Electrification to Craigieburn

Some pictures from this morning's start of electrified rail service on the Craigieburn line. A mixture of locals, enthusiasts, activists and media were present to see the Premier officially open the service.

Today's opening was the second extension of electrified rail service this decade and follows the Sydenham electrification on 27 January 2002. This compares to one electrification in the 1990s, when sparks were extended to Cranbourne (but removed from Warragul).

1. First passenger train from Melbourne at Craigieburn.

2. Front of Craigieburn Station. Crowds are gathering for a sausage sizzle and band.

Bus interchange at Craigieburn. Four bays are provided. The interchange is seperated from the plaform by two fences and transferring passengers enter via the main entrance near the car park.

4. The Minister's entourage alights from the train - cameramen first!

5. An overflowing crowd listens to hear speeches from Premier John Brumby and Transport Minister Lynne Kosky.

6. Entry to Roxburgh Park Station.

7. Walkway of Roxburgh Park Station.

8. Station sign.

9. View from the platform.

10. A view of the island platform.

11. Bus arrangements. Rather than having allocated bays (such as at Craigieburn), passengers board buses at a single location.

Transperth SmartRider: A user review

The last part of this Transperth special will test the SmartRider smartcard ticketing. This is very relevant for Melbourne as we will be getting a similar system called Myki.

Comments here relate to standard (full-fare) SmartRiders; different arrangements apply to concession SmartRiders issued to students and seniors. These notes are my impressions gained from three days of travel throughout the Transperth network. Background information and a user guide can be found on the Transperth website SmartRider section.

Obtaining SmartRider

SmartRider can be got from a Transperth InfoCentre (these are located in Perth CBD or retail sales outlet. With 40 suburban outlets, the SmartRider sales network is smaller than the old Multirider network which comprised most delis and newsagents. SmartRiders last indefinitely so passengers would need to make only one special trip to obtain one.

The minimum outlay for a standard SmartRider is $20. This comprises the $10 card cost and a minimum $10 of travel credits. The $10 card cost isn't completely 'dead money' however since it allows you to go into negative balance.

Tagging on and tagging off

Passenger obligations are stated on the Transperth website. Very simply you tag on at the beginning of your trip and tag off at the end if you pass a SmartCard reader. There are some minor exceptions and variations, generally dealing with train/bus transfers and interchanges where both the station and bus interchange are in the same fare-paid area.

You can walk through somewhere like Perth Station if you have a SmartRider - if you don't linger for too long you will not be charged a fare. Previously Perth Station was 'open' and anyone could enter and leave without a ticket.

There are trips where you don't tag off at the distant location. An example might be travelling to a suburban interchange (such as Warwick) for transport study purposes. You don't leave the fare paid area so don't tag off there. 20 minutes later you return back to Perth and tag off there. In this case I was charged a $1.50 default fare on return and there is no way of the system knowing how far I went.

In one case I tagged on/off too many times when transferring from a bus to a train. The result was that the barriers at Perth wouldn't open on my exit. This was cured by an attendant (which are at all barriers) tagging on so I could tag off.

Boarding and alighting

Bus boarding is fairly quick assuming two queues at the door. The left queue is for people who need service from the driver (purchasing paper tickets, topping up, enquiries). The right queue provides fast entry for those who just need to scan a SmartRider.

I didn't test this, but given that people adding value also need to go over to the reader to tag on, this might slow boarding.

Passengers were generally used to tagging off. However it was not possible to assess how many didn't tag off but should have. A possible risk is that people who misplace their wallet during the trip (eg put it in their bag) may delay the bus while the driver waits for them to tag off.

Ticket inspections

I was asked for my ticket once when using SmartRider (towards the end of a night train trip to Fremantle). Transit officers carry small card readers that scan tickets. These operate quickly and are probably faster than visually checking paper tickets and then asking about zones or concession entitlements. Inspectors don't need to physically see a SmartRider and are quite willing to scan through wallets, etc.

Adding value

The biggest discounts (25%) apply if you choose to have your SmartRider automatically topped up ('autoloaded') from your bank account. Adding value manually is meant to give a 15% discount on most cash fares - we'll discuss this in detail later.

