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Sent: Saturday, 12 September 2020, 10:07:28 pm AEST
Subject: Sat.20.6.20 daily digest

NEW PLAN TO HELP VICTORIA’S YOUTH CRIME PROBLEM
It should be a plan to help combat the problem.
Way back, PTV had a fare-evasion campaign, which should have been an anti fare-evasion campaign.

Roderick

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Fri.30.11.18 Metro Twitter. [excerpts reposted to explain the photos which weren't posted at the time]
9.59 Major delays (an operational incident between Clayton and Westall).
- 10.21 Minor and clearing.
Get a SEAT in the safety zone at Frankston station.  Every other station has a disability safety zone with a seat by the first door of the first carriage. [photo posted yesterday]
14.48 Frankston line: Minor delays (a track fault near Flinders Street).
- 15.13 clearing.
- 15.50 I caught the 14.24 ex Frankston, with confusion for those between Malvern & Hawksburn.  School kids were running from pfm 1 to try to make the train, other passengers were still waiting on pfm 1; The pfm 3 screens were showing 'Melbourne trains on pfm 1'.  A VLine train overtook us before Armadale. [photo posted yesterday; miscaptioned]
- 15.53 Frankston line: Minor delays (an equipment fault near Richmond).  Citybound trains may depart from altered platforms Caulfield - Richmond.
- 17.03 clearing.
Today marks 93 years since the first electric train arrived at Lilydale. With the original electrification of the suburban network completed in 1923, electric trains were extended to Croydon in 1924, and then to Lilydale in 1925.
'New Electric Train', 25 Nov 1925 Melbourne 'Argus' (NLA): https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2168805
First Electric Train arrives at Lilydale (PROV H 2302): http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/imagefiles/12800-P0001-000088-030.jpg
First Electric Train arrives at Lilydale (PROV H 2302): http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/imagefiles/12800-P0001-000088-020.jpg
[The photo is on the inaugural day, but is not the first train of the day].
180305M-MetroTwitter-19251130M-Lilydale-firstday.jpg reposted
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Man carrying knife suffers electric shock on train tracks in East Perth 30 November 2018.
A 43-year-old man is in critical condition at Royal Perth Hospital after jumping on to power lines at East Perth's McIver station, suffering an electric shock and falling five metres to the ground.
Police were called to Northbridge around 8.40 following reports that a man was walking around with a knife.
The officers followed the man to McIver station where he went onto the rail tracks and received an electric shock.
They followed the man to the station and saw him walk up an up an embankment to the East Perth Bridge on Lord Street.
Officers tried to coax him back to safety, warning him of the electrical dangers, but 9 News footage shows him coming into contact with live wires, being jolted forward and falling to the ground 4-5 metres below.
The man, aged in his 40s, was treated by paramedics at the scene before being rushed to Royal Perth Hospital.
“Doctors say he is in a critical but stable condition and they expect he will pull through,” said 9 News' Jerrie Demasi from outside RPH.
Transperth cancelled services between Perth and East Perth while police attended the incident, with replacement buses organised for commuters until the line was reopened at 10.30.
The man can be seen climbing from the bridge towards the live wires. Credit:9 News Perth.
McIver station, East Perth.  Credit: Twitter / Lisa Barnes .
CCTV of the area will be reviewed to assist with establishing the man’s movements before police arrived.
<www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/man-carrying-knife-suffers-electric-shock-on-train-tracks-in-east-perth-20181130-p50jf9.html>

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Sat.20.6.20 Metro Twitter
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Upfield until the last train of Sun 21 June (level crossing works at Moreland and Coburg).
Lilydale/Belgrave/Glen Waverley lines: All trains direct to/from Flinders St all day (maintenance works). From City loop stations, take a train from pfm 2, and change at Flinders St.
Buses replace trains on sections of the Frankston line and Frankston - Stony Point until the last train of Sun 26 Jul (level-crossing works).
5.12  Buses are still replacing trains Ringwood - Lilydale (a tree blocking the track). Buses are in operation, with journey time extended by ~30 min.  The line may remain closed until 12.00.
- 10.03 Ts have resumed,  The first trains: 10.20 ex Ringwood; 10.59 ex Lilydale.
6.00 Buses will replace trains between Sydenham Watergardens and Sunbury (an overhead-power supply issue).  Buses have been ordered, but may take over 60 min to arrive.  Consider alternatives; see our website.
