To put things in perspective, the Canstar Blue survey finds Melbourne Metro
and Sydney Trains pretty-much twinned at the bottom of the ranks in public
perception. One is operated by a government entity, one by a private
contractor but that doesn't seem to make any significant difference.
https://www.canstarblue.com.au/city-trains/
The next virtual twinning up at the next rank is Adelaide and Brisbane
trains, with Perth at the top in public satisfaction.
From SCF an interesting comparison using TfNSW and Victorian data:
Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong population up 11% in 6 years, public transport
patronage up 41%
Melbourne population up 16% in 6 years, public transport patronage up 5%
https://i.imgur.com/H31H49N.png
https://i.imgur.com/v3mv4wg.png
For decades, Sydney public transport patronage growth was barely tracking
population growth, in fact generally below par, but during this current
decade it has been turned into the national powerhouse of public transport
growth. Melbourne should really be tracking growth in parallel with Sydney
considering the similar populations and the greater rate of population
growth in Melbourne, but what's happened? A new, supposedly pro-public
transport government in 2014 brought a gradual uptick with trams and trains
but buses have been badly let go (look at Sydney's bus growth by
comparison).
While the Liberals are clearly the public transport party in NSW, in other
states and territories it is traditionally Labor that performs better (e.g.
Perth, Canberra) and so it should be in Victoria. But, I'm curious, what
has the Andrews government been doing for PT in Victoria? Yes there's the
Melbourne "metro" project, that's definitely signficant. The level crossing
stuff is bs, that's a road project being claimed as PT. There is barely a
trickle of new E class trams (cities overseas are often doing tram fleet
renewals in the hundreds). I'm all ears for a summary of big PT stuff in
Victoria that's going to produce growth to keep up with population growth.
Tony P
On Sunday, 21 April 2019 10:52:46 UTC+10, Roderick Smith wrote:
>
>
>
>
> ----- Forwarded Message -----
>
> *To:* Tdu Transportdownunder transport...@... <javascript:>>
> *Sent:* Sunday, 21 April 2019, 10:33
> *Subject:* Mon.8.4.19 daily digest, part 1
>
> As ever, if you don't like, don't read. I never touch the sports pages in
> newspapers, but I have never bitched to the editor to to not print them.
> The railway hobby is full of keyboard warrior's 'I don't want to read
> this, so nobody should'. That dates from usenet days (four groups covered
> the world), then into yahoo groups (googlegroups pretended that usenet was
> their, and never got the moment), then permeated forums, and then exploded
> with facebook.
> In particular, the age of internet has encouraged anonymous posting: total
> trolling, flaming, abuse and outright libel, affecting way more people than
> massacres do.
>
> Today is simply the most-recent episode of management which can't cope,
> doesn't try and doesn't care. Management-convenience (always called 'your
> safety') is its first priority. That includes Metro, DoI/DoT/PTV and now
> VicRoads/DoT. They fool our useless politicians time after time. While
> politicians aren't expected to know anything about their portfolios, and
> rely on permanent departments, railway enthusiasts should not fall for the
> spin, propaganda and outright lies.
> We have the problem that Liberal governments starved funds, then have done
> nothing useful, then have been actively destructive. Labor governments go
> overboard on wrong projects, badly designe, and fossilising troubles for
> decades. This is made worse by arrogance, dictatorial attitudes and
> camouflaging disasters with marketing terms to make them palatable.
> In recent years:
> * Melbourne loop, designed for failure (Lib). Signalled for 24 tph and
> run for 23 tph, when it should have been signalled and run for 30.
> Insufficient portals, and misplaced, resulting in cross-conflicts.
> Workarounds have removed that.
> * Privatisation (Lib). This might have worked if a Japanese franchisee
> had been chosen, but everything was stacked with UK. DoI/DoT/PTV has been
> consistently useless, and unable to operate coherent public transport.
> Cosmetics are more important than substance.
> * Adoption of the philosophy that double-deck is evil (a Lib hack UK
> chairman, permeating down). That destroyed the ability to cope with growth
> over the whole system, and management myths keep on being propagated by
> railway enthusiasts.
> * RFR: (Lab) Not fast, and nobbled with inadequate infrastructure and
> shoddy timetabling.
