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Subject: Wed.19.8.20 daily digest
Roderick
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19.8.20 Metro Twitter
Buses replace trains on sections of the Upfield line until the last train of Sun 15 Nov (level-crossing works at Coburg and Moreland).
Westall: No lift access between the concourse and pfm 2/3 until Mon 14 Sep ('upgrade' works).
6.53 Werribee/Williamstown lines: Minor delays citybound Newport - Footscray (an 'operational incident').
- 7.29 I'm on 1317T on a train from Werribee and can barely hear what the driver is saying. Are trains getting cancelled? Is it a signal issue?
- 7.39 clearing
- 7.42 Trains will be on the move soon shortly.
- 7.44 Can you look into the speaker on this carriage because we can't understand/hear the driver properly.
Buses replace trains Newport - Werribee from 19.25 until the last train (works).
Buses replace trains Dandenong - Pakenham from 20.30 until the last train (works).
Sat.1.12.18 Metro Twitter [excerpts reposted to explain the photos, which weren't posted at the time.
Extra trains and trams will be running for the Bon Jovi concert tonight at MCG. With a big crowd expected, remember to allow extra time [because we can't cope].
- Unless you are from Ballarat.
- or Cohuna, Orbost, Stawell, Bright or Titybong. In fact there is more chance of PTV not getting you there and back on the same day. Who Says You Can't Go Home? PTV.
- If you’re on the FRANKSTON or Sandringham lines then you’re screwed. Thank goodness for Uber. PTV a joke.
- 22.51 Did you put the extra train on before the concert finished?
- 22.52 Airconditioning would be nice too. It is not on the Lilydale train just leaving Richmond.
- [management apologist] Possibly a fault in your carriage, as trains are set automatically to 22c all year round. It’s also very humid outside and a lot of passengers in a train can further impact the conditions of the carriage.
Try tweet the carriage number to metro so they can log a job for the airconditioning to be checked.
- 22.59 Extra trains were arranged around the scheduled finishing time, but the concert finished about 30min earlier than we were advised it would.
- 23.02 So, should there be a few trains on the next 10 minutes at Jolimont? People are queuing along Wellington parade to get on the train.
- 23.38 How about putting on a Mernda train from Flinders St...we have been waiting nearly 45 min.
- 0.31 Sounds like your livin on a prayer to get home.
- 0.58 You absolute liars...the PTV site says that Bon Jovi will take the stage at 8.00...you can’t blame your pathetic lack of organisation and inability to deal with large crowds on Bon Jovi. The show went almost 2.5 hours,
which is standard for any concert.
22.41 The 22.19 Mernda to Flinders Street has been delayed by vandalism near Epping. Trains in the immediate area are being held while we attend to the damaged train. Other trains may be delayed/altered.
23.14 All trains are currently operating direct to/from Flinders St while MFB attends to an incident.
- 23.18 Try communicating with your ‘customers’ in person. No one knows what’s going on. I've been waiting for an hour in the city - thanks for nothing.
- 23.27 This is what your ineptness causes. [photo]
- 23.31 Supposedly fire at Parliament.
- 23.23 Six trains arrive. None take passengers. Dangerously-full platforms. Guys on the mic taking pleasure in telling people that they are not getting home...you're a joke.
- 23.26 Make that seven trains arrive with out taking passengers. Guy on mic on platform 6 and 7 loving it. Although he is hiding from people worried they are not getting home.
- 23.56 Thank you. The announcement told us to leave the platform because of fire; beyond that, there were no communications. Shouldn’t be hard to coordinate a microphone and a direction plan, giving people an indication of how to get
home, or at least where to ‘evacuate’ to!
- 0.11 No announcement was made the whole time while we were on the platform. Everyone was confused. Not good enough Metro.
- 0.22 Why are we stuck at Jolimont on the Hurstbridge train?
