As flagged earlier in the month, the long-awaited new rail map, in the works since at least 2014, has finally been officially launched. It’ll show up around the network in 2017. (Click to zoom) There seem to be at least two versions: the plain one above, and a version with a grid and station index. ... [More]
My native garden attracts native birds. These are our latest residents, visiting for Christmas: rainbow lorikeets. Very colourful; they seem to be enjoying the food available at the moment. Christmas is almost over at our house. Due to travel commitments, the various arms of the family had their gatherings over the last two Sundays. As ... [More]
Here’s a thought, via a possibly dodgy analogy: public transport is like a computer. It needs both hardware and software to function properly. Hardware — right of way (tracks/roadspace), signalling, stops and platforms, vehicles, stabling. Software — how do you operate it? Timetables, routes (particularly for buses, which can be easily changed), traffic light priority, ... [More]
Since I don’t have a transport-related post ready at the moment, here’s a quick one about music. I’m loving the Sonos system. I’d been warned that buying extra speakers for it was addictive, and it’s true. I just got another Play:1. They’re the smallest of the range, but they still pack a punch. (All Sonos ... [More]
Here’s another in my series of old photos from ten years ago: December 2006. On the 9th, there was a lot of smoke over Melbourne from a large number of bushfires around the state. Here’s a view (not snapped by me, I should add — I was driving) of Melbourne CBD, taken from the Bolte ... [More]
The rebuilt Ormond, McKinnon and Bentleigh stations opened in August. Following this, the car parks all opened in November. But what about the bike cages? The answer is that they’re still not open. “Parkiteer” Bike cages around the rail network have proved very popular. Some stations have multiple cages. It was a smart move to ... [More]
I was invited by the Level Crossing Removal Authority to look around the Bayswater station grade separation project. This is removing two crossings, either side of the station: Mountain Highway and Scoresby Road. They’re in the final stages of the major works period, with a rail shut down of 37 days almost over, the line ... [More]
Below you can see the current rail network map. As maps go, it’s pretty useless, because it tells you where the tracks go, but not where the trains go. Looking at it, you might assume that trains run from Sunbury to Upfield — but you’d be wrong, of course. (The latest version does at least ... [More]
Another comment piece in The Age: Myki fare hikes favour some users, punish others and increasingly encourage driving Yes, fares are jumping by about 4% in January. This is a CPI plus 2.5% (eg 3.9%) rise that was devised by the Coalition in their December 2013 budget update, and delivered by Labor. So a big ... [More]