Categories
transport

PTV’s plans for in-cab signalling – could boost track capacity by 50%

A while back I had a read through the PTV rail network plan looking to summarise their view on the rollout of high capacity (in-cab) signalling. Sorry this post has been so long in coming. This short (three minute) video explains it nicely, but one analogy is that the current system is like driving around  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Summer timetables = planned train crowding (See a problem? Get the evidence)

If you missed it last night: Channel 7: Frustration over summer timetable: Scores of train services have been cancelled and the Metro system will run to a limited summer timetable, even though most people will have returned to work. Jacqueline Felgate reports. Here’s a PTUA press release, and the raw footage: It was shot on  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Working? Christmas shopping? Fewer trains running today.

Just a reminder that as noted last week, there are reduced train (and tram) timetables running from this week until Australia Day. For my fellow Bentleigh people, I’ve marked the weekday cancelled trains for you: Basically for us on the Frankston line, train frequencies are halved at most times of day on weekdays for the  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Holiday timetables – “Turn up and go” becomes “Turn up and wait”

Much has been made of Metro’s scheduled cancellations over the next two days to try and deal with extreme heat — in particular they’re citing speed restrictions on the faster part of the network, which will have speed restrictions. It’ll be interesting to see if they can stick to this plan, or if the whole  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Train window ads – what about visibility?

I’m not against advertising on public transport. It brings in much-needed revenue and helps subsidise services. But it shouldn’t be intrusive. Bus and tram passengers have had to get used to ads on windows of vehicles over many years, but it’s only in the last couple of years that it’s become prominent on trains. It  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Train now in the top 3 methods of travel to work — ABS

I spotted this a while back, but forgot to blog it. It was published by the ABS in October 2012, but it’s still worth noting: “While the household car is still the preferred method of travel to work for most Australians, the train has overtaken walking as one of the most preferred modes of transport,”  ... [More]

Categories
transport

FOI shows early planning under way for all-night weekend trains in Melbourne

News from London is that they are planning 24-hour Tube services on five lines from 2015 at weekends. It’s tied to a grand plan which will also see staff taken out of ticket offices (in favour of helping customers more directly, for instance with ticket machines), more Wifi on stations, and contactless bank card (eg  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Flinders St platform 11 would provide much-needed capacity – alas, they’re building a cafe instead

Regular passengers using Flinders Street Station will have noticed that while the platforms are numbered from 1 to 14, there’s no platform 11. It’s not a Harry Potter scenario with a hidden platform. There used to be a platform 11, the twin of 10, facing the river, and commonly used by St Kilda and Port  ... [More]

Categories
transport

It’s logical for PTV load surveys to exclude cancelled services

…documents obtained by the Greens through freedom of information reveal that the positive results did not include many trains that were affected by the knock-on effect of a cancelled or delayed service. Of the 437 trains surveyed, 113 were excluded. — The Age, Train overcrowding getting worse: Greens Here’s the thing. Load surveys aren’t measuring  ... [More]

Categories
Photos from ten years ago

Photos from ten years ago – October 2003

Here is another in my series of old photos from when I first got a digital camera. M>Train (which came after Bayside trains, and before Connex) had a rather nice livery and logo. Here’s a Comeng train heading towards the city on the outer stretches of the Upfield line. Myself and Peter, another PTUA bod,  ... [More]

Categories
transport TV

Yes, that was a Melbourne train in a US sitcom… but can anybody name the station?

Half the gunzels in Melbourne are chattering about this: through the wonders of green screen and stock footage, the most recent episode of How I Met Your Mother (which aired last weekend in the USA, and on Thursday night in Australia) featured a Melbourne Comeng suburban train in Connex colours. Update Tuesday 2/10/2013 7:30am —  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Frankston line – has train punctuality really improved? Well yes, but…

I noted this tweet from my local state MP, boasting of improved punctuality on the Frankston line since she and the Coalition came to power in November 2010: Frankston line punctuality in Nov 2010 86% & Aug 2013 93% =7.6% improvement. Vic Coalition delivering 4 #Bentleigh &Frankston line commuters — Elizabeth Miller MP (@EMillerMP) September  ... [More]