- 0.47 At SC station there was minimal communication and minimal staff accessible. This led to me and a young female in my care feeling very unsafe. I understand that the incident needs tending. Please be equipped with more staff and
greater communication in future though.
- [~0.50: I had come on an 0.08 from Sandringham to Elsternwick, with a 4 min connection into an up on pfm 5. At Richmond at ~0.50 there was a down Lilydale in pfm 10, ie direct from Flinders St, which left as soon as I had boarded.
It was full and standing, and passengers told me that they had been there for an hour].
- 1.46 SILENT CARRIAGES?
$146m Metronet revamp signals end of notorious Bayswater Bridge 1 December 2018.
Construction of the $1 billion Morley to Ellenbrook will begin next year with an upgrade of Bayswater Station.
The $146 million project also signals the end of the notorious Bayswater overpass, a cause of sheepish embarrassment for dozens of Perth truck drivers in recent years.
The Bayswater station upgrade is the first stage of Metronet's new Morley-Ellenbrook Line. Credit: WA Government
Three main train lines will connect to the Bayswater station - the existing Midland service and new lines to Ellenbrook and Perth Airport.
Premier Mark McGowan said a bigger station, better road network and more public space were based on public feedback on the station design.
“Along with creating a junction for our new Metronet lines, it will pump vibrancy and activity into the Bayswater town centre to support more jobs and local businesses," he said.
Truck drivers will no longer have to negotiate the Bayswater overpass after the station upgrade. Credit: Will Sobey
Truck drivers will be spared a showdown with the notorious Bayswater bridge, with the 3.8m overpass claiming 15 trucks in the past year, with three incidents this month alone.
"Part of this project also involves raising the Bayswater bridge, which has trapped at least 20 trucks since I have been Premier,” Mr McGowan said
Part of the project includes lowering a section of Whatley Crescent between King William and Hamilton streets and a second underpass connecting to Beechboro Road under the new rail bridge.
The wider precinct will feature better connections for pedestrians and improved traffic management and street designs for motorists, while bus services will be integrated with local traffic and better connected to trains.
How the new Bayswater overpass will look once the upgrade is complete. Credit: WA Government
Transport Minister Saffioti said that the project was driven by locals and hoped it would transform Bayswater.
"We want to build something that balances community needs, transport outcomes, heritage and new commercial opportunities," she said on Saturday.
"It will be Bayswater Station’s biggest overhaul in more than a century ... and a vital first step for the Morley-Ellenbrook Line, which will connect the north-east corridor to Perth’s rail network for the first time."
Ms Saffioti said to expect further announcements on the Forrestfield Airport Link before Christmas.
Tunnelling for the new $1.8 billion project stopped in September after a sinkhole appeared, with fears projected costs could blow out.
A tender for construction works at Bayswater station will go out in early 2019, with work to commence late 2019.
<www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/146m-metronet-revamp-signals-end-of-notorious-bayswater-bridge-20181201-p50jmw.html>
August 19, 2020 Government to launch a spring construction program on rail projects, shutting down a train line
video: Melbourne foot traffic down by 90 per cent amid lockdown New data reveals foot traffic in popular Melbourne locations is down by as much as 90 per cent amid the state's stage four lockdown.
A 'massive construction blitz' will close railway lines and major roads as construction crews take advantage of limited movement around Melbourne. Here’s what’s set to be affected.
Among the new projects will be a two-week closure of the Sunbury line to prepare it for new high-capacity trains and the shutting of an inbound ramp to the West Gate Freeway until early October.
Spring is one of the state’s busiest periods for construction work, with school holidays and stage four coronavirus restrictions providing more opportunities to push ahead with upgrades.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said continuing with the construction blitz would help support the state’s economy.
“These critical projects are building a better transport system,” she said. “The safety of our workforce and the community is our priority.
“We are taking strict precautions to ensure our critical transport infrastructure projects can safely continue under coronavirus restrictions.”
Work crews will be spread across 15 level crossing projects over this period, including the removal of four crossings along the Upfield line, which will put commuters on replacement buses north of Anstey Station for three months.
