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]
Category: transport
All forms of transport, including gunzelly
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]
I remember when Labor and the Coalition both pledged to build Southland station. It was 2010. I told my kids, who were excited. They were 15 and 12 at the time, just the ages when they were looking forward to exploring the city and suburbs on their own, going to places like Southland with friends. ... [More]
One of the advantages of rail over road transport is the ride quality. Well, that’s in theory. If enough care and funding goes in, trains can be extremely smooth. In practice on a rail network like Melbourne’s, with aging infrastructure, it can be a bumpy ride. Now, I don’t have a major problem with a ... [More]
Metro has been trying modified carriage layouts on the trains. Some Comeng trains have had seats removed near the doorways, and now a Siemens train has shown up with a similar treatment. My immediate reaction (from a quick ride a few minutes ago)… The pros: the larger doorway area should help speed up loading and ... [More]
Victoria’s first big 21st century rail megaproject is almost complete. Regional Rail Link was started and mostly funded by Labor (State and Federal, in part as stimulus money during the Global Financial Crisis), and largely built under the State Coalition. Construction itself is now complete, with driver training and other preparatory work happening ahead of ... [More]
The previously secret East West Link “side letter”, offering compensation even if the contract was deemed invalid, seems to underscore just how desperate the State Coalition was to build the road — despite it being a project that: is highly controversial is more expensive than just about anything previously built in Victoria has a Benefit ... [More]
Myki Monthly and Weekly Pass fares: more expensive than ever compared to daily fares
As far as I can see, since the January zone changes, there is now no monetary benefit to touching-off your Myki for trips in zone 1, or zone 1+2. This is because the Myki Money Default fare (the fare it assumes you should be charged if you touched-on, but never touched-off) is normally the same ... [More]
Some of the arguments in favour of the Free Tram Zone seem very simplistic. Shaun Carney built a whole opinion piece around this in the Herald Sun on Thursday: basically, it doesn’t matter if it’s poorly thought out, sucks away resources, and doesn’t get people out of cars — if it’s cheap or free, it ... [More]
The recent anti-motorway protests in Melbourne are nothing new. In fact the very same area was subject to protests in the 1970s, when it was proposed to link the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway by way of an aboveground link, by converting Alexandra Parade to a freeway, ploughing through neighbourhoods in Collingwood, Carlton and ... [More]
At any station with multiple platforms, especially when they’re not adjacent (eg an island platform), you’re going to need to know which one your train leaves from. At many it’s easy — one platform is going towards the City, one is away. Some stations have three platforms. The third track is often used for peak ... [More]