Fourteen locations (twelve stations and two bus terminals) have 'add-value' machines. Payment is by EFTPOS only at twelve of these locations, with Perth and Fremantle also having machines that take notes.

Compared to Melbourne (where nearly all of its 200+ stations have ticket vending machines that take coins, selected notes and EFTPOS) this is a very small network with limited payment options. The assumption appears to be that most passengers will opt for autoload, internet/telephone payment or add value elsewhere.

Perth's less extensive rail system and generally better bus/train co-ordination means that a higher proportion of Perth train passengers arrive at the station by bus than in Melbourne. This and the limited station facilities makes the ability to add value on buses very important.

Bus drivers accept notes for the purpose of adding value and will add the full value of the note presented (ie no change given). This was my preferred method of adding value. It worked well.

The passenger puts their card on the driver's ticket machine and gives the driver a note. The card is then topped up and the driver gives the passenger a receipt (which is not a ticket).

The trap in this is that unlike buying a ticket on a Melbourne tram (which is pre-validated) topping up on a bus does not also tag on for you. Hence after topping-up you must still tag on. Failure to do so may result in you being charged a higher default (penalty) fare.

No use was made of adding value by telephone or internet. However having to register with BPay appears to be an unnecessary complication and makes use less convenient than dealing directly, as Metlink does with its phone and internet Metcard sales. The other disadvantage of BPay is that payment is not immediate and may take up to five working days to come through.

Registering SmartRider

Passengers buying Standard SmartRiders can elect to register their card. The benefits of this are twofold; (i) if you lose your card you can prevent others from using it and (ii) review your travel and fares charged online (more later).

Registering can be done online, by phone or by filling out a form and dropping it into a SmartRider outlet. This form requires your name, home address and a SmartRider password. The password is limited to a few choices such as your town of birth or a favourite colour, presumably so that you can be prompted if you forget it.

I lodged a paper registration form last Saturday but in hindsight this wasn't necessary as I registered online yesterday.

Viewing your travel patterns on the web

A major attraction of SmartRider is being able to view your travel patterns (and fares charged) on the web. To take advantage of this feature you need to:

* Register your SmartRider
* Register with TravelEasy on the Transperth website

Registering SmartRider has been discussed previously. Registering for TravelEasy requires you to provide a user name and password. There is a warning that the TravelEasy password is different to your SmartRider password but I used the same password for both with no ill effects.

Needing two passwords is a burden that contributes to user attrition and disengagement (especially if users are returning to a service after not using it for a while). It would be desirable if Transperth was able to combine these passwords and have only one for all its relationships with a customer.

A quirk was the address information required when registering for TravelEasy.

Strangely they only want your street name, not your house number and street name. This information requested is incomplete so they aren't going to need it to write to you; maybe it's a form of cross-checking against your full address provided when you registered for SmartRider.

When it comes to entering your suburb you can choose from a drop-down menu. This lists all Perth suburbs with an 'other' at the top of the list. This is good in that they made provision for country and interstate passengers. However selecting 'other' does not provide a space to type in your suburb, so again it can't be that important.

The first thing I tried was to enter my (Melbourne) street in the street field and selected 'other' in the suburb list. This didn't work and I couldn't register. I then exited and tried my (Melbourne) street in a Perth suburb (I picked Alexander Heights - the first on the list). Despite the fictional address it worked and I could successfully view my SmartRider records.

As a user-interface this is very buggy and raises more questions than answers. Why request only partial information such as addresses missing house numbers? Why allow an 'other' selection but neither provide a window to enter the data? Why allow an 'other' selection but not allow it to work? Why force the user to enter wrong data to make it work?

However once these foibles have been got around the SmartRider travel record display was very good and one can print or save the data.

Travel data

Shown below is a data extract for travel on September 3, 2007.