Level Crossing Removal Works are set to continue
The massive removal project, the biggest of its kind so far in Victoria, will include the construction of two new stations and free up traffic delays for the 40,000 drivers a day who cross tracks on Bell Street.
Authorities will also shut down the Sunbury line from November 7-23 as the tracks are upgraded to handle new high-capacity trains.
The bigger trains, currently being tested across the metropolitan network, can carry 1100 passengers and will run through the Metro Tunnel when completed. All four tunnel-boring machines are currently at work digging new 9km rail tunnels under Melbourne between Kensington and South Yarra.
Further replacement bus services will run between Mordialloc and Frankston and between Cranbourne and Dandenong for a week at a time in September as more upgrades are rolled out.
Construction sites for critical transport projects across Melbourne have been given exemptions to continue with limited staff numbers during current restrictions.
Major road disruptions include the closure of the Millers Road inbound ramp on to the West Gate Freeway as crews expand the corridor from eight to 12 lanes.
Another section of Millers Road in Altona North will be shut throughout September.
The long-awaited second part of the Monash Freeway Upgrade will ramp up in September as smart signs are installed over lanes.
Early works on North East Link will begin moving a 2.5km gas main to pave the way for the $15.8b project.
Tram routes through Malvern, South Melbourne, Parkville and Pascoe Vale South will also be upgraded.
* Who is paying for all this? With the ol'Rona being the news for the last 8 months, I don't think I saw the Victorian Budget Bottom Line.
* So buses will replace trains on some lines. Will these buses have a practiced safe distance between each passenger and if so, where are you going to get that many buses from? But of course these projects need to continue, how on earth is Andrews going to campaign at the next election without cutting all these ribbons and say "only Labor can Build Victoria"! But only Labor can destroy business, lives and families with their inept Premier and Ministers and with some luck we will be rid of them at the next election. Unfortunately that is a long two years away and we will continue to suffer!
* Where are these new trains,still sitting in sidings unable to be used due to manufacturing faults.
* If we have to upgrade lines for the new 'high capacity' trains why do we not do it properly and upgrade ALL lines to take double deck trains as per NSW. These trains have already been proven. I guess the fact that they are from NSW is the biggest issue.
* All this extra work with a minimal workforce. These projects are either going to come in way under budget or be blown out by months.
* Chinese built trains...keep having problems
* Andrews looking after his CFMEU mates again while the rest of the state is in lockdown.
* Jacinta it only helps your Union Buddies
* Pure propaganda and spin. 'Blitz' is simply spin for 'we can't cope'. The new trains are in no sense 'high capacity', and the minister yet again waved the unarguable word 'safety.
* The Sunbury line is a fiasco. It shares the tracks with freight trains (lots of them) and country passenger trains heading out to Woodend-Bendigo-Echuca. When they closed the line down to remove the level crossings in Sunshine and St Albans they could have built parallel tracks for the country traffic - the railway reservation has lots of room. Instead they built narrow two-track tunnels under Furlong Road and Main Road, so there's no space for separate country tracks. As a result, in the future they simply can't increase the number of trains to account for population growth.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/government-to-launch-massive-spring-construction-blitz-on-rail-projects-shutting-down-trainline/news-story/2bf9b4ec1f6f1eade9747333fb6e6acf>
* Where is the money coming from? Victoria is shut down, so the government is hemorrhaging money.
* Wheeled out their fave word again ‘blitz’. Doing what you’re elected to do is not a blitz. Give it a rest
* We have got to look after the CFMEU , even if the state is broke.
As the day unfolded: Victoria records 216 new COVID-19 cases as free Oxford vaccine deal sealed by Morrison government; Australian death toll jumps to 450
August 19, 2020
Summary.
- Victoria has recorded 216 new coronavirus cases today, its lowest case total in more than a month.
- Seven new coronavirus cases have been recorded in NSW.