- 8.22 Trains have resumed.  First trains: 8.37 ex Sunbury; 7.59 ex Flinders Street.
Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: Trains will run to an altered timetable Flinders Street - Caulfield from 9.15 to 19.15 (works).  All trains will stop at all stations  Caulfield - South Yarra during this time.
16.29 Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: Major delays (police).
16.41 Mernda LIne: Major delays outbound  (police).
Buses replace trains Newport - Werribee from 20.20 until 6.10 Sun 21 Jun (works).
Werribee/Sunbury/Craigieburn/Upfield lines: All trains direct to/from Flinders St from 23.00 until last train (works).  From loop stations, take a train from pfm 2 and change at Southern Cross [and lose 30 min].
23.55 Pakenham/Cranbourne Lines: Major delays (police).

Covid 19, Confirmed cases by state and territory, Updated 14.01 on Jun 20, 2020
wa 604 (9 deaths), nsw 3144 (48), vic 1817 (19), qld 1066 (6), act 108 (3), sa 440 (4), tas 228 (13), nt 29 (0).

Coronavirus restrictions: Everything that’s changing in Victoria from June 22
Herald Sun June 1, 2020
An easing of restrictions for pubs, restaurants, and cafes planned for Monday has now abandoned following fears of a second wave of coronavirus. Here’s all the big changes that will be enforced from Sunday evening under Victoria's revised restrictions.
video: LOCKED DOWN AGAIN: Restrictions reimposed in Victoria as COVID-19 cases spike. Premier Daniel Andrews has announced the reimposition of restrictions in Victoria after the state confirmed 25 new cases of COVID-19. The data added to growing fears the state...
As fresh COVID-19 cases continue to spiral, family gatherings will again be limited to no more than five guests per household, or groups of 10 in public spaces, from midnight Sunday.
Premier Daniel Andrews also foreshadowed far tougher measures in the days and weeks ahead, including the lockdown of entire suburbs with unacceptable levels of community transmission.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton, said: “We are absolutely at risk of a second peak.”
An easing of restrictions for pubs, restaurants and cafes planned for Monday was abandoned after Victoria recorded a spike in community transmission cases.
REVISED RESTRICTIONS FROM JUNE 22
*Up to five visitors allowed inside the home
*Pubs, clubs, restaurants, halls, churches and libraries allowed up to 20 people
*Cinemas and theatres allowed up to 20 people
*Gyms/Sports centres allowed up to 20 people
* Auctions and open house inspections allowed up to 20 people
* Full-contact kids’ sport and non-contact adults’ sport are resuming as planned
* Ski season still opens but with more screening
*Victorians advised not to go on holiday
*Work from home if you can
Empty table and chairs will become a thing of the past with restaurants allowed to welcome 20 guests.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE GATHERINGS
JUNE 1: Gatherings of up to 20 people including residents will be allowed in homes. Public gatherings (indoor and outdoor) have been increase to allow 20 people. Overnight stays in private residences will also be allowed.
JUNE 22: Gatherings reduced to 5 people (not including residents) in homes. Public gatherings reduced to 10.
RESTAURANTS, CAFES AND PUBS
JUNE 1: Restaurants, cafes and pubs will be allowed to open and serve meals for up to 20 patrons from June 1. Alcohol will only be allowed to be served with meals.
JUNE 22: Restaurants, cafes, and pubs will be allowed to serve food up to 20 patrons. Alcohol will be allowed to served without a meal.
Bars, clubs, strip clubs, nightclubs to open and serve alcohol and/or meals for up to 20 seated patron per space.
Pubs TABS and retails TABS to open.
WHAT’S OPEN IN MELBOURNE’S WEST
Victorians can now grab a parma at the pub or go out for dinner at a restaurant. Here’s a list of places in Melbourne’s west where you can dine-in.
WEDDINGS, FUNERALS, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES
JUNE 1: The lucky number twenty will mark the number of people allowed at weddings, not including a celebrant and the couple, while up to 50 people will be able to attend funerals. Up to 20 worshippers at private or small religious ceremonies, plus those required to run the ceremony.
JUNE 22: June 1 restrictions to stay in place.
Melbourne Zoo reopens today with strict limits on the number of visitors.
CAMPING AND TOURIST ACCOMMODATION
JUNE 1: Campgrounds tourist accommodation will be open for those eager to pitch their tents, but not their communal facilities like kitchens or bathrooms.
