So, now we know which train is which… If you’re a regular on Melbourne’s trains, particularly in the southern and western lines, you’d have noticed the recent changes to seat layouts, but the process of reducing the number of seats on metropolitan trains actually started some time ago, during the huge patronage growth of last ... [More]
What can you buy for $1? You certainly can’t buy a newspaper. The Herald Sun costs $1.40 on weekdays; The Age costs $2.50; The Australian is $2.70. So I’m finding it difficult to be too outraged at standard stamps going up to $1. In fact this letter in Saturday’s Age perfectly sums up how I ... [More]
Here are a few blog stats from 2015… Posts: 166 — more than I thought, but I suppose there’s been a post every few days. Comments: 1,692 Top ten commenters: Daniel 176 (seems I still like commenting on my own posts) Roger 132 TranzitJim 69 Llib 52 David Stosser 48 Andrew 47 enno 45 John ... [More]
It is a common scam for people to ring you up claiming to be from Microsoft or Telstra (or another major corporation that sounds plausible). They tell you your computer and/or internet connection has a problem, and it needs to be fixed or your internet connection will be cut off, or that something else bad ... [More]
From Friday (January 1st) it seems a bug got into the Siemens train automatic announcements, probably associated with the timetable changes which took effect on that date. Since then, the trains (unless the driver turns off all of the auto announcements) will remind you to “Mind the gap between the train and the platform” with ... [More]
The PTV Night Network (formerly known as Homesafe) kind of sort of started on New Years Eve, with trains, all trams and the new Night Buses running for the first time. For the rest of the weekend, trains, six tram routes and the Night Buses will run, meaning by the end of Sunday, many routes ... [More]
Chadstone Shopping Centre, perpetually in a battle to maintain its status as Australia’s biggest shopping mall, opened a new bus interchange in August. I finally got around to seeing it just before Christmas. My first impressions… The good: All the buses serving Chadstone go to one spot, which is far less dispersed than the old ... [More]
Given in the past it hasn’t eventuated, I was cynical about the predictions of long delays on the Westgate Bridge this week during roadworks. In 2013, closure of the Domain Tunnel didn’t result in gridlock. It seems drivers were adequately forewarned, and didn’t drive, or found alternative routes, and/or used PT instead. But this time, ... [More]
The experiment continues. This time it’s turned out to be short posts, rather than a ream of news. Southland Station delayed Monday 2015-12-21 — Southland construction pushed back into 2016. Completion is now expected in early 2017. The Opposition said the construction should have been at the same time as the North/Mckinnon/Centre level crossing removals, ... [More]
Another from my series of ten year old photos. (Marcus Wong has joined in this game.) Alas, not so many interesting ones from me in December 2005. As noted in this post, on a single day, I received a truly dizzying amount of junk mail (plus two local newspapers). It was what finally prompted me ... [More]
Over the weekend Melbourne went through our biggest heatwave so far this summer, and the first real test of my external blinds, which were fitted to the house early this year. Looking at the two nearest weather stations to me, yesterday the temperature at Melbourne (Olympic Park) peaked at 40.7 at 4:27pm. At Moorabbin Airport ... [More]
Monday 2015-12-14 — Delays on numerous Metro lines (Frankston, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Craigieburn, Sunbury, Upfield, Werribee, Williamstown) following late-running weekend rail works. If you watch the Brit rail docos, this is the sort of thing they are constantly stressing about, so it’s unfortunate but perhaps not a surprise that it sometimes happens here. Monday 2015-12-14 — ... [More]