- Every Australian will receive a free dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with the federal government confirming an agreement with a British pharmaceutical giant if trials prove successful.
- There have been 22 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. The global death toll has passed 779,000.
* vaccination is 'not going to be compulsory' Prime Minister Scott Morrison was on 2GB this afternoon to clarify earlier comments about an impending COVID-19 vaccine, and whether or not it would be mandatory.
* 20.01 Australia had 228 new cases today, 216 of which were in Victoria. The global death toll passed 781,000, and cases have passed the 22.1 million mark.
* 18.35 Victoria's CHO removes drive-to-exercise restriction after backlash.Melburnians will be able to drive to their favourite exercise spots within five kilometres of their homes from Thursday after the Chief Health Officer stepped in to overturn the COVID-19 restriction amid widespread public outrage.
Confusion over the rules on exercise has prompted Port Phillip police to warn residents that travelling in a vehicle to parks or beaches is not permitted.CREDIT:JASON SOUTH
People under stage four restrictions have only been allowed to walk or cycle to their local parks and beaches for one hour of daily exercise.
This prompted police to take to social media earlier this week to issue a reminder that they had been directed to issue $1652 fines for any breach.
On Wednesday morning, Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, was quizzed over the restriction before promising to talk to Chief Commissioner Shane Patton about possible revisions.
Within hours, the Premier's office confirmed the restriction would be removed.
* 18.09 PM says vaccination is 'not going to be compulsory'. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was on 2GB this afternoon to clarify earlier comments about an impending COVID-19 vaccine, and whether or not it would be mandatory.
"It's not going to be compulsory to have the vaccine," he told host Jim Wilson.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison toured the AstraZeneca laboratories in Macquarie Park.CREDIT:NICK MOIR
"There are no compulsory vaccines in Australia ... what we want to achieve is as much vaccination as we possibly can."
Mr Morrison said Australia had one of the best records in the world of getting high rates of immunisation, and there had been "a bit of an overreaction" to the announcement this morning.
He said there would be "a lot of encouragement" to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We can't hold someone down and make them take it," he said.
* 15.43 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to his official residence to resume work Wednesday, making his first public appearance since an unexpected visit to a Tokyo hospital this week.
Abe spoke briefly to reporters in the foyer of the residence in response to questions about his health.
"I underwent tests to make sure I'm doing everything possible to maintain my physical condition," Abe said, in remarks live-streamed by broadcaster FNN. "Now I want to return to work and do my best."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.CREDIT:BLOOMBERG
* 17.31 Australia international travel ban: Why aren't we angrier about not being allowed to go overseas?
Want to leave Australia? You better have a good reason.
A son or daughter getting married overseas won't do the trick. A funeral in another country probably won't be justification.
Airports are struggling financially as state border closures keep planes grounded.CREDIT:GETTY
Since the Australian government's international travel ban came into effect in March, more than 90,000 applications to leave Australia have been lodged, and only 22,640 of those have been approved.
That's almost 70,000 people who have asked to travel from Australia to another country and been denied. That's 75 per cent of applications turned down. And those people, you would expect, had at least some sort of reason to depart the country other than pure pleasure.
* 16.xx Fall in the number of active cases in Victoria The number of active cases in Victoria has dropped by more than 100 despite the number of active cases among healthcare workers continuing to rise.
There are 7155 active cases in the state, about 120 fewer than Tuesday.
Active cases - the total number of cases minus those who no longer have the virus - linked to aged care homes dropped by 16 to 2040.
Active cases in residential disability accommodation dropped by 11 to 79, while active cases among healthcare workers have continued to rise, growing by 29 to 1065.
* 16.49 More than 17,000 students call for re-think of graduation and formal ban
* 15.05 42 fines issued to Victorians failing to self-isolate
Victoria Police have fined 42 people for failing to self-isolate at home as they continue to arrest motorists trying to flee through vehicle checkpoints at times with car boots filled with drugs and guns.
