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Subject: Sun.11.10.20 daily digest

Roderick

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201011Su-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-Croydon-b-station-ss.jpg with ATN & v-n

Sun.11.10.20 Metro Twitter
Werribee/Sunbury/Craigieburn/Upfield lines: All trains run direct to/from Flinders St all day (maintenance works).  From loop stations, take a Flinders St train from pfm 1.
Buses replace trains Newport - Werribee until 6.00 (works).
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Sunbury until the last train (works).
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Craigieburn from 20.20 until the last train (maintenance and renewal works).
Buses replace trains on sections of the Upfield line until the last train of Sun 15 Nov (level-crossing works at Coburg and Moreland).
Pakenham/Cranbourne/Frankston/Sandringham lines: All trains run direct to/from Flinders St all day (maintenance works). From loop stations, take a train from pfm 4 to Richmond.
Buses replace trains Dandenong - Pakenham until 7.00 (works).
Buses replace trains Newport - Werribee from 19.50 until the last train (works).
Hurstbridge line: Buses replace trains Clifton Hill - Macleod from 20.30 until the last train (maintenance works).
Buses replace trains Epping - Mernda from 20.50 until the last train (works).
Buses replace trains Dandenong - Pakenham from 21.00 until the last train (works).

Swiping your phone to catch the train: a tale of two cities March 24, 2019.
Melbourne commuters will be able to use their Android smartphones to pay their public transport fares from 7am on Thursday.
But iPhone users will have to wait to join the digital transport revolution with the State Government unable, so far, to strike a deal with Apple.
After a successful trial, Public Transport Victoria is flicking the switch this week to allow Android smartphone owners to use Google Pay instead of a physical myki card when catching a bus, tram or train in Melbourne or regional Victoria.
Nick Neos trials Myki mobile on his Android.Credit:Joe Armao
The new ticket option is available to most Android users, as long as their phone runs Android 5.0 or higher and has a built-in NFC wireless chip for contactless transactions.
It is likely to be greeted with delight by Melbourne's Android phone-users. Those who signed up for the trial reported a rare myki miracle: a new technology rollout that was fast, convenient and not plagued by massive technical problems.
Last month, Derrimut IT worker Nick Neos, 35, told The Age he had been using Google Pay as a digital wallet for a couple of years and that adding a myki had been straightforward.
"For me, the more cards I can eliminate from my wallet, the better," he said.
It all might seem like old news to Sydneysiders, who have had alternatives to using an Opal card since last year, but in some ways Melburnians are better off.
Sydney uses an “open loop” ticketing system, which means you can tap on with your contactless credit or debit card instead of an Opal card. This trick works not just with physical bank cards but also with any gadget which can mimic a contactless credit card, like a smartphone, watch or wristband.
Meanwhile, Melbourne uses a “closed loop” ticketing system which, until now, has limited public transport users to tapping on with a physical myki card. As of Thursday, they’ll also be able to tap on with a smartphone, but only if their phone can mimic a myki card. The ability to mimic a credit card isn’t enough.
This might seem like splitting hairs, but it actually makes a big difference to how the two cities’ ticketing systems work.
The biggest practical difference is that, at least for now, iPhone owners can swipe their phone to board a train in Sydney but not Melbourne. This is due to the difficulties in striking a deal with Apple to use the iPhone’s NFC wireless chip, something which Australia’s major banks can attest to.
Apple locks down the iPhone’s NFC chip so it can only be accessed by Apple’s own apps like Apple Pay. This means any business which wants to offer contactless transactions on the iPhone needs to go through Apple, with the tech giant typically demanding a slice of the action.
ANZ was the first major Australian bank to jump on the Apple Pay bandwagon, with the other three major banks failing to force Apple to unlock NFC so it could work with their own banking apps.
If your bank supports Apple Pay, then you can use your iPhone as a credit card to get on a Sydney train today. But to get on a Melbourne train your iPhone would need to mimic a myki card, which means Public Transport Victoria needs to strike a deal with Apple.
