-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, 17 April 2017 12:34 PM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: snippets, Mon.17.4.17

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170417M Melbourne 'Herald Sun':
- Anzac Day services.
- power price. with tdu.

Roderick.

Metro Twitter Sat.15.4.17
http://www.westonlangford.com/images/photo/114560/
114560: St Kilda 6-car Tait Suburban, 20 August 1981 Link to high resolution
image: /media/photos/114560.jpg

Melbourne bridge most hit by trucks revealed.
Herald Sun April 16, 2017.
RAIL and tram bridges continue to be struck by high vehicles at an alarming
rate across Melbourne, with new figures showing the Montague St and Napier
St bridges still top of the hits parade.
Racecourse Rd in Flemington has also become a new trouble spot as trucks rip
down tram lines at two locations, causing traffic chaos.
And in Camberwell, one Toorak Rd business has been struck several times by
trucks or buses trying to do U-turns to avoid an upcoming low bridge.
A bus crashed into the Montague St bridge in February last year. Picture:
Hamish Blair Height bollards on Monatgue Street in the lead up to the
bridge. Picture: Hamish Blair A truck brings down tram lines on Racecourse
Rd, Flemington in February. Picture: Dashcam Owners Australia Facebook The
downed tramlines in Racecourse Rd, Flemington. Pic: Supplied New figures for
the past two years reveal more than 60 reported bridge strikes with Montague
St bridge hit 20 times.
The tram bridge in South Melbourne which has a 3m clearance for vehicles has
been hit more than 110 times in total.
A height detection gantry was installed last May but at least two vehicles
have still become stuck.
In Footscray, the rail bridge over Napier St has been whacked 18 times in
the past two years, leading to protection barriers being installed earlier
this year.
A truck hits the Napier St bridge in Footscray. Picture: David Smith Another
truck collides with the Napier St bridge in Footscray.
Protection barriers have been installed at the Napier St bridge in
Footscray. Picture: Mark Wilson Trams going under rail bridges have been
halted on Racecourse Rd because high vehicles have brought down tram lines
at two locations 750 metres apart - one at Newmarket station and one near
Flemington Bridge and the CityLink tollway above.
The bridge strikes often result in overhead lines being ripped down,
shutting off services for the No 57 for hours on end, adding to traffic
chaos and disruption.
Navigational systems which don't contain bridge heights are believed to be
part of the problem for drivers.
Sometimes, the bridge is not even hit but damage still occurs. In February,
a city-bound B-double from interstate was filmed on dashcam approaching
Newmarket bridge in Flemington, but when turning right to avoid it brought
down overhead tram lines.
In Camberwell, trucks that are reversing to avoid Hartwell Bridge on Toorak
Rd have hit the offices of Melbourne Extensions and Designs several times.
Melbourne Extensions and Designs has been struck several times by trucks
trying to do u-turns to avoid a low bridge. Picture: Nicki Connolly The
Hartwell rail bridge near Melbourne Extensions and Designs. Picture: Nicki
Connolly Damage to the business's building has occurred twice in the past
six months alone.
Yarra Trams spokesman Simon Murphy said that 75 per cent of Melbourne's tram
network operated in a shared road space.
"Significant disruptions can occur when bridges are struck or overhead tram
power wires are damaged by high vehicles.
"We continue to work with our on-road partners, including VicRoads, to
ensure the safe and efficient movement of vehicles throughout the city.''
Metro Trains spokesman Marcus Williams said passengers were frustrated when
drivers of high vehicles don't take appropriate care.
"We have strict processes to ensure the safety of rail bridges when they are
hit,'' he said.
"Our structural inspectors attend every bridge collision and normal services
only resume once they have declared it is safe to do so.''
BRIDGE STRIKES 2015-2017
Montague St, Sth Melbourne 20
Napier St, Footscray 18
Merri Parade, Northcote 5
Racecourse Rd, CityLink overpass 5
Racecourse Rd, Newmarket/Flemington 4
Wantirna Rd, Ringwood 5
Mt Alexander Rd, Essendon 2
Spencer/Flinders Sts 2
Bedford Rd, Ringwood 2
Source: Metro Trains, Yarra Trams
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-bridge-most-hit-by-trucks-reve
aled/news-story/a4fc099ec7f175a1b8fc07bb26111deb> lots of photos, all
repeats.
* Lower the road level similar to what happened to dudley street in North
melbourne. The cost will be the same for all roads if one of the bridges
happens to collapse.
* Trouble is then you get the same idiots driving into floodwaters under the
bridge!
* This "solution" gets bandied about alot. And hey, it may just be a good
idea. But in the meantime, any professional truck or bus driver should know
the dimensions of the vehicle they are driving. Furthermore, they should
know if the upcoming bridge is going to work or not. If you can't do that,
you simply shouldn't be behind the wheel of a truck or bus. (And believe me,
there are plenty of truck and bus drivers who shouldn't be.)
* Surely there us adequate signage in advance of these bridges, that offers
an alternative route for drivers (who should know the height of their
vehicle)? If not, then fix the problem. If so, then fine the drivers for
negligence.
* Have a look as you drive about Matt, very few bridges have any advance
signage only the sign on the bridge. Consider what it must be like for a
driver of a heavy vehicle having to make a delivery to somewhere near one of
these bridges and not from Melbourne. Think of it this way you're given the
keys to a furniture truck (a big one) and plonked in another major city
you're not familiar with.
For any local driver like the container truck and local freight trucks then
that is a different story, these guys would be aware of the height of their
trucks and familiar with the road network.
One of the regular offenders is people hiring small box trucks off the
rental companies that you can drive on a car licence, these trucks hit all
sorts of things like bridges, shop fronts, power lines, tree branches and
signs etc. A car drivers licence should be only for that....a car.
* If you look at every approach to Montague St signage starts kilometres
away, and is constantly repeated the closer you get. There is no excuse.
* Fine PLUS take the offending truck, bus or whatever and destroy it.
* Transport Drivers need to stop blindly following their GPS.

