Fw: Fri.7.6.19 daily digest
  Roderick Smith

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Sent: Wednesday, 19 June 2019, 8:51:53 pm AESTSubject: Fri.7.6.19 daily digest
Roderick


190607F Melbourne 'Age':- patronage predictions.- tunnel cost.
190607F Melbourne 'Herald Sun':- letters (rail,road).- infrastructure cost, editorial.
- plastic model exhibition.- free cbd trams.


190607F 'SMH' -station ramp.

Fri.7.6.19 Metro Twitter:Buses replace Sandringham trains until 7am, Sun 9 Jun (tunnel work).7.19 Delays of up to 15 minutes (equipment faults between Sunbury - Diggers Rest). Trains will be cancelled.- 7.52 'minor' delays? [photo]- And that one just got cancelled anyway.9.31 Werribee line: Major delays clearing quickly after an earlier faulty train at Aircraft.15.33 Flagstaff: No lift access until further notice (an equipment fault). Passengers requiring lift access alight at Melbourne Central and speak to station staff for alternative transport.- 16.01 Lift access has been restored.16.51 Mernda line: Minor delays (police attending to a trespasser near Merri). Trains will be held.- 16.54 clearing.17.23 Frankston line: Minor delays for citybound trains (an equipment fault near Moorabbin).17.25 Belgrave line: Minor delays (vandalism near Tecoma).- 17.30 clearing.17.27 Because of a collision in Elizabeth Street, route 59 trams in both directions are diverting via Abbotsford Street along Route 57 between Stop 7 Queen Victoria Market and Stop 29 Melrose St. Some route 19 trams are running only between North Coburg and Stop 19 Brunswick Rd. Consider Route 402 buses in North Melbourne. Route 19 passengers consider Upfield trains.- No Route 19 trams run between Stop 19 Brunswick Rd and Flinders St. Replacement buses are running between Stop 9 Haymarket and Stop 19 Brunswick Rd.- 17.48 Route 19 and 59 trams have resumed, with delays.18.08 Upfield line: Minor delays (an equipment fault near Royal Park).- 18.27 Clearing.18.25 Cranbourne/Pakenham lines: Minor delays clearing after an ill passenger required medical assistance at Oakleigh.18.38 Cranbourne/Pakenham/Frankston lines: Minor delays (a passenger incident at Melbourne Central).- 18.41 clearing.We have extra trains and trams to get you to football at MCG tonight, and back.23.45 Belgrave/Lilydale lines: Major delays (police near Camberwell). Trains may depart from altered platforms at Camberwell.Belgrave/Lilydale/Alamein lines: Buses replace trains Parliament - Camberwell from 1.00, Sat 8 Jun until the last train of Mon 10 Jun (maintenance works).  Buses replace trains Richmond - Camberwell during Night Network hours.Glen Waverley line: Buses replace trains Richmond/Caulfield - Glen Waverley from 1.00 Sat 8 Jun until the last train of Mon 10 Jun (maintenance works). Express buses to/from Caulfield do not operate during Night Network hours.
Melbourne Express, Friday, June 7, 20199.16 There's a good service on the trains. Sandringham should return to normal train services after the long weekend.7.21 There are delays of up to 15 minutes on the Sunbury line (equipment faults between Sunbury and Diggers Rest).Qantas flexes its environmental wings with zero-waste flight. In a comparison pic on their Facebook page, they showed the throwaway waste on a normal Sydney to Adelaide flight versus a “zero-waste flight” on the same route.The cost of the Victorian government's flagship $11 billion infrastructure project, the 'metro' rail tunnel, may have blown out by as much as $2 billion.Have you seen this Harley? This motorcycle was stolen from a garage in Launching Place last week.If you've seen a motorycle that looks like this in recent days, it's fair to say it was probably stolen.The customised bike – a 2008 FLHTC Harley David motorcycle – was stolen from a garage in Timeline Road, Launching Place, east of Melbourne, sometime between May 26 and 30.Police have released an image of the bike in the hope someone may be able to provide information on its current whereabouts.Anyone who sees the motorcycle or has information on its current whereabouts should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.5.39 There is a good service on all train lines except for the Sandringham line. It's the last business day with buses replacing trains. Tunnel work is due to finish on Sunday.<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-express-friday-june-7-2019-20190606-p51v1f.html>