They’ve been in talks for months but are yet to seal the deal. In PTV’s defence, only a handful of public transport systems around the world are onboard with Apple so far. Only a few of these actually let you create the local equivalent of a closed loop myki card, while the others simply treat the iPhone as a credit card.
Meanwhile, PTV and NTT DATA (which runs the myki system) have had more luck with Google, which doesn’t demand a slice of every ticket sold. As of Thursday, a “Transit Card” option will appear in the Google Pay app in Australia and 27 countries around the world. Users will see an option to create a myki card or a transit card for several US transport systems, with more to come.
Unlike buying a physical Myki, you’re not slugged with a $6 fee when creating a virtual Myki in Google Pay. You do however need to start with a $10 top up.
This means tourists – assuming they have an Android smartphone – will finally have a quick and easy way to jump on Melbourne transport without the need to find a shop where they can shell out $6 for a card they’ll likely never need again.
Locals will also benefit, as they’ll have a true myki on their phone with the options of myki Money and myki Pass with concession fares and auto top-up (support for Android smart watches might come down the track). Meanwhile, Sydneysiders swiping anything but an Opal card can only buy a one-off, full-fare peak ticket.
Melburnians can’t add their existing myki card to the Google Pay app, although this may change over time. For now, they can manage the virtual card via their myki account and even transfer the balance from a physical card.
The icing on the cake is that myki details will eventually be integrated into the Google Maps apps, so you can check your balance when planning a trip. The option to use Google Pay with closed loop ticketing systems like myki is also coming to other Australian cities, although Google is still tight-lipped on the details. Meanwhile, Melbourne Apple lovers are left waiting at the station.
Related: Delays ease for commuters after key line was suspended when woman hit by train Delays ease for commuters after key line was suspended when woman hit by train
Related Article Nick Neos trials Myki mobile on his Android. Melbourne commuters able to use myki on their mobile phones from Thursday
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/swiping-your-phone-to-catch-the-train-a-tale-of-two-cities-20190323-p516vk.html>

25 March Melbourne 'Age'
Melbourne commuters will be able to use their Android phones to pay for public transport fares from 7am on Thursday. But iPhone users are still left out in the cold, as negotiations continue between the government and Apple.
In Sydney, there's a different system that allows payment with bank cards, Android and iPhones. So did the Victorian government choose the wrong system? Will you switch to Android so you can ditch your myki? Should the government have waited to launch the technology when it accommodated all commuters?
* No, just all the monkeys that use ifonys have got it wrong. Apple ifony is an overpriced, behind the time technology that controls everything you do and wanting to charge you for it....
* you won't have to replace your myki.
* My understanding is the Sydney one only allows single trip full fare tickets. So let us not think that is in anyway better just because iPhones can use it!
* Bravo, prioritising methods to extract money out of people who have to put with this appalling service. How much will fares increase to pay for this circus?
* I’d prefer to use a physical myki than to switch to the heavily fragmented Android operating system. Thanks but no thanks!
* Our expensive future proof myki system.
* something finally good about your phone.
* Unimelb buses have been free for the past week cause of these.
* Yet I was able to pay for train tickets all the way over in Finland with my iPhone.
* Get a proper phone, solved.
* Apple are trying to work out how they can charge 50% more for the same service.
* Caught up with London.
* No, the government shouldn't wait. Starbucks didn't wait to accommodate Android users.
* No, sticking with my actual Myki card.
* PTV and Technology are like the LNP and climate policy.
* How do ticket (VLine and Metro) inspectors confirm with your transaction that you are actually touched on with the phone at the time of  travel. When the inspectors check the situation surely it would likely take longer to confirm validation of travel other than directly scanning a good reliable Concession, Senior, or Full fare Myki card.

Upgrade to old Sydney trains now expected to be two years late March 25, 2019. 36 comments
The completion of a troubled project aimed at keeping NSW's fleet of Tangara passenger trains in service for an extra decade is forecast to be at least two years late, "sensitive" government documents reveal.
