Can rail serve bush people much longer with passenger transport?
The low speeds are no impediment to sleeper trains and may even be an advantage in cases such as Parkes,Dubbo, Junee to Sydney Central, where a seven hour journey is ideal for a sleeper train with no scheduled intermediate stops. Arrival at Central would be about 6am, allowing connection with early departures from Mascot. Showers would need to be available on both the train and at Central.
Such trains could have dormitory cars as well as roomette and twinette. Sitting cars might be rendered irrelevant if a suitable dorm layout could be had. I am told SNCF runs such trains and would appreciate an email from anyone with details.
At Junee a backpacker train from the south could arrive at 9pm, allowing tourists to spend a a half day in one of the Riverina towns on the trip from Melbourne. Riverina residents could drive to Junee and park to spend a day in Sydney. Any day there was a morning Riverina departure from Sydney, it could run via Temora to Griffith, Narrandera, and thence to Junee to give a connection to the overnight train.
A Parkes train would allow reintroduction of the Silver City Comet. Copies of the new Prospector sets could be based in Broken Hill and provide residents with a short day in Adelaide a couple of times a week and a Comet connection to Sydney other days. This type of timetable would ensure through tourists stayed in Broken Hill at least one night.
The return journeys would leave Central at midnight, also giving seven hours transit. A sitting car might be attached, but there would be no scheduled intermediate stops .
First class passengers would be allowed into their compartments up to two hours before departure, with their conductor on duty.
Here is the version of this scheme I posted in 2000 when landing rights at Mascot for small airliners were in doubt
Bookings would be exclusively through the airlines booking systems. Trains to Sydney would need to arrive between 6 and 7am to avoid suburban traffic and to allow passengers to change at Central for early flights from Mascot. They could be given a choice of shower on the train or at Central.
The timing of return trains to the bush would be more flexible. The airlines might wish to allow their customers a night at the theatre in Sydney, or they might wish to get to particular towns in good time for the opening of the court.
Each airline would provide whatever services it wished to passengers. There would be provision to serve airline refreshments in each car.
CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION
The Orient Express and Queensland Railways joint venture seems set to cease running its present two gauge timetable in June 2003. The planned source of , extravagant customers was from overseas. The economic, health and military situation has apparently left too few of them.I can think of two localgroups who might use a very expensive hotel on wheels.
One is the Sydney-to-Byron Bay set. This would involve leaving Central about six pm Friday, running with no scheduled stops to Byron Bay, and arriving back at Central about 9am Monday morning.
Those who have not paid a few million for a Byron weekender would at least be able to be seen there. They could spend the early hours of Sunday morning back in their suite on the train after that party at some mansion. Everybody would know they had spent big bucks.
On ABC Radio National, Wednesday 20 July,2005, Sally Loane and the Byron Mayor spoke of turning the station site and other rail land into parking.
The problem then is where to base the Orient and what to do with it mid-week.
I propose to base it at Goulburn and tap into the Canberra big-spenders.
Departure from Central just after midnight Monday would allow those who had a days business in Sydney to try out a restaurant and go to the theatre. Federal Parliamentarians in Sydney on the Monday might find it a congenial way of returning for the mid-week session. Departure from Canberra for Sydney just after midnight Thursday would suit the end of the session.
Tuesday and Wednesday nights could be used to give Canberra based big spenders days in either Sydney or Melbourne if the demand is there. Alternately a daylight run from Canberra to Sydney with long lunch on the train and departure after the theatre would be possible Tuesday or Wednesday. These mid-week jaunts could be sold for upmarket fundraisers or as part of conference packages.
All midnight departures would allow travellers to board the train much earlier (probably 7.30pm) and dine on the train.
Some downside of the scheme in left column
Stops might be bearable with best drawgear if, say, a train from Grafton had empty cars set aside to pick up at Coffs Harbour and another car kept vacant for Kempsey.