (except weekday morning inbound services) and the bus. Glad they didn't make the same mistake with the Noarlunga line closure. I also like the idea of Tonsley services running every half hour, pity there are still no night, weekend and public holiday services on that line.

But these closures are important for the upgrades to go ahead safely, so all we have to do now is wait...

Adelaide Metro have clearly gone with a new design for the timetables, perhaps a sign of things to come!

http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/routes/pdfs/Noarlunga_lineFeb2011c.pdf

Having looked at the map of Oaklands Interchange is this, I now understand what that foot path that was franticly being demolished at the station today was all about. Its a bus sized hole for the rail replacement buses to exit by.

I also got a look at Hallett Cove Beach station, its only now (Mon 10th jan) being re-assembled. The old besser block foundation wall are being demolished and replaced with galvanised steel I beam frames bolted to new concrete foundations.

This is the same method used in Tambelin, Munno Para, Gawler Oval platform extensions. Expect at least 2 months to complete the Hallett Cove Beach rebuild.

Pity there are no buses via the expressway to Tonsley, could be a fair bit quicker.

Pity there are no buses via the expressway to Tonsley, could be a fair bit quicker.

Very good point.


Taking city-bound passengers, who would normally use Noarlunga Centre, Christie Downs, or Lonsdale Station, on a bus which utilizes the Southern Expressway is obviously the quickest route of transit.

The buses exit the Expressway at Darlington, then head North-west to Oaklands, for a rail connection to the city. Using Tonsley as the connection point would cut off three kms from the total trip.

From Tonsley, specific services could operate express to the city. I am, in particular, thinking of peak hour travel now.

Substitute buses serving stations between Oaklands and Hallett Cove beach would use Oaklands Station as the train transfer stop.

One of  temporary bus services, namely that designated N5, which will operate express from NC to Oaklands via the Expressway certainly should be serving Tonsley Station.

Anyway I look at this I am convinced the bus routes and scheduling, and the Tonsley Line timetable could have been made so much more efficient.

It's a shame they only have trailing points on the Adelaide side of Oaklands now. Movements will be restricted to Terminating/Leaving from the Down platform only.

I cant see them reversing onto the Up then proceeding back down to the Up platform as it would take too long.

It may not be necessary with the timetable though 5mins to turn around on time trains is fairly tight, especially during the peak.

Hopefully on the way to work and back I wont be stuck at Oaklands crossing. Not from trains, from the damn buses  

...though I'll still have the three minute wait for Up trains to appear at Cheltenham Rd though, but that's another story  

...though I'll still have the three minute wait for Up trains to appear at Cheltenham Rd though, but that's another story  

I'm glad someone else thinks the Cheltenham Parade crossing has far too long a lead!

I would hate taking a whole hour plus to get from the city to Noarlunga in peak time but at least its worth it

It would be great if the southern expressway ran in both directions 24/7. I don't know why the government built it for only one direction back in '97. Had they built 4 lanes (2 each way) instead then travel would be faster between Noarlunga and Oaklands at all times.

It would be great if the southern expressway ran in both directions 24/7. I don't know why the government built it for only one direction back in '97. Had they built 4 lanes (2 each way) instead then travel would be faster between Noarlunga and Oaklands at all times.

In a short catch phrase the answer is Cost Cutting
We could add other words like shortsightedness

Actually the government at the time was questioned about that and they "proudly" proclaimed that it was designed to be easily duplicated!
While the truth is they did no such thing. To duplicate the expressway they will have to completely replace nearly every single over bridge.

It would be great if the southern expressway ran in both directions 24/7. I don't know why the government built it for only one direction back in '97. Had they built 4 lanes (2 each way) instead then travel would be faster between Noarlunga and Oaklands at all times.

In a short catch phrase the answer is Cost Cutting
We could add other words like shortsightedness

Actually the government at the time was questioned about that and they "proudly" proclaimed that it was designed to be easily duplicated!
While the truth is they did no such thing. To duplicate the expressway they will have to completely replace nearly every single over bridge.

Now I understand the reason. The State Bank disaster back in 1991/92 probably restricted the budget for the building of the expressway.

Back on the topic. With the old Mercedes-Benz buses to be used as substitutes, besides the removal of the guide wheels, I wonder if any other changes will be made to the buses e.g. replacing the words 'Torrens Transit' (just above the front door and the drivers side window) with Southlink.

Well that would depend on which company the DTEI has contracted to run the services.

Hope they renew all the fire extinguishers though! Last thing you want to do is go out in a ball of flame, some of these old buses already have done that!

[edit="2001"] Ian's quoted comments are now in another thread (see my post below) following a split of this thread[/edit]

SHUTTING DOWN the Noarlung line for any reason does not encourage PT use no matter how much better it will be in the end.  

