Month: August 2017

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Sydney Buses Route of the Week 21

This week we have a request from Charlotte O. It is for route 507. The 507 operates between Circular Quay and Macquarie Univeristy via Victoria Road, Putney, Meadowbnk and Ryde. A large number of shortworkings exist with many services terminating or starting from Town Hall and Ryde instead of the end termini.

The 507 is one of many route to have perviously operated down George Street in the CBD, and did so from its inception until the October 2015 CBD network chnage which rerouted it down Elizabeth Street instead.

The 507 operates 6am and 9pm on Weekdays, services between 8am – 3pm operate the full length of the route. Services prior to 8am and between 3pm and 6pm terminate at Town Hall instead of Circular Quay and services before 8am and after 6pm terminate at Ryde instead of Macquarie University. A half hourly service is provided at peak times with an hourly service at other times. On Saturdays, services operate between 8am and 6pm with all services travelling the full length of the route on a hourly frequency. On Sundays, services operates between 8am and 6pm between Circular Quay and Ryde only on a hourly frequency.

The 507 is operated by Ryde Depot using buses with Mercedes Benz, Scania or Volvo Chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork.

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XPT, Xplorer Replacement announced

Recently the government announced that there would be replacing the entire regional rail fleet with new rolling stock, to be delivered from the early 2020s.

This will see all of the existing XPT, Xplorer and Endeavour rolling stock replaced with a a single uniform new model of train. A total of 110 carriages will be ordered which mean it will be a one for one replacement as there are 110 regional carriages currently in service.

It is understood that these new trains will have their main service centre and maintainace hub in Dubbo, whilst maintaing a smaller maintain centre and layover in Sydney. This is part of the government’s plan to increase rural jobs.

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Sydney Buses Route of the Week 20

This week, our route of the week is the 391 as requested by Lachlan Culverhouse. The 391 operates from Railway Square to Matraville via Surry Hills, Moore Park, UNSW and Eastgardens. Selected services continue on to either La Perouse or Port Botany.

Prior to the 2009 Eastern Region network changes, Route 391 used to operate to and from City Circular Quay using Elizabeth Street. From April 2009, it instead operated to and from City Australia Square. After the October 2015 CBD network reshuffle, the 391 was truncated and redirected to Railway Square.

Route 391 runs a half hourly service between 7am and 7pm daily, with travel times varying between 35-55 minutes depending on traffic and route diversions.

Route 391 is operated by Port Botany depot using buses with Mercedes Benz chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork or buses with Scania chassis and Bustech bodywork. During peak times, some services are operated by Randwick depot using buses with Volvo or Scania chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork.

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Sydney Buses Route of the Week 19

Today our request comes from Eloise K for route 313. Route 313 operates between Coogee and Bondi Junction via Carrington Road and Charing Cross.

The 313 operates a daytime service only, with buses operating every 30 minutes between 7am-5pm to Bondi Junction from Coogee and every 30 minutes between 9am-7pm to Coogee from Bondi Junction Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, the services operates hourly between 9am-5pm in both directions.

Route 313 is operated by Port Botany, Randwick and Waverley depot using a wide variety of buses with Mercedes Benz, Scania or Volvo chassis and Bustech or Custom Coaches bodywork.

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More Trains, More Services – Massive boost to Western Sydney train services

Customers travelling to and from Western Sydney and the Inner West can look forward to a boost of more than 300 extra weekly train services and better connections when the new train timetable is introduced later this year.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance today announced key improvements to both the T1 Western Line and T2 Inner West Line.
“This is a massive win for Western Sydney,” Ms Berejiklian said. “We are making it more convenient for customers to travel between Western Sydney, the Inner West and Sydney’s CBD.”
“By simplifying and modernising parts of the network we are able to achieve far better services for customers.”
Key improvements to the Sydney Trains network include:

  • More than 250 express trains every week between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, including 20 express trains during peak hours.
  • A new direct link between the Inner West and Parramatta on the T2 Line on weekdays for the first time.
  • T2 Inner West customers travelling to and from Sydney’s CBD will see peak services boosted from 15 minutes up to every 6 minutes at many stations.

“We know that customers travelling longer distances want faster services and those closer in want to just turn up and go – we can achieve this,” Mr Constance said.
“These are the some of the busiest lines on the network. By simplifying the way the lines operate it will create additional capacity and reliability for customers.
“Today, we also unveil a refreshed network map so customers can begin to understand the changes ahead. They include the T2 Line extending to Parramatta and also to Leppington in the South-West. We’re also extending services on the T5 Line to Leppington and Richmond, along with re-badging the Airport Line to the T8 to distinguish this popular service for tourists and visitors,” Mr Constance said.
“With total rail trips to and from Western Sydney set to grow by 20 per cent by the early 2020s, it’s critical we get on with it and act now.”
Other key changes for T1 Western Line and T2 Inner West customers include:

  • Harris Park, Granville, Clyde, Auburn, and Lidcombe will be served by T2 Inner West services during some periods of the day. Customers will have direct access to Parramatta as they do today, and receive a similar frequency of service to the Sydney CBD in the AM Peak, now via the T2 Inner West.
  • Burwood will receive more services via the T2 Inner West, with direct access to Parramatta and,
  • Late night services to and from the Sydney CBD to Penrith will be doubled on the T1 Western Line. To deliver this increase, some Richmond customers will need to change trains at Parramatta.

This is the next step in the ‘More Trains, More Services’ program – a capital investment of over $1.5 billion to provide an urgent uplift in customer service on Sydney’s rail network.

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Sydney Buses Route of the Week 18

This weeks request comes from Eloise K. It is for Route 348 which operates between Bondi Junction and Wolli Creek via Randwick Junction, UNSW, Rosebery, Alexandria, St Peters and Tempe. 

Prior to 2009, the 348 operated from Bondi Junction to Alexandria as a weekday only industrial shuttle via Alison Road, Dacey Avenue and Lachlan Street, earlier number 48. From the April 2009 network review, the 348 was redirected to Wolli Creek and started operating via UNSW. From 2014 onwards additional weekday and new weekend services have been progressively added. In March 2017, due to light rail construction, the 348 was redirected to operate through Randwick Junction.

The 348 currently operates between 6am and 10pm on weekdays, 7:30am and 10pm on Saturdays and 9am and 8:30pm on Sundays. The services runs every 15-20 minutes during peak hour and every 30 minutes off peak and on weekends. The timetabled journey time varies greatly from 70 minutes during peak hour down to 35 minutes late at night. Despite this wild variations, peak hour services contually run very late and off peak services very early due to variable traffic conditions.

The service is operated by Randwick and Tempe depots using buses with Volvo or Scania chassis and Ansair, Bustech or Custom Coaches bodywork. A large number of these services are operated with older non-accessible buses.