The internal documents, obtained by the Herald using freedom of information laws, show that senior transport officials have pushed out the expected completion date of the Tangara technology upgrade several times, the latest to October 2021.
The project, which is overseen by Transport for NSW, is intended to keep the fleet of 446 Tangara carriages in service for another 10 years by improving their reliability and safety.
The upgrade to the Tangara fleet is not expected to be completed until late 2021.Credit:Phil Hearne
Extending their working life will be critical to Sydney Trains having enough trains to meet surging demand from commuters for services, even when its fleet is boosted by the second batch of 17 new Waratahs over the next few years.
While new doors have been fitted to the Tangara carriages as part of the upgrade, the project is in a more complicated phase of integrating and upgrading technology systems.
A consortium of engineering firm UGL and the UK's Unipart Rail won a $131 million contract in 2015 to upgrade technology on the Tangara fleet, which was due to be completed by May last year.
The contract is part of an overall $219 million budget to upgrade the Tangaras, which includes the installation of automatic train protection technology recommended in 2005 by an inquiry into the Waterfall train crash which killed seven people. The most recent public update 18 months ago from the state's transport agency said the entire project was expected to be completed in 2019.
Transport for NSW said in a statement that it was "continuing to work with our contractor" to ensure that the Tangara technology upgrade was "rolled out as quickly as possible".
"This is a complex project involving trains over 25-years-old that have undergone various modifications over the years," the agency said. "The design phase has been completed and integration, testing and commissioning is now well advanced."
Last month, Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins said that the technology upgrade of the Tangara fleet was more complicated than for its other trains. "It is going to get done. We are working with Transport [for NSW] on how best we can assist in making sure that project gets delivered," he said.
The Tangaras entered service on Sydney's network between 1988 and 1995, and the technology upgrade is needed so that they can operate on the T8 Airport and T4 Illawarra lines once an $880 million digital signalling project is completed early next decade.
A larger roll out of automatic train protection technology across the state's trains and electrified rail network has been a challenge since the project began in 2008. As of last June, the government had spent $427 million on the project, which will ensure trains operate within permitted speed limits.
The internal Transport for NSW documents show a shortage of train crew early last year and a "lack of industry capacity" to install the technology on rail tracks had impacted the project, which is due for completion in December 2020.
Related Article Sydney Trains' older fleet has been rated 'poor to unacceptable'. Delays grow as internal report warns old trains in 'poor condition'
Related Article The Berejiklian government is banking on the Sydney Metro project. Old, crowded trains and maxed-out credit: Will the Sydney metro project sway voters?
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/upgrade-to-old-sydney-trains-now-expected-to-be-two-years-late-20190314-p5143d.html>

Priority for trams will likely make crossing Northbourne even worse March 26, 2019 75 View all comments
Transport Canberra has revealed exactly how light rail vehicles will be given priority between Gungahlin and the city, a move likely to make crossing Northbourne Avenue at peak hour more difficult.
The light rail control system, which collects GPS location data from light rail vehicles, sends requests to the traffic light system to either hold the green light to allow the light rail vehicle to pass or switch to a green light out of phase.
Light rail will be given traffic priority Credit:Jamila Toderas
After the light rail vehicle has passed, the traffic light system returns to normal operation.
Drivers' exasperation, though, comes as one of the country's top experts on traffic systems says crossing lights in the ACT are timed against pedestrians.
Professor of Transport at the University of Sydney David Levinson said people on foot and bike should get longer to cross, giving cars shorter times on a green light.
On a recent rush-hour morning, The Canberra Times got the views of motorists as they sat at red lights on Macarthur Avenue waiting to enter Northbourne Avenue.
"My view is that they should do something about the timing of the traffic lights," said one. "The trams are being accommodated. This junction is backed up. It's never been like this before.
"For people coming up Macarthur [Avenue], I've just counted it and there's 20 seconds of green light." He didn't think that was long enough.
Another driver said, "The traffic going across Northbourne Avenue is definitely worse."
Some drivers in the area say they have seen road rage where people mount kerbs to get past stationary cars.