Close to 1700 police each day are being tasked with COVID-19 related enforcement and compliance across the state with the force conducting hundreds of thousands of checks on people’s homes.
Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said to date 42 fines had been issued to people who had failed to self-isolate, including 26 fined $1652 and 16 fined $4957.
ince last weekend, 444 cases had been referred to police after people meant to be self-isolating couldn’t be contacted. He said 98 remained “under investigation”.
“There's a range of reasons people can leave their homes, so it could be for medical supplies it could be for medical attention,” he said.
He said when police did conduct spot checks at people’s homes, some of the people couldn’t be contacted because they were later found to have been in the shower or out in the shed building.
Others had left home for approved reasons such as medical reasons or to escape family violence.
Since April, police said DHHS has provided the force with 30,000 people to check in on.
The two most common reasons why people may have been classified as not being home was due to incorrect or outdated address details or they’d left their home for a permitted reason.
Mr Nugent also praised the tireless work of police who were out on roads every day dealing with COVID-19 matters while also maintaining responses to other jobs including family violence and road trauma.
He thanked the community too for showing their support with some residents dropping off hot coffees to those officers working in trying conditions.
“Our members are out there at 2am in the morning, 3am in the morning, out on the Ballarat Road, the Calder, freezing cold, it's a constant battle,” he said.
* 14.50 Sydney bus strike still a possibilityl. The threat of a 48 hour Sydney bus strike still remains as court action between the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and the NSW government drags on for at least another day.
The NSW RTBU and state government met in the Industrial Relations Commission on Wednesday morning in a bid to stave off a planned bus strike next Monday.
The union wants the government to mandate the use of masks on packed buses and delay the privatisation of three Sydney bus regions until after the coronavirus pandemic, warning of a two-day strike if their requests aren’t met.
* 12.53 Stranded Australians tackle Bali's murky visa system Fears Australian holidaymakers would face hefty fines if they didn't leave Bali by August 20 have eased after Indonesian immigration announced it would allow tourists an extra month to be granted new visas.
The Indonesian Institute in Perth has been lobbying for the extension of emergency visas granted to stranded Australians in Bali, as many faced being caught in a complex web of Indonesian bureaucracy or pay skyrocketing costs to come home.
A passenger being welcomed at Denpasar airport in Bali after the resort island reopened its borders to tourists on July 31.CREDIT:AP/FIRDIA LISNAWATI
The institute’s Ross Taylor said many of the 3000 Australian short-stay visa-holders in Bali had sought a six-month social visa, which required a local sponsor and meant stepping around the usual laws of immigration; “so it does take you into a slightly murky, complex world”.
* 10.11 WA government rejects calls for review of 7000 'hard border' exemptions.
* 9.37 PM wants vaccine to be 'as mandatory as possible'. RELATED ARTICLE Researchers at the University of Oxford working on a promising coronavirus vaccine, which Australians will get for free if it is proven to work. Free dose for every Aussie: Agreement to buy Oxford vaccine if it works Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants a vaccine for COVID-19 to be "as mandatory as possible" for Australians, he has revealed while spruiking the federal government's new coronavirus vaccine deal. While the Prime Minister was guarded in his language and said the government had no set policy yet, he told Melbourne radio station 3AW he "would expect" only people with clear medical reasons to be exempt from receiving the vaccine.
"Certainly we've got to get about 95 per cent [coverage] and so we'd be applying that as well [as] taking medical advice ... but that's what I would be expecting," he said.
video:
* 9.28 Coronavirus costs weigh on Domino's Pizza as local profits drop. Higher costs incurred for in-store cleaning and supporting struggling franchisees during the coronavirus pandemic have led pizza giant Domino's to report a weaker-than-expected full-year result. The $6.6 billion fast-food chain reported a 7.3 per cent increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $303 million for the year to June 28, alongside a 12.8 per cent increase in total network sales to $3.27 billion. Underlying revenue, which excludes franchise network sales, grew 32.7 per cent to $1.9 billion. Same-store sales growth across the network was 5.8 per cent.
