Capacity of trains
Is it just me or are the trains filled to capacity within a couple of stops of departing from the end stations? By the time my train reaches the Footscray station, passengers are squashed like sardines in all the carriages. If I wasn’t in the train, it might have looked funny. In my mind, I have a picture of passengers packed in a suitcase (carriage) with our arms and legs sticking out of the doors and windows.
But surely there has be a maximum limit on the number of passengers permitted in each carriage and beyond this maximum, it will be dangerous, mostly to the suffocating passengers. Did Connex increase the frequency of the trains or did that not happen?
I read on Metlink about the additional trains during peak hour but it felt like a token gesture.
A reader of Melbourne Metroblog, Chris Coppin suggested additional facilities Connex can provide to make a train journey more interesting and less tedious. Let’s face it. Some of us spend a substantial amount of time travelling to and from work or study. The expense of travelling by train is also quite significant. His suggestions include
- Internet access onboard the trains. Surely it would be possible to put some access points in the trains and have them link to a wireless broadband connection? I know that is available in some countries but not here. Just imagine, we will be able to work, read emails or news while travelling, making better use of our travel time instead of staring out of the windows or at our fellow passengers.
- A section of the train is made suitable for bicycles, trams for example. Sometimes, people give dirty looks or get upset when other passengers squeeze their prams, or bikes onto a crowded train. Half of the front (or back) carriage can be dedicated to bikes/prams etc. The seats can be removed and replaced by racks or hooks so that passengers with bikes can travel without irritating others.
Anyone else have any suggestions?
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Next time you board an overcrowded amisdt peak hour, just suck your stomach in, keep your face out of people’s chests or armpits, and hope that Connex will clean up their act and promise more trains and the frequency that they run. Or a simple change of the cabin layout. Why not put the seats on the sides and insert poles in the middle, so people who are resorted to standing up will get to have their own space, and also have something to grab onto if the train grinds to a halt. This method is implemented in train systems around the world where the public transport is deemed superior. It could mark a change to the quality of the time spent travelling, but I like your suggestion on installing wireless hubs in the train cabins.
Woot! thanks for taking my suggested topic on board :)
For those interested, I have tried an iBurst Wireless broadband card in my laptop on the belgrave line, and for anyone considering it, forget it. It’s ok from richmond to about Camberwell, but from there on out it’s patchy at best, and very irritating when it consistently drops out. Certainly not mature enough yet to use.
I find the load on the trains varies day to day, and quite often is impacted by the timings of the train itself. I quite often find that my usual 7:52 from boronia runs a bit late, and those few mins make a big diff to how many seats are free. If I wait for the 8:00 it can be almost empty because it is running on time, but the 7:52 is not.
When I was up in Queensland recently, I used the Airtrain to get from the Gold Coast to Brisbane Airport. I’m assuming it’s pretty much a regular service train (but I admit I’m not sure). It seemed to have a lot of room for disabled passengers - around 12 seats that folded against the wall. People could also use this space to leave large things (like luggage and bikes etc). I thought it was pretty good at the time.