'The only people who benefit are stair enthusiasts': Sydney Trains ramp closure angers passengers June 7, 2019, 84 commentsGlenn Redmayne has lived around Tempe station in Sydney's south for about 15 years - it has only been for the past couple of months that he has had access to the rail network.But that access will soon be taken away when Sydney Trains closes a ramp that it opened temporarily to replace a steep external set of stairs that were closed for refurbishment.Glenn Redmayne at Tempe station, where the access ramp is soon to be closed.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer When the ramp is closed it will represent a bizarre expenditure of public money to worsen transport access at the station,  which is on the Illawarra Line.Parents with prams, the elderly, people with shopping trolleys, and those in a wheelchair such as Mr Redmayne will either lose their access to the rail network at Tempe, or have that access made more difficult."If they close that gate and lock it, everybody that lives in this part of Tempe that has any mobility issue won't use this station and will be forced to go somewhere else," he said.Mr Redmayne, who works for the Inner West Council as an access and inclusion planner, is not alone in his bemusement at the decision of Sydney Trains to close the ramp.Greens MP Abigail Boyd raised the issue in the NSW Parliament on Wednesday, while Labor MP Ron Hoenig has also campaigned on it."What argument is there against it?" Mr Hoenig said of maintaining the ramp.Sydney Trains has told locals that the ramp must be closed because, if it were made permanent, it would need to comply with the latest accessibility guidelines, as well as heritage laws.For Mr Redmayne, these types of arguments represent a focus on bureaucratic processes, as opposed to improving access."When an opportunity comes up for a really easy win, like this, you would hope that there is capacity in the system [to grasp it]," he said.At Tempe on Thursday, another local, Jill Richardson, stopped to share her exasperation."I have complained bitterly for the past 20-odd years," she said about her experiences of carting prams and shopping trolleys up and down the stairs."Everyone in Tempe is like, 'Thank God we can get to a platform without the up and down.' To close this would be absolutely ridiculous."Mr Redmayne works for the Inner West Council.Credit:Dominic LorrimerIf the ramp was maintained, there would not be a direct need for the stairs."The only people who benefit from those stairs being reinstated and this gate shutting are stair enthusiasts," Mr Redmayne said.However, the lay-out of Tempe station is such that the ramp allows passengers only onto one side of the tracks. From there, they can either use a separate set of stairs to cross for city-bound trains or catch a train south to Wolli Creek and change for city services.So, without a lift, passengers in wheelchairs would still not be able to cross to the other side of the tracks to catch trains to the city.A report by the state’s Auditor-General in February showed Transport for NSW would not meet its obligation under federal law to make all rail stations compliant with disability standards by 2022.The government has spent more than $2 billion on its Transport Access Program since 2011 and upgraded 57 stations. But it does not state the order in which stations will be upgraded, nor when they will be upgraded.To allow people to make informed decisions about where they live, work and study, the Auditor-General recommended that Transport for NSW publish a schedule of upgrades. The agency said it would publish "indicative timeframes" of future upgrades in coming months."I've always looked forward to the day when I could just get onto the platform, even knowing there would still be limitations," Mr Redmayne said."But to see that go and to see yourself and other people literally fenced off in your own community - it just doesn't seem right. That sense of belonging is just kind of shattered."Related Article Metro train Glitches fail to deter commuters as 546,000 people board metro trainsA crowded platform for metro services at Epping station at about 8am on Monday.  Rogue train fails to stop at Chatswood amid Sydney Metro teething issues<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-only-people-who-benefit-are-stair-enthusiasts-sydney-trains-ramp-closure-angers-and-bemuses-20190606-p51v93.html>
Glitches fail to deter commuters as 546,000 people board metro trains June 2 (7?), 2019 55 commentsMore than 72,000 commuters on average travelled on Sydney's new $7.3 billion metro line each day during its first working week despite teething problems dogging some services, making it almost as busy as the Eastern Suburbs rail line.And experts say patronage could surpass 100,000 a day by mid next year as more people who previously drove opt for metro trains and as high-rise residential apartments near the line open.Including the 140,000 people who took advantage of a fare-free day on May 26, when the 36-kilometre Metro Northwest line opened, figures from Transport for NSW show the total number of passengers who rode on the driverless trains in the first week totalled 546,359.
The metro line was popular in its first week of operation. Credit: Peter RaeThe busiest weekday was Thursday when 75,876 people boarded the driverless trains, which run from Rouse Hill in the north west to Chatswood via Epping and Macquarie Park.Speaking on Sunday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the vast majority of passengers had given the metro line a "thumbs up" in the first week of operation."We've seen half a million people use it in the first week alone. There's no doubt that there were some glitches and that's always unfortunate but we always knew there would be," she said.The metro train line averaged more than 72,000 passengers a day during the working week.Credit:Peter RaeShe warned some glitches were likely to occur over the next few weeks because "no matter how much you test a new system, it's always different when customers actually start to use it".On Friday, a power failure temporarily halted services between Rouse Hill and Hills Showground, a day after a train broke down, causing delays to services. Passengers have also complained of carriage doors failing to open, and trains having to reverse after overshooting platforms.Mathew Hounsell, a researcher at the University of Technology's Institute for Sustainable Futures, said patronage at new stations along the line could surge by 50 per cent during the ramp-up period of the next nine months, which he forecast would result in more than 100,000 people a day using metro trains by June next year."For the first nine months we will see strong patronage growth as people get used to the line. Passengers will learn how to use it for easier off-peak activities like shopping," he said. "Even more passengers can be expected when the new apartments at North Ryde and other stations along the line are occupied."The line incorporates the 13 kilometre Epping to Chatswood line, which last year had an average of about 20,000 people use their Opal cards to tap on at Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde stations each weekday before it was temporarily closed.Toll-road operator Transurban said in February that it did not expect the opening of the metro rail line to reduce traffic volumes on the M2 motorway, a major arterial routes in Sydney's north.However, Ms Berejiklian said anecdotal evidence suggested there were fewer cars on roads such as the M2 during the first week of the metro line's operation."We are seeing a ... noticeable reduction in cars on the road, which was exactly the intention," she said. "When fewer people are driving it really improves traffic throughout greater Sydney. This is what mass transit options are about."Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport Minister Andrew Constance cut the ribbon on Sydney's Metro Northwest line with the help of children. It's been promised at every election for generations, but now it's a reality<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/glitches-fail-to-deter-commuters-as-546-000-people-board-metro-trains-20190528-p51rua.html>