JUNE 22: Camping and tourist accommodation shared facilities to reopen. Accommodation open with communal-area restrictions.
BEAUTY SALONS, MASSAGE PARLOURS AND GYMS
JUNE 1: Beauty therapy, tanning, waxing, nail salons, spas, tattoo parlours and massage parlours will be allowed to open with up to 20 patrons.
JUNE 22: Indoor sports centres and physical recreation venues, including gyms, will reopen for up to 20 person per space and a maximum of 10 people per group for those aged 18+. Changing rooms can reopen.
CHANGES TO REAL ESTATE SERVICES
JUNE 1: Auctions and inspections will be allowed with attendance limits of 20 people, in addition to the “minimum number of people reasonably required to facilitate” them and residences’ occupants.
JUNE 22: June 1 restrictions to stay in place.
INDOOR AND OUTDOOR POOLS
JUNE 1: Indoor and outdoor pools to re-open for up to 20 patrons and limit of three people per lane.
JUNE 22: Shared facilities at swimming pools reopen and lane limits dropped, but no more than 20 in pool area
GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS
JUNE 1: Galleries, museums, national institutions, historic sites, outdoor amusement parks, drive in cinemas, zoos and arcades to open with up to 20 patrons per space (ensuring density quotient is applied)
JUNE 22: June 1 restrictions to stay in place.
Galleries museums, can open with up to 20 patrons per space from June 1
SKI SEASON
Ski season can start from June 22 but with more screening
CINEMAS, MOVIE THEATRES, CONCERT VENUES
JUNE 22: Indoor cinemas, movie theatres, concert venues, theatres, arenas, auditoriums, stadiums to re-open with up to 20 seated patrons
PLAYCENTRES
JUNE 22: Playcentres open for 20 per space.
Ski season can start from June 22.
WORK FROM HOME DIRECTIVE REMAINS
Victorians who have been working from home must continue to work from home as the guidelines became a directive from Chief Health Officer, Prof Brett Sutton.
LINKS TO ALL RESTAURANTS, CAFES AND PUBS OPEN FROM JUNE 1
CBD RESTAURANTS, PUBS AND CAFES OPENING
WINERIES OPENING FROM JUNE 1
RESTAURANTS, CAFES AND PUBS OPENING IN EAST
<www.heraldsun.com.au/coronavirus/coronavirus-restrictions-everything-thats-changing-in-victoria-from-june-1/news-story/da5c681d730972942a5ce8de4c9a7a80>

'Absolutely at risk of a second peak': Monday’s easing of restrictions postponed after alarming virus spike June 20, 2020, 102 comments
Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged locking down suburbs as he scrapped plans to ease coronavirus restrictions in Victoria amid an alarming surge of new infections that has left the state “absolutely at risk of a second peak”.
From midnight on Sunday until at least July 12, household gatherings will be limited to five guests and outdoor gatherings to 10 people.
The spike in infections forced emergency crisis meetings between authorities and infectious disease experts after cases hit the highest they have been in Victoria in more than two months.
It comes as 25 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in the past 24 hours alone, up from 13 on Friday, 18 on Thursday and 21 on Wednesday.
Mr Andrews said the council areas with the highest number of new cases were Hume, Brimbank, Casey, Darebin, Moreland and Cardinia, and that residents of those suburbs could have restrictions return to the highest level yet imposed.
Mr Andrews warned police were willing to go door to door to enforce the tougher restrictions as he admitted he feared virus transmission was “getting away from us”.
video Coronavirus: Victorian premier says if you are told to isolate you must isolate
Due to a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, the timeline for easing restrictions have been rolled back to try keep community transfer as low as possible.
Restaurants, pubs, auction halls, community centres, libraries, museums and places of worship will all maintain their 20-person limits until at least July 12 after plans to increase capacity to 50 people were scrapped.
Pubs will be able to serve customers alcoholic drinks even if they do not order food.
Gyms, cinemas, indoor sports centres and concert venues will be allowed to reopen as promised on Monday, but will be restricted to a limit of just 20 people.
Victoria's COVID-19 tally is currently at 1817. There have been 200 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Victoria that have been acquired through unknown transmission and there are currently 110 active cases in Victoria.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the state was on the cusp of a second wave of infections if Victorians did not act now.
“We are at a point where we have to turn it around or the numbers get beyond us,” Professor Sutton said on Saturday. “We are indeed at a crossroads.”
