One day in 2008, M and I went to a party, and I blogged about the trip there on mysterious tram route number 7. I concluded: In my book, in most cases the secret numbers shouldn’t be used. If a tram is travelling along a substantial part of the route, it might as well use ... [More]
Category: transport
All forms of transport, including gunzelly
(Probably my favourite lightbulb joke when they were all the rage was: Q. How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? A. Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub with brightly coloured machine tools.)
This is a Short Term Ticket. Part of the Myki system, they are available in regional cities using Myki, for two-hour or daily fares, for people who don’t have a reusable Myki smartcard. Something that was missed in the announcement last month was that it’s not just trams where you won’t be able to buy ... [More]
Some local railway stations seem to have gained a lot of art in the last few weeks. Patterson station’s road underpass got a mosaic mural, with local schools contributing to a project devised by Pamela Irving. There’s some quite good pieces: It’s all aimed at improving the look of the station and reducing graffiti. THE ... [More]
This week’s Regional Rail Link shutdown is not, of course, the first time major works have been done on the railways. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Fascinating stuff from The Argus, 17th October 1914: CAULFIELD RAILWAY. COSTLY DUPLICATION WORKS. ESTIMATE GREATLY EXCEEDED Provision has been made for the expenditure of ... [More]
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How many trains are coming?
Just so we’re clear here about how many trains we are getting… Under Labor, in May 2007, initially 10 trains were funded. As political pressure over crowded trains increased, in October 2007, this was expanded by 8, making 18. In May 2009 this was expanded further by 20, making 38. All of these 38 are ... [More]
Glen Mount Waverley MP Michael Gidley got into a scrap with some ALP campaign workers on Wednesday outside Parliament Station. On exiting the station, I received a brochure from an individual. I then sought advice from authorised officers at the station on the distribution of this information because I do not believe it is appropriate ... [More]
Expect some gloating from Metro today. The Track Record monthly report for May was released yesterday, and shows a marked improvement in train punctuality. We already knew the May average had improved to a not very spectacular 82.2%, but the detailed figures might show better the first effects of the early May timetable change. From ... [More]
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The bus to nowhere
Apparently the buses at this bus stop have a destination of “None”. The addition to the sign in this case is accurate. It’s a spot where buses layover in William Street between runs. Apparently they’ve put bus stop signs up there to stop motorists parking there if they don’t notice the Bus Zone signs. But ... [More]
There you go; the RACV said again yesterday (as they have done in the past) that the $1.4 billion M1/Westgate Bridge upgrade (including the new lanes opened yesterday) will be swamped within a decade. Brian Negus, of the RACV, welcomed the opening of the fifth lane. It was the final link in the freeway corridor ... [More]
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Preaching to the converted?
There’s a billboard facing the light rail (tram) line to St Kilda, near the City Road station. As far as I can see, from its positioning, it is visible only to tram passengers. What’s it advertising this month? It’s Metro’s “This is me” campaign. These adverts have come under some criticism. …encouraging yet more passengers ... [More]
If ever you want proof that the readers of my blog are a highly talented, intelligent and attractive bunch of people, check this out. Following my post on railway station patronage, and the wish from commenters that the figures be plotted on a map, the supremely talented Brendan Durward went ahead and did it, with ... [More]