-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 13 June 2018 11:58 PM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: Thurs.7.6.18 daily digest

Attached.

180604 Metro Twitter City Rd, truck hit.

180607Th Melbourne 'Herald Sun':
- energy shale oil. with flickr.
- bus travel.
- Metro changes.

Yahoo is showing no photos in the web version. For those formerly relying
on web viewing: photos are variously at <www.westonlangford.com>,
<www.hcvc.com.au/forum/index>, https://tdu.to, <www.paddleducks.co.uk>,
Metro Twitter https://twitter.com/metrotrains, Age / SMH / Brisbane Times
/ Canberra Times ' WA Today at the links, and
<www.flickr.com/photos/13175590@N00> (for 7 days, search on tag
'workaround').
I have experimented with direct email. The photos don't go through, just a
link to the attachments section at Yahoo. However, that is blank: the last
attachments showing were posted in April.
I will keep the flickr workaround for a while longer. Jeff and I have
chatted re relocating transportdownunder to groups-io. I don't know what
Chris is thinking re vicrail-news.

Roderick.

Metro Twitter Thurs.7.6.18
5.31 Buses to replace trains North Melbourne - Upfield (vandalism). Buses
have been ordered, but may take over 30 minutes arrive, consider alternate
transport: tram route 19; local bus route 532 for travel between Craigieburn
and Upfield.
- 6.17 Eight buses in operation; extended journey time 40 min.
- 6.21 Is the Craigieburn line impacted?
- 6.43 Replacement buses departing Upfield towards North Melbourne every 15
min.
- 7.06 Trains have resumed, with minor delays.
- 7.11 Can I catch a train from Batman to Parliament?
- 7.17 We are getting trains in position; the first from Batman will be the
7.53.
- 7.26 Oh yeah thanks I just got here. Next train 35 min away.
- 7.27 And no sign of any replacement bus.
- 7.29 The next bus is departing from Merlynston now, and should be only
minutes away.
- 7.37 Minor delays? My train was cancelled. I'd say that's a major delay.
- 7.48 where is the service which we were told was arriving at Anstey at
7.44? How much longer? Should we take a bus to city instead?
- 7.54 the first train is still 20 minutes away from Anstey (7.44 from
Upfield, delayed by 10 minutes). Tram 19 maybe an option.
- 8.01 Thanks for the reply. I misunderstood, thought it was 7.44 from
Anstey. Tram it is!
- 8.18 Two days in a row over 15 minute delays? Joy. When would one expect a
train to arrive at Flemington Bridge?
- 8.23 We had earlier vandalism that closed the line causing
delays/cancellations, you should have a train at Flemington Bridge now.
- 8.24 The first train was like a sardine can; I'm getting the tram instead.
- 8.26 Yes, but no one could get on. Most unreliable service in the world.
- 8.45 How does that explain completely cancelling the 8.36 from Anstey?
Either the trains are running or they're not.
- 12.08 Some scribbles on a carriage was such a big deal that you had to
close the entire line down? You couldn't possibly wait just a few hours for
it to be cleaned off when it's not peak hour? What was so urgent that it
just HAD to be done IMMEDIATELY?
- 12.14 The vandalism was to trackside equipment, which was a safety issue,
and was not in/on a carriage.
- 15.00 Website saying good service. By when will the trains start running?
16.17 Sandringham line: Minor delays (an equipment fault near Brighton
Beach). Services may be cancelled.
- 17.11
Iii@ii@iiiiiiiikkiiiikkikikiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikiiikiiikiikiikiikiiikkiiiiiiiiiii
ikiiiii.
20.59 Glen Waverley line: Minor delays (MFB attending to a fire in the
Tooronga - Gardiner area). Services may be held.

Melbourne Express, Thursday June 7, 2018.
8.54 An ill passenger has had to be taken off a train at Ascot Vale. Delays
are expected to not be longer than ten minutes and should clear quickly.
7.50 Upfield trains are running again after an earlier line suspension.
Heads up that there will still be some minor delays.
Metro has apologised for the commuter pain and said the shutdown was caused
by vandals damaging trackside equipment near Flemington Bridge.
Spanish researchers have found that the Macarena could save lives. A study
in Barcelona found that humming the 90s Euro pop hit can help first
responders keep time while doing CPR chest compressions. Other songs that
encourage the
right rhythm include ABBA's Dancing Queen and Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.