> * Melbourne Southern Cross (Lab) Badly designed, and made steadily worse.
> * RRL: (Lab): Badly designed, badly implemented and nobbled by federal
> government not funding the Werribee - Tarneit component, then Lib nobbling
> Sunshine. Badly timetabled.
> * Elevated ('Skyrail', Lab). There are places where it works (notably
> beyond Westall and alongside Nepean Hwy); there are places where it doesn't
> work (notably Caulfield - Oakleigh). Along the way, Dandenong was done not
> to allow future four tracks, when the existing easement could fit it. This
> was smothered by outright lies and PTV policy).
> * The Swanston St tunnel ('Metro'). Badly designed, badly justified,
> badly implemented, and the quango can't cope with constructing it. It does
> nothing for the city as a whole, and the figures on the handouts are
> outright lies. The lack of a station at South Yarra would not happen on
> any real metro in the world.
> * South Morang & Mernda: The one good project.
> * All-night trains & trams: A noble Labor intention destroyed by PTV's
> inability to write a useful timetable. The same resources could be
> providing 30 min headways, and better connections. Trains should be
> serving Melbourne Southern Cross (where buses run all night).
> * Level-crossing abolition (Lab): Useful for motorists, but badly
> justified, doing nothing for public transport and resulting in unnecessary
> shutdowns because management can't cope.
> * Bustitution: Incompetent at all times and getting worse. From short
> duration and short distance, these have moved into long duration and long
> length. Never once has an effective replacement been organised. There are
> two categories:
> - Daily/hourly disasters from suicides, hits, illness, trespassers, police
> actions, 'operation incidents' [spads?], equipment failures [points &
> signals], train failures [real or artificial]. There earlier ones should
> be minimised with improved protocols. Police are now just as bad as
> Metro/PTV: they can't cope. Delays at pedestrian hits are prolonged
> unecessarily. Metro calls police delays 'requests'; if so, say no; if
> demands, call them that. Bus replacement is hard to organise. One can't
> expect competent bus operators to be hovering for incompetent Metro.
> Typically, the replacement is not only late arriving, and slow happening,
> but has inadeqate provisionn.However, Metro shouldn't be penalised for
> these. Delays after failures should be sheeted home to Metro penalties:
> lack of maintenance, and artificial rules about door failures and pa
> failures rendering a train unfit for use. Metro also panics re pushing a
> loaded train with another to clear a section, and can't cope with
> evacuating passengers. It relies on emergency services doing that, and
> only after a 60 min delay.
> - Planned works. Most of these bustitutions aren't needed at all. They
> are simply for management convenience, both for maintenance, and for new
> work. When they do take place, Metro isn't penalised for the lengthy
> delays (now typically an hour planned, and well over an hour achieved).
> They should count for penalties, then Metro could decide that under
> in-traffic conditions is a more useful method. Metro/PTV/Vicroads at their
> worst. Provision is always inadequate. PTV has the rule 'no bikes,
> animals or surfboards', and not one manager or politician has ever tried
> riding a bike the length of the replacement. There are always too-few
> buses. Have more, and let the three categories aboard, or put a high-floor
> long-distance bus in the mix, or put a horse float in the mix. Metro
> should be forced to double the frequency of connecting trains at such
> times, redeploying the resources (drivers and trains) not needed for the
> closed section. Typically buses arrive at a station, and passengers have a
> lengthy wait for the next train move, partly because most happen at times
> with 20-30 min headways. In the case of the mass mess in today's digest,
> VicRoads should have provided dedicated bus lanes, if the treble shutdown
> really was needed.
> I may have missed one more disaster, but I'm out of time.
> Mon.8.4.19 Metro Twitter
> Mernda line: Buses replace trains Thornbury - Epping until the last train
> of Tue 9 Apr (level-crossings works). Arrangements as posted before,
> including some South Morang - Watsona expresses to connect with the
> Hurstbridge line.
> Buses replace trains (major works) Flinders St / Parliament - Caulfield
> until the last train of Tue 23 Apr. Dandenong - Pakenham/Cranbourne from
> 20.00 until the last train tonight. Arrangements as posted before,
> including Cranbourne
> passengers having to change at Dandenong.
> Buses replace trains (major works) Flinders St - Caulfield and Frankston -
> Stony Point until the last train of Tue 23 Apr. Arrangements as posted
> before.