Restrictions are being tightened in Victoria as they are eased everywhere else in Australia.
Mr Andrews said there had been no discussion yet about whether the rising number of cases in Victoria should prompt fresh discussions about travel between states but suggested if NSW, which has an open border with Victoria, did impose travel restrictions on Victorians they would be confined to those from local government areas with high numbers of cases.
Mr Andrews blamed the concerning surge in cases on families deliberately flouting the rules, including some Victorians who were visiting family members or going to work even after testing positive to the deadly virus.
More than half of the new cases since the end of April had come from family-to-family transmission with some family clusters blowing out to more than a dozen people, he said.
"We have even had people who had tested positive and have been told to go home and isolate and instead they have gone to work, instead they have gone and visited loved ones in large numbers, which is completely unacceptable," Mr Andrews said.
"We have had many stories, numerous stories of families that have given it to each other, and have then transmitted the virus to other families who in turn have passed it on to a third group. It is pretty clear that behind closed doors when one family comes together in large numbers, they are not practising social distancing."
Criticism, however, is mounting over the department's handling of quarantine hotels housing returned travellers and its role in fuelling the spread.
On Saturday, Professor Sutton admitted some of the family clusters were linked to a spate of cases among security guards at quarantine hotels, including the CBD's Stamford Plaza, where lax hygiene has been blamed for a cluster of 10 cases that medical experts expect to spread.
A cluster of 16 cases was also found to be connected to the state government's quarantine operation at Carlton's Rydges on Swanston hotel earlier this month.
"Some of the staff have returned to their family homes and again, while symptomatically, while infectious, they have had close contacts who have developed illness," Professor Sutton said.
Council area Hume reported 17 new cases, Brimbank which had 10 cases, Casey reported 7 and Darebin, Moreland and Cardinia all recorded 6.
Mr Andrews said he had floated the prospect of a lockdown on those suburbs with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and it was an idea being discussed by the national cabinet.
If a lockdown was enforced, it could mean residents living in those hotspots may only be allowed to leave home to shop or for essential services such as medical treatment.
Such a model could also mean areas in regional Victoria with no COVID-19 cases may be reopened ahead of areas of the state with infections.
A work-from-home directive has also been issued for the whole of July.
“We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people returning to the tea rooms, to lifts, to enclosed spaces,” Mr Andrews said.
The Premier said he was concerned some Victorians who were unwell were still going to work because they were unable to get sick leave. The government will set up a hardship fund so those who test positive or have to self-isolate due to close contacts being infected can get a $1500 payment.
Of the 25 new cases recorded Saturday, 14 were linked to known outbreaks, six cases were identified through routine testing, one was detected in a returned traveller in hotel quarantine and four cases are under investigation.
A pre-existing Keilor Downs household outbreak is now linked to 10 cases. There is one case at Albanvale Primary School in Melbourne’s north-west, and one at Springside Primary School in Caroline Springs.
Camberwell Grammar School was also contacting parents of pupils Saturday night who may have come into contact with a year 7 student who tested positive for coronavirus and attended the school while infectious.
Two aged care homes, Lifeview Willow Wood in Cranbourne and Royal Freemasons Springtime in Sydenham, were also in lockdown after one elderly resident at each facility tested positive to the virus.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton. Media heard that half of all cases in June came from family to family transmission.CREDIT:PENNY STEPHENS
Australia and Victoria have suffered a significant reversal in containing the coronavirus as the number of active cases rises to 427 nationwide after months of steady declines.
In NSW, just one new case of COVID-19 was diagnosed bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3144. The case is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.
UNSW Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, an infection-control expert and adviser to the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 preparedness group, said she had observed a "disturbing trend" in Victoria over the past 14 days.
The state has recorded 70 percent of cases reported nationally, she said.
"This is quite concerning," Professor McLaws said. "It doesn't appear to be slowing down."
The head of the World Health Organisation warned yesterday that the pandemic is "accelerating" globally and that more than 150,000 cases were reported the day before – the highest single-day number so far.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East.
Indonesia is recording more than 1000 new infections each day and epidemiologists are concerned the number of cases could pass 60,000 by the end of the month.
RELATED ARTICLE Members of the public in Sydney wearing face masks.  'Need to keep our guard up': Spike in coronavirus cases has experts concerned
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/five-guests-in-your-home-victorian-restrictions-tightened-20200620-p554j5.html>

Major light rail services suspended after fire alarm activation June 20, 2020
Light rail services between Circular Quay and Kingsford have been suspended until further notice following a fire alarm emergency on Saturday.