Domino's has missed expectations due to coronavirus costs.CREDIT:JASON ALDEN
However, these figures were short of analyst forecasts, which had predicted a bumper result as more consumers ordered home-delivery during the coronavirus lockdown.
In its full-year report to investors, the company said it had seen a strong rise in sales thanks to COVID-19, with online trade across the network up 21.4 per cent to $2.36 billion. Net profit grew 3.3 per cent to $145.8 million.
Read more: Coronavirus costs weigh on Domino's Pizza as local profits drop
* 7.55 NSW Transport Minister defends social distancing measures.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has said he is in communication with the union again today to attempt to stop a threatened bus strike as drivers express concern about a lack of social distancing and mask wearing on services.
"We have not had any community transmission yet caused by public transport," Mr Constance told 2GB this morning, saying his department had distributed 1.8 million masks to bus drivers this year.
Speaking earlier on Today, the Transport Minister said only 30 per cent of commuters were wearing masks, which are "strongly recommended" on public transport by NSW Health, but he did not have the ability to mandate them, or an indication that it was necessary.
"We don't have the health advice to mandate masks: they want us to fine people and deny people services ... that's what mandating means," he said. "We are out there telling everyone to put them on and people are starting to do that."
Mr Constance said, on the whole, NSW had one of the most COVID-safe public transport systems in the world. He added that 98.7 per cent of services were operating at a socially distanced level.
"We don't want to see an inconvenience for HSC students next week and for people with disability and critical care commuters. We need everybody to work together. The union, I would hope today, will understand," he added.
RELATED ARTICLE Transport Minister Andrew Constance is pleaded with bus drivers to cancel their planned strike. COVID-19 mask bus strike 'came out of left field': Constance
<www.theage.com.au/national/coronavirus-updates-live-security-guard-contracts-virus-at-sydney-s-marriott-hotel-victoria-records-lowest-cases-in-a-month-australian-death-toll-stands-at-438-20200818-p55mxc.html0>
Aug 19 2020 Australia international travel ban: Why aren't we angrier about not being allowed to go overseas?
<www.traveller.com.au/australia-international-travel-ban-why-arent-we-angrier-about-not-being-allowed-to-go-overseas-h1q3fm>
August 19, 2020 Suburban Rail Loop starting point could shift north and link to Southland shopping centre
The first underground station to be built as part of the $100 billion Suburban Rail Loop may be linked to a major retail hub under new plans. See where the new starting point could be.
video: Inside Melbourne's suburban rail loop How the biggest rail project in Australia's history will change travel in Melbourne.
The first underground station for the $100 billion Suburban Rail Loop is likely to be built next to a major retail and entertainment centre in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs.
The Andrews Government has been developing plans for its orbital subway line that would connect Melbourne’s middle suburbs and employment hubs via 90km of track.
Works on the first stage, linking Cheltenham to Box Hill via a 27km tunnel, are set to begin in 2022.
But rather than locking in the starting point at Cheltenham station, engineers are testing sites near to Southland station — which is in the same suburb but about 1km north along the Frankston rail line.
An artist’s concept of a station along the Suburban Rail Loop. Picture: Suburban Rail Loop Authority
Plans haven’t been ticked off by Cabinet, but community consultation seems to also favour Southland due to its link to Westfield’s shopping centre that employs thousands of people in 400 stores.
If approved, it would lead to major housing and commercial developments and a mini-metropolis for the growing southeastern suburbs.
Plans would also leave open the door to extending tracks down the road to the Sandringham line next to Port Phillip Bay.
Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan said no decision on station locations had been made, although the broad alignment and precinct locations for the line between Cheltenham and Box Hill were locked in.
“We’re getting on with the planning and engineering works necessary to allow construction to start – which will deliver enormous economic benefits and thousands of jobs,” Ms Allan said.
