On Saturday I took a look at the Burke Road level crossing removal — it’s being done as part of the same package as the North/Mckinnon/Centre Roads crossings, but is well ahead of them in terms of progress. The official web site has details of the project — because there’s space available, the new rail ... [More]
To their credit, the state government is initiating Stakeholder Liaison Groups for the level crossing eliminations to happen across Melbourne. The first of these covers the three Bentleigh area crossings: North Road, Ormond; Mckinnon Road, Mckinnon; Centre Road, Bentleigh. It’s convened by local MP Nick Staikos, and members include representatives from local traders, schools, community ... [More]
I was planning on writing a blog post on the potential of close to 40+ railway stations being completely rebuilt via the fifty level crossing grade separations the state government is intending on doing over 8 years — most of which are adjacent to railway stations. But last Thursday night’s PTUA member meeting with Ian ... [More]
Updates: September 2017 | November 2018 | November 2020 Jump straight to the list I’ve been trying to sort out the status of all the level crossings from the various lists. Some are fully funded, others are funded for planning, and some are merely promises/pledges from the politicians. I ended up going back to the ... [More]
As I walked to the station this morning there seemed to be an unusually long tailback of cars approaching the level crossing. I found a gaggle of reporters at the station, and shortly afterwards state opposition leader Dan(iel) Andrews showed up, with public transport spokesperson Jill Hennessy and local Bentleigh candidate Nick Staikos, to announce ... [More]
This was posted on Facebook by a Melbourne train driver last week. It’s well worth a read. Given he says “please share this” (and other copies doing the rounds are screen dumps, making it difficult to read, especially for those with vision issues), I’m posting the text in full here: I try to keep my ... [More]
The new Springvale station opened earlier this week as part of the $159 million grade-separation of Springvale Road. Yesterday I took a quick look around. Arriving on platform 2, it reminds me a bit of Box Hill, with part of the station being under the road, which means plenty of rain cover is provided. Note ... [More]
Happy Rail Safety Week. Level crossing. Three tracks. The two in the foreground have no train coming, and the automatic gates for them are open. There’s a train approaching on the other track, and its gates are closed. Logic would suggest it’s perfectly safe, and perfectly legal to walk through the open gates, right? Turns ... [More]
There was speculation from some quarters that introducing 10 minute train frequencies would result in long traffic queues at level crossings, similar to those seen in many suburbs during peak commuting hours. I think this was unfounded. Looking around Bentleigh on a recent weekend, it seems no worse than when trains ran half as frequently. ... [More]
About an hour ago at Highett station: the train to Frankston had just left, and a city-bound train was approaching. This idiot cyclist rode across in front of the city-bound train. The train driver tooted his horn loud and long. The cyclist entered the station, and appeared to want to catch the train — I’d ... [More]
Last week a lady was tragically killed on the level crossing at Bentleigh station, when she walked in front of an express train. I’d never do it, but unfortunately far too often people do take the risk. It’s not difficult — despite the upgrade, if you approach the crossing from the right hand footpath, you ... [More]
This video of level crossings is incredible. (See also: accompanying article.) The last clip in particular (starting at 1:10), from my local station at Bentleigh, had me gasping. The first person crossing is foolish enough, but the second — particularly as he appears to stumble — is just seconds from death. I fail to see ... [More]