Transport Canberra figures from October show that more than 400 vehicles an hour travel eastbound on Wakefield Avenue during the morning peak period while 840 vehicles an hour travel in the same direction in the afternoon peak.
More than 600 vehicles an hour travel westbound on Macarthur Avenue towards Belconnen at the morning peak while 430 vehicles make the same trip each hour in the afternoon.
But as car drivers complain about delay, the traffic expert said that motorists get it too easy.
"You don't have to surrender to the automobile. Walking conditions for pedestrians should be better, and in a city like Canberra where distances are so great the conditions for pedestrians will never be perfect but that doesn't mean you can't get more than you currently get," Professor Levinson said.
He believed Canberra could do more to make life easier for pedestrians. Some cities, for example, have crossings where all vehicles stop at the same time and people on foot can cross in all directions – they're sometimes called "scramble crossings".
Whatever the long-term solution, part of the current problem is construction – and construction means delay before any planned improvement, in this case when the tram system comes into operation.
There is the question of whether traffic jams may push people from cars to public transport.
A Transport Canberra and City Services spokesman did not rule out that the new system was designed to encourage people to leave their cars at home.
"We plan to encourage more people onto public transport with our new network of light rail and more buses more often, which will start in time for school term two," he said.
Canberra traffic lights are controlled by the Sydney Co-ordinated Adaptive Traffic System, known as SCATS, which was originally developed by NSW transport authorities and since adapted for use in cities around the world.
The system measures traffic flows from detectors in roads approaching intersections to allocate green light time through each phase of the traffic lights.
Light rail vehicles have been given priority since March 1 during the testing phase. The network starts operation on April 20, pending regulatory approvals.
The original traffic impact assessment for light rail found there would be slower travel times across Northbourne Avenue for motorists after light rail vehicle priority was introduced.
A report prepared by the Australian Automobile Association in 2018 found Canberra had the third fastest average speeds in peak travel times in Australia, behind Brisbane and Darwin.
Canberra's roads also performed better in the afternoon peak period than the morning peak.
Average speeds in peak times had increased until 2016 and then began to decline sharply in 2018, the report found.
Related Article Michael Day and the screens that show how fast - or slow - Canberra traffic moves. Traffic lights: They're all about politics
<www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/priority-for-trams-will-likely-make-crossing-northbourne-even-worse-20190320-p515p8.html>

Bentleigh postcode history: Thomas Bent, Centre Rd, cafes and culture
Jon Andrews October 10, 2020 Caulfield Glen Eira Leader 5 comments
Bentleigh was once renowned for nothing more than its market gardens. But times have changed and now it is a superb suburb with something for everyone to enjoy. Here’s a look at postcode 3204.
A bird’s eye view of Centre Rd, Bentleigh. Picture: Chris Eastman
Bentleigh is named after politician Sir Thomas Bent, which is perhaps not the best start for a suburb.
Although he held the prestigious title of Victorian Premier, he was also corrupt, leading to the phrase “Bent by name, bent by nature”.
Sir Thomas is fondly remembered these days for his roadside statue in nearby Brighton, which is quirkily dressed in footy gear around finals time every year.
After being created by Henry Dendy in 1841, the area was originally called East Brighton before being renamed Bentleigh in 1908.
Once renowned for its market gardens, today it is far more suburban and considered gentile.
It is home to around 16,000 people and well represented by young families and folk from non-English speaking backgrounds.
The Centre Rd garage, 1935.
The old Hoyts cinema building, 1948.
Centred around Centre Rd there are over 250 businesses along the long strip of shops including several supermarkets, the big banks, clothing stores, gift shops, salons and barbers.
It also has a thriving cafe, restaurant and dining culture, as well as several watering holes.
Alongside the Bentleigh RSL, which has won awards for its community club spirit, there is the traditional Boundary Hotel just down the road.
The Centre Rd shops in the 1920s.
The Centre Rd shops today. Picture: Chris Eastman
Catering to a younger clientele both Sonder Bar and Wolfe and Molone offer a more eclectic drinking experience.
