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Sent: Thursday, 5 August 2021, 01:46:13 pm AEST
Subject: Fri.30.4.21 daily digest

Roderick

 "210430F-MetroTwitter-station.jpg"

Fri.30.4.21 Metro Twitter
Trains will not stop at Hallam until the last train of Tue 4 May (level-crossing works). Shuttle buses will operate Dandenong - Hallam - Narre Warren.  No access to station facilities or platforms during this time.
Buses replace trains Laverton - Werribee from first train today until the last train of Thu 6 May (level-crossing works).
7.40 Werribee/Williamstown Lines: Major delays (an equipment fault near Newport).
- 8.44 Ongoing.
- Buses are supplementing trains via Altona.
- buses have been extended to Newport and will run express between Laverton and Newport.
- 9.24 Can you please update your app? I'm on a Williamstown train right now.
- 9.43 Delays reduced to 15 min and clearing.  Trains have resumed between Flinders Street and Laverton.
8.34 Rail R U OK? Day holds extra significance for  MetroTrains employee Rehana Rehman who lost a colleague to self-harm 3 years ago. Now her team makes mental health a priority every day because, as Rehana says, one conversation can change a life. Read more: https://go.vic.gov.au/GsWE1w
17.59 Boronia station: There is currently no lift (a fault). Passengers requiring lift access travel to Bayswater and speak to station staff.
- 19.33 Lift access has been restored.
Lilydale/Belgrave/Alamein lines: Buses replace trains Burnley - Box Hill/Alamein from 20.50 until the last train of Sun 2 May (maintenance works).
- Why start this as 60k people are leaving MCG on a Friday night, then pack them into buses, in a pandemic? You muppets

Melbourne mulls making outdoor dining parklets permanent. David Estcourt April 30, 2021
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-mulls-making-outdoor-dining-parklets-permanent-20210430-p57nv4.html>

NSW signals renewed focus on privatisation, will go it alone on fast rail. Tom Rabe April 30, 2021. 306 comments
Premier Gladys Berejiklian says NSW will go it alone on fast rail instead of waiting for consensus from state and federal governments and she signalled a renewed focus on privatising public assets to finance such infrastructure projects.
Ms Berejiklian on Thursday outlined her plan to reduce travel time between Sydney and regional NSW centres and indicated her government would again look at “asset recycling” to finance projects.
“We’re carrying a bit more debt than we used to, but also the asset recycling agenda is definitely renewed for us,” Ms Berejiklian told The Sydney Morning Herald Infrastructure Summit.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian addresses the Sydney Morning Herald Infrastructure Summit on Thursday.CREDIT:BROOK MITCHELL
Having sold a majority stake in electricity assets for close to $23 billion in 2017, 49 per cent of Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy still remains in state hands. The government scrapped plans last year to sell-off its forestry assets after close to a quarter of softwood was destroyed during the black summer bushfires, but is now pushing ahead with the sale of the remaining minority share of the WestConnex motorway.
Ms Berejiklian said the state’s “creative” financing of infrastructure projects had helped NSW expand its non-financial assets by 46 per cent over the past four years, which is expected to grow by another 34 per cent over the next four.
“When talking about asset recycling we’re serious, instead of owning something that might not be very creative and active on the balance sheet, you can convert that into schools and hospitals and roads and rail,” she said.
Fast (250km/h) and “faster rail” (less than 200km/h) would be constructed between Sydney and Newcastle, the Central Coast, Goulburn and Nowra under a plan the NSW government is considering, Ms Berejiklian said.
“NSW is poised to enter a new golden age of infrastructure delivery,” she said.
“You’ve got to not only think about the current generation of projects but the next generation of projects.”
The Premier said NSW could not wait for other states and governments to agree on a broader major city-connecting rail scheme.
“We would, but in the past when we’ve tried to have those conversations – as you’ve seen during COVID – getting the states and jurisdictions to agree on anything is a challenge,” she said.
“If we can show the way in NSW of what’s possible and what’s feasible and how it can be managed in the balance sheet, well perhaps that might inspire some others to be more excited about it.”
The Premier cited travel times between Sydney and Gosford of 25 minutes, Sydney to Goulburn in under an hour and Sydney to Newcastle in under an hour.
Record low-interest rates also mean the state isn’t too concerned about accruing debt over coming years, Ms Berejiklian said.
“It doesn’t cost much to borrow money these days, this is a good time to carry some debt on your balance sheet,” she said.
“We were previously in negative net debt which was a bit silly when interest rates were almost zero.”
video More people allowed on NSW public transport from Monday. The capacity on public transport in NSW will be lifted again on Monday.
The Premier said new rail projects would create tens of thousands of jobs and potentially ease housing pressures.
Major Projects Canberra chief projects officer Duncan Edghill described the slow transport options between the nation’s capital and its largest city as a “national disgrace”.
And while the NSW government is planning to spend billions on future transport projects, a recent University of Sydney survey found a return to public transport relied on a successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The research, which surveyed 1000 people, found more than 20 per cent of them would not return to public transport until they or their close household members have been vaccinated for COVID-19.
Eleven per cent in NSW said they would not return for the foreseeable future.
Opposition transport spokesman Chris Minns said Ms Berejiklian’s privatisation of government assets would eventually hurt consumers.
“Gladys Berejiklian would be the only person left in Sydney that believes a 100 per cent privately owned toll road company in WestConnex would be good for taxpayers,” he said.
RELATED ARTICLE The first of the new intercity trains is unlikely to arrive from Korea until November or December. ‘People said couldn’t be done’: Premier says NSW on track for faster rail network
RELATED ARTICLE Peak hour at Sydney’s Town Hall in 2018. Sydney’s commuters will be able to spare a seat on public transport as restrictions are eased
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-signals-renewed-focus-on-privatisation-will-go-it-alone-on-fast-rail-20210429-p57nl4.html>

