I’m aware that my blog has evolved… these days most of the posts are about transport, reflecting my current interests. I wonder if this is a bit dull for those who have been on the old Toxic Custard mailing list, which is the descendant of the humour-based email list I started while at uni. Yet ... [More]
Category: Toxic Custard newsletter
Appears in the weekly Toxic Custard newsletter
The Herald Sun had an interesting article describing the trip home from the football on Friday night, and the delays suffered by those in the crowd. Apart from the football at the MCG, there was also a concert in the tennis centre, and soccer at Etihad Stadium. Edit: plus rugby at AAMI stadium. In fact ... [More]
Melbourne’s expanding fleet of low-floor trams are being allocated to tram routes that lack wheelchair-accessible stops, while accessible tram stops are being built on routes that have no low-floor trams. — The Age: New accessible tram stops not on the level for those most in need in Melbourne Let me present a prime example. This ... [More]
Categories
Transport choice
The RACV has again cited choice as a reason to go ahead and build huge road projects, including the East West Link which the Andrews government has a clear mandate to scrap. (Remember, a survey showed only 38% of RACV members support East West Link.) Ah yes, choice. Let me give you an example of ... [More]
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]
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]