Meanwhile, services between Circular Quay and Randwick will be reduced to one service every 15 to 20 minutes on Saturday evening, a statement from service operator Transdev said.
The L2 and L3 rail lines have been delayed and suspended respectively, following the activation of a fire suppression system. CREDIT:DOMINIC LORRIMER
At 9am on Saturday, the fire suppression system was activated at the Randwick depot which forced the shutdown of the network's operations control centre.
Transdev's spokesperson said the suspension of the L3 rail line and amended L2 rail line schedule would remain "until further notice."
Investigations into the fire alarm activation are ongoing and further information is expected to be provided overnight.
Buses are replacing trams on the suspended L3 Kingsford Line. The L1 Dulwich Hill Line is operating as per normal.
On Friday, NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance announced changes to the peak hour pricing window.
The window will be widened by three hours per day on Sydney's public transport network, increasing Opal fares for thousands of commuters. The government will also halve fares during off-peak periods (10am-3pm).
RELATED ARTICLE Sydney commuters.  Sydney peak hour pricing window extended despite new Opal discount
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/circular-quay-and-kingsford-light-rail-service-suspended-until-further-notice-due-to-fire-alarm-activation-20200620-p554lf.html>

Sydney peak hour pricing window extended despite new Opal discount June 19, 2020
The peak hour pricing window will be widened by three hours per day on Sydney's public transport network, increasing Opal fares for thousands of commuters.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance announced the major changes to the transport pricing system on Friday as the government attempts to spread the commuter load and maintain social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NSW government has introduced discounts for off-peak travel, but increased the peak hour window.CREDIT:LOUISE KENNERLEY
The changes mean close to 20 per cent of all trips (220,000 pre-COVID) per day will be subject to increased peak hour pricing, according to the government.
While more people will soon be subject to peak hour prices, the government will also halve fares during off-peak periods (10am-3pm).
The government has also maintained most of its peak travel fares despite the independent pricing regulator recommending a five per cent increase for each of the next four years.
Mr Constance said the increase to peak hour was to encourage more commuters to re-time their trip during the coronavirus crisis.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance announces the Opal price changes on Friday morning.CREDIT:AAP
"The challenge we've had there is we've had a high concentration of commuters on the shoulder of the peak, so if we're really going to see a step change in terms of ... timing of the day, that's why we're putting it in," he said.
"I think that's fair, we're trying to keep people safe, keep people apart."
Under the pricing regime, a person travelling from Penrith to Town Hall at 6.30am will have their fare increase from $4.82 per trip to $6.89.
But Mr Constance said the fare restructure would be "good news" for 85 per cent of commuters, with the discount in place between 10am and 3pm.
A train carriage at Green Square, which Transport Minister Andrew Constance identified as a busy zone at peak hour in May.CREDIT:LOUISE KENNERLEY
The Transport Minister said the government had lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue during the lockdown due to massive drops in patronage.
He said any increase to revenue off the back of the fare change would be minor.
"I expect that if we see any increase it will be very much a rounding error, we've seen such an enormous drop in revenue," Mr Constance said.
Opposition Transport spokesman Chris Minns said widening the peak pricing window was a cash grab by the government targeting "working commuters, particularly those in western and outer metropolitan areas of Sydney."
Opposition Transport spokesman Chris Minns said widening the peak hour window was a "cash grab" by the NSW government.CREDIT:JOHN VEAGE
"Using COVID-19 as an excuse to make commuters pay more is a disgrace," he said.
He said the government had failed to understand that many working people could not restructure their commute.
"What exactly does Gladys Berejiklian expect working people to do? Get up at four in the morning or start work at midday?", Mr Minns said.
The pricing scheme will come into effect on July 6 and run for three months. After that, the government says a permanent 30 per cent discount for off-peak travel will be introduced on buses and light rail, in line with what is already in place for trains and metro services.
While most fares are either being discounted or staying the same, the government will increase the cost of shorter bus and light rail trips in a bid to keep people off public transport.
Aside from the three month 50 per cent discount, the Opal fares will remain in place for at least one financial year before the government reviews it.
Around 900,000 commuters were riding Sydney's public transport system per day this week, compared to more than 2 million prior to the lockdown.
The system dropped to about 20 per cent capacity during April, the lowest patronage in almost a century.