Disruptions spark poor performance results for Metro and Yarra TramsHerald Sun June 7, 2019Melbourne’s trains and trams have caused delays for passengers for the fourth consecutive month after shutdowns and disruptions on two major lines.Melbourne’s train and tram operators have failed their punctuality targets for the fourth consecutive month after services were hit by disruptions on two major lines.Just 90.4 per cent of Metro Trains services arrived at the platform on time in May after 6086 scheduled trains ran late throughout the month.Another 81,713 trams were delayed through heavy congestion as Yarra Trams fell below its target of 82 per cent.Public Transport Victoria chief executive Jeroen Weimar said the network was put under stress after a power problem at Laverton junction and the closure of the Sandringham line.The failure hit services on the Werribee line for four days, with an independent review finding the problem was sparked by corrosion and a falling wire that was caught on a train.“We know this unusual incident caused significant disruption to passengers on the Werribee line over four days,” Mr Weimar said.“As a result, Metro Trains is now replacing all insulator connectors on the Werribee line on top of the existing routine maintenance schedule.”Mr Weimar said extra passengers also flocked to trams in the southeast during a major shutdown of the Sandringham line.“One of the strengths of Melbourne’s transport network is that it gives passengers alternative options for how to get around during planned works,” he said.“Yarra Trams was prepared for this and catered for the increased demand for services during May.”VLine delivered 86.5 per cent of its services on time but recorded better results on the Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo lines compared to the same time last year.STUNNING NEW LOOK FOR MELBOURNE CENTRALBill Shorten has pledged $2 billion towards Victoria’s largest public transport project, the Me...<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/disruptions-spark-poor-performance-results-for-metro-and-yarra-trams/news-story/44b2affa2d1c1ff9420009efe6b058e0>


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