People suck it up.  It's not a big deal.

If PT is important then it is too important to shut down. There are engineering solutions.

Past experience tends to suggest otherwise.  Glenelg Tram recovered (and grew) post closure.  Outer Harbor recovered (and grew) after closure.  Noarlunga will close, recover, and grow after closure.

Anyway, hasn't the closure argument been done to death in the Gawler thread?

hasn't the closure argument been done to death in the Gawler thread

True Nola, but I had to get the thread back on topic some how. What better method than my own soapbox?

One other point of agreement

People suck

Regards
Ian

Hey guys,

I have taken the OT posts and slotted them into a dedicated thread, as I can see there is a vigourous discussion in the making :

Transport, urban planning and politics

Well it has started.

yeah most of the line has been ripe out from noarlunga centre already heading towards the city

G'day all'

One silver lining; there is much less congestion on Morphett and Brighton Roads. I have passed Oaklands crossing deliberately the last three mornings at various times just to sticky beak.

I don't normally pass there but I wanted to avoid the mess at Darlington. I got from Sheidow Park to West Terrace via Oaklands Crossing in 31 minutes this morning without even trying, left home about 7:20.

It's good to here something is happening. They still have the Oaklands to Adelaide section to do. The up curve past SASMEE is in dreadful condition and looking along both tracks towards Clarence Park looks like a telephoto on a hot day.

Regards
Ian

...and one cloud is that apparently I'm no longer allowed to use the carpark on the south side as a cut-through when on my bicycle.

Also, maybe there's a good reason for this but if there is it escapes me, why are they starting down at Noarlunga instead of working their way down the line from Oaklands. Doing it this way would allow the re-enablement of Brighton, Hove and Warradale thereby lessening the stress on Oaklands. Seems an eminently sensible idea to me.

Also, maybe there's a good reason for this but if there is it escapes me, why are they starting down at Noarlunga instead of working their way down the line from Oaklands. Doing it this way would allow the re-enablement of Brighton, Hove and Warradale thereby lessening the stress on Oaklands. Seems an eminently sensible idea to me.

I dunno, I tried asking why aren't they 'fast tracking' the rebuilding of the track between Brighton and Oaklands, especially as part of this track has already been redone. The answer I got said something about the complex trackwork around Brighton would take some time to rebuild. They didn't answer any of my questions about station rebuilding during the project.

In other words they really don't have a clue. The temporary points at Mawson Lakes only took a couple of weekends to install. I'd bet the whole Oaklands to Brighton section could easily be rebuilt in 2 months at the most.

The only theory I have is they are starting at Noarlunga in order to fit in with the Seaford extension, that way if they don't finish in time, it will be the Adelaide end that will be left till later.

Given that two station rebuilding projects on the line have taken 4+ months to complete, common sense would dictate rebuilding some additional stations during the shut down. The government and its public servants are a little too obsessed with packing each project into its own little water tight box. God forbid two different construction companies are working in the same area.

G'day Faby and Thornley

You comments are totally in line with the lack of imagination shown by the management of the project. This has been my line of arguement all along.

However I do have a little sympathy with

public servants are a little too obsessed with packing each project into its own little water tight box

Getting viable battery limits is one of the challenges of construction management, said with experience and conviction.

The commoents about the turnouts at Brighton is obfusication at its best

As for the Oaklands/Adelaide section; wait for another 6 month shutdown?

I hope that for that up grade they can rebuild a track at a time with single line working to keep the trains running.

Whilst a total shut down may be nice for the contractors I am sure there are world class contractors who could do the works and keep trains running.

Meanwhile South Road is jammed and more petrol is burned by idling private vehicles.

Regards
Ian

...Meanwhile South Road is jammed and more petrol is burned by idling private vehicles

Might be a good time for the pro bicycle lobby to encourage everyone to try cycling instead. The trip from the city to Brighton is flat and only takes around 40 mins or so if you keep peddaling.

G'day Faby and Thornley

You comments are totally in line with the lack of imagination shown by the management of the project. This has been my line of arguement all along.

However I do have a little sympathy with

public servants are a little too obsessed with packing each project into its own little water tight box

Getting viable battery limits is one of the challenges of construction management, said with experience and conviction.

The commoents about the turnouts at Brighton is obfusication at its best

As for the Oaklands/Adelaide section; wait for another 6 month shutdown?

I hope that for that up grade they can rebuild a track at a time with single line working to keep the trains running.

Whilst a total shut down may be nice for the contractors I am sure there are world class contractors who could do the works and keep trains running.

Meanwhile South Road is jammed and more petrol is burned by idling private vehicles.

Regards
Ian

Didn't the adelaide-oaklands already get done? i thought that is why the weekend shutdowns were done for the line? or was this a different part of the track im thinking off?