Peak time is 7am to 9am, and 4pm to 6.30pm.
Whats the point of having the Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) spend hundreds of thousands of dollars reviewing Opal fares only for the Government to ignore just about every single recommendation they make. I just read the recent IPART report and the Government has just gone off and done a whole heap of things that are not part of the IPART recommendations. Disgraceful.
* Shouldn't be free for students after 5pm
* It is more complex, but for me the logical thing would have been to reduce the overall off peak period as done but not punish the people who travel in the shoulder - they still have a discount, but not as big - that pushes them out to the off peak if they can and also encourages people in the core peak to push to the shoulder.
100% fare 7am - 8:30am & 5-6pm
75% fare 6am - 7am / 8:30-10am & 4-5pm/6-7pm
50% fare 10am to 3pm
* They are rapidly running out of money. They need to cancel their more stupid projects, like moving the Powerhouse and the new tunnels.
* Of course this is totally ridiculous and now discourages me from my 9.30am shoulder peak journeys (when there are currently hardly any commuters on the train). May as well crowd onto the train with 8am crew now... (or turn up to work at 11am and leave at 2pm...)
* We should be trying to encourage the use of public transport with cheaper fares, Coivid notwithstanding. Discouraging people from using public transport for shorter trips is a crazy idea - have you tried walking or cycling with bags of shopping or if you are old and infirm? Who comes up with this nonsense?
* Raising prices on the average person in the middle of recession doesn't seem like a good idea. Maybe you should revisit the powerhouse move is you're looking to find a few bucks.
* They're inflating the Sunday cap from $2.80 to $8.05. That sounds like an almost 300% price rise to me. Notably the rail network is barely usable on weekends because of trackwork closures.
* "He said the fare restructure would be “good news” for 85 per cent of the state’s commuters, with the discount in place between 10am and 3pm." I very highly doubt that 85% of commuters travel between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. As a result, most people will pay more out of this given the large extension in the peak window, with the very few who travel at lunchtime, or late in the evening being the only ones who gain. So a revenue rise dressed up as the opposite.
* Spot on. That was the line that jumped out at me as well. 85% of commuters travelling between 10am and 3pm. What utter rubbish.
* This is ridiculous, Opal is already an overly complicated fare structure and this just complicates things even more. Basically using Covid as a way to raise short trip fares, I bet you won't ever lower again like you will remove the 50% discount to 30% in 3 months.
* Punish families who travel on Sundays to tourist areas supporting struggling businesses by removing the funday $2.50 tickets and replacing them with $8.05 tickets, smart thinking. Increasing the peak window is a money grab, why not keep current window and have a shoulder period 1 hour each side of peak at 75% fares and off peak at the 50%. I guess this new system looks better finically when you try to sell the railways off.
* As Constance says “ we’ve had a high concentration of commuters on the shoulder of the peak”. That’s because people are prepared to start earlier or later to spread the transport load, and receive lower fares. The government response?  Increase the peak hour window to make them pay higher fares.
* It's called sending a price signal.
* exactly, people getting the train from 9-10am is perfect.
* The State Government giveth and taketh.
* Where's the giveth?
* So, he offers a policy to encourage and reward those who have the ability to exercise choice. And to punish those who do not have such discretionary privilege or advantage. Whom does that help and favour, do you think?
* If I am paying peak rates, then I want peak services. Sydney Trains tends to really ramp down train frequency on the shoulders of the peak.
* This just stinks. You are robbing the public at a time when we are all doing it tough. Sydney's public transport is already some of the most expensive in the world! How about instead of extending the peak window and punishing the public you just leave the 50% discount in place forever.
* Robbing the public? With 25% cost recovery on fares?
* I call BS - this is nothing more than a blatant cash grab. As someone who travels at 0600 to get to work (starting at 0630) and around 1600 to get to my gym, and then again at roughly 1830-1900 to get home, I can assure Mr Constance there are next to no passengers on the trains at those times. All this is doing is penalising (and getting extra cash from) those commuters already travelling in off-peak. Perhaps the reporter could have asked for the commuting figures Constance claims exist to justify this change - but I suspect they won't be available
* This is effectively a MASSIVE price increase for most people.
- VERY FEW people travel off peak between 10am and 3pm;
- The change from 30% discount to a 50% discount is only a 29% reduction for off peak travellers on a smaller number. On the other hand moving from 30% off to 0% off is a 43% increase for the massive number of people who will now not enjoy off peak travel pricing.