> Sandringham line: An altered timetable applies until the last train of
> Tuesday 23 April. Arrangements as posted before.
> While major works are taking place, trams will experience a higher
> demand. Allow extra travel time, especially during peak times.
> - Put more trams in the line to meet demand... Wouldn't that be correct
> approach? This is what happens when it's a private business, profit driven.
> - We work with a range of authorities to ensure minimum impact to
> passengers. There are some circumstances beyond our control which is why we
> advise to allow extra travel time. [damage-control spin, and throw
> management responsibility
> onto passengers].
> 6.58 Delays up to 10 minutes (equipment faults in the Beaconfield -
> Officer and Dandenong areas).
> - 7.36 Already late and all I've done is go from Cranbourne to Dandenong.
> Cranbourne train was 5 minutes late and Caufield train left right as we
> arrived at Dandenong. Great planning and execution from Metro!
> - The 7.40 Dandenong to Caulfield train was terminated at Oakleigh. I had
> to take Cranbourne - Dandenong then Oakleigh to Caufield then a third ride
> from Caulfield to the city on a bus. What a joke
> - The old 'equipment fault at Beaconsfield'. Oldest trick in the book.
> - If you are going to run a shuttle from Cranbourne, at least be
> considerate to run a shuttle from Dandenong too, not asking everyone to
> cram into trains from Pakenham.
> - Nice to see that there were so many buses in preparation, however it
> seems odd that there are no express busses to South Yarra or Richmond.
> Everyone but three people on my bus got off at those stops, but we all had
> to do a 40 minute
> detour through the other stations.
> - Why run a 7 min service from Dandenong when that just causes congestion
> at Caulfield! Just run a normal timetable, and have plenty of buses waiting!
> - What's the point in running all replacement buses from Caulfield? There
> are a million people here. It is so much better to run replacement buses
> from multiple stations.
> - Double trouble for Cranbourne line commuters: change at Dandenong. This
> wasn’t mentioned before anywhere.
> - 8.08 Delays are now major.
> - 8.24 Train terminated at Oakleigh, and we're still waiting for buses to
> Darling station for city. Still waiting. Job well done.
> - Our understanding is that the replacement buses have arrived, are you on
> a bus?
> - 8.38 Our train is stuck in Carnegie for the last 15 minutes. Were you
> not aware that there will be increased traffic in Caulfield? What’s the
> equipment fault in Beaconsfield? Is it in new equipment that was build a
> few months ago?
> - Your train should be moving now, we needed to hold the train until a
> platform at Caulfield became available. [ie, we can't cope in either
> planning or execution].
> - 8.45 To get to South Yarra station there must be a quicker way. Should
> we catch an express bus to the city and then a train back out from there?
> There has been no queue for express buses but for the all stations buses
> was a 25 minute
> wait?
> - Only a few hundred people waiting for buses are Caulfield. Well done
> team. You manage to stuff it up again.
> - Today just didn't work. Just too many bottlenecks; the congestion at
> Caulfield station, the long wait for buses at Caulfld and the traffic on
> Batman Ave. You are probably better off running the buses from Westall on
> the Cran/Pak line
> and from Caulfield on the Frankston line.
> - Running buses from Westall was faster than this mess today; hundreds of
> people waiting for a bus after an extra slow train ride. Amazing
> organisation skills!
> - Totally agree with this..Westall to Flinders was much faster..I'm still
> in a bus exiting Batman Ave for the past 2 minutes..overall more than 2
> hours on the road travelling from Westall.
> - Correction: 20 minutes..close to 3 hours on the road, yet to reach the
> office..guys you have got to come up with a better plan.
> - Just had three trains cancelled in a row in the Pakenham area. Why am I
> paying for this service?
> - Taking me minimum 3 hours just to get to work. This is poor management.
> Not looking forward to the travel home.
> - Been stuck between CAULFIELD and Murrumbeena for 30 mins and counting,
> don’t even wanna think about what’s happening at CAULFIELD.
> - Nicely done. Plenty of replacement buses.
> - Another successful stuff up! Used up the extra hour and still in a bus
> at Caulfield. Keep up your stuff ups.
> - No bloody extra Glen Waverley services you incompetent Desmond’s.