To make it clearer, the trips made were as follows:

* Victoria Park - Perth
* Perth - Rockingham
* Rockingham - Safety Bay (actually the same bus as the above but tagged off and on anyway)
* Safety Bay - Rockingham
* Rockingham - Rockingham Beach
* Rockingham - Fremantle
* Fremantle - McIver
* McIver - Carlisle
* East Victoria Park - Victoria Park

The formatting you'll see below isn't as good as on the Transperth website. The salient details are date, time, route number, location, zones and remaining balance. Data is presented in reverse order.

Sep 3 2007 5:49PM 000026 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 177T 1 11730 ALBANY b Mcmillan 0 NORMAL Stored Value 6.83

Sep 3 2007 5:47PM 000025 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER BUS 177T 1 11727 ALBANY b Kent 6.83

Sep 3 2007 5:47PM 000024 Synthetic TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 177T 1 11727 ALBANY b Kent 0 DEFAULT Stored Value 6.83

Sep 3 2007 5:00PM 000023 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER RAIL 1 2782 Carlisle 6.83

Sep 3 2007 4:45PM 000022 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value RAIL 0 2777 McIver 0 NORMAL Stored Value 6.83

Sep 3 2007 4:44PM 000021 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER RAIL 0 2777 McIver 6.83

Sep 3 2007 4:44PM 000020 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value RAIL 0 2777 McIver -1.53 NORMAL Stored Value 6.83

Sep 3 2007 4:11PM 000019 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER RAIL 2 2773 Fremantle 8.36

Sep 3 2007 4:08PM 000018 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 126T 3 10431 FREMANTLE S4 -3.57 NORMAL Stored Value 8.36

Sep 3 2007 3:25PM 000017 Normal TAG ON INITIAL BUS 126T 5 16788 ROCKINGHAM S6 11.93

Sep 3 2007 12:18PM 000016 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 113F 6 17217 KENT b Patterson 0 NORMAL Stored Value 11.93

Sep 3 2007 12:03PM 000015 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER BUS 113F 6 16784 ROCKINGHAM S2 11.93

Sep 3 2007 11:24AM 000014 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 117T 6 16792 ROCKINGHAM S10 -2.20 DEFAULT Stored Value 11.93

Sep 3 2007 11:24AM 000013 Synthetic TAG ON INITIAL BUS 117T 6 21406 GR OCN a Tryall 14.13

Sep 3 2007 11:14AM 000012 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 117T 6 17346 SFTY BY b Vista 0 NORMAL Stored Value 14.13

Sep 3 2007 10:41AM 000011 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER BUS 117F 6 21358 CHARTH a Coral 14.13

Sep 3 2007 10:33AM 000010 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 117F 6 16792 ROCKINGHAM S10 -4.00 NORMAL Stored Value 14.13

Sep 3 2007 9:46AM 000009 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER BUS 866F 1 12228 BUSPORT A7 18.13

Sep 3 2007 8:55AM 000008 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value RAIL 0 2776 Perth 0 NORMAL Stored Value 18.13

Sep 3 2007 8:51AM 000007 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER RAIL 0 2776 Perth 18.13

Sep 3 2007 8:50AM 000006 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value RAIL 0 2776 Perth 0 NORMAL Stored Value 18.13

Sep 3 2007 8:49AM 000005 Normal TAG ON TRANSFER RAIL 0 2776 Perth 18.13

Sep 3 2007 8:38AM 000004 Normal TAG OFF - Stored Value BUS 211T 0 10087 ST GEORGES SM -1.87 NORMAL Stored Value 18.13

Sep 3 2007 8:20AM 000003 Normal TAG ON INITIAL BUS 211T 1 10067 SHEPPER a Axon 20.00

Fare calculation

"SmartRider is designed to always calculate the lowest fare applicable" Transperth SmartRider Guide, page 21.

The day started with $20.00 balance and ended with $6.83 balance, or a SmartRider fare of $13.17.

This compares with a cash fare of only $10.30. I calculate this on the basis of a $2.20 zone 1 ticket for the pre-9am travel then an $8.10 daily for the rest of the day.

My estimation is that the cap should have been reached during the Perth - Fremantle trip. This trip should have attracted a lower charge, with subsequent trips charged at $0.00.