PSO and cop assaulted at station. A woman and two men have been arrested
after a PSO and a police officer were assaulted at Armadale station last
night.
The PSO was patrolling the platform when a woman allegedly hit him in the
back of the head with a bottle.
6.46 the Upfield line has been suspended. Metro Trains is saying replacement
buses are on their way but your journey time could be extended by 40
minutes. I'll keep you updated.
6.17 Upfield lines: 8 buses in operation North Melbourne & Upfield, extended
journey time 40 mins.
5.58 Sun-dappled Melbourne commuters. Photo: Eddie Jim
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-express-thursday-june-7-2018-
20180607-p4zjxp.html>

Napier Street bridge strikes again, shipping container sent flying 7 June
2018.
The Napier St bridge strikes again. Photo: City of Maribyrnong Twitter
A shipping container was sent crashing to the road on Thursday afternoon,
after yet another truck driver misjudged the height of the infamous Napier
St bridge in Footscray.
An image of the aftermath posted to Twitter by the City of Maribyrnong,
showing the entire lane blocked by the container.
The bridge was last hit in April, with a shipping container truck also
involved.
A VicRoads spokeperson confirmed that "a truck hit the yellow height
indicator" and that "the whole container came off."
VicRoads also said that the westbound lane of Napier Street had been closed
so that the bridge's low clearance sign could be repaired, having been
destroyed in the incident.
VicRoads was unable to say when the repairs would be completed and the lane
reopened.
In July 2017, a shipping container careered off a truck, and smashed into a
car behind, leaving three men with minor injuries.
No other cars were involved in the incident today.
<www.theage.com.au/melbourne-news/napier-street-bridge-strikes-again-shippin
g-container-sent-flying-20180607-p4zk50.html>
* With our great railway engineering feats of late you would think that it
wouldn't take too much effort to raise a railway a metre or so to provide
the standard clearance rather than waste money on signs. Should be able to
use a packer block and do it over a weekend! With Montague Street I'm told
that lowering the road would create flooding problems. There are a number of
places in Melbourne where pumps already solve that problem.

NSW government bows to pressure over length of Bankstown rail closures 7
June 2018. 32 comments.
Plans to close Sydney's Bankstown rail line for six weeks a year for five
years have been ditched following community opposition to the disruption
caused during construction to convert it to carry single-deck metro trains.
The state government has also promised residents that the heritage character
of stations along the 122-year-old line between Bankstown and Sydenham, such
as ticket booths and platform buildings, will be retained following the
multibillion-dollar project.
The Bankstown Line will be converted to carry single-deck, driverless metro
trains. Photo: Simon Alekna
While the six-week annual closures will not go ahead, Transport for NSW is
yet to reveal exactly how it will find the time needed for construction of
the metro line.
It said a "program of closures is being refined to minimise impacts" and was
investigating "short individual station closures".
Thousands of commuters will be forced to catch buses during any shutdowns of
the 13.5-kilometre stretch of the line between Bankstown and Sydenham.
Under the previous plans, the six-week closures were to occur during the
December-January school holidays, as well as those in July each year.
Apart from the as-yet-undefined closures over a five-year period from later
this year, a shutdown is still planned for up to six months towards the end
of the construction phase in late 2023.
The Sydenham to Bankstown Alliance, a group opposed to conversion of the
line, said the transport agency needed to "come clean" on how construction
would occur if it was dropping 30 of 71 weeks previously planned for line
closures for the project.
Commuters will be forced to catch buses during closures of the Bankstown
line. Photo: Peter Rae
"How are they going to make that up? It just shows they are in a state of
some confusion about how they will deliver the project," the group's
spokesman, Peter Olive, said.
"This should be a concern for people who live along the line and people who
use the trains."
The conversion of the rail corridor is due to start later this year as part
of the second stage of the $20 billion metro train line from Sydney's north
west to Chatswood, the CBD, and on to Bankstown. Upgrades to 11 stations
between
Sydenham and Bankstown will each take about two years.
Transport for NSW said disruption caused to nearby roads and road bridges
and underpasses would also be reduced, following further work on refining
the project.
Under the initial plans, 23 road bridges and underpasses in Sydney's west
would need to be upgraded or rebuilt to enable the Bankstown rail line to be
converted.
Labor has vowed to ditch the project to convert the Bankstown line if it
wins the state election next March, and divert funds to fast-tracking a
proposed $16 billion-plus metro line from Sydney's CBD to Westmead near
Parramatta via
Olympic Park.
But the Berejiklian government has said it can build both lines, and has
attacked Labor's policy as a move that will "condemn the entire rail network
to decades of delays".
An existing 13-kilometre line between Epping and Chatswood in Sydney's north
will also be closed for seven months from September 30 to allow for its
conversion to a metro line.
Related Article
About 66,000 vehicles pass over the Stacey Street overbridge at Bankstown
each day.
Bankstown Line upgrades for underpasses, 23 bridges a 'construction
nightmare'
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/state-bows-to-pressure-over-length-of-bankstown
-rail-closures-20180607-p4zk4g.html>

