----- Forwarded Message -----
 To: Tdu Transportdownunder transportdownunder@...>
Sent: Monday, 11 March 2019, 20:46
Subject: Sat.9.3.19 daily digest.

Roderick.
Sat.9.3.19 Metro Twitter.
Alamein/Belgrave/Lilydale lines: Buses replace trains Burnley - Box Hill until last train, Mon 11 Mar due to station upgrade works.  Trains will operate Camberwell - Alamein to an altered timetable.
- How will the stations be upgraded?
- Platform upgrade works at Camberwell.
- Pick the public holiday when DownloadFestAU is on.
- Some works take longer than a day or two, so by doing the works on the long weekend, they avoid having to close the line over busier normal weekdays.. It's all about minimising the disruption to the least number of passengers possible.
- but it’s also Moomba weekend and a lot of families would be relying on trains to get them into the city
- That's why they are putting on replacement buses!
- There was a time when engineers and managers could do it without closing the line at all.  That is a station with three platforms, and still Metro can't cope.
- I hope that you don’t get rid of Mont Albert station; it means the world to me.
2.30 Frankston line: Major delays (vandals interfering with La Trobe St level crossing).
2.33 Upfield line: Major delays after police attended to vandals at Jewell.
Sunbury/Craigieburn/Upfield/Werribee lines: All trains will run direct Flinders St - North Melbourne (tunnel works).  [They do anyhow at weekends; it is inbound trains which are altered].
6.22 Frankston line: Minor delays (equipment faults near Mordialloc).
There are extra trains to Flemington Racecourse today for horse racing.  Route 57 trams also serve the venue.
11.02 Minor delays (staff and a wildlife ranger attending to a kangaroo near the line between Mernda and Hawkstowe).
- 11.33 clearing.
13.25 Trains may arrive and depart from altered platforms between Caulfield and Moorabbin until further notice.

Railroads parading as metros: the long and short of Sydney rail maze March 9, 2019.
There’s a lot to be said for not making the perfect the enemy of the good. Criticism of the transport policies of Gladys Berejiklian’s government should grapple with the fact the government is doing a lot, and a lot of what it is doing will be of huge benefit to Sydney and NSW.
But sometimes the government does things that are weird, and it can be difficult not to quibble with the good.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport Minister Andrew Constance arrive at Westmead train station to announce an extra $3.4 billion on the Metro West if she wins this month's election. Credit:AAP
This column is about the government’s confused and the confusing use of the term “metro”.
It  is building – has pretty much built – a “metro” rail line from Epping to beyond Rouse Hill. It is building another "metro" under Sydney’s harbour and central business district, from Chatswood to Sydenham. It will extend that “metro” to Bankstown. This week it said it would start construction on a line between Westmead and the CBD next year. And it has committed to a “metro” running to the airport at Badgerys Creek.
Those scare quotes are meant to suggest there is something awry with the government’s use of the term. It seems to mean a couple of things by the term metro. Mostly it means a certain type of train – one that is more light-weight than the regular Sydney Trains double-deckers. It means a single-deck train which, in Sydney’s case, will be operated without drivers.
The government also uses the term metro as synonymous with fast. These new metro lines will be faster than the clunky old regular train services, it says.
But in other parts of the world, metro means more than just small train. Because metro trains are lighter than, well, heavier rail, they are quick to start and stop. This makes them well suited to inner-city areas where there are plenty of rail stations. And this is how they are most often used.
According to the International Association of Public Transport, the average gap between stations on a metro line is 1.2 kilometres. The average gap between metro stations in Europe is even smaller, at less than a kilometre.
As a consequence, metros tend to be less suited for longer trips. The frequency of stops makes lengthier journeys annoying. This is particularly so because metro trains often do not have many seats (less of a problem if you’re travelling shorter distances).
The station for Sydney Metro beneath Hunter Street in the city.
In this regard, metro rail is typically contrasted with suburban or commuter rail. There is no sharp line between the two types of rail system. But as a rough guide, commuter or suburban rail brings people into inner areas from the suburbs. Once in the inner city, depending on where you are in the world, you might be able to change from a commuter rail to a metro.
So you catch the Long Island Rail Road to Manhattan before transferring to the subway. You change to the Tube from one of the commuter rail lines that radiates from London. Or you hop from the Paris RER to the Métro.
Global commuter rail systems are said to have an average trip length of about 20 kilometres. This is about the length of the average trip on Sydney Trains. Sydney’s rail system is a commuter rail system.
