-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 12 December 2017 11:04 AM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: snippets / daily digest, Sun.10 & Mon.11.12.17

Attached:

171211M Metro Twitter - Flinders St.

171211M Melbourne' Age' - Federation Square bollards & tram.

171211M Melbourne 'Herald Sun' - letters, roadsafety, energy. with tdu.

Roderick.

Metro Twitter, Sat.9.12.
14.18 Swanston St trams towards the southern suburbs are operating in sections with no trams between Stop 4 Queensberry St to Stop 112 Lygon St. Route 1 & 6 trams towards the northern suburbs will operate normally. Some trams may divert via Royal Pde.
- 14.36 Because of a collision Swanston St trams are operating between the south eastern suburbs & Stop 4 Queensberry St. Route 1 & 6 trams towards the southern suburbs will divert via Sydney Rd & Royal Pde between Stop 130 The Avenue/Stop 132 Sydney Rd & Stop 7 RMIT.
- 14.37 Route 1 & 6 trams towards the northern suburbs will operate normally. A limited shuttle service will operate southbound between East Coburg & Stop 112 Lygon St.
- 14.47 Swanston St trams have resumed along normal lines after an earlier disruption, with possible delays.

Sun.10.12.17
12.30 Service changes may apply on CBD trams from 2pm today, due to a rally.. Trams are currently operating normally. If service changes occur, we'll keep passengers up to date through tramTRACKER, Twitter, web site travel alerts & announcements to trams & stops.
- 14.51 Due to a rally Swanston St trams towards Melbourne University are operating between the south eastern suburbs & Stop 14 Arts Precinct.
- 15.00 Swanston St trams towards Melbourne University are operating in sections with no trams between Stop 14 Arts Precinct & Stop 7 RMIT University.
- 15.11 Update - Swanston St trams in both directions are now operating in sections with no trams between Stop 14 Arts Precinct & Stop 7 RMIT University. Route 86 & 96 trams are diverting via La Trobe St between Spencer St & Melbourne Museum.
- 15.34 Shuttle service along Bourke St with no trams between Stop 4 Queen St & Stop 7 Russell St.
- 15.37 We don't know when this disruption will finish, but suspect that it may continue for some time.

Mon.11.12

Melbourne Express: Monday, December 11, 2017 Commuters have become stuck in the City Loop for nearly an hour due to a track fault causing major delays..
A network of loudspeakers designed to warn people of terrorists attacks is being rolled out across Melbourne ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations Police Minister Lisa Neville said the Andrews government was setting up speakers at more than 90 key sites as part of its $10 million CBD security upgrade in response to January's Bourke Street tragedy.
The speakers have already been installed across the city, with 65 speaker sets already placed at locations including Federation Square, Bourke Street Mall, Flinders Street Station, the State Library and near the Town Hall.
Ms Neville said a trial demonstration of the speakers would take place on 28 December at the State Library of Victoria.
"We want people to know this trial demonstration is coming so they don't panic if they are in the area on 28 December, the police minister said.
A general view of the bollards at Fed Sqaure and Flinders Street Station on June 23, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. The anti-terror barriers have recently been installed in nine locations around the city. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Fairfax Media) Bollards at Fed Sqaure on June 23, 2017 in Melbourne. Photo: Darrian Traynor.
6.59 Powerlines have been brought down near Citylink in North Melbourne, causing big delays in the area.
Inbound vehicles are blocked from entering Citylink at Racecourse Road and motorists have been told to avoid the area.
Route 57 trams are diverting via Mount Alexander Road between Melrose Street and Union Road and replacement buses are operating alone Racecourse Road.
Emergency services are on the scene working to repair the power fault.
7.15 Caller thinks a has been car dumped in the middle of Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, near Albert Road - it's sideways across the tram tracks.
- 7.22 Oh my - update on car across tram tracks on Clarendon St- caller rang back and says she watched a man exit a nearby coffee shop with coffee in hand, return to car and drive off.
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-express-monday-december-11-2017-20171210-h027by.html>