If malls are more your thing Southland is mere minutes away, as is DFO and retail monolith Chadstone.
Bruno Crivelliran the Jasper Rd barber shop for nearly 60 years. Picture: Norm Oorloff
One notable scissor-wielder is Bruno Crivelli, who pre-COVID ran his Jasper Rd barber shop for nearly 60 years.
The Collingwood tragic always had a tale to tell to his male clientele, giving customers a new look, and sometimes a new outlook on life.
Bentleigh station was one of Melbourne’s first to be grade-separated as part of the State government’s level crossing removal [program. Picture: Penny Stephens
A small section of the suburb is home to a second site, Patterson Railway Station, which was well ahead of its time having been grade-separated decades ago.
Bentleigh has great access to the CBD to the north, around 13km away, and the Mornington Peninsula to the south, along the scenic Nepean Highway.
It also has a plethora of parks, good schools, is just a few clicks from the Instagram-friendly Brighton beach and a short Uber ride to the night-life of St Kilda, pandemic permitting.
MORE:
ST KILDA: HISTORY OF POSTCODE 3182
ESSENDON: HISTORY OF POSTCODE 3040
<www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/inner-south/bentleigh-postcode-history-thomas-bent-centre-rd-cafes-and-culture/news-story/c35f5ae2b985aaa13362a276e8191b79>

Federal budget: state to wait for $1 billion transport stimulus. Timna Jacks October 10, 2020
More than 90 per cent of federal budget money earmarked for “shovel ready” transport projects in Victoria is being withheld until after the second half of next year, prompting warnings the cash won't reach the state's troubled economy when it needs it most.
The federal government allocated more than $1 billion to Victorian transport infrastructure in this year’s budget, promising the money would support 3800 jobs and see the state “claw its way back” from the shock of the pandemic.
The second tunnel boring machine is now in action. Lauren Street site in West Melbourne.CREDIT:JUSTIN MCMANUS
“This government recognises the pain many Victorians are going through and we know that jobs and economic stimulus through targeted infrastructure are what is needed right now,” federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said in a statement earlier this week.
But the bulk of $1.2 billion in new and committed cash for 13 Victorian transport projects will not be spent until after next June, a federal government breakdown of spending shows.
As much as $1.1 billion of the money for building works — including upgrades on the Shepparton rail line, Warrnambool rail line, Barwon Heads Road and Hall Road, in Melbourne's south-east — would not hit the state’s coffers until after mid-2021.
Sixty per cent of the funding, $721 million, won’t arrive until after mid-2022.
Only 7 per cent or $81 million will flow to Victoria this financial year.
Economist at SGS Economics and Planning Terry Rawnsley said the cash injection needed to hit the Victorian economy in the next six months or so if the funding boost was to be truly stimulatory.
“You hear these big numbers rolled out, but it’s going to take so long for that money to hit the pockets of the people you want to keep employed and spend money in the broader economy to keep it ticking along,” Mr Rawnsley said.
Tradies looking for work over the next six to 12 months are feared to “end up unemployed”, with a downturn in migration prompting the Housing Industry Association to forecast that around 60,000 fewer dwellings will be built by 2030 compared with a peak in 2016.
Job cuts in the industry could leave long-term shortages in coming years when bigger infrastructure projects start to ramp up, Mr Rawnsley said.
Grattan Institute director of transport and cities Marion Terrill said stimulus packages were designed to provide an immediate economic boost.
But she questioned whether transport infrastructure should be relied on to recover from the pandemic, noting Victoria's mammoth infrastructure pipeline was under strain before the virus and was suffering from increased pressure due to ongoing restrictions.
Budget papers show Australian states and territories failed to spend $1.7 billion allocated to them in last year's federal budget due to “slower than anticipated progress” resulting from the pandemic and last summer's bushfires.
"There’s a limit to how much we can speed this up under conditions where you’ve got to have COVID-safe workplaces,” Ms Terrill said.