> - Pakenham line... We are crawling...one station at a time and waiting
> 10-15 at each station... Great planning and effort metro.... How many of
> these plans have you made over the last 3-4 years... Is it you don't want
> to learn or are
> you cutting cost?
> - No trains running from Oakleigh to Caulfield as of ten minutes back.
> Congestion at Caulfield. Trains backed up. Staff made us take buses to
> Darling and then on to trains to City.
> - Can we get all MP s to take replacement buses at peak time for one day
> please? Given the residents on Cranbourne / Pakenham have been doing this
> since June 2017..
> - Plus we have some vegans screwing us as if the metro isn't enough..
> - Journey extended by 60 minutes? I wish.....more like 2 additional hours..
> Why has it taken me 3 hours and I am still on a bus? Day 1......15 or so to
> go....help me!
> - 9.52 Cranbourne/Pakenham and Frankston lines: Major delays (congestion
> and platform unavailability for trains approaching Caulfield).
> - You have four platforms at Caulfield. When management was competent,
> Flemington Racecourse could handle more trains with just two platforms.
> - There were two ill passengers in my train this morning. Maybe people
> will get less ill from the train journey if you have trains from
> cranbourne to caulfield as well instead of packing so many people into
> Pakenham trains from
> Dandenong. It's nauseating.
> - I just reached city. After 2 hours 30 min travel.
> - This morning was the worst ever! We haven't caught the buses from
> Caulfield to Flindesr St. It was the worst! Took me 3 hours to get to
> work. Not happy.
> - It took me more than an hour from Clayton to Caulfield. Now standing in
> queue for 45 mins to catch express bus to city. Please refund myki money
> for today. It is total disaster and pain.
> - This is terrible. I got on an 8.44 train from Frankston, and for 55
> minutes I’ve been crawling between Moorabbin and Glen Huntly! I could’ve
> walked faster.
> - And Metro not having enough buses.
> - I hope Metro refunds today’s fare and does not charge for ANY travel on
> the affected lines. I had issues even getting to Caulfield station from
> Huntingdale before the bus replacement debacle. 2.5 hours both ways really
> isn’t good
> enough.
> - please use high capacity bombardier trams as another alternative from
> Caulfield station and follow tram route 3 non-stop to st Kilda Rd for the
> morning rush.
> - This is the service you provide for the "most livable city in the
> world"? That's a shame on multiple levels.
> - Such a mess this morning on the Frankston line, especially between
> Moorabbin and Caulfield AND not one announcement from the driver or Metro
> Control. Left home at 7.20, and got to work at 10.45.
> - Melbourne the most live able city it takes 3 hours to travel on 50 km
> from cranbourne to CBD.
> - 3hrs to get from Parkdale to the CBD this morning. The buses from
> Caulfield to the city were a disaster. I thought with all the planning it
> should be better.
> - Took my partner 3+hrs to get to the city. She's driving in tomorrow
> - Almost been two hours and still not even at Caulfield, a refund would be
> great about now.
> - Another debacle!
> - Can you please do a better job to arrange poor commuters?
> - You have a limited, known number of trains and the same number of
> platforms you've always had.. how can you have screwed this up so badly?
> Did you let the work experience kid plan this?
> - Actually they had fewer trains arriving to Caulfield, as Cranbourne
> trains were only a shuttle to Dandenong, and all the Cranbourne passengers
> had to take trains from Pakenham.
> - And no extra services on the Glen Waverley line. You morons.
> - Why is the bus route going through Sir John Monash drive aka the biggest
> bottleneck ever for outbound city , it's a terrible route.
> - 10 mins stuck trying to turn into Sir John Monash Drive - this aint it
> chef
> - 1/4 of the journey is this particular bottleneck and then we gotta catch
> a train? Come on mate, the bus replacements that went to Glenhuntly and
> Ormond in Jan were better than this schmozzle - alot of commuters don't
> need to stop at
> Caulfield for no reason tbh.
> - 30 mins spent on say 100/200 metres travel, classic.
> - Awful bus route guys 1.45 hours flinders to Caulfield via Monash
> - Agree why go thru Sir John Monash drive lol thru uni traffic and the
> roundabout off dande road turning traffic. Why not Normanby road like all
> the other times?