A rail link to Melbourne Airport could come down to $7.96. 17.4.17.
Before the federal government, or anyone else for that matter, gets too
excited about the prospects of an airport link to Tullamarine as part of an
overdue $1 billion infrastructure refund to Victorians, there's a far more
humble figure that we need to consider. Seven dollars and ninety-six cents,
to be precise.
The significance of this relatively meagre sum hasn't featured in the
long-winded debate over the airport link but it should, because it
represents a key factor in whether a Melbourne link will ever be built and,
if so, whether it will ever attract the anticipated patronage.
A plane takes off from Melbourne Airport, under the gaze of air traffic
controllers. Photo: Craig Abraham .
Sydney's airport rail line is held up as a template for Melbourne and
although Kingsford Smith is much closer to the city centre it shares with
Tullamarine a critical characteristic: both are operated under 99-year
leases from the federal government and their operators have the final say on
what gets built on the land they control.
That's why it costs train commuters almost $8 to travel the one extra stop -
less than 90 seconds of train time - from Mascot station, located outside
Sydney airport, to the domestic terminal station located on the airport
site. How does Sydney Airport get away with this legalised larceny? Quite
simply it seems. As a lessee it's allowed to charge whatever it likes for
having a station built on its premises.
The Skybus: the closest thing we have to a rail link. Photo: Roy Chu .
It's true that not all of the $7.96 for that last stop goes into Sydney
Airport's pocket but a year ago The Sydney Morning Herald reported that
around 80 per cent of the peak hour train ticket charge from the city ended
up in Sydney Airport's bank account.
The lesson is clear. Melbourne airport's operators will seek to extract the
same high rental for the sought after link, meaning the cost of travelling
to the airport by rail will be far higher than anyone expects. Why? Because
they can. Nothing in the Howard government era lease agreement will prevent
a similarly usurious rental being demanded by Melbourne Airport's operators.
Any proposal that does not reward the operator handsomely will result in
them sitting on their hands for as long as it takes to extract a similarly
prohibitive charge.
So, before the federal government starts throwing budget money on the table
and raising expectations that an airport rail link is only a Victorian
government nod away, perhaps it could answer this question: What will it do,
as the lessor of the airport, to ensure that Melburnians don't get ripped
off by an outrageously inflated rental charge courtesy of its lessee?
It's probably not a question the federal government wants to think about and
not just because it didn't think through its 1997 lease. As owner of the
Future Fund which holds a 20 per cent stake in Melbourne Airport's operator,
Australia Pacific Airports, the federal government is hopelessly conflicted;
the higher the rental charge imposed by the airport on any future rail line,
the better off its Future Fund will be. Yet a higher rental fee will
discourage passenger use, the very thing its forthcoming announcement hopes
to one day achieve.
If the federal government wants to impress Victorians with its forthcoming
announcement of airport rail link funding I have a simple suggestion.
Announce at the same time that the ACCC will be given the power to regulate
airport transport access charges, something the regulator has been seeking.
That way not only will the likelihood of an airport rail link improve but it
will be a fairer service for all who ultimately use it.
Tony Robinson served as Consumer Affairs Minister in the Brumby Government.