Had everything worked properly, the correct total SmartRider fare would have been only $9.97. This is calculated by adding the daily fare of $8.10 to the pre-9am $1.87 fare (see Transperth fare table). This is a difference of more than 30% on the actual fare charged and leads one to doubt to quote above.

The proof of the pudding: Does SmartRider guarantee the best fare?

The short answer, based on my brief experience, is no!

While SmartRider may be acceptable for people making two regular trips a day, complex travel can confuse the operation of the fare cap. And the amounts concerned are not trivial, with the difference over 30% in the example above.

Passengers travelling a lot in a day are safer buying an $8.10 cash daily so there can be no chance of overcharging. This is even if they start before 9am and need to purchase an extra ticket for any early trips.

More testing will need to be done to confirm whether this is a one-off or a regular ocurrence with SmartRider; usage on the other two days approached but did not exceed the daily fare cap so was not a fair test.

Transperth observations - other

The following are other observations (mainly to do with passenger information) that were not captured in the pictures posted yesterday.

In-bus information

* Bus timetables racks were found to be well-stocked. These typically have timetables the route being travelled on plus several other nearby routes.

Buses include signs advising passengers to tag off.

Train announcements

* Train 'next station' announcements are as follows:
- Now approaching X
- Now approaching X
- This is X (and mention of termination if appropriate)

* Announcements at Glendalough Station advise passengers to transfer for the Scarborough bus. There was some movement to rename Glendalough a few years ago, but this was (wisely) rejected in favour of adding the Scarborough announcement.

* When a train reaches its terminus automated announcements ask that passengers take luggage with them and encourage people to report unattended luggage (if you see something say something anti-terrorism campaign). Signs warn that unattended luggage will be confiscated.

In-train signage

* Train network maps are provided above the windows. These include the soon to be opened Mandurah line in faint.

* Poster cases are provided on trains. These perform a similar role to poster cases at stations in Melbourne. Posters on-board trains typically include (i) fare information, (ii) service announcements, (iii) rail safety messages, (iv) advice that transit officers have similar powers to police, (v) promotion of TransWA country travel, (vi) recruitment advertising for transit officers and (vii) prohibited luggage.

Digital displays inside trains not only mention the next station but also point to the side of the train to alight from and finally 'Doors Closing'.

Trains - other aspects

* All trains boarded were on time.

* Trains are generally 3 cars for the Joondalup line and 2 cars for the other lines.

* Many carriages have longitudinal seating. It was not always possible to get a seat but at all times travelled there was plenty of standing room.

Station dwell times are typically 18 to 20 seconds (night travel, Fremantle line). This was measured from stopping to starting - doors would have been open for no more than 15 seconds.

* Scale of crowds and patronage is about 1/5 that of Melbourne. This is likely to rise to almost 1/3 once the Mandurah line opens.

* Strict rules apply to some aspects of on-train conduct. Unlike in Melbourne eating and drinking are banned. Posters advise that certain items that have potential to be used in acts of vandalism (eg screwdrivers, paint brushes and paint) cannot be carried.

Interchanges

* Some interchanges have buses within the same fare-paid area as trains. At Kelmscott buses run on to the train platform. At Warwick buses are a short escalator above the train platform.

* Escalators at Perth stations operate faster than those in Melbourne CBD stations (even during peak periods). Warning signs ask people to be beware of these 'rapid transit' escalators.

* Passenger information at a bus/train interchange such as Warwick includes:
- Area transport map
- Train departures
- Bus departures (listed in order of time)
- List of suburbs accessible from station and routes that serves it
- Directory of route numbers and stand departures
- Racks for timetables

The above are all located where people enter or leave the station. In addition multi-route timetables and schematic route maps are provided at each bus stand around the station. Information of a similar standard was noted at other interchanges such as Cannington, Clarkson, Esplanade Busport, Fremantle and WSBS.

* Rockingham Bus Station lacked the above comprehensive maps and information, but there may have been a reluctance to install facilities that will soon be removed when the railway opens.

* Perth Station currently has notices advising that there have/will be changes, some signs have become misleading and incorrect, and information will shortly be revamped and updated.

