My friend Andrew put me onto the game Mini Metro – it’s a rather addictive (at least to me) game where you design and run a metro (or tram) system. The game provides station locations, and travel demand patterns, and you have to work out how the lines should connect them. Gradually more and more ... [More]
I haven’t managed to get to all the newly opened stations, but I did stop past Carrum for a little while on Wednesday night. Carrum opened on Monday, with some hiccups – late completion of testing (apparently due to a police operation) and sign-off of new signalling equipment resulted in a delay to the first ... [More]
At last! City of Melbourne tonight will debate changes to motorcycle parking in the CBD. What’s the law? Motorcyclists can park virtually anywhere off-road – unless specifically signed otherwise. There are guidelines which aren’t communicated well, and are widely ignored. The relevant rule provides exclusions to the usual parking limitations if the driver’s vehicle is ... [More]
Remember back in the early days of Myki when the rumour spread that if you didn’t use your card for 90 days, your credit would vanish? It wasn’t true. A number of people including me tried to hose it down (not very successfully) but eventually people found via experience that it wasn’t the case. Fast ... [More]
The Free Tram Zone (FTZ) just turned five. It was introduced in January 2015. If you’re wondering why there was so much discussion on it last week, it’s because submissions to a Parliamentary Inquiry on the topic just closed. Transport Matters Party MP Rod Barton, who moved for the Inquiry, posted an article addressing some ... [More]
Continuing my long-running series of old photos from ten years ago… In January 2010 we took a short break in Inverloch, south Gippsland. The South Gippsland Tourist Railway no longer runs – it suspended operations in December 2015 apparently due to a lack of funds. Here are some snaps from when we visited. Back in ... [More]
Last month I noted that the State Government has prepared the “Big Build” calendar of major disruptions to the transport network. This calendar is easy to read, but it turns out it is fatally flawed. Below you can see how January looks. Note the absence of any disruptions today, 27th January – thanks in part ... [More]
(This post adapted from a Twitter thread posted yesterday) Rail replacements on the Caulfield line are not the only major disruptions to public transport at the moment. Bus routes from the eastern suburbs into the CBD are some of the busiest in Melbourne. All of them are currently terminating on the edge of the CBD ... [More]
In Victoria, public transport performance data (in particular reliability aka cancellations, and punctuality aka delays) is “usually published on the 10th of every month.” – or so they claim, anyway. This typically gives eligible passengers just under 3 weeks to claim compensation. Applications normally close at the end of the month. But the publication of ... [More]
A couple of weeks ago I passed through Redesdale, and its 152 year old bridge. This, by Australian standards, is pretty old. Despite the sign, it opened in 1868, not 1867. On approach, there’s a warning sign about the width (3.2 metres) and height (4.3 metres) limit. Higher than the Montague Street Bridge, but not ... [More]
Fires have ravaged south eastern Australia this summer. As I write this, cooler weather and even a little rain provided a few days of relief, but warmer weather is on the way. There’s much of the fire season still to come. 26 people are dead. 8.4 million hectares are believed to have burnt – figures ... [More]