Ms Terrill also argued the hospitality and arts industries were in greater need of a boost than construction. These industries suffered a 17 per cent and 13 per cent drop in paid jobs respectively, compared with a 6 per cent drop in construction since March, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics weekly payroll data shows.
Sydney University economist and transport professor John Stanley said stimulus cash in the transport sector was best spent on smaller cycling and local road upgrades dispersed across the state. Building projects in “three years time” clearly wouldn’t stimulate the economy now, he said.
A spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said year-to-year spending on transport infrastructure in Victoria was driven by the state government meeting agreed construction milestones.
The federal government’s $110 billion investment in transport infrastructure over the next decade included $242 million for local roads and community infrastructure in Victoria, which would be "spent with local councils on priority projects in local communities", he said.
"This is all about building shovel-ready projects sooner, creating local stimulus in local economies," he said.
A Victorian government spokeswoman said the federal funding would add to the state's multibillion-dollar pipeline.
"We know a strong Victorian economy helps the nation – the federal government’s infrastructure announcements are in addition to our $70 billion Big Build program and we look forward to working with the Commonwealth government to do everything we can to fast track our rebuild."
Spokesman for federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said four commuter car parks funded in last year's federal budget are being built in Beaconsfield, Craigieburn and Hurstbridge, while construction on another 20 is set to finish in the next 18 months.
Master Builders Victoria's chief executive Rebecca Casson said while federal funding for major projects "won't all flow immediately", it would still "provide some assurance that a pipeline will exist in the medium term."
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/federal-budget-state-to-wait-for-1-billion-transport-stimulus-20201010-p563v4.html>
* So sixty percent of the promised funding won’t be given until around the time of the next state election. Liberals looking after Liberals.

Cleaning company raided by IBAC investigators amid transport probe. Timna Jacks October 11, 2020
A cleaning company contracted by VLine and Metro Trains has been raided by anti-corruption watchdog investigators amid a probe into alleged corruption within the state’s transport bureaucracy.
Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigators showed up at Transclean's South Yarra office on Thursday and searched the company's emails, invoices and tender documents as part of the third probe into alleged corruption within Victorian transport in the past five years.
Transclean staff cleaning of Metro train carraiages during the COVID-19 pandemic.CREDIT:METRO TRAINS
The raid comes as Transclean ramps up its cleaning services across the suburban and rail networks under an expanded cleaning regime funded by the Andrews government. The company has held cleaning contracts with Metro since 2010, with V/Line since 2018 and currently carries out security work for Yarra Trams after losing its cleaning contract in 2018.
The state's public transport cleaning contracts are believed to form part of IBAC's investigation into alleged corruption within the transport sector, with public hearings expected to be held soon.
VLine chief executive James Pinder was suspended from his role in August along with Metro Trains' head of fleet operational support Peter Bollas, in the wake of the probe. The homes of both men have been raided by IBAC investigators.
Multiple sources in the industry say the pair are close friends after working together at Metro, before Mr Pinder was poached by V/Line. Mr Bollas reported to Mr Pinder when he was general manager for rolling stock between 2012 and 2016.
Transclean ramps up its cleaning of Metro's trains during the COVID-19 pandemic.CREDIT:WWW.METROTRAINS.COM.AU
Mr Bollas has been managing cleaning contracts at Metro Trains, which has contracted Transclean over the past decade.
About two years after Mr Pinder joined VLine in 2016, the agency awarded Transclean its cleaning contracts under a tender process, dumping a long-running contractor.
The Age is not suggesting this arrangement was improper.
The dumped contractor, Borg Corporate Property Services, is suing VLine in the Supreme Court, alleging it has been underpaid by the government agency.
Well-placed sources said Mr Pinder wanted to boost the quality of cleaning across VLine and aimed to raise the network's hygiene standards to match the suburban network and operations overseas.
Transclean got into hot water in 2015, when a worker won an unfair dismissal case against the company at the Fair Work Commission.
Metro launched an independent audit into Transclean in the wake of alleged worker underpayments, which cleared the cleaner of wrongdoing.
