Alex Gooding

An independent consultant specialising in advocacy, strategic planning & organisation development

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@JustInSyd2011 @k_eagar @LRussellWolpe This is a great representation of the issue. Is it OK to use and discuss this in a blog post, and who is the source?

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@aussiewongm @OperationalInc1 NSW intercity DD trains have a lot more capacity than V/line trains but not as much as Sydney suburban trains. However, they are not swamped as they only run to Central which is not as close to the CBD as Southern Cross is in Melbourne, so you have to change trains anyway. 2/2

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@aussiewongm @OperationalInc1 One difference is that in NSW the intercity trains are a distinct category of DD EMUs that also function as limited-stop expresses which anyone can use within the metro area. The exception is a small number of SD DMU services with limited capacity (eg, the Bathurst Bullet). 1/2

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@OperationalInc1 See my other response re restrictions on boarding or alighting from some NSW Intercity DMU (but not DD EMU) services in the Sydney metro area, though I don’t know if anyone’s been fined for this in recent years.

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul @fantasydneyrail I was never a fan of the way in which the LNP govt implemented the metros, but these projects are now far too big to fail. They could be tweaked however, esp. the no. of stations on Metro W, which looks like a very expensive express train with more stops in east than west Sydney

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul @fantasydneyrail SMH are saying Minns has ruled out cancelling the Bankstown line conversion but the government thinks completion will be pushed beyond 2025 and will cost an extra $1bn. Interesting that he’s thinking of extra stations on Metro W despite the cost. https://t.co/tu7x6QUUDc

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul 4 It’s drawing a very long bow to blame Minns for the potential rise of the hard right. A right wing Fed LNP govt also lost, as did a right-wing opposition in Vic. And if the LNP go down that route they will completely lose younger voters.

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul 3 I agree that Perrottet unlike Morrison had some principles and his government has actually invested in infrastructure and made some major social and env reforms, but I think people also remember the extraordinary levels of pork barrelling & jobs for the boys, etc under the LNP

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul 2 yes, Labor have a poor history re public transport projects, but they’ve committed to 3 of the 5 metros Perrottet “promised”. And he really committed just to do the business cases - there is just no way any government could commence 5 metros at once, so that was an LNP con

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul While I agree about gambling reform, re the other points:
1 Removing the salary cap was a major & symbolic issue for a lot of frontline public sector workers. As they say at the end of the film “Sunday too far Away”, “it’s not the bloody money, it’s the bloody principle”…

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

That’s it - farewell Twitter, I’m out of here.

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@deayton_kerry @mjrowland68 @SciNate The decision was down to the BBC selling out to Disney.

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@old_IT_man @mjrowland68 @SciNate @AlboMP Not a failure by the ABC - they were vastly outbid by Disney

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@matty_downunder @TheDailySledge @mjrowland68 @SciNate @ABCaustralia Yes, inasmuch as politics is involved it’s the Tory pressure on the BBC to cut costs and to the line that has led to this, not any decision by the ABC.

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@cmallet @BWRyan1994 @mjrowland68 @SciNate Yes I know the ABC has become hopelessly right wing but with Morrison gone there’s hope for it yet. (BTW the Dr Who decision was down to the BBC, not the ABC).

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@igoratkins @mjrowland68 @SciNate Cybermen were much scarier than Daleks

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@baltoria SD trains might make sense at the Bondi Jcn end, less so at Waterfall/Cronulla. They’d have to be v. high frequency though, as current DD trains are packed. Probably should have introduced DD only on longer distance lines (eg, main west, north & south) in the 1st place.

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@Sydney_Stations Part of the issue is that there are too few stations too far apart esp on the metro lines, so the government maximises development around them with massive towers. Bradfield’s planned ESR & inner west rail lines would have led to a more even city-wide rise in density, like London

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul I think a lot of the problems are down to poor specification & quality control during manufacture. In reality there are few strictly “off the shelf” trains, trams etc. Most have to be adapted to local conditions, but this doesn’t seem to have been done well in NSW. 2/2

[Alex Gooding @Alexsg200]

@bambul I agree with many of your points, esp the need for a national rather than state-based approach to local manufacture. However, Gladys claiming that NSW people “aren’t very good at making trains” and that buying “off the shelf” overseas is always best & cheapest was wrong. 1/2