Thanks for this video. I used to ride this line quite a lot during childhood, although the last time I travelled it as an adult was in 2007. That was in one of the old English Electrics. While they had mostly been replaced by the Hungarian Ganz-Mavag units (they in turn have been replaced by the Matangi units), they still served the Johnsonville Line (until 2012, I think) because it has a different track gauge to the other lines. Or the problem might have been that the Ganz-Mavag units were too powerful. For the Matangi units to use the J'ville line, they had to perform some upgrades on it. Although the old English Electric was rather hot and stuffy (it was a sunny summer or early autumn day), I'm so glad I got to ride it one more time before it went out of service. You mentioned a closed station, but that wasn't on the Johnsonville Line. The station in question was Kaiwharawhara, (pronounced kye-fara-fara), which was just out of Wellington and used to serve both the Kapiti and Hutt lines. I'm pretty sure that it was the only station on the Wellington network to serve two lines simultaneously. (Actually, I suppose it really served three, since the Melling Line branches off the Hutt Line.) The Johnsonville Line has had its eight stations since 1963 (when the most recent one, Crofton Downs, was built). The most scenic section of the Johnsonville Line (with the five tunnels) passes through the Ngaio Gorge. The tunnels all have names, incidentally. The first tunnel, with its 90-degree bend, is called "Outlet" (I guess because it's kind of the "outlet" into Wellington). The next one is Kaiwarra (an alternative name for Kaiwharawhara). Then comes "Gorge", because, well, it's in a gorge. The fourth and longest tunnel is called "Lizard" (no idea why). The fifth tunnel is "Ngaio", I guess because it's the "gateway" to Ngaio (Crofton Downs is considered part of Ngaio). The tunnel between Khandallah and Raroa stations is named Kaka (after a native New Zealand parrot). The final tunnel, just north of the Raroa station, is called Tui (after another native NZ bird, which has become quite common in Wellington after concerted efforts to eradicate predators). The Raroa station is unique in Wellington for having a tunnel right next to it. About the only other station in NZ that I can think of with a tunnel close to the platform is Arthur's Pass between Christchurch and Greymouth, which is a short distance from the eastern portal of the Otira Tunnel (easily visible from the station platform). Anyway, thanks once again for posting this.
My understanding was that the reason the Ganz-Mavag trains never served on the Johnsonville line was that they could barely squeeze through the curved tunnels, and their brakes weren't up to dealing with the steep grades. You may be thinking of the "loading gauge" difference between the Johnsonville line and the Kapiti / Hutt/ Melling lines, not the track gauge (which is the Kiwirail 3 foot 6 in gauge).
The train stations in Perth all had platform gaps like what you saw once upon a time. All stations once had significant horizontal and vertical gaps owing to legacy construction standards and many stations still have steep ramp access too, making them not fully accessible. There are still stations in Perth with significant horizontal and vertical gaps, but nothing like what you'll come across anywhere else in Australia or pretty much anywhere else in the world. When you return to Brisbane, pay close attention as almost all stations have platforms that are up to 30cm below the level of the train doors and many stations have horizontal gaps of over 20cm.
Just to clear up some info in this video for anyone wondering JVL use to be part of the main trunk line before the tawa flat deviation(large tunnels on the kapti line) now ending at JV EMU D/DM the first EMU of welington nearest presenter to JVL is in silverstream herrtiage railway EM/ST GANZ purchased for the whole wellington network in use till 2016 FP/FT MATANGI current locomotive Find some more info online just some more to do with class names etc
I’ve just been to Auckland for few days already, and the gaps are more narrower, however the cars on both ends are not accessible (generally have 3 car or 6 car sets), the middle car is a fully accessible car so the wheelies can get in or out in a more convenient way.
Actually peak travel is every 15 minutes - I just checked the timetable. They couldn't do more frequently than that anyway on this line, as there are only three passing loops.
@@allanmarsh1 It used to be 12 minutes with the old trains. The new trains aren't really optimised for good performance on tight curves and serious grades, and the speed was cut to reduce wheel screech. I think with a two-platform JVille station, more light-rail-esque rolling stock, and maybe some changes at the Welllington end, you could achieve 10-minute headways. Might look at merging Box Hill and Simla Crescent because they're only 300m apart. 6 trains per hour is perfectly respectable. A dedicated fleet for the JVille line alone isn't going to happen though; you might be able to see a light-rail fleet shared between JVille and something going south of the city if that ever happens.
@@user-ne4qx9zg3t They can fill them (sometimes) and can often fill six-car sets, so seems reasonable enough. Due to the tight curves, the Matangi carriages are somewhat shorter and carry fewer people than typical medium-distance carriages elsewhere. Signalling and track layout limits the ability to run many trains per hour so to some extent the network relies on train size to hit passenger volume, not frequency.
Only people transferring to them on the only open line but not actually on board. I really should have gone on the replacement bus for the long line though, that's like two hours and takes some insane roads over the hills in a double-decker it would've been so cool
Since the bus routes were overhauled in 2018 the Johnsonville line is a lot less useful than it used to be.... even though buses got worse for other suburbs they got a lot better in the parts of town the Jville line serves, which might be why so few people are using it
To be honest with you, our Johnsonville line as perfectly suitable for tourist. It's NOT a proper line for serious commutes for general day to day for work or even shopping. Trains still need to stop at certain points waiting for another train which travels an opposite direction on the same track to pass! That is a joke in comparison to.... any railway network esp. Sydney.
Would be great to see more trains in use. Even on the South Island between the major towns. Flying is a problem when you have to fly via the South Island to the North Island just to travel. Sure is time-consuming. Keeping the people moving in the right direction. Keep up the great service.
@@TransportofPerth Our Johnsonville line IS WAY BEHIND compare to Sydney, Hong Kong's MTR AND London underground tube (not really underground but still). They ALL go to EVERY stations generally WITHOUT needing to stop for an oncoming train to pass!
