FW: Fri.17.4.18 daily digest
  Roderick Smith

-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Saturday, 12 May 2018 9:33 AM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: Fri.17.4.18 daily digest

Attached:

180427F - Melbourne 'Age' - tramstop arrest.

180427F Melbourne 'Herald Sun':
- letters (rail).
- Geelong high speed?
- New York High Line [supplementing yesterdays wishlist items].
- tramstop arrest.

180427F Metro Twitter:
- Clayton.
- Melbourne Tram Museum.
- U-beam transport.

Roderick

Fri.27.4.18
Our team will be Rosanna Village Shopping Centre 10.00-12.00to chat about works on the Hurstbridge line.
12.03 Craigieburn/Sunbury/Upfield Lines - Trains will run direct to/from Flinders Street until further notice.
12.36 South Morang line: Major delays clearing after an earlier [unannounced] police action.
13.24 Upfield Line: Delays to 20 minutes (police attending to a trespasser near Royal Park).
- 13.26 Delays now minor.
15.34 Hurstbridge/South Morang lines: Minor delays (an ill passenger requiring medical assistance at Melbourne Central).
- 17.13 Hurstbridge line not running so what do we do? We cancel a peak hour South Morang train!
We've got sliders at Macleod from Sideshow Burgers, until 7 tonight!
In 2012, our W1.431 appeared in a Miss Fisher episode. Come and see what travelling by Melbourne tram was like in the roaring twenties. We're open this Sat 28 April, from 11 to 5.
Massive troughs, massive task. Read more about the work we've been doing with VicRoads to transport the huge U-trough beams from Kilmore to the Skye/Overton Rd level-crossing removal site in Frankston.
By mid-June the final four level crossings between Caulfield & Dandenong will be removed; and the new stations will be open at Carnegie & Murrumbeena. A major construction program will take place from 29 May to 17 June..
20.01 Werribee line: Major Delays (an equipment fault near Seaholme).
- 0.49 Werribee Werribee. Tsk tsk tsk.
0.48 Sunbury line: Major delays (an equipment fault near Sydenham Watergardens).
- 1.34 clearing.

Melbourne Express, Friday, April 27, 2018 nothing tram.

27/04/2018. A major construction program from 29 May to 17 June will remove the final four level crossings along the Dandenong corridor, as well as undertake critical signalling and infrastructure work.
During this time, buses will replace trains on sections of the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. More details will be available soon.
At the end, trains will be running on the last section of elevated rail. Two new stations at Murrumbeena and Carnegie will open to passengers and four more level crossings at Murrumbeena Road, Grange Road, Poath Road and Koornang Road will be gone for good – meaning every level crossing between Caulfield and Dandenong will be removed.
Work on the new Hughesdale Station will continue until later this year.
https://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/media/news/construction-blitz-to-remove-four-more-crossings

Dramatic arrest in Melbourne's CBD after man threatens to shoot tram passengers 27 April 2018.
Video Man threatens to shoot tram passengers The corner of Collins Street and Elizabeth Street went into lockdown as heavily armed police stormed the 109 tram to arrest a man who was threatening to shoot passengers.
Heavily armed police have surrounded a man who threatened to shoot people on a tram in Melbourne's CBD.
The busy intersection of Collins and Elizabeth streets went into lockdown as police with their guns drawn stopped the 109 tram about 12.45pm.
Police with their guns drawn stopped a tram and surrounded the man on Collins Street. Photo: Fulvio Cusumano/YouTube Shocked onlookers filmed the dramatic arrest on mobile phones, as police apprehended the man who allegedly claimed to have a gun on a tram and threatened to shoot everyone on board.
Witnesses said they feared for their lives and dialled triple zero after the man was heard yelling abuse.
Police made the dramatic arrest on Collins Street. Photo: Fulvio Cusumano/YouTube The man was arrested at the tram stop. Officers searched the man, but did not find a weapon.
The man, aged in his mid 30s, is expected to undergo a mental health check.
Fulvio Cusumano had just finished his lunch break and was walking along Elizabeth Street when he heard a female police officer screaming “Get down on the ground!"
"I looked up and I was staring directly down the barrel of a machine gun," he said.
"Straight away I knew something was wrong, my heart was racing pretty fast.... but my first instinct was to pull out my phone and start filming."
Mr Cusumano said he saw four fully vested police officers with their guns drawn waiting for the man to lie down on his stomach.
He said the man had a blue suitcase with a bronze lock on it and a backpack..
"One of the police officers grabbed the backpack and started emptying it and pulled out a laptop while the guy was handcuffed," he said.
Mr Cusumano said he'd been left shaken by the incident.
"My initial thought was 'wow this guy must have done something bad', I thought the police must have got intel on him to arrest him like that," he said.. "It's terrible to say but with the Bourke Street massacre and recent incident in Flinders Street you feel on edge in the city a lot these days."
<www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/dramatic-arrest-in-melbourne-s-cbd-after-man-threatens-to-shoot-tram-passengers-20180427-p4zc39.html>

