Author: transportnsw

I am the editor of Transport NSW Blog. I have a keen interest in public transport and politics.
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Future Transport Strategy 2056

Today Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance released the Future Transport Strategy 2056. This strategy allows for commitment  to many major public transport initiatives over the next few decades. These new projects are in addition to this already announced as part of Sydney Metro, Sydney Light Rail and the Western Sydney City Deal.

“By 2056, NSW will have more than 12 million residents and we want to improve public transport and roads so that by 2056, 70 per cent of people live within 30 minutes of where they work or study. For Sydney, people want more public transport projects committed to and work on major projects  started sooner,” Mr Constance said.

In response to feedback, the NSW Government today committed to:

  • Investigate a trial of on demand ferry services following the success of existing on demand bus pilots,
  • Upgrading public transport along Parramatta and Victoria Roads within 10 years,
  • Bring forward investigations into a new bus interchange serving the Western Parklands city around the new Western Sydney Aerotropolis,
  • Improve services along the Richmond rail line and investigate passenger services to the Wilton growth area.

In the longer term, the NSW Government will:

  • Explore the possibility of a rail link between Hurstville and Macquarie Park via Rhodes
  • Improve the connection between Sydney and Western NSW by investigating a solution for crossing the Blue Mountains.
  • Allow for expansion of the light rail network, including extensions to Maroubra and Coogee as well as investigations into new Parramatta light rail lines.
  • Investigate rail links between Greater Parramatta with Epping, and Kogarah via Bankstown as part of a 10 -20 year strategy.
  • Investigate the possibility of an extension of Sydney Metro to the South-East with a line to Malabar from the CBD via Eastlakes and Maroubra
  • A rail link to connect Eastlakes with Sydney Airport, Kogarah and Miranda

The report has the proposal to implement the projects through the development of  City-Shaping, City-Servcing as well as Centre-Connecting transport networks. The city shaping network will form the backbone of the transport network, with all day frequencies of  5 minute or better.  The City serving network provides high capacity short distance connections to the CBDs with a frequency of 10 minutes or better all day. Centre-connecting services help to ensure that all of services and major centres are connect and run at a high frequency with lower capacity services or on-demand.

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Building better connections between Regional centres and nearby communities is also a focus of Future Transport 2056, and traditional infrastructure will be upgraded with a new rail fleet on the way and potential electrification to Bathurst, Goulburn, Nowra and The Hunter.

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Metrobus March – M60

Route M60 operates between Parramatta and Hornsby via Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Cherrybrook and Pennant Hills. It commenced operation on 7 March 2011.

Bus services along the current M60 corridor began on February 1 1932, when Parramatta Bus Co Route 200 replaced the Parramatta Tramway between Parramatta and Castle Hill. In 1983, Route 200 was replaced by Route 600 which operated along a similar alignment between Parramatta and Pennant Hills. Route 632 between Hornsby and Castle Hill began operation in June 1995. Both of these routes were operated by CDC Hillsbus until their replacement by Route M60 in March 2011.

In the 2013 “Sydney’s Bus Future” report, the M60 was designated as a rapid route, with priority to be given in terms of bus priority infrastructure and timetable upgrades.

The M61 operates between 6am and 10pm daily, with all night service on Friday and Saturday. It runs every 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, 20 minutes on weekends and hourly overnight.

The services are operated out of CDC HillsBus depots in Dural and Seven Hills using a mix of 12.5 and 14.5m buses

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Where Can You Fly? – A380

In today’s edition of Where Can You Fly?, we will be looking at all the different places you can fly from Sydney on the A380.

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There are 14 different places that you can fly to on the A380 out of Sydney. This includes services on 9 different airlines. Asiana, China Southern, Emirates, Etihad, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar and Singapore Airlines all bring their A380s to Sydney.

The inaugural passenger service of the A380 was operated by Singapore Airlines and touched down in Sydney on 27 October 2007 from Singapore becoming the world’s first A380 route. Since then, Sydney has grown to become one of the largest A380 hubs in the world. It is home to the base of 8 Qantas A380s, a major focus city for Emirates A380s and has more airlines using A380s than any other airport.

Where you can fly on the A380;

  • Abu Dhabi – Etihad
  • Auckland – Emirates
  • Bangkok – Emirates
  • Christchurch – Emirates
  • Dallas Fort Worth – Qantas
  • Doha – Qatar
  • Duabi – Emirates
  • Guangzhou – China Southern
  • Hong Kong – Qantas
  • Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia Airlines
  • London – Qantas (via Singapore)
  • Los Angeles – Qantas
  • Seoul – Asiana, Korean Air
  • Singapore – Qantas, Singapore Airlines

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Metrobus March – M54

Route M54 operates between Parramatta and Macquarie Park via Macquarie University, Epping, Carlingford and North Parramatta. It commenced operation on 10 October 2010.

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It largely replaced route 548, which ran a similar route between Parramatta and Epping prior to October 2010. In the 2013 “Sydney’s Bus Future” report, the M61 was designated as a rapid route, with priority to be given in terms of bus priority infrastructure and timetable upgrades.

Due to high levels of patronage andcustomer demand, the routes operating hours were extended to midnight on Friday and Saturday nights as part of a trial in early 2016. As of 5 June 2016, services operate to midnight daily. From May 2018, the service will operate 24 hours, 7 days a week.

The M54 runs every 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 20 minutes on weekends. It operates between 6am and Midnight daily. It is operated by a fleet of both 12.5m and  articulated “bendy” buses from Ryde depot.