Man killed by a bus in apparent driver-training exercise gone wrong 7 June
2018.
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/man-killed-by-a-bus-in-sydney-s-west-20180607-p
4zk0p.html>

Man charged over Sydney bus stop stabbings 7 June 2018.
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/man-charged-over-sydney-bus-stop-stabbings-2018
0607-p4zjxx.html>

A man tried to abduct a woman from a Canberra bus stop: police 7 June 2018.
<www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/a-man-tried-to-abduct-a-woman-from-a-
canberra-bus-stop-police-20180607-p4zk53.html>

Matt Johnston: Is rail keeping up? Commuter says no
Herald Sun June 7, 2018
EXPLAINER: Petrol prices hit four-year high.
PETROL prices have soared to as high as $1.60 in recent weeks, a level the
nation's consumer watchdog said hadn't been seen since mid-2014.
Funnily enough, that was a state election year, too.
While there ain't much a state government can do about oil giants screwing
us, one of the consequences of sustained high prices can be a shift from
cars to public transport.
There's no exact science to this, but getting pumped at the bowser a couple
of times a week, coupled with sitting in choking traffic, can really set
your mind to finding alternative means of transport.
So, is our public transport system better, or worse, than the last time
petrol prices rocketed? For most people, it's a matter of personal
perspective.
I catch the train and tram a lot, but mainly from the inner suburbs where
services are more frequent so my most common gripe is when I can't fit on a
carriage.
I used to catch trains from further down the Frankston line, which has
improved over the past two political cycles because so many electorates
along there are marginal.
So, is our public transport system better, or worse, than the last time
petrol prices rocketed? For most people, it's a matter of personal
perspective. Picture: Eugene Hyland
Public transport guru Daniel Bowen blogged recently that progress has been
made in the past decade - pointing to grade separations, extra services,
newer trams and trains, and so on - but we are still suffering growing
pains.
Premier Daniel Andrews was out this week saying the Melbourne Metro was
being built to ensure "turn up and go" services, because we can barely fit
any more trains on the busiest lines during peaks.
Metro will open in 2025.
Only seven years to go!
So, what about the intervening period, as Victoria's population grows by
150,000 a year?
Bowen says some more services can be squeezed, bigger trains can be run, and
more buses and new trams would help, as well as building better services
outside of peak times.
These basics are rarely rated by political parties as vote winners, but can
be the difference between standard grumbles and flat-out commuter rage in
coming years.
Shortly after the Premier's Metro press conference, near the Shrine, I
headed to the tram stop at Domain interchange.
Inexplicably, I couldn't find anywhere to top up my myki at the stop, so I
looked for a shop.
The newsagent was closed.
I considered running the gauntlet of ticket inspectors and jumping on a tram
anyway, but chickened out and walked into the city.
Why there aren't more top-up points for myki is beyond me.
Premier Daniel Andrews was out this week saying the Melbourne Metro was
being built to ensure 'turn up and go' services, because we can barely fit
any more trains on the busiest lines during peaks. Picture: AAP
At Parliament station, there is now a quick top-up point that is basically a
small computer screen on a stick that allows me to put more money on my card
by using my credit card's pay pass. They should be at all major stops.
The lack of progress towards better functionality of myki nine years after
the $1.5 billion debacle began operating is a national joke.
Almost a decade ago, I took part in a video trialling myki.
Apart from the pace at which I've lost hair since 2009, most changes have
been incremental.
Auto-top ups are great, as long as you don't misplace a card and rock up to
the station without one.
Don't get me started on paying $6 for a new card - I think my household has
eight and counting, after leaving them in different suit pants or bags over
the years.
Apparently, we are about to undergo a technological revolution where a few
people will use their mobile phone to touch on and off the transport
network. Given how well it's gone so far, forgive me for being sceptical
about that lengthy trial.
So with our network so clogged, with little room to give and with a
second-rate ticketing system, where do our politicians turn?
As with the Metro rail tunnel, some solutions to congestion are on the way,
but at least two elections will come and go before most will be open.
video: Melbourne Metro construction timelapse
This goes for road and rail.
What's more likely in the next few months is for parties to focus on the hip
pocket.
Giving voters car rego discounts and a public transport fare reprieve would