WestConnex final stage gains approval despite lack of junction design 27 April 2018. 27 comments.
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/westconnex-final-stage-gains-approval-despite-lack-of-junction-design-20180427-p4zc1g.html>

April 27 2018 WA in a 'sweet spot' as federal government splashes rail cash: McGowan .
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged an "historic" $3.2 billion in the 2017-18 budget that will see rail, road and infrastructure commitments like the Morley-Ellenbrook line finally get off the ground.
Mr Turnbull made the announcement alongside Premier Mark McGowan on Friday morning after taking the train from Bayswater to Perth.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with WA Premier Mark McGowan in Perth on Friday. Photo: Hamish Hastie The funding builds on the $2.3 billion allocated in last year’s federal budget.
Of the money, $1.05 billion will go towards the McGowan government’s flagship Metronet projects including the Morley-Ellenbrook line, Midland station project and Byford line extension.
The politicians wander through the rail station. Photo: Hamish Hastie This means total federal funding towards Metronet will now exceed $1.84 billion.
WA roads will benefit from $1.7 billion in funds for major projects like the Bunbury outer ring road and the Tonkin Highway upgrade and extension to South Western Highway.
It's the second joint funding announcement between state Labor and the federal Coalition in as many days, and it looms over Bill Shorten's previously announced $1.6 billion GST top-up commitment.
But Mr McGowan said he still won't be voting Liberal at the next federal election.
"Obviously I appreciate very much the fact that Bill Shorten has come out to WA and made some very important announcements for infrastructure but just remember this, it's not over yet, we still have a year to go to the next federal election,” he said.
“I’d love to see further commitments both by federal Labor and by the federal Coalition for our state.
“WA is now in a bit of a sweet spot, we’re now on the political map, people are acknowledging nationally that we’ve had an unfair deal and I want to make sure I use that and push that for all I’m worth.”
Mr Turnbull said it was a good case of state and federal government working together to ensure WA gets the right infrastructure.
"This is a plan to get West Australians home sooner and safer, to bust congestion, to improve everybody's amenity here in this great city," he said.
"It's a growing city - it needs better infrastructure."
With the election still a year away, the two parties are already heavily targeting four key marginal seats in WA including Pearce - held by Attorney-General Christian Porter - and Stirling, which is held by Human Services Minister Michael Keenan.
Both Liberal MPs were present at Friday's announcement and also at a press conference detailing almost $189 million in federal funding for three hospital upgrades in Perth on Thursday.
The funding package amounts to $5.4 billion, leaving the cash-strapped state government to come up with the remaining $2.2 billion.
RAC General Manager Corporate Affairs Will Golsby welcomed the funding, particularly for the Bunbury outer ring road, but said missing from the announcement was funding for the completion of Albany Ring Road and light rail.
"RAC has consistently called for funding towards light rail for central Perth to provide enhanced connectivity between the CBD and sites such as the University of WA and Curtin University, helping to manage congestion to and through the city," he said.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA Chief Economist Rick Newnham said the funding would go a long way toward addressing WA’s infrastructure needs and will underpin future economic growth and productivity.
Metronet
•Construction of Morley-Ellenbrook Line, (indicative estimated cost of $1 billion, (with $500 million in federal funding); •Extension of the Armadale Line to Byford, (indicative estimated cost of $481 million, with $241 million in federal funding); •The Midland Station Project, including the relocation of Midland Station, (indicative estimated cost of $165 million, with $83 million in federal funding);
•$2 million in business case funding for a railway station at Lakelands, with further federal funding earmarked for the construction, subject to the business case; and •A further $226 million in federal funding to support other Metronet related projects.
Roads.
•Bunbury Outer Ring Road - stages 2 and 3 - completing the remaining stages from the South Western Highway to the Bussell Highway and from the Perth-Bunbury Highway to near Picton Boyanup Road (indicative estimated cost of $700 million, with $560 million in federal funding); •Major Tonkin Highway improvements:
- Stage 3 Extension - extending Tonkin Highway from Thomas Road to the South West Highway, including grade separations at Thomas, Orton and Mundijong Roads and South Western Highway and a grade separated interchange at Bishop Road (indicative estimated cost of $505 million, with $253 million in federal funding)
- Tonkin Highway Gap - widening, reconfiguring and implementing managed motorway technologies to resolve the current gap in service levels (indicative estimated cost of $290 million, with $145 million in federal funding
- Hale, Welshpool and Kelvin interchanges - constructing grade separations at high priority intersections (indicative estimated cost of $366 million, with $183 million in federal funding) •Mitchell Freeway Extension from Hester Avenue to Romeo Road (indicative estimated cost of $215 million, with $108 million in federal funding); •Welshpool Road interchange at Leach Highway (indicative estimated cost of $93 million, with $47 million in federal funding); •Roe Highway-Great Eastern Highway Bypass Interchange (indicative estimated cost of $180 million, with $144 million in federal funding); •Stephenson Avenue extension (indicative estimated cost of $130 million, with $65 million in federal funding); •Great Northern Highway Bindoon Bypass (indicative estimated cost of $275 million, with $220 million in federal funding); and •Planning work for the Eastlink WA Orange Route ($10 million in federal funding) Myalup-Wellington Dam Project
-$140 million and a concessional loan of up to $50 million towards the Myalup-Wellington Dam project which will divert high saline inflows upstream from Wellington Dam for desalination, improving the quality of water stored in and released from the dam for agriculture.
<www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/wa-in-a-sweet-spot-as-federal-government-splashes-rail-cash-mcgowan-20180427-p4zc1h.html>