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Unpopular Fixed Seating for New Intercity Trains

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The troubled project to introduce new $2.3 billion intercity trains to Sydney’s rail network has recently  been further criticised due to the decision to install fixed rather than reversible seating.

The two-by-two fixed seats on the new train will mean that half of all passenger will travel backwards. It is understood that at each end and in the middle of the carriage, four seats will be placed together in a group, whilst all other seats would be in fixed twos, half forwards and half backwards.

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This decision was made  despite government documents showing an overwhelming preference for reversible seating over fixed seating. There is a perception that this change is a backwards step.

The reason for this decisions is that there is no proven design solution for reversible seating that meets safety requirements. That lack of design would place the timeline for the delivery of the new trains “at risk”.

The transport agency said the new intercity trains had been designed with passenger comfort in mind. “We’ve asked customers what they value and incorporated much of this feedback into the design, including two-by-two seating with wider seats, arm rests and wider aisles, as well as amenities like tray tables and charging outlets for mobile devices,” a spokesman said.

 Labor’s transport spokeswoman, Jodi McKay, said travelling backwards was “just not an option” for passengers who suffered motion sickness. “The journey for some intercity passengers can be up to three hours – that’s a long time to sit backwards or be forced to stand,’

The first of the new trains will begin services late next year to the Central Coast and Newcastle. The government expects the new trains to begin running on the Blue Mountains Line to Mount Victoria in mid-2020, followed by Lithgow about four months later. After that, the trains will start carrying passengers on the South Coast Line to Wollongong and Kiama.

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Metrobus March – M52

Route M52 operates limited stops between Parramatta and City Circular Quay via Rydalmere, Top Ryde, Drummoyne and Rozelle. It began operation on 8 August 2010.

Route M52 served as a replacement for Route L20, which operated a similar route between July 200 and August 2010. In 2004, the Unsworth report identified the corridor was key high frequency corridor. In the 2013 “Sydney’s Bus Future” report, the M61 was designated as a rapid route, with priority to be given in terms of bus priority infrastructure and timetable upgrades.

Outside of the Metrobus operating hours, services are available on the all stops overnight Route 520. Originally the M52 operated along George Street in the CBD. Due to CSELR construction, from October 2015 it instead operated along Elizabeth Street.

The M52 runs every 5 minutes during peak periods, 10 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 15 minutes on weekends. It operates between 6am and 8pm daily. It is operated by a mix of 12.5m and articulated “bendy” buses from Ryde depot.

 

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New Regional Coach Links

NSW TrainLink plans to trial new coach connections to better connect regional communities. Each trial aims to provide new connections for regional communities, whether it be for commuters, people attending medical or business appointments, shopping trips, recreational activities or to catch up with family and friends.

These services will provide new links between:

  • Tamworth and Newcastle
  • Tamworth and Dubbo
  • Tamworth and Port Macquarie
  • Wagga Wagga and Albury
  • Goulburn and Sydney
  • Goulburn and Canberra

The trial of the new connections between Tamworth and Newcastle, Dubbo and Port Macquarie started on March 12 2018.

NSW TrainLink is currently seeking feedback on the proposed trials between Wagga Wagga and Albury, Goulburn and Sydney and between Goulburn and Canberra here.

 

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Contactless Payment expanded to all Sydney Ferries, Light Rail

From Today you can pay your fare on any Sydney Ferries or light rail service using a contactless card.

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This service has been trialled on the F1 Manly Ferry line and deemed to be a success, with the service being popular amongst tourists and one-off travellers.

You can tap on and tap off at an Opal card reader to pay your fare using most American Express, Mastercard and Visa cards, plus mobile wallets on smartphones, tablets and watches. Fares are the same as an Adult Opal single trip ticket.

You can only use your card or device to tap on for one fare per trip. You cannot pass the card back to someone else to pay a second fare.

Contactless payment will be available at 57 destinations across Sydney including any popular tourist destinations such as Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, Manly, Star Casino and Taronga Zoo.

 

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Metrobus March – M50

Route M50 operates between Drummoyne and Coogee via Rozelle, Sydney CBD, Moore Park and Randwick. It commenced on 31 October 2010.

Route M50 was originally intended to run between Drummoyne and Randwick, however a suitable layover space in Randwick could not be found. This lead to the route being extended to Coogee before it commenced as there was plentiful layover space. Prior to March 2017, the route ran along Anzac Parade and High Street via UNSW. Due to CSELR construction, the service was rerouted via Alison Road and through Belmore Road in Randwick Junction. This rerouting has lead to a significant decline in patronage, as UNSW was the most major patronage generator along the route.

The M50 runs every 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 20 minutes on weekends. It operates between 6am and 8pm daily. It is operated by a fleet of articulated “bendy” buses from both Leichhardt and Randwick depots.

Happy Birthday to our loyal reader Jenny Roskov!

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Metrobus March – M41

Route M41 operates between Hurstville and Macquarie Park via Campsie, Burwood, Rhodes and Top Ryde. It was the ninth Metrobus Route to start operation. Services began on 19 December 2010.

In the 2013 “Sydney’s Bus Future” report, the M41 was designated as a rapid route, with priority to be given in terms of bus priority infrastructure and timetable upgrades.

The M41 runs every 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 20 minutes on weekends. It operates between 6am and 8pm daily.

The M41 is operated by a dedicated fleet of Volvo B12B buses with Custom Coaches CB60 from Burwood depot.