> - 1h45min and didn't even reach Caufield yet. Absolute joke this traffic.
> How are we supposed to pick up kids from childcare?
> - Why don't you push people on the Frankston Line to take the Sandi line,
> add more trains in pick hours and provide replacement bus to Cheltenham or
> Moorabbin. You would have less of this headache at Caufield seriously.
> - Additional trains are running on the Sandringham line, with a 6min
> service operating during peak times.
> - Good but no replacement bus.
> - Correct. There is a finite number of buses available across Victoria
> during the major works. Buses are operating Caulfield - Flinders St in
> order to maximise those limited resources, while also balancing the need to
> service both the
> Dandenong and Frankston corridors.
> - Yes, but you can move a number of buses over to get them from Frankston
> line to Sandringham, you've got about 600 of them.
> - It took me exactly three hours to get to the city from Dandenong this
> morning. I just wonder why you are not running buses between Caulfield and
> East Malvern stations? Commuters can then catch the glen waverley line into
> the city.
> - And once again you prove your complete inefficiency at bus planning and
> crowd control at Caulfield station.
> - It has taken me 2 hours to get from Southern Cross to Carnegie tonight
> and I’m not even home yet. Perhaps you could be more realistic about how
> long the buses are taking... or perhaps send the bus to another train line
> instead of to
> Flinders St
> - 1hr and 43mins later and I’m still not at Flinders Street... I’m nowhere
> near home.
> - I left South Yarra 50 minutes ago, to just now pull into Caulfied. One,
> ONE person got off at any of the other stops between South Yarra and
> Caulfied.
> For the love of god put express busses in - its peak hour and the detour
> for ONE passenger is insane!
> - Last time this happened the bus connections were really good and we're
> as smooth as could be expected. Today though not the case. Staff appear to
> not be as well trained and the bus drivers are taking the long route to
> Caulfield making
> the worst choice considering the traffic.
> - I think that the protest at Flinders/Swanston intersection added to the
> woes too.
> - Agree the bus route from the city to Caulfield was mind boogling stupid
> added like 30 mins for no reason. Why was sir John Monash drive off dande
> road used why not Normanby road aka the back way which is usually used for
> bus
> replacements.
> - Jan bus replacements were more organised than this and these April works
> have been telegraphed for ages so it's not like they didn't know how to
> react to this - I feel some corners/costs had to be cut to prevent heads
> rolling at head
> office.
> - The journey is taking not extra 60 minutes it’s taking 130-150 minutes.
> - After a 2hr ride from city to caulfield and then dandenong. we are just
> sitting in a cranbourne train which should have depqrted 10 mins ago. no
> announcements or anything.
> Hopeless service.
> - Any reason why it’s almost taken me an hour to get from Dandenong to
> Caulfield when the trip should just be half an hour long?
> - It’s taken me 6 hours to get to and from work today. Usually it takes 45
> minutes each way.. what a joke.
> - What, why?
> - They have decided to do an “autumn construction blitz” buses replacing
> trains but so much traffic.
> - I almost burst into tears multiple times.
> - Is it true next 5 years this disruption will go on for?
> - Caulfield has to be the worst place for a changeover- 45 min from the
> city at 19.15.
> - Look at all the buses going thru Sir John Monash drive seriously
> terrible route during peak hour.
> - I can’t work why every time they disrupt the services it’s like a
> completely new experience - not enough buses, silly routes, ineffectual
> connections - surely the lessons learned from the past are applied.
> - I stood 20 mins accross Parliament waiting for a bus to Caulfield. Bus
> arrived & staff are discussed with the driver, he closes his door while a
> 2nd bus pulled behind him & people at the back of the queue go in.
> Commuters get angry &
> the staff has no idea what is going on.
> - Any idea why replacement bus took 1h15mins from flinders street to
> Caulfield? Are you serious?
> - They chose a longer route, running through congested M1 and SR17.
> - Flinders Street, CBD closed westbound between Batman Avenue and Russell
> Street until 4am Wednesday 24 April, to make way for rail replacement bus
> services. Detour consider Collins Street.
> - The 21.55 train delayed by 25 min. The amazing labour government in Vic
> .. 2 hour 45 min in the morning. 2 hours in evening. And now there is a 25
> min additional delay. And you give millions in bonus to Metro.