be a good distraction.
Discounts for families travelling on the train are being considered, and
paying more than $800 just to get a car on the road is a joke for people
already drowning in bills.
At least then, when frustrated commuters are stranded at a train, tram or
bus stop, or playing "gas, brake, honk" on the roads while watching dollar
signs flash before their eyes because of petrol prices, a political party
can argue
it's doing something for people.
Infrastructure Victoria also floated the idea of shifting people away from
peak hours with discounts for non-peak travel.
Getting a cheaper fare to try to encourage more people going to work at 7am
instead of 8am would ease the squeeze.
Andrews was lukewarm at best in his response to the idea this week. It seems
a no-brainer to me.
Keeping pace with population growth and easing the squeeze on roads and rail
over the next decade is a much tougher proposition.
AUSTRALIA'S PETROL PRICES HIT FOUR-YEAR HIGH.
MELBOURNE METRO TUNNEL TRAIN STATION DESIGNS REVEALED.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT SHAKE-UP TO COME WITH METRO RAIL TUNNEL.
Comments 14
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/matt-johnston-is-rail-keeping-up-commuter
-says-no/news-story/d455e14a162c0b6c0fe707707acae69d>
* Transport,Rail or road, Health, Education and Housing will never keep up
whilst all sides of Politics keep Immigration as such high numbers. We are
being swamped.
* Trains will not work ..where I live 20 ks out of Melbourne about 20 car
park spaces then about 100 yards away plenty of car spaces but you get
charged about $20 a day in fees ...thats greed for you......
* They can do something about both the oil giants screwing us and PT.
But they won't! Cos the Oil and Petrol and Car mob and the 3 Govt levels are
their besties.
And the above both run the PTS (system.) Cos they want you... in cars, in
the city. And then back home again.
* Nothing will ever be done by our governments...you do know that if you put
100 litres into your car (and that won't get you far ) then the Govt gets
$40.10 in tax ..they are making a fortune so they wont change it
* No extra services on Belgrave line, still 30 minutes service non peak,
travel time extended aka Its not in a marginal seat area, so never gets a
look in.
* I've been reading about network upgrades for forty years and in those days
there were signal boxes and semaphore signals lit by kerosene.
These days I'm still reading about system still decades behind that it's a
cliche and vague enough to be a truism.
Still we do get network failures and I suspect that age of equipment has
nothing to do with it.
In a "big" network like Melbourne's there will always be problems somewhere.
I hope those in charge are not cutting corners by reducing maintenance which
is false economy and an indicator that Metro is considering pulling out.
* They are cutting corners, so you have to use a car. (even Train delays or
not train at all.) And it's not just the Unions at work, either.
Plus I now wonder, with every Traffic Lights (of not just how close alot
are.) but how many longer, you have to wait at them, till the Lights
finally, change for you...??
More Petrol money, I hear for them, maybe?
* Matt, 'early bird' fares if you swipe on and off before 7.15 am (free)
have been in for quite some time.
* Over the last year or so from my outer Eastern suburbs home I have
regularly attended court cases in Melbourne and almost weekly trips to relax
in the golden triangle west of Ballarat.
Whether it be suburban or regional trips on trains and buses I always allow
an extra hour per trip because I know the train system can NOT be relied on
to get me where I want to go on time because the system is about 3 decades
behind
the rest of the community needs.
* Try more than 3 decades.
* Both political parties are peevish in opposition and useless in power.
Both are steered by the useless DoI/DoT/PTV/TfV. The constantly-morphing
quango has consistently avoided doing anything useful, while chasing
ego-tripping gold-plated ribbon-cutting projects. What we could have had,
from 20 years ago, 80% capacity increase with double-deck trains on all
routes; resignalling for greater density; improved feeder-bus routes to
properly-designed convenient interchanges; removal of outer-suburban
single-line chokes. The new tunnel will do nothing to improve the 20 min
headways applying to most outer routes. Both parties kept reducing
outer-suburban fares for pork-barrel vote catching, right when rising petrol
prices made existing fares both sustainable and reasonable.
* Only partly right; never fall for management myths. The work needed at
some locations would have been trivial in cost compared with the Swanston St
tunnel. Belgrave, Lilydale and the crucial Pakenham were already

Heavy fog causes delays for ferries, flights in Sydney 7 June 2018. 3
comments.
<www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/heavy-fog-causes-delays-for-ferries-flights-
in-sydney-20180607-p4zjy4.html>