Fw: Fri.17.7.20 daily digest
  Roderick Smith

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Roderick

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Fri.17.7.20 Metro Twitter
Buses replace trains on sections of the Frankston line and to Stony Point until the last train of Sun 19 Jul (level-crossing works).  [New earlier finish]
15.00 Alamein line: Major delays (a track-equipment fault between Camberwell and Riversdale). 
- 15.22 clearing.
18.33 Mernda line: Buses will replace trains between Reservoir and Epping due to a person hit by a train.  Buses have been dispatched but may take over 60min to arrive, consider alternate transport options.
- 19.00 Buses are en route but may take up 40min to arrive, 
- 19.16  Buses are in operation with more en route.  Link to details of alternatives.
- 19.51 All buses are in operation. Extended journey time of approx. 25min.
- 21.24 Train services have now resumed
Buses replace trains Newport - Werribee from 20.25 until 6.10 Sat 18 Jul (works).
Buses replace trains Dandenong - Pakenham from 0.30 Sat 18 Jul until the last train of Sun 19 Jul (level-crossing works).

Melbourne Cup 2017: Train network to be put to test after Derby Day debacle. November 7, 2017
Racegoers flocking to the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday will be relying on a well-oiled train network to help them get to and from the races safely and on time.
But just days after a major blunder on Derby Day saw six packed trains grind to a halt for 40 minutes, resulting in passengers jumping off carriages and one hospitalisation, commuters want an assurance that the system will operate smoothly on Cup Day.
video Derby Day panic on Melbourne train. Melbourne train chaos
Fairfax Media can reveal that the rail safety watchdog is also concerned about the network's capacity to carry about 100,000 people on race day, and has launched an investigation into Saturday's debacle.
A spokesman for the Office of the National Safety Regulator confirmed the watchdog investigation, and said they "will continue to monitor issues of this kind".
The spring racing carnival is testing Metro's capacity. CREDIT:PENNY STEPHENS
"MTM [Metro Trains Melbourne] has assured us of its intention to take proactive steps to minimise the likelihood of issues such as this affecting racegoers at tomorrow's Melbourne Cup meeting," he said.
But it's not just Cup Day that will test Metro's capacity this week, with Oaks Day on Thursday and Stakes Day on Saturday drawing many thousands of people.
Metro Trains has promised the public that they will have "safe and reliable service ... for the rest of the carnival".
The company is "leaving nothing to chance," spokesman Marcus Williams said on Monday.
More than 300 extra services to Flemington will be added to the network and authorised officers and security surveillance teams will be beefed up for the rest of the carnival and deployed along the Craigieburn line.
But commuters remain frustrated over Saturday's screw up, which trapped passengers inside six trains for more than 40 minutes between Newmarket and Kensington stations.
Passengers jumping out of a train that ground to a halt for 40 minutes on Derby Day.
At least 50 passengers forced the train doors open and jumped out in panic, an observer said. The doors on the Comeng trains are designed to be opened in an emergency, either manually or by an emergency release.
The delay kicked off after one city-bound train departing Flemington Racecourse stopped around 6:15pm due to a train fault.
Metro claims the fault was able to be fixed quickly, but all other trains from the racecourse were subsequently held up under orders from Victoria Police, as trespassers were on the tracks. These trespassers are understood to not have been train passengers.
Passengers jumping out of a train that ground to a halt for 40 minutes on Derby Day.
Commuters have complained that they were not properly informed about the incident as it was unfolding.
They are now calling for compensation over the incident, which resulted in one woman in her 50s being taken to hospital with a knee injury, Ambulance Victoria confirmed.
"If this was the fault of Metro, some compensation should be considered, like a free day's pass," said Tim Ryan, an avid racegoer who was caught at the station after 6pm, where a crowd swelled to several hundred people.
He said there were very few Metro staff at the station, and no announcements could be heard over the speakers for at least half an hour, causing widespread confusion.
When the train finally arrived at the station, people jumped over a cordon outside the platform, and pushed through the doors. He saw one elderly woman injure her shoulder.
"It was really a shemozzle," he said.
"Normally in the past, there are quite a number of Metro staff holding megaphones directing people; this time there was virtually no one manning there at the gates, and no announcements for at least 30 minutes.
"If someone's providing you with a service and they're charging you for it ... and they don't provide the service in the timeframe that you expect, then there should be some compensation."
Metro must pay compensation to eligible passengers when punctuality falls below 88 per cent and less than 98 per cent of services are delivered in any given month. Saturday's incident will affect this month's performance.
However, it was not all doom and gloom for those trapped inside the trains, with one commuter, Kim, sending Fairfax Media a video showing merry passengers singing along to Bon Jovi's Livin' on A Prayer and Oasis' Wonderwall to pass the time.
"Group karaoke passed the time," said Kim.
"The ones jumping off were hardly panicked – another word starting with p would be more apt."
Police confirmed that they were called to the Showgrounds train station in response to reports of two people trespassing after 6:30pm.
"The train was stopped for a short time for safety reasons while police searched for trespassers," a spokesman said.
Metro spokesman Marcus Williams said: "We sincerely apologise to our passengers who were delayed getting home from Flemington on Saturday and understand how frustrating this was.
"We communicated regularly to passengers through all available channels including train and station announcements from drivers and station staff, as well as remotely from the control centre, our website, Twitter and the metroNotify app.
"We've had feedback that some passengers found it difficult to hear announcements on busy trains and platforms and understand this was a challenge."
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-cup-2017-train-network-to-be-put-to-test-after-derby-day-debacle-20171106-gzfwbi.html>


