To:australiantransportnews@... australiantransportnews@...>
Sent: Saturday, 16 January 2021, 03:45:38 pm AEDT
Subject: Thurs.8.10.20 daily digest

Roderick

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Flinders St https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb8tGxyhbJo

Thurs.8.10.17 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).
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Craigieburn from 20.20 until the last train of Sun 11 Oct (maintenance and renewal works).
5.28 Lilydale/Belgrave lines: Buses will replace trains between Box Hill and Ringwood (a trespasser). Buses have been ordered, but may take over 60 minutes to arrive. Consider alternatives.
- 5.45 Buses may take over 45 minutes to arrive.
- 5.53 Anticipate buses to be in operation until at least 9 am.
- 6.21 Journey time extended by ~30 minutes.
- 7.32 Replacement buses are departing from Ringwood towards Box Hill every 15 minutes. 
- 8.31 Trains have resumed
Buses replace trains Newport - Werribee from 19.25 until the to last train (works).
Buses replace trains Dandenong - Pakenham from 20.30 until the last train (works).

How Canberra's transport innovation rates against the rest of the country March 21, 2019. 4 comments
A willingness to embrace transport innovation such as ride sharing and driverless cars makes the ACT one of the most progressive jurisdictions in the nation for keeping its population moving, new research has found.
But the national capital would need to invest in driverless rail and adopt digital drivers licences to rival Sydney and Singapore as world leaders in "future transport", according to the industry group behind the study.
Canberra Metro customer service officers Joanne Meeuwissen and Garry Starling ahead of the planned launch of the light rail on April 20.Credit:Elesa Kurtz
As the planned April 20 start date for Canberra’s light rail network edges closer, research commissioned by Tourism and Transport Forum has shown the ACT sits behind only NSW and SA as the nation’s leaders in the uptake of transport innovation.
The report noted the ACT was the first Australian jurisdiction to promote and regulate Uber, and recognised the Barr government’s support for driverless car technology and plans to have an entirely electric fleet of vehicles by 2020-21.
Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said release of the government’s draft Moving Canberra strategy in December had made the ACT one of only a few states with a long-term integrated transport plan.
The strategy, which covers 2019 to 2045, flags a default 40km/h speed limit on residential streets, floats the idea of road tolls and proposes an expansion of the light rail network every five years.
The forum, the peak industry body for the tourism, transport and aviation sectors, commissioned L.E.K consulting to evaluate five states and the ACT on their uptake of 10 transport-related innovations, including ride, bike and car sharing, autonomous vehicle trials, electric cars, driverless rail and digital drivers licences.
Their progress was measured on four criteria; does it have appropriate regulation for the technology; has it been trialled; has the state government invested in it, and;  whether it is operating at scale. One point was given for each criteria, across the 10 trends, for a maximum of 40 points.
NSW topped the rankings with 34, a point above Singapore, which was included in the study as an example of "international best practice". SA was judged the next most progressive jurisdiction, with 26 points, followed by the ACT on 25. Tasmania and the NT were not scored, as they were found to have shown "less progress" on transport innovation.
The national capital was considered a leader in shared-mobility, having embraced Uber, Airbike's dockless bike-sharing service and car sharing.
It received top marks for its uptake up electric vehicles, while it ticked three of four boxes for autonomous vehicles and payment innovation, which includes e-ticketing.
The government is yet to explore driverless rail, although it is is mentioned in the "future directions" section of its draft transport strategy. It received no marks for digital drivers licence technology.
Ms Osmond said the study had shown the ACT, along with NSW and SA, were at the forefront of transport innovation in Australia.
She urged the government to continue "experimenting" with new transport technology, and strongly advocated extending light rail beyond the Civic-Gungahlin line.
"Light rail is proving to be a real winner around the country," Ms Osmond said. "I know that it's easy for people to get a bit cranky because these things can take time and be an inconvenience - but it's worth it."
"My message to the government would be 'roll on'."
Related Article Light rail stage two would be delivered within five years under the new strategy. Speed limits could drop to 40km/h under new transport strategy
<www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/how-canberra-s-transport-innovation-rates-against-the-rest-of-the-country-20190321-p5162o.html>

Prime Minister Scott Morrison to announce $2b fast rail between Melbourne and Geelong [all fast rail with ATN and v-n]
Herald Sun March 21, 2019
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/prime-minister-scott-morrison-to-announce-2b-fast-rail-between-melbourne-and-geelong/news-story/c65aafa25d69b30cc766796d67f75de8>

