All forms of transport, including gunzelly
A little bit more on level crossings. Since I posted the update, I’ve received some useful corrections, which I’ve applied to the list. But last week there was an interesting update on some of them. Pakenham line to be extended The Pakenham crossings will be skyrail – we already knew that. But there’s an interesting ... [More]
Remember a few months ago when I wrote about the next big train timetable change? That was originally expected in December, but got postponed due to delays completing works on the Ballarat line. Today the State Government has announced the change will happen on 31st January, and naturally being an official release (instead of info ... [More]
We’re midway through the state government’s 2018-2022 term, so I thought I’d do an update of the Level Crossing Removal Program status, following on from previous versions in 2014, 2017 and 2018. EDIT: New update November 2022 Like previous lists, this one is derived from a 2008 ALCAM (Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model) study of ... [More]
Just a quick post while I work on some more substantive content. State Budget Victoria’s State Budget, normally in May but much delayed due to COVID-19, was on Tuesday. Most of the big ticket public transport investment (Airport Rail, Geelong upgrade, and a huge early works package on the Suburban Rail Loop) had already been ... [More]
So finally there’s a a firm plan for airport rail, thanks to combined State and Federal funding just announced. Age: Melbourne Airport trains will run through the Metro tunnel every 10 minutes Herald Sun: A deal has finally been struck for Victoriaâs airport rail link – hereâs how itâll work In summary: Airport trains to ... [More]
Yesterday the State government announced funding for early works for the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL). Being a huge project, even early works are pricey – it comes out at $2.2 billion. At the same time, they’ve announced more detail on the station locations for Stage One. This map shows them. So the stations will be ... [More]
Continuing from part one… going clockwise the next lines are the yellow ones on the rail map: the Sunbury, Craigieburn and Upfield lines. Sunbury (St Albans) line Until 2002, suburban trains ran to St Albans, with regional trains serving the stations beyond. The line was electrified in 2002 to Watergardens (Sydenham) and then in 2012 ... [More]
Last the weekend I got to take a quick look at the recently opened new stations at Mentone (opened 20th July) and Cheltenham (opened 16th August). Previously they’d been outside my 5km radius, but that recently lifted to 25km. Click any of these photos to view them larger. Mentone The train line goes under Balcombe ... [More]
Melbourne’s suburban train system was originally steam operated, but was converted to electricity in the 1910s and 1920s. By about 1930 most of the network we know today was in place. My friend Andrew leant me a copy of the suburban 1924 timetable. I’ve also got a PDF of the 1974 timetable. So let’s compare ... [More]
When is a No Through Road sometimes not a No Through Road? When you’re not driving. It’s common to see this signage around the place, but it’s misleading because it often only applies to vehicle access. There are a lot of cases where pedestrian and cyclist access is provided at the end of the street, ... [More]
I was wondering if there was any data on how public transport patronage around Australia had fallen COVID-19 took hold, and how it has recovered in different cities. It turns out most jurisdictions provide month-by-month or even week-by-week patronage data. Here’s how 2020 patronage compares as a percentage of 2019 patronage: Some observations: All these ... [More]
Remember the talk, almost a year ago now, of a shake-up to train timetables, prompted by the introduction of the new trains? These changes are now expected to take effect in mid-December, following on from minor adjustments made in July. Along the way, there have been some tweaks to the plan, but from what I’m ... [More]
This is a follow-up on my post about the roadmap out of COVID. Now I’m pondering the longer term: after COVID has gone. Assuming a successful vaccine comes in at some point, and things like masks and physical distancing are no longer required, will we all go back to how it was before? There’s been ... [More]
The Victorian Government has released its roadmap out of COVID-19 restrictions. I’ve been pondering what this means for travel demand and public transport in Melbourne, and activity in the CBD, which largely drives PT patronage. The steps in the roadmap (*which are mostly subject to case numbers) start from Sunday night. 1st Step (14th September) ... [More]
Last week Gareth Dennis posted this superb and hilarious thread of British PMs as locomotives. It’s very funny, even if (like me) you’re not much of a Brit trainspotter. A friend asked me to do an Australian version. Initially I said I wasn’t sure if there were enough Australian trains to match the multitude of ... [More]
Here’s a quick tram video for you. It’s only a couple of minutes long. There’s no sound. It was recorded last month on a Sunday afternoon on St Kilda Road and Brighton Road. (There are a few edits – check the dashcam timestamp if you can’t spot the cuts.) What we’re seeing here is how ... [More]