Electric Trains

Mr WINGARD (Mitchell) (15:06): Supplementary, sir: given that the minister has talked about the extra train carriages that we have now and having to link two three-car sets together to make a bigger service, how many stations on the southern lines are not long enough to actually hold two three-car sets stuck together, so that the last train hangs over the edge and people can't get on and off that carriage?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning, Minister Assisting the Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (15:07): Perhaps just to address a couple of the ways in which that question was framed, it is not the need to couple two three-car EMU sets, it is the desire to couple these train sets together in an effort to provide a substantially larger service for a train movement into the city.

An honourable member: How many won't fit?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Yes, I'm coming to that. We've got some time left. Off the top of my head, I think there are some 22 or perhaps 24 stops along the Seaford line and, with the limited stop service that we introduced in, I think, July last year, those limited stops were focused to be those stops where we had the highest numbers of patrons using the trains. I think five are in the limited stop service.

Mr Picton: Six.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Six. I'm corrected by the member for Kaurna who, of course, is a frequent train traveller—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Not for long—and of course we make our decisions to run those larger services, as we have been for the Footy Express services in particular, to make best use of those six-car set equivalents. There will never be any intention of running those double-carred services, particularly during limited stop express runs into the city at each station. The fact that we can't accommodate these six-car sets along every station on the Seaford line should be of no alarm to people. This is a—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: At least the member for Unley got a good view, Mr Speaker. With that, I conclude my remarks.