However, Metro did not renew the company's contract to clean its stations in 2017. It continued the company's smaller, rolling stock cleaning contract.
When approached by The Age about the raid, Transclean's general manager Nelson Aguila said the business had an open door policy to any investigation.
"We provide many services to the transport sector over many years and will continue to do so," Mr Aguila said.
"We maintain an open door policy to any investigation and hope there is a speedy resolution to the investigation."
A VLine spokesman would not comment on the matter, as it was under investigation by IBAC. “It would be inappropriate to make any further comment regarding an ongoing investigation.”
RELATED ARTICLE Metro's rolling stock manager is being questioned by IBAC investigators. Metro Trains manager suspended amid corruption probe
RELATED ARTICLE Borg had a contract relating to regional V/Line trains and railway stations. Cleaners take V/Line to court over alleged underpayment
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/cleaning-company-raided-by-ibac-investigators-amid-transport-probe-20201010-p563vg.html>

New hope for Fed Square East plan
Sun.11.10.20 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' JOHN MASANAUSKAS
An ambitious plan to roof over the CBD railyards is a step closer, according to a secret state government document.
The paper outlines the mooted Federation Square East project, which needs public and private investment.
“Federation Square East will become a city-shaping civic project incorporating a mix of cultural and civic uses and high-quality public spaces,” it said.
“New paths will provide a high level of visual and physical permeability from Flinders Street to the edge of the river.”
The precinct vision for Spring St South and Federation Square East is part of an unreleased development blueprint called the Richmond to Docklands Framework Plan.
Spring St South refers to a proposed development on a state-owned 1.4ha site on Flinders St stretching from Exhibition St to Wellington Parade South.
Now dubbed Treasury Square, the $2bn project near the rail tracks would be developed by the private sector and include a hotel, offices and apartments.
Two bidders, Mirvac and Cbus Property, have been short-listed for the project.
The precinct vision document, obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun, said the development would be staged to enable existing at-grade land to be developed in the short-term while allowing for development over the railway lines.
“Any potential to deck the exposed railway line would occur incrementally and would seek to achieve a long-term continuous ground plane between the CBD, Birrarung Marr and the river,” it said.
In 2016, Federation Square East was put on hold by the government amid the high cost to put a deck over the railyard, and overshadowing concerns.
However, the government is now considering options for public space from Federation Square East to Birrarung Marr.
It said the 2019 expressions of interest process for Treasury Square had attracted much interest from national and global organisations.

Two more crossings removed
Sun.11.10.20 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' KIERAN ROONEY
A PAIR of level crossings in Melbourne’s southeast will be removed a year ahead of schedule as restrictions have allowed crews to blitz through projects currently on the go.
The crossings at Neerim Rd and Glen Huntly Rd in Glen Huntly will now be fasttracked and, when completed, they will be the last of 18 crossings to be removed on the Frankston line.
Construction will start next year, with the boom gates to be removed in 2023.
About 20,000 vehicles travel through the two crossing every day, and government figures indicate traffic is stopped at these sites for half the morning peak.
Once finished, there will be no boom gates on the line between Flinders Street and Moorabbin stations.
The Andrews government intends to remove 75 level crossings across Melbourne by 2025.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the project was also building new stations and creating more open space for pedestrians and cyclists.
“We’ve removed half of the 75 level crossings we promised, well ahead of schedule,” she said.
“With works continuing in line with strict safety protocol during the pandemic, we’re not wasting a minute getting the rest gone for good.”
The government has also unveiled designs for a new stations at North Williamstown and Glenroy.
North Williamstown station will be lowered under the road at Ferguson St, along with the rail line, while upgrades at Glenroy will improve local access to its busy shopping precinct.

Sun.11.10.20 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'  letters.
* Apprentices cut off WHAT did the former Gas and Fuel Corporation, Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, State Electricity Commission, and Victorian Railways Newport workshops have in common?
They all played a major role in the training of apprentices until they were privatised. The closing of some TAFE facilities saw the rapid growth of a private training industry, rorts and all.
