Stuffed: CityRail's timetable woe

From SMH, 7 June:

CITYRAIL'S timetable is at risk of collapse under the weight of the millions of new passengers using the network, as trains are becoming so overloaded they cannot leave stations on time.

Data released by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal show 10 of CityRail's 13 lines experience maximum volumes of more than 135 per cent of seating capacity.

In the morning peak three of every 10 trains arrive in the city so packed with passengers they eclipse CityRail's official measure of overcrowding.

"There is no reason to believe the survey results are atypical," the tribunal says in a four-volume report released yesterday.

The pricing regulator has warned that the billions of dollars the State Government is pouring into the rail network are still not enough to meet soaring demand and the Government's own targets.

The tribunal warns in the report that more capacity will be necessary to "meet forecast growth in demand, reduce congestion to meet service quality requirements and meet targets in the State Plan".

In January cabinet ditched a plan to build another rail line through the city and across the harbour, but the tribunal yesterday described the city centre as an "infrastructure bottleneck" that "restricts the number of services that can be offered without significant capacity expansion".

"The likely growth in peak demand means that meeting the Government's objective of improving the quality and reliability of these services will be a major challenge."

Trains are becoming so full they cannot load and unload passengers fast enough at larger stations to stick to their timetables, even though the network timetable was drastically adjusted in 2005 to slow trains down.

"While crowding at stations represents a reduction in service quality for passengers on its own, it also increases the time it takes to load and unload a train," the report says.

"This longer dwell time in the city stations has a cascading effect on on-time running, as each train behind needs to wait for the train in front to move. Typically, this lost time is not made up, so by the time they reach the end of their journey, these trains are running behind the timetable."

The pricing tribunal has also recommended that fares be changed. Its "preliminary view" is that the discount on weekly tickets should be more consistent and cost be based on distance across the network.

"IPART considers that this approach [is] best … because it is more cost-reflective, and is simpler and more consistent. This approach will also be compatible with an electronic ticketing system, expected to be introduced in the future."

The result, however, is that long-distance commuters could face much bigger fare rises than those living in the inner city.

"IPART is mindful of any adverse social impacts of moving towards an improved fare structure," the report says.

"However, IPART considers that any adverse social impacts of its fare decisions in the longer term should be addressed through targeted government assistance rather than incorporating further subsidies into fares and potentially distorting the fare structure."

This fare structure has been widely blamed for the failure of attempts to install an integrated transport smartcard for Sydney's public transport network.