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Sent: Friday, 7 May 2021, 05:48:07 pm AEST
Subject: Sun.31.1.21 daily digest
An eastbound freight attracted a lot of lineside attention for its loco combination. It passed Hoppers Crossing at around 17.04, and Altona Jn at 17.18: T357-C501-CLF4-CLF2(both orange) hauling wagons of containers plus ten empty flatwagons.
Roderick
"210131Su-Melbourne'Age'-Melbourne-Southern.Cross-ss.jpg"
Sun.31.1.21 Metro Twitter
Buses replace trains Westall - Pakenham/Cranbourne until the last train (level-crossing works).
Buses replace trains Elsternwick - Sandringham until the last train (works).
Metropolitan trains will run to a new timetable from today. We've made changes to our busiest lines and the way passengers travel into and around the loop. See ptv_official http://ow.ly/QW1G50Dicc3
The new timetables for Victoria's train network are available. We're making changes to our busiest metropolitan and regional lines and the way passengers travel into and around Melbourne from Sunday 31 January. https://bit.ly/2KPpVvj
[with saturation spin and propaganda; its all about management convenience]. See <www.ptv.vic.gov.au/more/the-new-timetable-for-victorias-train-network>
450 new services [per week]: https://bit.ly/2KPpVvj
Off-peak fares and new timetables are coming. Passengers will get a 30% discount between 9.30 & 16.00 or after 19.00 on weekdays. https://ptovic.com.au/about-us/publications-media/news/more-services-and-off-peak-discounts-for-2021
* Standard spin: quoting extra services per week inflates a trivial addition to sound major. Your useless link doesn't tell me anything for my line 'unavailable', but I guess that my 30 min headways won't be improved to what the minister claims to be 'turn up and go'.
* For real, can we just have a service which is reliable. The way Metro can cancel services for VERY suspect reasons is totally wrong. They make more money from cancelled services than what they are fined - MAKES NO SENSE!
8.28 All lines: Major Delays due to an equipment fault. Services may run direct to Flinders Street.
- 8.55 All Lines: Major delays clearing after an equipment fault. Trains may still run to/from direct Flinders Street,and may also terminate/originate at intermediate stations.
16.27 Hurstbridge line: Major delays to citybound trains after an ambulance was needed somewhere.
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Upfield from 20.35 until the last train (maintenance works).
Glen Waverley line: Buses replace trains Parliament - Darling from 20.40 until the last train (maintenance works).
Lilydale/Belgrave lines: Buses replace trains Parliament - Burnley from 20.50 until the last train (maintenance works).
Sunbury/Craigieburn/Upfield lines: All trains run direct to/from Flinders St from 21.00 until the last train (maintenance works). From loop stations, take a Flinders St train from pfm 1.
Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: All trains direct to/from Flinders St from 21.00 until the last train (maintenance works). From City loop stations, take a Flinders St train from pfm 1.
Frankston/Stony Point lines: Buses replace trains Mordialloc - Frankston/Stony Point from 21.00 until the last train of Sun 7 Feb (level-crossing works). See https://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/disruptions/frankston-and-stony-point-lines-buses-replace-trains-jan-feb-21
Werribee
- 60 new services each week, 20 of which are in the morning peak.
- A train every 10 minutes in the morning and afternoon peaks.
- A 10-minute frequency on services from Newport to Flinders Street on weekends
Williamstown Line
- 15 new off-peak services each week
- 25 Newport services extended to Williamstown
A train every 20 minutes in the morning and afternoon peaks.
A train every 10 minutes throughout the day, stopping at all stations
Sunbury: 15 new services each week, of which 10 will be in the morning peak.
Craigieburn: 30 new services each week, 10 of which are in the morning and afternoon peaks.
Upfield : 15 new services each week, five of which will be in the afternoon peak.
Pakenham & Cranbourne:
- 90 new services each week, 15 of which are in the morning and afternoon peaks.
- 25 trains extended from Dandenong to Cranbourne
- 5 trains extended from Dandenong to Pakenham
- A train every 5 minutes in the AM peak along the Dandenong line
- A train every 10 minutes in the AM peak on the Pakenham line
- A train every 12 minutes in the AM peak on the Cranbourne lLine
Frankston: Trains on the Frankston line will no longer run through the loop, but will be through-worked to/from Werribee/Williamstown. Frankston trains will be back in the loop when the tunnel opens, in 2025.