This, along with the scrapping of motor vehicle manufacturing, has contributed to our shortage of apprentices (“We’ll pay half”, SHS, 4/10).
* Farm work neglected WITH regard to kickstarting Victoria’s recovery, the government should design, promote and implement a farm apprenticeship scheme and ensure this is permanent and attractive.
This can lead to so many satisfying areas of employment and to higher education in agriculture. Publicity in this is currently poor and needs attention.
I know, I’ve been there.

Croydon: History, shopping, parks, pubs, festivals and famous faces
Kiel Egging October 11, 2020 Maroondah Leader
It was a former hotbed for farmers and fruit orchards but, more than a century later, Croydon has shaken off its rural tag and emerged as a family-friendly hub in Melbourne’s outereast. Here’s a look at postcode 3136.
EVs Youth Centre has a century-old, heritage-listed facade and is one of Croydon’s oldest buildings. Picture: Wayne Taylor.
Croydon has become an amenity-rich hub in Melbourne’s outereast while maintaining its leafy feel and village atmosphere.
But the suburb was little more than a rural outskirt filled with paddocks in its humble beginnings in the mid-1800s.
The area was originally known as White Flats as it was covered with course silver and white grass.
Croydon railway station was named after the UK hometown of the landowner’s wife. Picture: Croydon Historical Society.
It was a prime area for cattle and dairy farming and became known for its orchards, which produced top quality cherries, apples, pears and peaches.
In fact, a mural paying homage to the area’s fruit orchard roots – The Fruit Thief – can be found in a laneway off Croydon’s Main St.
Croydon’s Marta Makkai with Roger Archbold and Andy Drewitt at the launch of street art mural, the Fruit Thief. Photo: Daniel Pockett
The street itself has evolved significantly since it began staging a weekly Monday market in 1920.
Main St has had a hospitality boom in recent years and become one of the more popular and vibrant cafe strips outside of Melbourne’s inner suburbs.
Nearby shopping centre Croydon Central has also had a recent facelift with a second stage still to come.
Croydon has a population of nearly 27,000 and is becoming popular with families keen to take advantage of parks and other facilities close to home.
Town Park is a sprawling open space used by sports clubs and is also home to the annual Maroondah Festival, which attracts 30,000 people.
Maroondah Festival is a popular annual event in Croydon. Picture: Steve Tanner
A giant health and wellbeing precinct with space for community groups will be built next to the park over the next decade.
Croydon is also home to the historic EV’s Youth Centre, one of Melbourne’s biggest longstanding youth music venues with a heritage-listed facade from the early 1900s.
Many youngsters got their first headbanging fix there as some of Australia’s biggest emerging punk and metal acts cut their teeth.
Dorset Gardens Hotel is one Croydon’s most popular drinking holes with plenty of local partygoers packing out its dancefloor on weekends.
A handful of Melbourne’s most well-known actors and presenters also have roots in Croydon.
Magda Szubanski and John Wood grew up in the area, while Mick Molloy and rapper 360 attended local schools.
The suburb takes its name from its station, which was named after the UK hometown of the landowner’s wife in the late 1800s.
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* Sadly now a massive drug problem area
* every area is a “massive drug problem area”. They’re everywhere... city, suburbs, regional... not a problem exclusive to Croydon.
* Remember it well.  I went to St Edmunds mid 50s, and then worked as an Estate Agent in Main Street in the 70's.
* At one time, the railway station was proposed to be named Warrandyte South. Mount Dandenong Road was originally named Oxford Road.
* Molloy not from Croydon.
* You forgot to mention the fabulous market Croydon had till greed destroyed it. And the fantastic mural there that depicted the history of Croydon painted over by the owners of the then Centro.
* Yes Magda came from Croydon, I used to travel on the train with her dad. 
* Croydon Market, what a fascinating place for a young boy, especially the auctions. There was a woman, a keen bidder, and as soon as she made a winning bid, she said "and what goes with it for a shilin' ".