Where do train replacement buses come from?
ABC Radio Melbourne 15 Nov 2016.
Sign at railway station reading 'No trains operating, replacement buses'
Photo: It can take dozens of buses to replace a train service when a line is closed. (774 ABC Melbourne: Simon Leo Brown) They are the three words that strike fear into Melbourne's public transport users: "Buses replacing trains."
Whether it be for hours due to a line fault, or weeks due to level crossing removal works, few commuters are fans of having to take train replacement buses.
Organising these buses is no small task — a standard bus is licensed to carry 72 passengers, but at peak times a train could be carrying well over 13 times that number.
When the Frankston line closed earlier this year, a fleet of 70 buses was required to shuttle commuters back and forth in place of the railway.
So where do all these extra buses — and bus drivers — come from?
More drivers put on for level crossing works Ron Bria is Director of Operations at Metro Trains and it is his job to ensure the city's train network carries Melburnians to where they need to be.
Part of that job this year has been to manage the impact of the Victorian Government's level crossing removal program, which has seen some lines shut down for weeks at a time.
"A lot of planning goes into the level crossing removal — we know months in advance that we've got a crossing being closed and removed," he said.
"The bus companies have worked very closely with us and actually changed their maintenance regimes ... so we've got more buses available when we need them."
Paul Giusti from bus operator Dyson said some companies were putting on extra staff to cope with the increased demand on their services.
"It's been massive, there's been a lot of resources, a lot of planning, a lot of additional work."
He said some of the buses used to support the level crossing works were charter vehicles which are not used for regular PTV services.
Finding drivers urgently 'can be a challenge'
It is one thing to organise train replacement buses with months of notice, but sometimes they must be organised with no notice at all.
Train lines can be closed by anything from a signal failure to tragic events such as September's horrific level crossing crash which killed two people..
Hundreds of people, some holding umbrellas, surround a single bus.
Photo: Unplanned rail disruptions can force thousands of commuters onto buses. (774 ABC Melbourne: Simon Leo Brown) It is the job of the staff at Metro Trains' control centre to coordinate the buses necessary to transport the passengers affected.
"If we do have a disruption we have [contracts with] bus companies geographically over the city, so we can get buses quickly to the passengers," Mr Briar said.
Mr Giusti said the city's bus companies saw train replacement buses "as an important service that we need to provide".
"The request can be as simple as 'can you send two buses' or it can be as much as 'send us all the buses you can, preferably about 30'."
A bus company will usually have some unused buses in their yard, but contacting the drivers to operate those buses can take some time.
"It can be a challenge especially around school times when buses are being used for school runs," he said, adding that the company might ask their school bus drivers to stay on after completing their runs.
"In the extreme circumstances we'll be ringing up people at home."
Bus companies will often call upon each other for help if more buses are needed than they can provide, he said.
Passengers urged to be patient
Mr Giusti said Dyson's contract with Metro Trains required them to provide buses within 30 minutes of them being requested, but that was not always possible.
"When a train line goes down ... we can actually get affected by the same thing that's actually disrupting the train."
He said each train line has a bus replacement route already mapped out, so drivers know where it is they need to go.
"All you have to do is say 'Hurstbridge to Greensborough' and they know what they're doing."
He said when thousands of passengers are trying to get onto limited buses, it can be a challenge for drivers to not allow the buses to be overloaded.
Both Mr Giusti and Mr Bria urged passengers to be patient when waiting in line for a train replacement bus.
"People need to understand that it does take time to get the buses together, it does take a bit of time to work out what we need to do," Mr Briar said..
<www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-15/where-do-train-replacement-buses-come-from/8018532>

December 9 2017 AGL rebuffs Malcolm Turnbull and commits to ditching Liddell power station for gas, wind and solar . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/agl-rebuffs-malcolm-turnbull-and-commits-to-ditching-liddell-power-station-for-gas-wind-and-solar-20171208-h01qn0.html>