- 45 new services each week, ten of which are in the morning and afternoon peaks.
- 7 evening services extended from Mordialloc to Frankston every day
- A train every 5 minutes in peak hour
- A train every 10 minutes throughout the day
- A train every 20 minutes until midnight
Sandringham: Weekend trains will no longer run through the loop.
- 10 new offpeak trains.
As it happened: Perth goes into five-day lockdown after man tests positive for UK variant of COVID-19; Australia resumes NZ travel bubble Roy Ward, Hanna Mills Turbet and Rob Sharp. January 31, 2021
* 12.29 Victorian public transport users to see how busy trains are via new app. Sumeyya Ilanbey. Victorian public transport users will be able to see in real-time how busy metropolitan trains and stations will be before they get on board.
The RideSpace website is designed to help passengers make better informed decisions on when to use the train to avoid crowds and maintain social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Southern Cross Station, pictured in April last year.CREDIT:LUIS ASCUI
The feature is not available for regional train services, as well as the bus and tram network, but Victorian Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said plans were under way to roll out RideSpace more widely within the next 12 months.
“So you can have an informed choice not only what train or platform, but then what mode of transport you want to go to as well,” Mr Carroll said at Southern Cross station on Sunday.
“Whether or not, rather than getting on the train, you might get the tram or alternatively look at a bus service if that’s how you want to go home.”
The website uses historical data based on the travel patterns of public transport users from a year ago, as well as live myki ‘touch on’ data to assess how busy stations, platforms and trains are and will be for the next four hours, grading them from ‘very quiet’ to ‘very busy’.
Victorian public transport users can also provide feedback on the grading if they feel it does not actually reflect what is going on in the ground.
The Victorian Department of Transport partnered with Telstra Purple and NTT Data to leverage the private sectors’ expertise, standing up RideSpace within four months.
Emergency services personnel trialled the website.
Nick Foa, the department’s head of transport services, said his team was working to provide the data to third-party journey-planning apps.
“We’ve got new choices to make about how we approach work or how we approach education,” Mr Foa said.
“What we’ve now announced today with RideSpace is some new information in the hands of customers where it supports the different choices that they might make as they travel across the network.“
For more information, visit ridespace.coronavirus.vic.gov.au.
<www.theage.com.au/national/coronavirus-updates-live-wa-to-remove-self-quarantine-for-queensland-victorian-arrivals-australian-open-to-welcome-packed-crowds-20210131-p56y3p.html>
Kara Irving, Kieran Rooney and Ash Argoon January 31, 2021. 481 comments
DISCOUNTED FARES FOR OFF-PEAK TRAVEL
Public transport fares will be slashed by more than a dollar for those who travel off-peak under a new state government discount.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll confirmed a two hour full fare fee would drop from over $4 to about $2.80 when a 30 per cent off-peak discount applies from Sunday.
Those who touch on after 9.30am and before 4pm, or after 7pm, would see the drop in fees.
Meanwhile, a new website would give commuters information on how busy their train or platform was in a bid to encourage travellers to be COVID-safe.
The RideSpace website — a trial using real-time information through Myki data — was live from Sunday morning.
Mr Carroll said Myki data had been married up with new timetabling information, which included an extra 450 services, and gave colour coded information to indicate whether a service was busy (red) or quiet (green).
“RideSpace will give Victorian passengers information literally in the palm of their hand on how busy their train is or how busy their platform is,” Mr Carroll said.
He said it would give passengers “peace of mind” over density levels during the pandemic, and he called on those who had not yet returned to public transport to do so as it was “clean as a whistle”.
The new RideSpace site can be found at www.ridespace.coronavirus.vic.gov.au.
NEW TRAIN TIMES, AS WORKERS RETURN TO THE OFFICE
Thousands of extra commuters have returned to Melbourne’s public transport system over the past three weeks, with more expected as the holiday period comes to an end.
Patronage is still below half of normal levels before the pandemic but there are positive signs of recovery as authorities tip 70 per cent of passengers to return in the first half of the year.
It comes as a new timetable comes into effect on Sunday that adds hundred of extra train services throughout the week and provides cheaper fares for off-peak travel.
State government figures show on Wednesday public transport usage was about 44 per cent of normal pre-coronavirus levels.
The numbers were a sharp uptick from January 6 when this figure was at just 29 per cent.