<www.theage.com.au/comment/a-rail-link-to-melbourne-airport-could-come-down-
to-796-20170414-gvl3ij.html?&login_token=VieouGWy0hmT_cAZUXIQ1HvJU6g3ijRkGkF
LNEwgTPmmxyakYTAOq4SP2o2tM4APpstzYuCcO3v-v75kt39IuA&expiry=1492390132&single
_use_token=Svv6Hh9xYEr14cNLMVy00-Ez7ja_M3g69Fg7QaJ_7Ye1XYTa4SVI5k9WNl9hhx1uD
rCvTQqMJlqxtY3Wkv4CQw#comments>
* It is common the world. The section of line directly to the airport
terminal is costly, but nothing like a taxi, uber and monopolistic parking
prices etc. trains have regulated timetables and traffic. it will be well
worthwhile
* $8 sounds like a bargain compared when compared to $75 it typically costs
me to get a taxi to / from the airport.
* May we never be so stupid as to privatise state owned assets ever again.
* Wrong - Sydney's airport railway was privately built, hence the "station
access charge." That is a fee levied by Sydney Airport Link company, who
built the tunnels and operate the stations.
<www.airportlink.com.au/company>.
* Rail link to Melbourne airport is way overdue. Skybus is not the solution
as it is stuck in traffic. I will give my next vote to the party who's
realising this project, even if I have to vote for Pauline Hanson.
* Then may I suggest that Mr Robot neon and all the other over paid under
worked state and federal government mandarins, get off their collective
posteriors and start acting like the sovereign governments they were elected
to work for and represent. The airport is a monopoly; we in the 21st century
under competition law are not meant to have monopolies. Things like this can
simply be legislated for, you know legislation. The stuff that elected
governments representing the people are meant to do for the good of the
state. Not sit on their hands as is the recent trend and throw up their
hands and say we can't do anything. Oh and at the same time how about
employing people with actual brains in the public service whose are better
at drawing up these agreements and leases and actually understand PPP's and
not continually get out manouvered by private companies - given the wealth
creation of these assets the state should always have been in the
controlling position. It is well known in private commercial circles that
governments are idiots and inept when it comes to negotiating agreements and
PPP's. About time our employees woke up to themselves.
* And we have just sold off the Port of Melbourne will the same apply to
future trains taking out containers instead of trucks What wonderful clever
people we have in charge
* Good points in this article.
I'd also be interested to know how much of the SkyBus fare goes to the
airport company for allowing the bus stops and ticket booths to be set up on
their property.
I understand also that if a rail link is set up, SkyBus is up for large
compensation from the government.
On that basis, even if a rail link is built (I wouldn't bet on seeing it in
my lifetime), by the time it's completed, the compensation to SkyBus and the
rental to the airport is paid, I would predict a fare of around $40 each
way, about double what SkyBus charges and in line with the transport options
of other airports with bus and rail links.
* I don't object to a surcharge or additional fee on top of the Myki fare to
use an airport rail line/station to Tullamarine, provided that it is not
unreasonable and that when the cost of the rail line is recouped, it is
removed.
Mind you, I would expect for a surcharge to be levied that the railway line
to the airport is a dedicated service with new, dedicated rolling stock,
made suitable for airport transfers. If it's just going to be a regular old
service that branches off to the airport from somewhere with existing Metro
carriages (aka, the cheap version of doing the line) then no, I wouldn't be
so happy.