Arrest in Melbourne CBD on Collins and Elizabeth Streets Herald Sun April 27, 2018.
Guns drawn during Melbourne CBD arrest. Credit: Fulvio Cusumano.
THERE has been a dramatic arrest in Melbourne’s CBD today after a man was allegedly making racist threats and claiming to have a gun on a tram..
Bystanders feared for their lives and phoned police after the man was heard yelling abuse and wanting to “shoot everyone”.
MORE LAW AND ORDER: POLICE ARREST ERRATIC DRIVER IN MELBOURNE GUNS, DRUGS SEIZED IN 10 CITY RAIDS DRIVER ARRESTED AFTER POLICE CORNER CAR IN MELBOURNE CBD Heavily-armed police halted the 109 tram. Picture: Mikaela Day The man is expected to undergo a mental health check. Picture: Mikaela Day The intersection of Collins and Elizabeth streets was shut down as police pounced.
Heavily-armed police halted the 109 tram about 12.45pm and arrested the man, with guns drawn.
Police searched the man but did not find a weapon.
The man, aged in his mid 30s, is expected to undergo a mental health check.
Witness Fulvio Cusumano was walking up Elizabeth Street when he heard a police officer yelling, “Get down on the ground! Get down on the ground!”
“I looked down the barrel of the gun as I was walking past. It was pretty freaky,” Mr Cusumano told the Herald Sun.
“My heart was beating pretty fast, but my first response was to pull out my phone and start filming while this woman (police officer) had her assault rifle out.
“There were three or four officers in full vested outfit, they had assault rifles and were waiting for this guy to get down on his stomach.”
He said the man had a blue suitcase and a backpack.
“A policeman grabbed the backpack and suitcase and pulled out a laptop, but the suitcase looked like it had a little bronze lock on it,” he said.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/arrest-in-melbourne-cbd-on-collins-and-elizabeth-streets/news-story/4607c6eb9010222ea099926157680da1>

