The metro rail tunnel concept is about ten years old, having first publicly emerged in late-2005. In some quarters, it’s been seen as an unnecessary white elephant — an expensive way of providing for extra passenger capacity in the CBD, when other cheaper ways were available to cope with increased patronage. But time has passed, ... [More]
Category: Toxic Custard newsletter
Appears in the weekly Toxic Custard newsletter
East West Link is now that it’s dead, buried and cremated (to coin a phrase). Though I’m not sure that’s how you destroy zombies. Some closing thoughts on the project… The $339m payout is less than a single year of the expected $345m annual Availability Payments that would have been paid if it had been ... [More]
Corrs lane is a handy shortcut between Little Bourke Street and Lonsdale Street, just east of Russell Street. At the northern (Lonsdale Street) end, it’s so narrow that you could easily walk past it without noticing. It’s all a bit… I dunno, Platform 9 3/4. I noticed yesterday snapping pics that there seems to be ... [More]
OK, here we go with another set of photos (and video this time) from ten years ago. In a blog post back in April 2005, I posted this photo of Brighton Beach station: Here it is in the present day: notice the fence along platform 1 for the purposes of securing the sidings, where trains ... [More]
This video is inspired partly by a shot in the House Of Cards titles, and partly by something my dad used to tell me — that you could stand at Richmond station in the evening peak and see trains on every track coming out of the city. He may have been exaggerating a tad, but ... [More]
I’ve had a few issues with the iiNet Bob2 modem/router in the past week or two, and rang up support on Sunday to get it sorted out. At one stage the nice chap asked how many devices are using the modem. That’s a really good question, and one that I hadn’t previously thought about. The ... [More]
Last year the Coalition announced they were going ahead with an unsolicited proposal: to upgrade the Dandenong line. In summary, it included: grade separation of 4 level crossings, 3 stations associated with those rebuilt, planning and early works on 5 more grade separations, high capacity signalling, 25 new trains, a maintenance depot at Pakenham, and ... [More]
Information is power, so they say. So it follows that good accurate information on public transport services is needed to make the most of them. Back in 2005, before the first wave of Real smartphones prompted by the iPhone, Google launched Google Transit. The idea is simple: with access to all of a region’s public ... [More]
In my continuing quest to post ten year old photos, I went looking for good stuff from March 2005. There isn’t much of interest, alas. It was the month that the new revamped rebooted Doctor Who started — on 26th March 2005 — and I did find this photo of Jeremy — not watching from ... [More]
This morning The Age published more detailed train service data than we usually get to see. Some information is routinely published, but we rarely get an insight into the breakdown between AM, PM and off-peak punctuality, for instance. In some ways the data was no great surprise — in the first week of March, hundreds ... [More]
This is one of those blog posts which is mostly for my own interest. We’re up to the start of season 2 in our West Wing DVD (re)watching. That season 1 cliffhanger is brilliant… only spoilt by the excessively perky end theme music (I love the opening title music, but I’ve never liked the ending ... [More]
I’ve been pondering Streaming Video On Demand (SVOD) services. The thinking goes like this: Let’s say I want to watch Breaking Bad. I’ve heard great things about it, and I love high-quality long-form drama that good television provides. Blu-ray is the best way to watch this type of drama, for the ultimate in (domestically-available) quality ... [More]
Via a couple of stories in the last few days, The Age has revealed proposed changes to the tram network, probably to take place from mid-year with the next big round of timetable changes. Some context First, some context. All the changes need to be seen in light of fleet changes, and growing patronage. The ... [More]
I’m not the world’s biggest drinker. So last Thursday night after a chat with a PT industry insider over 2 pints and a pot, I was feeling a bit tipsy as I headed home. Waiting at Flinders Street for a train home, I encountered one of the Spring Street state press gallery’s Finest and Brightest, ... [More]
I recently read a book I bought a couple of years ago after seeing an interesting article about it: Moving Minds, Conservatives and Public Transit, by American conservatives Paul Weyrich (who passed away in 2008) and William Lind. It’s an interesting read, providing a perspective on transport issues which isn’t often seen prominently, at least ... [More]
FebFast is over I think FebFast has brought a change in attitude from me. I’m going to continue to take in healthier snacks with me to munch on at work — to my surprise, I don’t actually mind the taste of raw carrots, and it’s been easier to Just Say No to biscuits than I ... [More]