Melbourne’s Comeng trains date back to the early 1980s, about the same time us Gen-Xers were cutting our video game teeth with Donkey Kong and Space Invaders. (Original unmodified pic) There’s certainly other things of the 80s around the place on the train network, for instance this sign on a now unused gate at Caulfield ... [More]
I did a double-take last night when a Cranbourne train was announced as running “express from Dandenong to Merinda Park”, not just on the automatic announcement, but also on the screen. There is no station between Dandenong and Merinda Park. There eventually will be, at Lynbrook, but construction hasn’t even begun yet. In fact tenders ... [More]
The new timetables started yesterday, but this morning is the first big test of the peak hour changes. As I’ve already noted, while most lines get a tweak, the Caulfield lines get a big shake-up, especially Frankston. As the number of trains running has increased, more have had to bypass the four CBD loop tunnels. ... [More]
Next Thursday marks 25 years since the completion of the City Loop. Flagstaff Station was the last loop station to open — on the 27th of May 1985. It’s the only station in Melbourne that is closed on weekends — being in the middle of the legal precinct, it’s a bit quiet around there on ... [More]
I don’t think it’s any great secret that Melbourne’s buses aren’t very well co-ordinated to the trains — with two exceptions that is, the Trainlink buses at Epping and Cranbourne, which are timed to meet every train. This is a major problem because so many trips simply can’t be made on PT without using a ... [More]
Stakeholder and interest group commentary on the State Budget usually happens out the back of Parliament. And when it starts raining, everybody huddles under the shelter near the back door. Here’s my State Budget summary — well, the PT bits: Four new stations on existing lines to be built — Caroline Springs (V/Line), Williams Landing, ... [More]
So, a new train timetable starts in June, shaking up the Frankston line in particular, but also the Dandenong line and minor tweaks on some of the other lines. Updated 10pm with a pic of a Comeng train in the new Metro colours About a year ago I remarked that the Frankston line was using ... [More]
From time to time people suggest that train lines should be built in the middle of all new freeways. The problem with building train lines along freeways is you’d be in danger of them all ending up like Jacana or Kannanook. Because freeways take up so much space, make so much noise, and generate so ... [More]
Monash students going back decades will tell you of the poor connection from Huntingdale Station (the closest for people coming from the city direction) to the Clayton campus. Even after they added an extra bus route in 2006, most connections aren’t timed well outside peak hours, and during peak hours you get delays from long ... [More]
The Age: Melbourne trains fail world ‘metro’ test Based on this study: PTUA: Melbourne Metro by name, but not by nature, which looks at the biggest thirty cities in the developed world by population, and which of them have a metro — that is, a high capacity, high frequency (every 10 minutes all day, every ... [More]
I got to have a short ride in the new X’Trapolis train introduced into service today. The government calls it “Train 2”, however the journos prefer call it after the month it was meant to be in service, eg “The January train”. For all the consternation about a reduction in seats, seeing it in the ... [More]
Metro Trains boss Andrew Lezala remarked on Tuesday at the Parliamentary Select Committee on Train Services that he hoped to see rail patronage double by 2020. “Our overall plan is to double patronage on the railway during the life of the franchise, which requires a major increase in the system’s capacity.” I think there’s two ... [More]
See also: 2015 update Just so we’re clear here about which type of train is which, here’s a quick guide… Firstly, this is the train that’s in the news today: the Siemens. Their brakes have problems. (Update 2012: The brake problems have apparently been fixed.) Whereas this is the Comeng. Their air-conditioners tend to konk ... [More]
Myki has arrived in Melbourne. Kind of. The government announced yesterday it is now valid for travel on trains only, so if that’s the third of the PT system that you use, and you never get on a tram or bus, you can use it. I gave it a spin yesterday afternoon. Here’s what happened. ... [More]
Many of Melbourne’s train seats look like this: Look closely. Those are not all just random shapes designed to hide the dirt. Anything look familiar?
New uniforms for most staff, and new automated announcements (“Welcome to Metro”) are the only noticeable changes so far. My train was on time, but others were cancelled according to the upgraded Metro web site. Channels 7, 9 and 10 were all down at Flinders St Station along with The Age Online to interview passengers, ... [More]