“Suburban Rail Loop will transform our public transport system and our suburbs and we’ll have more to say on its progress soon.”
The broad alignment for the Suburban Rail Loop.
Opposition Transport Infrastructure spokesman David Davis said the project was still a “line drawn on an envelope” and was likely to cost more than $150 billion.
But he said Southland would make an “obvious hub” if the project went ahead.
“The real question is, when does the community get the see the business case?” he said.
Drilling has already begun across 4km and 100 sites to determine the best tunnel alignment for the SRL, and how to link with other radial rail lines that run into the CBD.
It’s understood experts have flagged issues with building an underground link at Cheltenham station due to a recent level crossing removal, which sunk the rail line into a trench.
Plans for that redesign were approved in March 2019 — four months before geotechnical testing began for SRL but after the broad alignment was announced by Premier Daniel Andrews.
Site inspections near Southland have been taking at Sir William Fry Reserve on Nepean Hwy, near to where a redevelopment at a former gas and fuel site is taking place.
Southland shopping centre. Picture: Valeriu Campan
Residents have objected to the scale and height of plans, and want to protect the reserve for open space.
Having the SRL begin at Southland would be a major boon for Westfield, which also has a shopping centre at Doncaster where another underground station is planned for the project.
Cheltenham-Southland is a Major Activity Centre in the government’s Plan Melbourne strategy up to 2050.
The Suburban Rail Loop, which is unfunded, would connect Melbourne’s major radial rail lines to a new orbital subway system and usher in new large-scale development of key precincts along the route, such as at Monash University in Clayton and Deakin University in Burwood.
Super hubs are planned at Sunshine, Broadmeadows, and Clayton to connect to regional lines, and a planned new airport link would also be connected.
Suburban Rail Loop
■ 15 underground stations
■ 10 new interchanges at existing rail lines
■ $100 billion cost estimate
■ $300 million for planning and early works
■ 90km of new track
■ 27km tunnel for Stage One — Cheltenham to Box Hill
■ 20,000 jobs during construction
■ 3 transport super hubs at Sunshine, Broadmeadows and Clayton
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/suburban-rail-loop-starting-point-could-shift-north-and-link-to-southland-shopping-centre/news-story/738ece29cfb6600083fe734f430b14f8>
* $100 billion, before the likely major cost blowouts seems an astonishing amount of money to waste
* Is this the Belt and Road money? How in this world can Victoria pay for such a project with so many businesses closed, some for good and only emergency workers in employment? Belief in logistic has been suspended. Is the project costing $100 billion or its it unfunded.
* The more I hear about this project the more I like it
* Make sure you test the soil first.
* Fantastic news - from Werribee to Southland including Tullamarine and dozens of suburbs in between on one track - via tunnel. Bring it on! Labor’s public transport infrastructure works was the only reason I voted for them.
* Makes sense if this is to work and should include Chadstone and Box Hill central as well if the really want to get cars off the road they need to hook into major destinations
“Bread and Games” from a desperate government looking for some positive news to distract the angry mob.
* this is going to end up Australia's biggest white Elephant.
* This is going to be a colossal waste of money. Modelling already shows that very few people are going to use this for the amount of money that is going to be spent, but the government is ignoring this in favour of pork barrelling the south east and eastern suburbs. They'd be much better off spending this money on modernising the existing metropolitan rail and fixing regional rail but that is not as sexy as being able to dig a big hole.
* Saturation propaganda: keep talking the project up, and people will not notice the lack of anything useful for the existing network, left to languish while the money goes into an equally overhyped 'ribbon cutting' tunnel.
* will be interesting what the exploration drilling finds at the old Gas and Fuel site. My guess more dollars
* Is David Davis still in in parliament? Wasn't he around in Jeff Kennett's government?