Which gets to the meat of the issue. The government is spending tens of billions introducing metro trains to Sydney. But those trains are being set up to largely replicate Sydney’s commuter rail trips – long trips, with long gaps between stops.
The government is using metro trains to try to be all things to all people. But this can produce some weird results.
In 2024, Sydney is scheduled to have 31 metro stations and a 66km metro rail system.
This week Berejiklian announced the stop locations on the proposed West Metro line between Westmead and the CBD. In the inner west, her government proposes one stop at Five Dock and another at Rozelle. There’s a 5km gap in between – almost five times more than the global average between metro stops.
Similarly, on the metro line under construction between Chatswood and Sydenham, there is a gap of about 4km between stops at Waterloo and Sydenham. Gaps between inner-city Sydney Trains stations are much smaller.
So Sydney’s heavy trains, which are slow to stop and start, will continue to stop more frequently in the inner suburbs. But the metro trains, which are well-suited to more frequent stopping and starting, will travel longer without coming to a halt.
It didn’t have to be like this. A decade ago, the Herald held an exhaustive public inquiry into Sydney’s transport system. The inquiry focused heavily on understanding the benefits and attributes of different types of rail.
Based on this understanding, the experts running the inquiry recommended expanding and adding to Sydney’s existing commuter rail network, and then later complementing the commuter network with genuine stand-alone metro lines with frequent stops.
This Coalition government’s heavy funding of rail through Sydney is undoubtedly a break from the ordinary in NSW. But it’s another question about whether the benefits will be all they could have been.
In particular, there is a good chance that the large gaps between rail stations in inner Sydney will be seen, in  decades to come, as examples of muddled thinking leading to a missed opportunity to create a city more oriented to public transport.
Related Article NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said infrastructure investment would be the "mainstay of the economy". NSW's $90 billion infrastructure spend crucial for jobs boost, says government
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/railroads-parading-as-metros-the-long-and-short-of-sydney-rail-maze-20190307-p512h3.html>
* At last a journalist who can see through the propaganda.  It isn't just governments who are besotted by the term, without knowing what it means..  The bureaucrats feeding them are just as lost.  Quite apart from station spacing, there are issues of urban geography and travel patterns..  Sydney's fake 'metro' was predicated on lies, and a complete ignoring of the world's most-relevant example: Paris RER line A.  That has double-deck trains on 2 min headways.  In a Sydney (or Melbourne) context: more passengers per hour per track.  Boring Sydney's tunnels to the Bradfield profile would have cost no more, and would have provided for the future.
Man hit by Canberra tram while walking through intersection March 9, 2019.
A man is in a stable condition after he was hit and injured by a tram undergoing testing on Canberra's light rail tracks, about a month out from the network's planned start date.
An ACT government spokeswoman said initial investigations suggested the pedestrian had stepped in front of the light rail vehicle against a red signal while wearing headphones.
Emergency services at the scene of a collision between a tram and a pedestrian in Canberra on Saturday morning.Credit:Elesa Kurtz
Firefighters and paramedics responded to the incident, which happened at the intersection of Northbourne Avenue with Barry Drive and Cooyong Street, at 7.47am on Saturday.
An Emergency Services Agency spokesman said the man suffered upper body injuries and injuries to both legs.
The man remained conscious after the collision and was not trapped under the tram. He was taken to Canberra Hospital in a stable condition.
The ACT government spokeswoman said the tram driver applied the emergency brakes and an initial review of the incident suggested emergency protocols "worked well and were followed".
Emergency services tend to a pedestrian after they were hit by a tram on Canberra's light rail network.Credit:Katie Burgess
"Operations and testing were immediately halted following the incident, but resumed following viewing of the incident when operators were confident of safety along the route," she said.
Trams are currently being tested on the light rail line between Gungahlin and the city, with stage one of the network expected to start taking passengers on a Saturday some time in April.
After Saturday morning's collision, a large crack was visible in the windshield of the tram involved.
Sharna Thompson, a window washer who witnessed the incident, said it left her feeling shocked.
"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it happen," she said.
"I turned around and [the man] was on the ground.
"He'd hit the windscreen, but I'm not actually sure what caused [the collision]."
Ms Thompson said she hadn't seen any near misses involving trams while washing windows at the intersection where the crash happened.
Emergency services at the scene of a collision between a tram and a pedestrian in Canberra on Saturday morning.Credit:Elesa Kurtz
She said the tram driver had reversed the vehicle after the collision and alerted emergency services.