- Say peak fare is $5. Off-peak used to be $3.50. Now unless you are waking up well before dawn or coming into work at lunchtime you'll be paying $5.00, ie a full $1.50 more. On the other hand the new and improved off-peak is $2.50. So you save $1 for either the privilege of stumbling around in the dark getting ready or the awesome look of getting in only to go straight back out to lunch. Just your typical LNP doublespeak to cover up a HUGE increase in fares. What's the bet when COVID is over the off-peak discount goes back to 30% but the new and distinctly not improved hours stay exactly the same!
* "From July 6, this will change to 6.30am to 10am, and 3pm to 7pm." Oh cool, I guess I'll just turn up to work at lunch time and arrive home at bed time then. Might as well just join the rest of the cattle during the normal peak hour times as there is no longer any real point to delaying my morning and evening commute like I currently am.
*100% guarantee that this change will mean MORE people traveling in the busiest peak times. I know I used to often travel after the evening off-peak fare kicked in, but now? I'm not staying at the office until 7pm.
* Extending the peak hour times is just a cynical slap down to the people who are trying to spread out rail commute times. It's not the working commuter who defines when they have to travel, it's their business owner and from my experience very little latitude is being given. So those who are stretching their start and finish times to do the right thing will now pay higher fares as a reward - brilliant.
* “The challenge we’ve had there is we’ve had a high concentration of commuters on the shoulder of the peak, so if we’re really going to see a step change in terms of...timing of the day, that’s why we’re putting it in,” Mr Constance said. Moronic. Now people who were travelling in the shoulder will not bother (given either super early to get in to work or hard to get parking then) and will just travel in the peak of the peak.
* So if you work in retail you be screwed.
* They just got a $13 a week payrise to cover it!
* Not only retail, anywhere. Unless you start work at 11 a.m.
* I can't see the point of targetting commuters to change work hours. They should be targetting businesses.
* Constance has absolutely no idea
* The increase in revenue from extending peak-time might be no more than a 'rounding error' for the government, it will be much more than that for the individual!
* So, no off-peak fares for ferry commuters?
* I'm still bitter about the loss of my weekly ticket. I used to be able to use the train for any and all journeys for a fixed price. Now I pay for every journey. This continues to be a disincentive to use public transport.
* And you think that is an accident?
* Looks like I will start sleeping in more. Used to catch the 6:50 train which got me to town hall at 7:45. I'll now catch the 7:20 train instead and now catch the 5pm train home instead of 4:30pm. Just means less seats for people catching the train after me.
* This make no-sense whatsoever. Using Covid19 to jacked up the price. *slow clap*
* So changes are coming, and unnecessary information provided in the article, So what are the real changes, What are fare hikes that you are hiding here? I don't know why I pay tax , when all the changes hit only tax payers who  are daily office commuters, travel is an essential service.
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-peak-hour-pricing-window-extended-despite-new-opal-discount-20200619-p5547d.html>

Powerhouse Museum will run out of puff in Parramatta
June 20, 2020
Steam. Twenty-five years ago, when the Powerhouse was at its height – which is to say, properly funded and energised – you could bowl in off Harris Street and watch something astonishing. Standing centimetres from the immense, hissing and chugging 1785 Boulton and Watt steam engine, you could watch its great piston slide, its beam-arm pivot and its levers swing, forcing the massive flywheel into 20 smooth and relentless revolutions a minute.
Watching it, you’d marvel that something as soft as steam could energise an inert mass twice human height and a thousand times the weight. But, of course, it was steam infused with genius.
Former Powerhouse Museum director Peter Denham in front of the Boulton and Watt steam engine in 2017.Credit:Ben Rushton
Machines, now ubiquitous in our lives, are no longer marvellous to us. With their physics closeted inside a computerised black box we no longer see their workings nor intuit their logic. Ironically, this has robbed us of our sense of mystery. Which may be why, although this is the machine that gave Sydney life, we’re about to disrespect it utterly.
The Geneva Museum has a small brass model of Boulton and Watt’s astounding engine. It runs not on steam but on compressed air, yet the museum is sufficiently proud to make a video explaining its genius. Britain, similarly, has both this engine and its Scottish genius-inventor James Watt engraved onto its £50 note.