Authorities are now preparing for a gradual increase in patronage over coming weeks and the end of school holidays is likely to motivate more people to head into the office.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll catches the train. Picture: Darrian Traynor/NCA Newswire
Commuters are being urged to travel outside the typical rush hour to maintain public health advice such as social distancing, and have provided extra services and incentives to help.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the government would continue its extra cleaning program and install hand sanitiser stations across all modes of transport.
He said the new timetable added 450 services each week to allow passengers to physically distance.
“We’ve also added more services outside peak hours to encourage passengers to stagger their travel and are helping people to travel outside the peak with a 30 per cent discount from 9.30am – 4pm,” Mr Carroll said.
“We’ve done the work to make sure our network is, clean safe and ready – and Victorians should have every confidence to use public transport when they need it.”
Ben Carroll boards at Flinders Street Station Picture: Darrian Traynor/NCA Newswire
Morning commuters wait at a tram stop outside Flinders Street Station on the first day where 50% of workers can safely return to the office. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw
Traffic on our roads has returned close to normal levels but public transport use is expected to remain at just under 70 per cent for a significant amount of time, prompting fears Melbourne congestion will worsen.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the new timetable added much needed services on weekends and evenings for lines that had previously had crowding problems.
Commuters will also notice changes around the City Loop, with the Frankston line now running only to Flinders Street Station and Southern Cross Station.
“Overall it is a positive step forward,” he said.
“Week by week we’re seeing more people back on public transport so its important to have systems in place now to cater for that.”
More Coverage Why there will be more homeless in MelbourneCouples caught in COVID wedding fallout — Kieran Rooney
<www.heraldsun.com.au/coronavirus/rolling-coverage-public-transport-use-increasing-as-new-train-timetable-rolled-out-across-melbourne/news-story/5535bc59debf14112e7bbc60df0f6f1b>
Sun.31.1.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' It’s high time to remove graffiti JOHN MASANAUSKAS
A BLITZ to get rid of inner-city graffiti will be rolled out over the next six months amid rising community concern about the vandalism.
Special funding from the City of Melbourne and state government to aid the city’s recovery will be used to remove tagging from high areas such as buildings, bridges and shop awnings. The council usually spends about $1 million annually on graffiti removal but the cost of hiring elevated platforms to get to high spots can be prohibitive.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said cash from the $100m Melbourne City Recovery Fund would enable the hiring of more staff and equipment.
“Unwanted graffiti and tagging is a blight on the city. We can now literally go above and beyond to remove graffiti from hard-to-reach places,” she said.
“We’ve already identified priority areas for cleaning at height along Swanston, Elizabeth, Bourke, Little Bourke and Russell streets, and we’ll be adding to the list over the next six months.”
Street-level removal will also be boosted between now and July as part of the program.
Sun.31.1.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' Extra services as public transport commuters return. KIERAN ROONEY
THOUSANDS of extra commuters have returned to Melbourne’s public transport system over the past three weeks, with more expected as the holiday period comes to an end.
Patronage is still below half of normal levels before the pandemic but there are positive signs of recovery as authorities tip 70 per cent of passengers to return in the first half of the year.
It comes as a new timetable comes into effect on Sunday that adds hundred of extra train services throughout the week and provides cheaper fares for off-peak travel.
State government figures show on Wednesday public transport usage was about 44 per cent of normal precoronavirus levels. The numbers were a sharp uptick from January 6 when this figure was at just 29 per cent.
Authorities are now preparing for a gradual increase in patronage over coming weeks as the end of school holidays is likely to motivate more people to head into the office.
Commuters are being urged to travel outside the typical peak hours to maintain public health advice such as social distancing, and have provided extra services and incentives to help.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the new timetable added 450 services each week to allow passengers to physically distance.
“We’ve also added more services outside peak hours to encourage passengers to stagger their travel and are helping people to travel outside the peak with a 30 per cent discount from 9.30am to 4pm,” Mr Carroll said.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the new timetable added much-needed services on weekends and evenings for lines that had previously had crowding problems.
“Overall it is a positive step forward,” he said.
Sun.31.1.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' Letters:
* SO, 14,000km of socially distanced travel only to be crammed in a bus at Melbourne airport, which then didn’t move for 45 minutes. While they filled all the other buses. Can’t Dan afford a few extra buses?