Speed limits for light rail vehicles match the limits on the roads adjacent to the tracks, up to a maximum of 70 kilometres an hour.
Northbourne Avenue, which has a speed limit of 60, has the highest incidence of pedestrian collisions in the ACT. The Sunday Canberra Times reported in November that more than one in 10 of the territory's crashes involving pedestrians happen on Northbourne Avenue.
The ACT government spokeswoman urged all Canberrans to be aware of their surroundings and obey the road rules in the light rail corridor.
"Light rail vehicles are travelling the full length of the alignment between Gungahlin and the city at both day and night," she said.
"Light rail vehicles are quiet and large. It is important Canberrans pay attention near the light rail tracks."
In April 2018, Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris launched the "Rail Ready" light rail safety program, which included a video with tips for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers to stay safe around trams.
"If everyone follows the rules, we all stay safe," Ms Fitzharris said at the time.
The ACT government spokeswoman said the safety campaign had been "communicated to the community continuously" since it began.
"At every opportunity, the ACT government and Canberra Metro are reminding the Canberra community of the need to obey traffic rules and to be aware of your surroundings in the light rail corridor," she said on Saturday.
"We hope this morning’s incident serves as another reminder to Canberrans to pay attention when around light rail."
Related Article Canberra Metro and the ACT Emergency Services Agency staged a car versus light rail vehicle crash to test the responses of firefighters and paramedics.  Whatever you do, don't argue with a tram.
<www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/man-hit-by-canberra-tram-while-walking-through-intersection-20190309-p512ww.html>

Melbourne’s security bollards criticised by architect.
Herald Sun March 9, 2019.
Bollards on Princes Bridge. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.
Security bollards installed across Melbourne’s CBD have been criticised for making people feel threatened and scared.
Top architect Peter Maddison said he believed the bollards had caused people to feel especially conscious about the danger of being in the city.
Hundreds of the permanent and temporary anti-terror structures have been installed at nine key city locations to stop rogue vehicle attacks.
Princes Bridge with additional bollard works underway. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
The bridge before bollards. Picture: Susan Windmiller
Mr Maddison told the Sunday Herald Sun: “Because they’re so prominent and visual, it makes the threat palpable.”
“They instil a sense of fear in the public the way they’re currently presented,’’ he said.
Mr Maddison, founding director of Maddison Architects and host of popular Foxtel show Grand Designs Australia, called for a rethink in the way bollards were presented.
“It’s how you integrate the structures, aesthetically, so they don’t end up looking like an entrance to a military camp,” he said.
Mr Maddison said bollards designed as street furniture and planter boxes, and the use of kerbside treatments, should be encouraged.
Fellow architect Karl Fender, from Eureka Tower design firm Fender Katsalidis, said there was an understandable quick response to terror and other threats.
“A lot of the protection barriers that went up, went up very quickly as immediate safety precautions,” he said. “And now you’re seeing more thought being given to how they can become part of the public infrastructure in a less perhaps threatening way visually.”
Flinders Street station in 2016. Picture: Alicia Bee
Flinders Street Station today. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Mr Fender said part of the answer was to make bollards look like part of the furniture.
“We’ve never minded bollards before — bollards are all over Europe — they’re just a gentle way of separating pedestrian traffic from vehicular traffic without becoming huge barriers,” he said.
Mr Fender said that noise prevention walls on freeways turned into artworks were an example of how necessary urban measures could be softened.
Bourke Street Mall in 2010, before bollards. Picture: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg News
Bourke St Mall today. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
“If we have a need for separation of traffic from pedestrians you could look at it in the same way — it’s an opportunity, it could just soften it and make it part of the city fabric,” he said.
In January, Lord Mayor Sally Capp said that barriers planned for places such as Princes Bridge had been designed in consultation with Heritage Victoria and heritage architects.
Southern Cross Station before.
Southern Cross Station today. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Last month, James Gargasoulas was jailed for life after being convicted of murdering six people while driving along Bourke St in 2017.
Melbourne City Council started installing concrete blocks as a temporary measure, and now works have started at busy areas such as Flinders St Station to put in permanent bollards.
PLAN FOR NEW BOLLARDS AT KEY MELBOURNE SITES
EMERGENCY SPEAKER ROLLOUT IN MELBOURNE
The city council is working with the Andrews Government over its $50 million CBD security upgrade.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbournes-security-bollards-criticised-by-architect/news-story/42dfda79d50a302fcfbe6d684b6eaa99>