8:17 or so, boarded train train at Mckinnon. Not my usual station. Long irrelevant story. Happily got a seat. 8:36. Train stops at Hawksburn. Driver on PA tells us that the train will be delayed at least ten minutes due to signal failures near Richmond. He advises us to go to platform 3. 8:37. Most ... [More]
Here’s the good news: the October 2010 Metro Load Standards Survey (released to the Greens under FOI) shows that overcrowding has dropped markedly. Measured in terms of (deep breath) Rolling Hour Average Loads Above Desired Standards, the number of breaches has dropped from 38 in October 2007 to 6 in October 2010. Part of this ... [More]
There’s intense interest in the new train timetable, which technically started today, but has its first actual changes tomorrow. The level of interest should be a reminder to politicians that public transport is still very much a live issue. It should (hopefully) bring some genuine benefits in helping to fix punctuality and overcrowding. There are ... [More]
When Southern Cross Station was built/renovated/unnecessarily renamed, someone made the wise decision to include provision for an extra two platforms: 15 and 16. These are now being built as part of the (possibly otherwise ill-fated) Regional Rail Link project, and seem to be progressing nicely. July 2010: Last week: There’s a catch. It’s the big ... [More]
So, the new Metro timetables are out, and those of us with geeky tendencies have been poring over them. (As one journo commented, it must take a special kind of person to work on these things for months on end.) Here’s my summary: In the west Altona Loop trains originate at Laverton, meaning a lot ... [More]
Itâs taken me longer than I thought to get this post to something approximating shipshape. Iâm not sure itâs perfect yet. Reminder: the views expressed on my personal blog do not necessarily represent the views of the PTUA. Following on from previous posts about the Loop, the next question is: Should the City Loop reverse ... [More]
Reminder: the views expressed on my personal blog do not necessarily represent the views of the PTUA. So, the result of the poll a few days ago was: Run some lines via the Loop, some direct to Flinders St: 129 (66.8%) Run each line half via the Loop, half direct to Flinders St: 57 (29.5%) ... [More]
Some of the clocks at Flinders Street Station need updating. If they managed to update the leftmost clock to say “Pakenham and Cranbourne” (the Cranbourne line opened in 1995), why can’t they update the “St Albans” one to say “Sydenham”? (Actually, wait a year or two and then change it to “Sunbury“.) Update 9am: Oh ... [More]
I ran this poll on an internal PTUA members’ email list. Let’s try it here. Here’s the context: Trains, particularly in peak hour, are packed. More trains are being purchased, but the decision has to be made about how to deploy them. (Even if it’s decided to upgrade infrastructure such as with the proposed new ... [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]
The Port Melbourne railway line closed in 1987, but this train wanted to go there. (Thanks to Terry who spotted it in time for me to snap a pic. It’s possible the sign is stuck, since it looks like the same carriage was snapped recently elsewhere.) In today’s Herald Sun: New Metro timetable as trains ... [More]
My favourite picture from Friday’s floods; courtesy of Herschel Landes, who snapped it at Windsor Station (on Saturday morning I assume). The trains had stopped running on many lines on Friday night. But earlier when the water level was lower, they had been running through Windsor, as shown in this video someone posted to Youtube: ... [More]