Australia - railways, fares and incidents (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[grahame]

The Ghan - from Adeaide via Alice Springs to Darwin - is a train of extremes. How does it sit in each of these?

* Least frequent (realistic) commercial passenger service ?

* Longest journey ?

* and, it would seem, longest train - see The Telegraph

[Oxonhutch]

Also highly recommended. Did Alice Springs - Darwin in Gold Class in 2013. Very memorable.
The trains coaches used up most letters of the alphabet but my main problem was that they were not in alphabetical order!

[bobm]

I am not a huge fan of overseas travel, but that *is* one train I would like to experience.

[jdw.wor]

According to Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge!) The Ghan does not make it into the top 40 longest direct train journeys. The Trans Siberian being the longest at over 10000 km

[PhilWakely]

Also highly recommended. Did Alice Springs - Darwin in Gold Class in 2013. Very memorable.
The trains coaches used up most letters of the alphabet but my main problem was that they were not in alphabetical order!

I am not a huge fan of overseas travel, but that *is* one train I would like to experience.

I was lucky enough to spend some of my redundancy payment back in November 2009 on Gold Class trips on both the Ghan and Indian Pacific trains. Operated by the same company, the on-train experience on both is pretty much the same, but naturally the geography of each trip is very different. Either trip definitely comes very highly recommended, but if I had to choose one over the other, I would go for the Indian Pacific rather than the Ghan.

[JayMac]

On my bucket list too, when I win the lottery.

Getting there would be the main problem for me. Not a fan of such a long flight. Perhaps over land as far as possible.

[eightf48544]

Bnm try container ships.

One way would be.

Ship  UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to USA East Coast:  train to West Coast: ship Japan/China: ship Australia Darwin the start of the Ghan.

You may even get one direct to Australia from UK.

[ChrisB]

Following six years of planning, restoration of a 1949 heritage train and 3km of railway
line, the construction of two platforms and a train shed and the upcycling to produce the
world’s first solar train, the two carriage rail motor has today arrived in Byron Bay.

The monumental project comes from not-for-profit heritage rail organisation Byron Bay
Railroad Company. Their Byron Bay train will take locals and visitors between Byron
township and the burgeoning North Beach precinct incorporating the Byron Arts Estate,
the Sunrise residential community and Elements of Byron resort. The 3km journey along
the coastal track will cost just $3 for adults with some concessions provided for children.



This is another big milestone for the project and we’re just glad to see our beautiful train in its new Byron home. Even more so, we’re really looking forward to running first
passenger services and sharing this experience with residents and visitors soon.

The train, which has been fully refurbished in its heritage colours, seats 100 passengers
with additional room for standing passengers and luggage including prams and bicycles.
While there are some trains throughout the world with technology that allows them to
run parts of the train like lights and air conditioning on solar power, this is the first real train to run fully on power from the sun.

“This is an exciting world first, powering a train with solar power, day, night and in every type of weather” said John Grimes, Chief Executive of the Australian Solar Council. “It shows Australia’s fantastic sunshine can be harnessed in smart ways not just to power
our homes and businesses, but to address another pressing problem – cutting emissions
in the transportation sector.”

Byron Bay Railroad Company is hopeful that passenger services will commence pre
Christmas. In the meantime they will begin training the nineteen new local staff,
undertaking test runs and commissioning the new solar equipment.

“Solar doesn’t stand still” said Dan Cass, Strategist at The Australia Institute. “It has been growing exponentially for a decade and more solar PV generation capacity is being
installed than any other technology internationally. This train demonstrates that
Australian solar scientists and their innovations are changing the world”.

For more information visit www.byronbaytrain.com.au

[broadgage]

Interesting, but not perhaps as exciting as it appears initially.
It would seem to be a primarily battery powered train, with a limited contribution from train mounted PV modules.
The train is plugged into the mains at the depot to charge. The fact that the depot is equipped with a large roof mounted, grid tied PV array is good for sustainability, but nothing remarkable these days.

I expect to see more use of battery powered trains for branch or secondary routes, and perhaps also for short sections of main lines that are problematic to electrify, such as the sea wall at Dawlish.

I have previously suggested that PV modules be fitted to lightly used rolling stock on heritage lines, but that is to keep seldom used batteries in good condition, not to propel a train.

[Red Squirrel]

The Byron Bay Railroad Company has now carried over 100,000 passengers between North Beach and Byron Beach. Trains run hourly from 10.00 to 17.00, taking about 10 minutes for the 3km trip; speeds are similar to those achieved on a British heritage railway. The route is mostly very straight and very flat.

The company describes its operations as 'carbon positive'. Solar panels on their operational buildings produce up to 30kW, and those on the roof of the train can provide an additional 6.5kW; there is a significant energy surplus. The train also recovers about 25% of its energy through regenerative braking. The 77kWh traction battery holds sufficient energy for 12-15 runs without recharging.

The service is provided by a single two-car NSW class 600/700 unit, consisting of railmotor 661 and trailer 726.  One of the Cummins NT855-R2 diesel engines has been removed from 661 to make space for the battery; the other is retained as a backup.

These units may be particularly suitable for this mode of operation: they were built at Chullora Workshops (which had expertise in aircraft fabrication having built Bristol Beaufort bombers during the war) and consist of an aluminium body bolted to a lightweight steel frame.

Could this technology, or a version of it, be used in Britain?

[Western Pathfinder]

For those who would care to see it in operation
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1SafVI7vKs4.

[grahame]

Could this technology, or a version of it, be used in Britain?

Although since converted to 3rd rail, the locomotives on the Hythe Pier railway were originally battery operated, and the line is straight and flat like the Australian one ... the running time is not great - plenty of opportunity to recharge at either end of the pier.

One even wonders if the boat could charge at both piers ... similar energy surplus once the train has run as there is in Australia?   The only concern is the short days in winter and the fact it's a commuter service that runs in the dark; perhaps add a generator from wind, water or wave power under the pier too??

[Red Squirrel]

That's the beauty of electric traction - once you've adopted it, the next question is not 'whether' you decarbonise it, but 'how'...

[broadgage]

Yes, similar technology could be used in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).
I am a little doubtful about fitting solar panels to an existing train as cost, weight, and complication is thereby added and the output limited by shading and often not facing the sun.

A battery train charged from the mains might be better. Offseting the electricity used for charging by a large grid tied solar array on the roofs of depots or stations is better still.
A wind turbine is a worthwhile addition in a suitably windy location.
Ideally enough renewable electricity should be produced to offset ALL the electricity used by the transport undertaking, not just that used for traction, but also the electricity used for stations, depots, signalling and other purposes.

Similar arguments apply to ferries or other ships that make frequent short voyages.

[Red Squirrel]

Yes, similar technology could be used in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).
I am a little doubtful about fitting solar panels to an existing train as cost, weight, and complication is thereby added and the output limited by shading and often not facing the sun.

A battery train charged from the mains might be better. Offseting the electricity used for charging by a large grid tied solar array on the roofs of depots or stations is better still.
A wind turbine is a worthwhile addition in a suitably windy location.
Ideally enough renewable electricity should be produced to offset ALL the electricity used by the transport undertaking, not just that used for traction, but also the electricity used for stations, depots, signalling and other purposes.

Similar arguments apply to ferries or other ships that make frequent short voyages.

Actually I was being rather vague when I asked whether similar tech could be used here! What I meant was that I was wondering if any first-generation (sic) DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit), as used on some heritage lines, would be particularly suited to conversion to battery-electric. Doubtless the carbon emissions of steam engines don't make that much difference in the round, but it can only be a matter of time before people start to point fingers and ask questions...