> 7.11 Because of a protest in Swanston St:
> - No Swanston St trams are running between Stop 14 Arts Precinct and Stop
> 11 Collins St.
> - Some trams are diverting via William St/La Trobe St between Stop 22
> Toorak Rd and Stop 7 RMIT University.
> - Consider loop trains or Route 58 trams via Kings Way/Williams St.
> - A limited shuttle service is running between Stop 7 RMIT University and
> Stop 11 Collins St.
> - No Flinders St trams running between Stop 2 King St and Stop 6 Russell
> St.
> - Some Route 75 trams are diverting via La Trobe St between Stop 9
> Landsdowne St and Docklands.
> - Consider loop trains or Collins St trams.
> - 7.50: Route 1/6 trams are diverting via William St/La Trobe St between
> Stop 22 Dorcas St/Toorak Rd and Stop 7 RMIT University.
> - 8.10 Route 1/6/64/72 trams are diverting via Kings Way/William St/La
> Trobe St between Stop 22 Dorcas St/Toorak Rd and Stop 7 RMIT University.
> - 8.26:
> - No Flinders St trams between Stop 4 Flinders St/Elizabeth St & Stop 6
> Russell St.
> - Route 75 trams are diverting via La Trobe St between Stop 9 Landsdowne
> St and Docklands.
> - Isn't blocking trams illegal? Have you called police to charge them?
> - Route 70 passengers may walk between stops to connect.
> - 10.14 Trams have resumed normal operation.
> 8.48 Belgrave/Lilydale lines: Minor delays through Box Hill (an ill
> passenger requiring medical assistance). Trains may depart from altered
> platforms at Box Hill.
> - 8.52 clearing.
> 16.05 Minor delays Dandenong - Pakenham (a trespasser near Officer).
> - 16.24 clearing.
> 16.08 Werribee/Williamstown Craigieburn/Sunbury/Upfield lines: Minor
> delays (olice at North Melbourne). Trains will be held.
> - Can’t hear any announcements on the platform at Melbourne Southern
> Cross. What’s going on?
> - 16.15 clearing [announced prematurely].
> - 16.16 We've just been given clearance by police; trains will be moving
> again in the next minute or two.
> - Oh yes of course! Metro never fails.
> 17.31 Belgrave/Lilydale lines: Minor delays (police near Blackburn).
> - How come your website & Twitter has more info than our driver?
> - Minor delays? It’s taken an hour to get from Richmond to Heatherdale on
> an EXPRESS service!
> - changed at Box Hill - 17.13 terminating at Ringwood. sat on p4 because
> thats where the next Lilydale train. Conflicting announcements go2 p3. 2
> late. Next service p4. Nope - two more services off p3. It's not the faults
> or police
> operations that's the issue; it's the crap recovery.
> - What a great service; can you please raise fares? Brilliant!
> - Driver tells everyone to get off at box hill... announcement says stay
> in platform 4 for Lilydale train... watching platform 3, we watch 3
> Lilydale trains come and go... terrible communication!
> - Useless.
> - WE CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING THE DRIVER IS SAYING, AND HE'S DRIVING AND
> STOPPING SUDDENLY: IT'S VERY DANGEROUS.
> - The driver on this train has been saying that there’s a signal fault and
> so she’s having to go through red lights. The track side emergency brakes
> intended to stop runaway trains are active so she’s asking people to hold
> on. The e-
> brakes will force the train to a complete stop.
> - I'm listening for the announcement... but cannot understand them at all!
> Can you tell the driver on the 17.17 from flinders st to upper gully to
> turn the volume up!
> - There's no info coming out anyway. All they're saying is that police
> have stopped the trains at Blackburn.
> - Stuck at Box Hill - what's the go?
> - no wonder we still use the car
> - A cover for track faults that couldn't be fixed quickly enough?
> - Still stuck at Box Hill. Any further update?
> - Been freezing from your aircon for an hour now. Train has not moved from
> Box Hill in 30mins.
> - A total joke
> - 18.13 Trains are moving again with delays now clearing.
> 17.41 Major delays Ringwood - Lilydale due to an equipment fault at
> Lilydale.
> - You guys love your equipment faults as an excuse, don’t you?
> - 18.29 I thought it was a police operation? I just love spending an extra
> 50 minutes on the train when I should have been home.