* Stations at which not all trains stop (eg East Perth) have announcements warning that the next train does not stop there and for passengers to stand clear.

Station access and surrounds

* Victoria Park has no access other than wooden stairs so is therefore inaccessible. Plans are afoot to build a new station south of the existing location.

* Stations are often well connected to buses but have poor pedestrian access to surrounding houses and shops. This is an inherent problem with freeway median transit systems but was also apparent elsewhere, eg Kelmscott Station (to the east), Carlisle Station (west of Shepparton Rd) and Curtin University Interchange (north along Hayman Rd).

* The removal of the unused walkway to Albert Facey House will improve visibility of Perth Station from Forrest Place.

* Joondalup cannot be considered a genuinely successful transit oriented development as the 'main street' is remote from the station. It also lacks the activity of many local centres in suburban Melbourne with less active banks, accountants and offices predominating. The Lakeside shopping centre near the station is currently being expanded, but, being a Sunday, there was little activity.

* Clarkson Station has good visibilty from the surrounding transit oriented residential development. This comprises townhouses of not particularly high density. Only one retail establishment was seen though more may be built as the development is still unfinished. Areas further from the station towards the sea are already developed as conventional suburban housing.

Transperth Passenger Information: suburban areas

More pictures, this time around suburban stations and bus stops.

1. Bus stop on Safety Bay Road. Stops are now uniquely numbered.

2. Bus stop in Albany Highway, Victoria Park. The front shows routes and a schematic diagram of routes. A multi-route composite timetable is provided on the rear.

3. Map of bus routes at Cannington Station. These maps are provided at all major suburban stations and bus interchanges.

Train times are shown on a similar board nearby, aligned to face passengers walking up to the station. Bus times are listed on the rear, intended to be visible to alighting train passengers.

4. Passenger information at Thornlie. Comprises area transport map plus a self-serve rack with local train and bus timetables. Larger racks, stocked with all metropolitan timetables, are provided at major CBD stations and interchanges such as East Perth.

5. Platform communications system at Joondalup. The four buttons are as follows L-R: (i) Talk to Transperth for travel assistance, (ii) time of next train from Perth, (iii) time of next train to Perth, (iv) Report emergency.

6. Next train display at Cannington. Stopping patterns are given a lettered code shown on these displays and paper timetables.

7. Train arrival information provided at the new Clarkson Station. These displays are installed at each bus bay.

8. Clarkson Station. The surrounding area is currently being developed for housing as part of a transit oriented development. The visibility of the station is enhanced by its street-end location and the prominent sign in front.

9. Taxi shelter at Armadale Station. This is located outside the station near the bus interchange. Contact numbers are prominently displayed.

10. The spotless pit at Cannington Station. Visible graffiti is rare and vandalism is generally in the form of window scratching (which is a severe problem on trains and buses). Train posters prohibit passengers from carrying items that could be used in acts of vandalism (including screwdrivers and paint brushes) while signs on buses warn that drivers are equipped with DNA test kits to identify spitting passengers.

Close-up of the station pit rail safety warning sign. These signs are provided throughout the network, with a campaign being run in the southern suburbs to coincide with the opening of the new Mandurah line.

Transperth Passenger Information: CBD area

Following are some pictures taken of passenger information facilities during a recent trip to Perth. In recent years Perth has made big strides in its passenger information and has done much that other cities can learn from.

1. Perth Railway Station. Passenger Information Displays are visible above the platforms.

2. Map at the Esplanade Busport. Includes network schematic and guide to facilities.

3. Close-up of the network schematic. This includes (i) the suburban rail network, (ii) Circle Route, (iii) the most frequent bus routes, and (iv) other important bus routes.

4. Detailed transport map at Wellington Street Bus Station. The one pictures is for the northern suburbs; nearby is a similar map for the south. These maps are installed at suburban railway stations in positions where they can be seen by alighting passengers.

5. A large composite multi-route timetable listing all passing buses in time order. This example is located at the Victoria Park Bus Station just across the Causeway from Perth CBD.