Fare prices have risen, but right now are displayed almost nowhere on the PT system.
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Where are the prices?
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Farewell 2025
I can’t quite believe the year is over already. 66 blog posts this year (plus this one). The most viewed, if I’m reading the stats right, were all transport posts: Also top of the pops were the home page, a 2018 post about what the rail map will look like with the Metro tunnel open ... [More]
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Mind the gaps: trains and cricket
Extra trains for events still don’t fill the gaps on Sunday mornings
I’m a bit behind posting my ten year old photos, so here’s a batch from November and December 2015. We had a trip to Sydney – Central Station’s concourse always looks a bit more appealing to me than those at Southern Cross or Flinders Street. Museum Station in Sydney has that 1920s aesthetic Sydney was ... [More]
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A small win
This has been an issue for decades: the quickest way into Flinders Street station from the north, the Campbell Arcade/Degraves Street subway taking you under the road, had zero signage to direct you there. Unless you knew, how would you guess it takes you to the station? I seem to recall being told there was ... [More]
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Bondi
At this time of year, my local Coles and Woolies each have a menorah on display – a candlestick with nine (electric) candles, with one more lit each day of Hanukkah. I’m sure it’s the same in other suburbs with significant Jewish populations. It might be hundreds of kilometres away, but the awful events at ... [More]
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West Gate Tunnel impacts
Very busy at the moment – and still trying to get the Europe blogs done. So here’s a quick one. The West Gate Tunnel opens on Sunday – despite the name it’s a mostly elevated road connecting the West Gate Freeway to CityLink, but also with exits to the docks and to Melbourne’s CBD. The ... [More]
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Metro tunnel opening day!
Some observations: Lots of people riding the new line, despite the weather. The stations are looking great. Some hiccups with escalator faults and at one stage a disruption near Anzac station (apparently due to trespassers near Hawksburn). No issues that I saw with the 7-car trains stopping at the front of the future-proofed 10-car length ... [More]
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Who’s got bank card fare payment?
Perth is about to join the list
So now we know the when Metro Tunnel will open: Sunday 30th of November, with a temporary timetable dubbed the “Summer Start” – then the full service commencing on Sunday 1st February 2026. Summer free rides I’ve been told by the State Government that the previously advertised free fares on weekends in December and January ... [More]
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Back from Europe!
Hello from an aeroplane somewhere between Milan and Singapore – I’m posting this from the air, lucky enough to be returning from a European holiday, my first time overseas since 2017. This time we stayed in three countries, five cities, visited three other cities, saw incredible architecture, famous landmarks, amazing old town streets, stunning scenery, ... [More]
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The aging iPhone
(Not a transport post. Skip this if you’re not interested in my other ramblings.) Have been busy, but here is a follow-up on a post from when I last bought a phone – an iPhone 13 in late 2021, which is now coming up to 4 years old. What’s that in dog years? My aim ... [More]
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Heading south: Lyon to Arles
In our last exciting instalment, SNCF had cancelled one of our trains for today. I’d scoured the web, and worked out an alternative plan to get us from Lyon to Arles. Originally it had been: This latter train was the one that was cancelled, and although it’s fairly a short journey, there didn’t seem to ... [More]
One more full day in Lyon before we move on. We walked down to a bus stop just outside the Lyon Perrache station. I couldn’t help but notice the interesting wiring on the outside of the adjacent building while we waited for our bus. We caught the bus to the Gadagne building, which dates back ... [More]
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Looking for traboules
Another day in Lyon, and we’d heard about a riverside market not too far away, so made that our first port of call. The old centre of Lyon sits between two rivers – the Rhône (which runs through Switzerland and France) and the Saône, which flows into it just south at La Confluence. We were ... [More]
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Exploring Lyon
Good morning Lyon! Some Googling overnight, and I felt like we could navigate the local public transport. Step one: the Lyon Metro. It’s got four lines and 42 stations, and carries a similar number of passenger trips as Melbourne’s suburban rail system – pretty good going for a metropolitan area with about half Melbourne’s population. ... [More]