April 27 2018 - Light rail intersections aren't being 're-done' because of complaints .
Bumpy intersections along Canberra's Northbourne Avenue light rail corridor were not ripped up at the bequest of irate motorists, the ACT government says.
For months, drivers have reported bottoming out their cars on track slab laid in the centre of intersections along the light rail route, including at Flemington Road/Well Station Drive, Macarthur/Wakefield Avenues and Barry Drive/Cooyong Street.
Construction workers laying the light rail concrete slab on Flemington road.. Photo: Rohan Thomson A truck driver left a one-star review on Capital Metro's Facebook page after "nearly breaking" his neck going through the intersection of Flemington Road and Well Station Drive.
"Sort your 'level' crossings out ffs. It's posted 60kph and I went through west bound at 35 in the truck and near broke my neck. Almost 300mm rise in 1/2 a meter," he wrote in December.
Another driver called the intersection at Macarthur Avenue and Northbourne Avenue "pretty dangerous".
"There’s a ramp flat section where obviously the rail will run and then a harsh ramp on the other side ... there’s lots of vehicles bottoming out as you clearly see," he wrote on social media in January.
"My partner actually saw someone go airborne in this last week they were taking it like a idiot anyway but obviously weren't aware of it and yep airborne and smashed right down I'm sure there would have been some damage," another wrote.
When workers began digging up and relaying the intersections, it fuelled speculation it was because of the impact on traffic.
However the territory government said the work had always been planned, and was not prompted by complaints.
"The intersections are not being ‘re-done’ as the questions imply," a Transport Canberra spokeswoman said.
"As part of the ordinary, planned program of light rail works, intersections along Northbourne Avenue undergo a number of phased activities, such as the relocation of underground services, building track slab and installing track.
"Each time works are completed, some degree of relevelling and re-profiling of the road surface needs to be done to match the levels and geometry of the intersections.
"The levelling works will remove the cement ‘bump’, such as at Wakefield/Macarthur Avenue intersection, and integrate the road surface with the track slab."
The spokeswoman said the cost of this work was already incorporated into the construction contract.
The relevelling will continue over the next few months as track slab and rail track are installed along Northbourne Avenue, she said.
Work is intensifying towards the centre of Canberra as stage one of light rail gets closer to completion, with commuters facing delays and residents dealing with night works.
Cable hauling for traffic lights at Well Station Drive/Flemington Road originally scheduled for April 17 will now begin on April 29, with work to occur until 11 May between 8pm and 6am.
The intersection will be closed to traffic turning right into Flemington Road from Well Station Road and all through traffic along Well Station Drive during these hours.
Flemington Road will be closed for night works between the Federal Highway and Sandford Street between 8pm and 6am from April 29 until May 4.
The Federal Highway northbound will be reduced to one lane between the Barton Highway and Phillip Avenue intersections from April 26 to May 18, with motorists told to expect delays.
<www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/light-rail-intersections-aren-t-being-re-done-due-to-complaints-20180426-p4zbuq.html>

April 27 2018 Prices have improved, but the gas market is still broken, ACCC finds Despite ongoing reforms, the east coast gas market is still in a bind, a new gas report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has found.
<www.canberratimes.com.au/business/the-economy/prices-have-improved-but-the-gas-market-is-still-broken-accc-finds-20180427-p4zc1s.html>


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