November 7 2017 Aspendale station attack: Man charged over sex assault on 87-year-old woman 
A man has been charged with sexual assaulting an elderly woman at a train station in Melbourne's south-east.
The 87-year-old woman was on the platform at Aspendale about 11am on September 22 when a man asked her if she wanted money.
When she declined, the man kissed her on the cheek and allegedly sexually assaulted her, a police spokeswoman said.
The woman, who had a walking frame, managed to break free and boarded her train.
It's believed the man got on a Frankston-bound train, disembarking at Carrum Station.
A 40-year-old Frankston man was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with sexual assault.
He was bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 15.
More Articles: Elderly woman with walking frame sexually assaulted at station.
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/aspendale-station-attack-man-charged-over-sex-assault-on-87yearold-woman-20171107-gzgkv0.html>


Is the boom in bike lanes riding on the pandemic? July 17, 2020
“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark,” wrote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of Sherlock Holmes fame, “just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin.”
In recent months, a great many Australians have taken this advice. We have bought, borrowed and rented bikes in unprecedented numbers, using them to escape the low spirits and dark days of COVID-19. According to counts performed by the Bicycle Network, a national cycling network, bike use in some areas of Melbourne has increased by as much as 300 per cent.
A cyclist on Sydney's Anzac bridge. Fears about using public transport have fuelled a spike in cycling's popularity.CREDIT:PETER RAE
But where have we been riding? Well, in some cases at least, on paths less travelled – or indeed, never travelled before at all. In NSW, more than 10 kilometres of brand-new pop-up bike lanes were announced in May by the City of Sydney, including six temporary lanes in key commuter areas in the CBD. The idea is to give people new pathways through the city while also offering an alternative to reduced-capacity public transport.
And in Melbourne, the city has fast-tracked some 40 kilometres of bike lanes within the CBD. These lanes, which were originally planned for installation during the next decade, will now be completed in two years.
“I think a lot of the [lanes] were already on long-term strategic transport plans,” says the Bicycle Network’s Alexander Miller of the work in both states, “but it’s great to see it happening more quickly.”
The question is, will such temporary lanes last, or will they be torn away from cyclists once the pandemic passes? “Around the world, the data shows that bike lanes are being used more than ever,” says Miller. “So I think there’s a good chance that if they’re siphoning off traffic and reducing vehicle use, they will stay.”
Bike paths in Melbourne's CBD. The city has fast-tracked some 40 kilometres of bike lanes.CREDIT:SIMON SCHLUTER
Of course, the myriad benefits of cycling – for the environment, and for physical health and mental wellbeing – have been known for years; let’s hope the pandemic finally prompts permanent change.
So far, with so many people discovering the value of “keeping your balance” on a bike, as Einstein put it, the signs are good.
“It’s not quite as simple as ‘Build it, and they will come,’ ” says Miller, “but if the paths are in good spots, they’ll get used.” Just not by MAMILs, we hope. Middle-aged men in Holmes-style deerstalkers, of course, are welcome any time.
<www.smh.com.au/national/is-the-boom-in-bike-lanes-riding-on-the-pandemic-20200604-p54zm1.html>
*Hopefully the temporary cycle lanes prove to governments and drivers alike how important quality, safe cycleways are for an efficient city
Good cycleways to be installed will demonstrate the huge latent demand of people who want to ride


Rail pain on the Upfield line
Fri.17.7.20 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'
A construction 'blitz' on the Upfield railway line will begin in two weeks, with a section of the busy corridor to be shut for three and a half months.
From July 28 to November 15, train commuters will be forced onto replacement buses for every stop north of Anstey station while more than 1000 workers remove four level crossings.
The shutdown is expected to affect a third of the commuters living along the line but trains will continue to run between Anstey station and the city over this time.
Huge concrete pieces are currently being trucked to Coburg and Brunswick to build a 2.5km rail bridge above the current tracks.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Allan said the project would help support construction and manufacturing jobs: “It is using thousands of tonnes of concrete products from local suppliers to support Victorian jobs through the pandemic.  Our level crossing removals are heating up in the North — by 2022, both Bell Street crossings, the most dangerous in Melbourne, will be gone for good.”


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