Geelong-Melbourne fast train will change Victoria forever
Herald Sun March 21, 2019
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/james-campbell/geelongmelbourne-fast-train-will-change-victoria-forever/news-story/0dcac70aef772ecb93b3cb0ceee68b2f>

Fri.22.3.19 Metro twitter.
[A classic Metro day 'We can't cope; we don't try'; we don't care; our first priority is management convenience'.  Lots of smug coverups, copouts and smug euphemism: the pretence of honesty while concealing everything, and blaming others.  Much of the inability to cope must lie with years of nobbling infrastructure to remove the ability, then signalling the loops inadequately.]
8.12 Frankston/Werribee/Williamstown lines: Trains will depart from altered platforms at Flinders St (MFB 'request' [ie demand]).
- Major delays.  Trains may [ie certainly will] be held at available platforms.
- Consider alternative transport.
- 8.39 All citybound trains will run via the loop [if they can do it now, they can do it all the time].
- How about offering an alternative path to city? There is no train movement and staff just tell us to find another way. If residents are meant to come up with public transport solutions, why do we need PTV?
- Are replacement buses being ordered?
- 9.20 delays clearing.
8.18 Sandringham line: Major delays (MFB 'request' [ie demand] at Flinders St. Services may [ie will] be held at available platforms.
- 8.47 Trains may terminate/originate from Elsternwick [ie they were, and nothing was running; this crossover was unavailable for a recent maintenance shutdown].  Alternatives were trams and buses from all stations from there to Prahran.
- 8.55 It's a small fire, and been flagged as safe on the Vic emergency app.  Get the trains running.
- Emergency services are still assessing the situation, and we'll be able to run trains through the affected platforms once clearance has been obtained [ie it was a demand, not just a request.  Where was the fire to knock pfm 10, 12 & 13, and make 8/9 unusable?]
- The line doesn’t stop at Ripponlea. The information given to people past those stations is so inadequate. Just saying “seek alternate transport” isn’t helpful in the slightest, especially when you don’t know the area well enough.
- 9.18 We will be on the move soon, as the necessary clearances have been obtained.
- 9.20 Clearing.

Fast rail between Melbourne and Geelong would slash travel time in half March 22, 2019. 27 comments
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/fast-rail-between-melbourne-and-geelong-would-slash-travel-time-in-half-20190322-p516fu.html>

Morrison 'can't deliver' Geelong rail plan for $4b, minister claims March 22, 2019.
<www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/morrison-can-t-deliver-geelong-rail-plan-for-4b-minister-claims-20190322-p516i1.html> 

Doubt on promise for 200km/h fast rail without new trains March 22, 2019
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/doubt-on-promise-for-200km-h-fast-rail-without-new-trains-20190322-p516q3.html>
 
Fast rail to Geelong? Do they really think we're that stupid? March 22, 2019.  101 comments
<www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/fast-rail-to-geelong-do-they-really-think-we-re-that-stupid-20190322-p516kh.html>

Geelong fast rail backed by Andrews Government but more cash needed after PM’s $2 billion March 22, 2019
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/geelong-fast-rail-backed-by-andrews-government-but-more-cash-needed-after-pms-2-billion/news-story/8ee1a82be8ae458d59072bc7ded1b1c5>