But we in Sydney, entrusted with the real thing, can muster neither pride nor gratitude. Our machine, built in 1785, is older than we are and the oldest working steam engine in the world. Yet we propose to move it without expert metallurgical advice, shove it in indefinite storage and display it in some flood-prone foyer-cum-event space with no possibility of the motion that is its whole point and purpose. What is wrong with us?
Architect Lionel Glendenning adapted the old Ultimo Tramway Power House to turn it into the Powerhouse Museum for Australia's Bicentenary celebrations.Credit:Brook Mitchell
The Boulton and Watt steam engine embodied several separate patents. Together, they powered the industrial revolution that, for better or worse, brought Sydney into being. So there’s poetic justice in the fact that the third such engine ever made landed here, in Ultimo, our original industrial heartland.
There’s a further level of poetry in the fact that the 1988 adaptive re-use of the old Ultimo Tramway Power House, designed by government architect Lionel Glendenning for the Bicentenary, specially installed a reticulated steam system, run from the old boiler house, to drive the dozen or so steam machines in its collection.
After 30 years of neo-Liberal penny-pinching, such government investment in just making the city a more vivid and interesting place looks just as astonishing as the machine itself. Like, governments do that?
Not anymore, apparently. Now, after decades of funding starvation and curatorial reductions, the Powerhouse is scheduled to close at month’s end, just as everything else reopens and years before any kind of replacement.
An artist's impression of the new Powerhouse Museum in Parramatta. Credit: 
It’s called a “move”, this project to reinstate the Powerhouse on the flood-prone south bank of the Parramatta River. But that’s not really accurate. The only thing that will relocate intact is the name. Everything else – building, site and priceless collection – will be broken up, separated, decontextualised, diminished, disrespected and mothballed.
Part of the collection will go to Parramatta, but since every space in the new building is designed to double as an event space, the chance for any permanent display is slim. Meanwhile, the Ultimo site, excepting space for a small fashion museum, will be sold. The Powerhouse itself will be a thing of the past. A memory.
This isn’t something you do with museums. In the history of international museology – excepting the deliberate destruction of totalitarian regimes – institutional destruction of this kind is virtually unheard of. Yet here we are in this bizarre glass bead game that consistently values appearance over fact and form over content.
The Catalina Flying Boat is anchored to the roof of the Powerhouse Museum.
Glendenning’s Bicentennial building on the Ultimo site is a Mary Poppins bag of a thing. It looks modest on the outside but miraculously accommodates a 10-metre high turbine hall as well as galleries for locomotives, planes, trains, trams, horse-drawn buses and what was a working trainline.
There’s No. 1 Locomotive, that hauled the first passenger train in NSW in 1855. There’s Sydney’s last Hansom cab, from Banjo Paterson days, a horse-drawn bus, and the Catalina flying boat that brought prisoners of war home from Singapore in 1945, suspended mid-air and inspectable from the balcony.
There’s the fabulous hand-operated 22-platform Central Station Departures Board, one of those tickety-tick things like some magical organism out of Harry Potter. Having been replaced by TV screens in 1982, this lovely board was saved by then-railways honcho David Hill. Now, experts fear this priceless artefact will end up in landfill.
As to the working train line? Twenty years ago, the Powerhouse also stabled the 3801 steam train. Every Sunday, from Redfern, you’d hear its cheery toot as, billowing steam, it chuffed off under Broadway and out to the zig-zag railway at Lithgow. Passengers would return all bright-eyed and sooty-cheeked before the train nestled back into the Powerhouse courtyard. Until the Goods Line was pedestrianised in the early 2000s, a train could steam all the way from Perth to the Powerhouse. For a moment it was almost like Sydney had a rich imaginative life.
Despite ongoing public opposition and against the findings of at least one parliamentary inquiry, the Premier has reaffirmed her determination to proceed with the billion-dollar Powerhouse project. For that money, she could build Parramatta a proper museum on the Cumberland Hospital site, reinstate the demolished Moore Park stadium as parkland and revivify the Powerhouse.
She heads a government whose only pride, it seems, is economic management. Why, then, waste taxpayer money downgrading priceless public assets? Oh for a little less hot air, a little more steam. The Powerhouse Environmental Impact Statement is open for public submissions until July 7.
Related Article Police surround a Winston Churchill statue during a Black Lives Matter rally in London last week. For our future's sake, we must note the sins of our past
<www.smh.com.au/national/powerhouse-museum-will-run-out-of-puff-in-parramatta-20200618-p553yc.html>
Powerhouse progress: <www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/project/26576>