Scheduled railroad repairs to the Perth-to-Goldfields line have forced passengers booked on the popular but sometimes troubled Prospector to use buses after one of Kalgoorlie’s premier annual events, the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum.
Scheduled railroad repairs to the Perth-to-Goldfields line have forced passengers booked on the popular but sometimes troubled Prospector to use buses after one of Kalgoorlie’s premier annual events, the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum.
This Thursday is the day after the three-day forum wound-up and the line to Perth is closed for repairs.
The forum attracted a record 1400 miners, explorers, bankers, investors and mining services delegates to Kalgoorlie, with 150 of these from overseas and 500 from interstate.
Those booked to depart Kalgoorlie by train this Thursday were offered a bus service because of the track repair work.
But the bus option is considered by many business people to be inferior to the Prospector because the train offers travellers first class service.
A railways promotional pamphlet highlights the Prospector’s gilt popular-edged service, which even surpasses airline service.
“Business travellers will be able to get on with their work with access to telephones, facsimiles and personal power points for laptop computers,” it says.
Prospector patrons can even get gold class service which, although double the price of a normal fare, offers finer service.
State Opposition leader Matt Birney, who represents the Kalgoorlie seat, said he was concerned at ongoing interruptions to the Prospector’s service.
“I think the problem has been that the Government was in such a rush to have it fully operational before last election that due diligence wasn’t carried out,” Mr Birney said.
“I think there have been 16 or 17 breakdowns or other hold-ups so far.
“I’ve been told they’ve even had to wheel out the old Prospector.”
According to a Transwa spokesman, this Thursday’s line repair work was not Transwa’s fault but due to the line’s private operators, Westnet Rail, undertaking repairs.
“We’re certainly not overly happy about this, I can assure you,” the spokesman said.
“Since January 1, Transwa has had 576 Prospector services scheduled and, in that time, the new train has been withdrawn from service 10 times because of mechanical problems.
“This is a ‘reliability ratio’ of more than 98 per cent.
“On one occasion, the journey from Merredin to Kalgoorlie was completed by road coach because the driver noticed a bearing problem.
“This is the only time the new train broke down in service.
“On nine occasions, the old cars were used instead of the new trains.”
The State Government bought the first two Prospectors in May 2004 and they were in service the following month.
Just before last Christmas, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan announced the third Prospector would be officially accepted from Newcastle-based builders United Goninan (UG) on Christmas Eve.
“The new three-car set could be in service as early as next week, giving Transwa a back-up to the two trains already operating during the busy holiday seasons,” she said.
“The government made it clear that the third train would not be accepted until we were satisfied that UG had detailed plans to overcome the occasional problems with the first two trains, backed by an adequate performance bond.
“The manufacturer has now agreed to provide an additional $7million in security, which will be released once the problems are fully rectified.
“The impending handover is excellent news for commuters between Perth and the Goldfields, essentially providing a back up to existing Prospector services during the festive season and beyond.
“Under a $58-million contract, UG is supplying nine railcars - two two-car sets and a three-car set for the Prospector, and a two-car set for the AvonLink, which will service Northam and Merredin."