As it happened: Victoria records 11 new COVID-19 cases as NSW transmission extends to Macquarie University; Trump returns to Oval Office as Australian death toll stands at 897. Hanna Mills Turbet and David Estcourt October 8, 2020
20.53 Summary
- Victoria will not follow the NSW quarantine model by telling anyone linked to a coronavirus outbreak to self-isolate for 14 days even if their initial COVID-19 test result is negative.
- NSW has recorded eight cases of local transmission as Premier Gladys Berejiklian's patience for businesses that do not have COVID-safe plans wears thin.
- Blood plasma giant CSL has confirmed the deal with the Australian government to produce the University of Queensland's COVID-19 vaccine has been sealed, with the next stage of trials planned to start in December.
- USA President Trump has described his COVID-19 infection as a "blessing from God" in a new video filmed outside the White House in which he promises to make the experimental drug he received available for free to all Americans.
- Thursday rounded out with Labor leader Anthony Albanese pitching his COVID-19 rejuvenation plan - promising a universal childcare subsidy to help more people into jobs in the recovery from recession. The measure sets up a clear clash with the Morrison government over economic gains for women, an element of the Coalition’s budget that was criticised.
- NSW recorded 12 new coronavirus cases. Four were in hotel quarantine and eight were locally acquired, including the three reported in the media yesterday.
- Victoria will not follow the NSW quarantine model of telling anyone linked to a coronavirus outbreak to self-isolate for 14 days even if their initial COVID-19 test result is negative.
- Two new mystery cases among recent COVID-19 infections in Victoria have been confirmed in the past 24 hours, analysis of the state's health department data shows.
- A communication breakdown has occurred between the Queensland and NSW premiers, as the NSW government grows increasingly frustrated by its northern neighbour's border closure.
- People are not very good at thinking about how to accurately rate risks associated with catching COVID.
- The Morrison government has given the suppliers of two COVID-19 vaccines indemnity against prosecution for rare side effects that experts say are "inevitable" when a vaccine is rolled out.
- A string of royal commissions, specialist advice to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and substantial measures aimed at helping the economy have sharply increased the financial risks facing the federal budget.
- Young casual workers laid off because they did not qualify for JobKeeper are primed to benefit from the government's $200 weekly JobMaker hiring subsidies.
* 20.24 NSW Health is working with an inner-Sydney restaurant to assess the risk of patrons after a confirmed COVID-19 case visited on Sunday. Anyone who travelled on the following public transport is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop.
Train from Parramatta at 14:41 arriving Town Hall 15:31 on 4th October
Train from Town Hall at 17:29 arriving Kings Cross 17:50 on 4th October
Train from Artarmon at 23:18 arriving Central 23:48 on 5th October
Bus replacement from Central at 23:48 arriving Strathfield 00:15 on 5th October
Train from Strathfield at 00:15 arriving Parramatta 00:45 on 5th October
Bus 550 from Epping Station, Beecroft Rd, Stand D at 17:08 to Smith St after Phillip St, Parramatta 17:41 on 6th October
Train from Moss Vale 04:52 arriving Liverpool 07:09 on 6th October
Train from Liverpool 16:58 arriving Moss Vale 19:12 on 6th October
Train from Moss Vale 04:51 arriving Liverpool 07:08 on 7th October
Train from Campbelltown 13:31 arriving Moss Vale 15:50 on 7th October
* 14.59 Oil's three-speed recovery has turned the industry upside down. The global network of tankers, pipelines and refineries that makes useful fuels out of crude oil is built on long-standing patterns of consumption: so much petrol for the world's drivers, a certain amount of diesel for trucks and a proportion of jet fuel for aviation.
The pandemic economy has turned that upside down, radically reshaping demand as different parts of the energy system recover at different speeds. Fear of the virus has persuaded millions of drivers to forgo mass transit and get in their cars. Meanwhile, international travel is a vestige of a year ago and thousands of airliners lie mothballed.
Although crude prices remain in the doldrums, stuck near $US40 a barrel for the past four months, a three-speed demand recovery is starting to show in obscure corners of the oil market. India, ravaged by the Asia's worst COVID-19 outbreak, has started to import petrol.
In Europe, drivers are using almost as much fuel as before the pandemic even though overall economic activity remains depressed. In Asia, where the divergence has been strongest, petrol inventories have plunged in recent weeks.
By contrast, the market for jet fuel, about 8 per cent of the global market pre-pandemic, remains dire, with idle tankers floating fully laden holding unwanted cargoes. Surplus fuel is being blended into diesel, causing knock-on oversupply.
Oil companies have had to rapidly adjust in the wake of the pandemic.CREDIT:BLOOMBERG
* 11.53 Alert for Sydney train trip. Mary Ward. An alert has been issued for people who travelled on a Sydney train on Saturday, after a passenger tested positive for coronavirus. The train left Parramatta station, in the city's west, at 7.13pm on Saturday, and arrived at Milsons Point on the north shore at 8.04pm.
"Anyone who caught the train at this time is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop," NSW Health said. "After testing, they must remain in isolation until a negative test result is received."
* 10.14 Melbourne's toll roads empty in lockdown. Mathew Dunckley. Toll road company Transurban has revealed the damage done to its business by Victoria's continuing lockdowns. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, chief executive Scott Charlton said traffic volumes in Melbourne fell 58 per cent in the September quarter.
In Sydney, traffic rose 1.5 per cent (reflecting the completion of projects and loosening rules) while Brisbane fell 9.1 per cent.
<www.smh.com.au/national/as-it-happened-victoria-records-11-new-covid-19-cases-as-nsw-transmission-extends-to-macquarie-university-trump-returns-to-oval-office-as-australian-death-toll-stands-at-897-20201008-p56321.html>

Thurs.8.10.20 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' letter.
* TOTALLY agree with TT, 7/10, we should be building our own trains. We have the factories left from the car manufacturers, we have the jobseekers and we need to get things moving.