> - 18.32 Police have given us clearance through Blackburn; we have major
> delays as a result. This current Lilydale equipment fault is separate.
> - Thanks for the 2 hour 15 mins trip home guys! Awesome work! This
> wouldn't happen in Japan.
> - 15 minutes late, 30 minutes at surrey hills, 30 minutes at box hill, 30
> minutes at Lilydale.
> - You're happy for voters to be subject to a 4 hours of commute to the
> city, why don't you and your staff spend a month on rail instead of the tax
> payers taxi service!
> - My train was so delayed that when I touched off that it registered as a
> touch on and charged me for another trip. I cancelled that after 30s. Can I
> get a refund for the 56min trip which turned into 3 hours?
> - No response? 2 hours delay and charging customers for it is considered
> ok?
> - Nightmare getting home.
> - Then run the trains to Mooroolbark and back.
> - When are we going to get a train to Lilydale from Ringwood?
> - Please have your box hill muppets give people the correct information.
> Tells everyone to stay on playtform 4 for Lilydale train meanwhile Three
> Lilydale trains leave from 3. Useless.
> - Let me guess - terminating at Rwood
> - Probably, but not that we’d know with this pathetic communication
> - I suggest getting in to a different industry? You really can't manage
> trains, customer service, communications, line maintenance, signal
> maintenance... Metro fails.
> - Kicking goals today you muppets.
> - This is a joke! Get a Japanese company to run our network!! They know
> how to do PT property and DONT give poeple the runaround!! Most liveable
> ppfff
> - I’m sure they inflate those figures just like their punctually scores!
> Disruptions I can handle but not incompetence
> - Damn you guys are a joke!! Pathetic excuse for a company!
> - You guys really need to get your shit together.
> - You are a joke
> - WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN YOU PEOPLE ARE USELESS
> 19.14 Major delays ongoing.
> Melbourne Express, Monday, April 8, 2019
> 9.13 Tow trucks to move on vegans. The vans, which had been parked in the
> middle of the intersection, are being towed. Credit:Zach Hope
> Tow trucks have arrived in Melbourne's CBD to remove the vans, which
> protesters have chained themselves to, blocking the Swanston and Flinders
> Street intersection.
> Vegan activists have blockaded the intersection since about 7am this
> morning.
> VicRoads is advising motorists to use Collins Street, Lonsdale Street or
> La Trobe Street.
> Trams have also been diverted.
> 9.09 'My commute wasn't painful at all. It didn't happen'. Commuters are
> waiting for bus replacements at Caulfield Stations this
> morning.Credit:Simon Schluter
> One reader has let us know she couldn't even start her commute.
> "My commute was not painless at all - in fact, it didn’t even happen,"
> Emma says.
> "I arrived at Carnegie station at 7:20am to find that the next train to
> Caulfield wasn’t for 25 minutes. The Metro staff basically told that
> there’s no way I’d be able to get on this or the next few following trains,
> because of
> overcrowding.
> "They told me to turn around and go home because of overcrowding at
> Caulfield too. I usually don’t even leave the house until 8:20, but I
> wouldn’t have been able to get to work on time if I left at 7:15am. It’s
> unacceptable in my view.
> I’m now working from home and will probably have to do so for the
> remainder of the week."
> PTUA spokesperson Daniel Bowen said he had a 43 minute wait at Caulfield
> Station.
> 8.56 The TrainPain isn't over. One commuter said there weren't enough
> buses replacing trains.Credit:Simon Schluter
> Reporter Timna Jacks says commuters at Hawksburn station have been left
> behind by the replacement bus, which is too packed, and have to wait for
> the next one to arrive.
> About 8.30am she said buses were arriving every seven minutes at Malvern
> Station, which is closed for more than two weeks.
> Our reporter Adam Cooper is stuck on a train on the Frankston line at
> Moorabbin.
> 8.45 Protesters have blocked off the Swanston and Flinders Street
> intersection.Credit:David Crosling
> The protest is blocking 11 tram lines in the city. Police have told them
> they want to move them "soon".
> Dianne Delbridge came out of an office on Flinders St to flashing lights
> and police road blocks.
> 8.34 Public Transport Users Association spokesperson Daniel Bowen said he
> had long delays getting off the platform and down the ramp at Caulfield
> Station.
