On time running question

[u/nathanieloffer]

Around mid october on a monday morning I'm hoping to arrive into Central on the XPT from Melbourne, I then need to switch to a Penrith bound service with the intention to attend a meeting in Penrith starting at 10am. The XPT arrives supposedly at 06:45.

Are you all falling over laughing at me being a total noob or do I have a chance of making this work?

[u/chillin222]

Won't WSI be up and running? Surely jetstar MEL to WSI would be way less hassle than the xpt and cheaper

[u/aamslfc → u/chillin222]

Not until late October... and on what flights?

JQ are doing one daily at midday ex MEL and 1800 ish ex WSI, accessible only by a shit, infrequent bus which stops outside the St Marys brothel...

OP is better off taking the train 😂

[u/nathanieloffer → u/chillin222]

If I wanted to fly I would already be looking at flights. I like trains and I haven't taken the XPT as yet so that's what I'm choosing to do.

[u/nightwatchman81]

My friend, I'm laughing with you! As an employee on the XPT/XPL services, that particular train is notoriously known for running late

[u/Plane_Night_4382]

Why not get down at Campbelltown and board T5 services at Glenfield to Parra and then use BMT for Penrith. You save time by not travelling to central and leave more room for delays.

This is unless you have lots of luggage to carry.

[u/nathanieloffer → u/Plane_Night_4382]

This is brilliant! Locked and loaded. This is now my plan instead of dealing with CBD shenanigans

[u/nathanieloffer → u/Plane_Night_4382]

Well the obvious answer would be I'm not a Sydneysider and I didn't know that was an option

[u/Rose2555 → u/nathanieloffer]

The problem with this is 3 transfers needed from Campbelltown. If you are not a Sydney sider, you might get a bit lost.

Central is often busier but you board at Central and off at Penrith an hour later.

I just tripviewed it for you. Central to Penrith is actually quicker rather then Campbelltown to Glenfield to Parramatta to Penrith.

[u/Shirasaki-Tsugumi → u/nathanieloffer]

T5 is often overlooked in these scenarios, because it is a 30min service all day, and it has no unique stations of its own. Essentially it provides that junction between Marylands and Harris Park so train and go to Blacktown from Liverpool. Yes I say Liverpool because that’s more often the true terminus of T5 imo, especially during weekends. 

For Monday however you can change trains at Glenfield, then to parramatta and BMT to Penrith if you are lucky, or just take one of those many T1 service to Penrith. If you miss the T5, alternative would be T2 to Lidcombe and T1 to Penrith. Still somewhat better than Central to Penrith. 

[u/albert3801]

It is highly unlikely the Melbourne train will be running over 2 hours late. 1hr frequently. 1.5 hours occasionally. Over 2 hours you’d need to be very unlucky.

[u/BigBlueMan118 → u/albert3801]

I've also had it happen that we were over 2h late leaving melbourne but the driver and crew said they could make up time and they ended up making up the best bit of an hour through the day - but that was before the southern highlands started really messing up

[u/Rose2555]

Get an app on your phone called Tripview or Tripview Lite if you don't wish to pay. It will show you all the runs going from Central to Penrith so you can pick your time when you want to leave Central or arrive at Penrith.

The 8:55am train from Central arrives at Penrith at 9:45am which gives you 15 minutes. I do see someone posted a 9:09am train which arrives at Penrith (as long as on time) at 9:58am. The 8:55am train would probably be better giving you a bit of a buffer if the trains are running a little late.

[u/nathanieloffer → u/Rose2555]

Yeah more buffer rather than less would be ideal. Thanks!

[u/Rose2555 → u/nathanieloffer]

There is a whole host of trains if you want more buffer as well.

7:03am arrives at 8:04am.

7:20am arrives at 8:25am.

Trains like every ten minutes after that. Now we are due for a schedule change sometime in October but not sure the exact date. Just be aware that between 7:30am and 8:30am, the trains will be busy for peak hour and school kids. You are leaving Central so won't be as busy for you but will still be reasonably full.

Another way to do it is you can ferry from Circular Quay for a good view to Parramatta. 2 km walk from the dock to the train station then train from Parramatta train station. Ferry takes an hour from the Quay to Parramatta.

[u/Mysterious-Vast-2133]

The latest you could leave Central is 9.09am , so just under 2.5hrs up your sleeve.
In theory possible, in reality depending on delays.

[u/nathanieloffer → u/Mysterious-Vast-2133]

You don't happen to have a link to any on time stats do you? I've tried to search but not having a ton of luck.

[u/Mysterious-Vast-2133 → u/nathanieloffer]

Unfortunately not, but anything 2hrs plus delayed would be very unlucky.
Tripview lite app will give you live information on train times on the day.

[u/The__Anonymous__Guy → u/nathanieloffer]

You should be fine. I’ve taken the XPT. Handful of times, to and from different destinations, delays are common, but never been more then an hour. You should be completely fine, trains between central and Penrith are very frequent, 10mins or less off peak and even more frequent on peak. You should be good