* So the government that refuses to finish the Ring Road and instead builds an ill-conceived and poorly designed "NE Link" (simply another north-south freeway that achieves little if anything) now wants us to believe there is a business case for a "suburban rail loop"? You can't script it but then again, with Vic Labor, absolutely anything is possible.
* I KNEW Box Hill would be in on it. Where is the money coming from? If you were going to build a ring for a train, why wouldn't you build an outer ring, where there is cheaper land and far less public transport options? OR around the bay for future growth for the whole of the most populated/to be populated area in Victoria? Possibly because it is an investment for a particular lobby group.
* Southland a much better choice with jobs and services there
* Wasn’t is $50 Billion. Doubled already and it hasn’t started yet
* Where is labor getting the money from? Hopefully not from CCP!
* As if anyone will get on the human petri dishes masquerading as PT once this is over......
* The article states works on the first stage linking Cheltenham and Box Hill are set to begin in 2022, then says it’s unfunded (somewhere between $100b-$150b, in a recession/possible depression). This project is fantasy land stuff, surely?
* The article states works on the first stage linking Cheltenham and Box Hill are set to begin in 2022, then says it’s unfunded (somewhere between $100b-$150b, in a recession/possible depression). This project is fantasy land stuff, surely?
* Well done Dan I couldn't imagine the Liberals completing anything like this they never have.
* No station at Chadstone?
* complete waste of money
* Great. It should be operational the year after I die
Masked bandit jailed for stealing from Myki machines
August 19, 2020 Herald Sun
A masked bandit continued to raid dozens of Myki machines across Melbourne despite being caught by police just so he could blow his $14k takings on drugs. Now the staggering cost of his crime spree to taxpayers has been revealed.
Jarrad Michael Morton’s damage to Myki machines cost taxpayers a staggering $223,000.
A masked bandit armed with blow torches, grinders and crowbars raided dozens of myki machines across Melbourne in a 3½ month crime spree during which he raked in more than $14,000.
But the damage bill to the taxpayer for Jarrad Michael Morton’s ice-fuelled crimes was a staggering $223,000.
Morton, 26, was jailed this week after pleading guilty to 66 charges including 25 counts of theft, 30 of intentionally damaging property and eight of going equipped to steal.
The County Court of Victoria heard he was part of a gang of thieves who smashed the machines at train stations in the early hours of the morning to avoid detection.
The myki machine marauders would disguise themselves with balaclavas, hoodies and white and black masks.
The stolen money was then spent on drugs.
Morton, a father of three, targeted more than 30 machines at stations in a 60km radius from his Langwarrin home, stealing $14,110 between May 10 and August 28 last year. Among his biggest hauls was $2280 from Merinda Park and $1600 from Lynbrook station on the Cranbourne line.
The court heard Morton was arrested and charged midway through his spree on June 12 — only to be released on bail, where he waited a month before continuing to offend.
Text messages found on his phone reveal drug deals and talk among co-accused of the raids. “I’m gonna head out n get rest of coin,” Morton texted a co-accused just after 1am on August 5. Another message had a photo of a jewellery box with the words, “we’ve gotta fill this up with money”.
His phone also contained 1493 aerial images of railway stations and their surrounds.
The court heard Morton was shocked at the value of the damage he had caused.
On one occasion, he caused $7561 damage to the ticketing machine at Leawarra railway station, all for $5. Another time he got away with $10 from the machine at Tynong station, but left a $5188 damage bill.
Sentencing him to 11 months and 3 weeks in jail, Judge Liz Gaynor said his crimes left a hefty bill for Victoria’s Transport Department, and no doubt affected commuters who were unable to use the damaged machines.
She said Morton’s life had spiralled out of control due to his daily ice use, spurred on by the suicide death of a friend and sudden death of his father-in-law.
Judge Gaynor also considered his early guilty plea, limited criminal history and continued family support as mitigating factors.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts/masked-bandit-jailed-for-stealing-from-myki-machines/news-story/d143c97e9e3680440aa4c99bf32a92a3>