> "I am fast regretting coming to work," he wrote on Twitter.
> Commuter Jessica Cross said the Caulfield train left passengers behind at
> Westall, and that Caulfield Station had overcrowding on the platforms.
> "Poor people on this train still need to deal with the buses where I see
> queues. Glad I'm only going to #Caulfield. Also the middle platforms are
> not designed for moving this amount of people," she wrote on Twitter.
> 8.26 TrainPain at Richmond and South Yarra
> Our transport reporter Timna Jacks has hopped on a replacement bus on Punt
> Road near Richmond Station.
> "The replacement bus stop on Punt Road, near Richmond station is very
> quiet at 7:50am. Commuters are still able to catch some City Loop trains
> passing through the station," she writes.
> Buses are replacing trains on four lines today. The Punt Road stop near
> Richmond Station had no queue.Credit:Timna Jacks
> 8.13 The Caulfield line seemed to cope with the Metro construction works
> on Monday.Credit:Paul Sakkal. "After a peak period between 7.30am-7.50am,
> the queues for buses have totally subsided," he writes.
> "Buses are now idling, waiting to be filled by a trickle of commuters "It
> is difficult not to conclude that many commuters have decided to use
> alternate forms of transport this morning, avoiding the station altogether."
> 8.09 TrainPain on the Caulfield line.
> It's all going pretty smoothly at Caulfield with not much fuss. Here's
> what I've seen so far:
> At Caulfield Station, thousands of commuters are filing through queues in
> temporary tents in order to board one of the row of busses lined up on
> Normanby Road, adjacent to Caulfield Racecourse.
> While commuters were able to quickly file onto buses before 7.30, they are
> now banked up in stubbornly slow queues.
> Commuters at Caulfield Station this morning.Credit:Simon Schluter
> 7.52 There are 11 tram routes blocked by vegan protesters who have taken
> over the Swanston and Flinders Street intersection this morning. The
> protest is affecting tram lines and traffic. Credit:Zach Hope
> 7.34 Four train lines down
> Has your commute been interrupted this morning?
> The Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston and Gippsland train lines are all down
> today.
> We'll have our reporters blogging their commutes shortly.
> Send me your tips and pics torache...@... <javascript:> or
> tweet about it using the hashtag #TrainPain.
> 7.28 Manhunt for bus sex assault
> CCTV of a man police would like to speak to following a sex assault on a
> Thornbury bus last year.Credit:Victoria Police
> Police have released a CCTV image in the hunt for a man behind a sexual
> assault on a Thornbury bus on November 16 last year.
> A man got on at Station Street about 1.15pm and sat next to a 24-year-old
> woman. Police said he touched her inappropriately, causing her to yell out.
> The man is described as aged between 40 and 50, Caucasian, with a heavy
> build and dark brown hair.
> Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800
> 333 000 or report anonymously online.
> From the Archives: Controversial council amalgamations redesign Melbourne
> Melbourne's new "super-cities" as planned by the Local Government Board in
> 1994.Credit:The Age Archives
> In 1994, the Kennett government announced the amalgamation of 19 inner
> city councils into nine. The Age described the process as secretive,
> iron-fisted and blundered.
> 7.17 Here are some pictures of the vegan protest at the Swanston and
> Flinders Street intersection this morning.
> Vans have completely blocked off traffic, and trams are diverting via
> William and La Trobe streets.
> 7.15 Vegan activists have blocked the Swanston and Flinders Street
> intersection this morning, which has caused more public transport delays.
> No trams are running between the Arts Precinct and Collins Street and
> diversions are in place.
> 5.49 The Metro construction 'blitz' is shutting down the Cranbourne,
> Pakenham, Frankston and Gippsland train lines today.
> We'll have our reporters blogging their commutes this morning from about
> 7.45am.
> Let me know if your commute is interrupted or tweet us the details with
> the hashtag #TrainPain.
> See if your train line is affected by Metro Tunnel works before you head
> out with our handy interactive calendar.
> 5.43 But there's a day of #TrainPain on the Cranbourne, Pakenham,
> Frankston and Gippsland lines. We've got more on that for you.
> <
> www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-express-monday-april-8-2019-20190405-p51b7l.html
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