Staff to be hired to monitor train cleaners after dodgy COVID practices. Lydia Lynch April 30, 2021
Contractors will be hired to watch other workers disinfect Brisbane trains after dodgy cleaning practices were caught on CCTV.
Security cameras caught a “number of staff”, employed by contractor Alstom to do spot and deep cleaning aboard trains, sitting around “not doing any cleaning”.
Two staff have been fired for failing to clean Brisbane trains properly.CREDIT:ROBERT SHAKESPEARE
Transport Minister Mark Bailey said, so far, two workers had been stood down.
Translink deputy director-general Matthew Longland said the findings were disappointing and more staff would be put on trains to monitor cleaners while the contractor conducts an internal investigation.
“We have got additional staff on board services while the cleaning is being undertaken to provide an additional layer of assurance that the cleaning is being undertaken as per specification,” he said.
“At this stage, we think it was the one cleaning crew, so that is why the two staff have been stood down, but that may grow, and [we] will obviously await the outcomes of the investigation.”
Mr Bailey said there were seven instances in which staff had not done their jobs thoroughly in terms of cleaning.
“The contractor, Alstom, is investigating the matter, and I look forward to the final report,” he said.
“If there are any other people found to be doing the wrong thing, they should be held to account.”
Mr Bailey said he hoped the failures were isolated, but he couldn’t say where else the contractors were employed to clean.
His office believed Alstom, rather than taxpayers, would pay for the contractors hired to monitor the cleaning practices.
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/staff-to-be-hired-to-monitor-train-cleaners-after-dodgy-covid-practices-20210430-p57nw3.html>

Fri.30.4.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' Abuse of tram staff. TESS IKONOMOU
TRAM workers have been on the receiving end of a spike in abuse and threats, and were assaulted in higher numbers in the past month amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The disturbing Department of Transport data reveals there were seven threats of harm made against Yarra Trams employees in March, up from zero in the previous year.
Assaults of workers rose from two attacks to five during the same time in 2020. From July last year, there have been 29 assaults reported and 39 threats made.
Metro Trains workers also experienced a surge in violence, with 46 assaults and 195 incidents of threatening behaviour, including racial abuse and harassment, reported up to late April.
Meeting with Metro authorised officers at Southern Cross station on Thursday, Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll condemned the rising attacks on staff.
“No assault is acceptable,” he said. “Be very respectful to our rail staff … they help us all get to work on time, they go above and beyond to make sure our rail network works, and the smallest minor incident can have big consequences on the whole network.”
Speaking on the rail industry’s RUOK? Day, Metro team leader Rehana Rehman said abuse “can have a traumatic effect on the mental health and wellbeing of the staff”.
She said her team “banded together” following the “tragic” and shocking death of a colleague who suicided in 2018.

Fri.30.4.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' Green shoots for shabby north bank. JOHN MASANAUSKAS
DETAILS of an ambitious $300m plan to create a continuous green trail on the Yarra River’s north bank have been released by the City of Melbourne.
Greenline would be a 4km pathway between Birrarung Marr and Bolte Bridge, including new pedestrian bridges and boardwalks, major landscaping and hospitality, cultural and entertainment opportunities.
Based on New York’s famous High Line Park, Greenline would create 1000 jobs, but it will need significant support from state and federal governments, as well as private investment, to go ahead.
The project would also need approval from various authorities and landowners as the city council doesn’t own or independently manage any waterways or the banks of the Yarra.
Under a plan to be considered by councillors on Tuesday, Greenline would be divided into five precincts: Birrarung Marr; Yarro Yarro; River Park; Maritime; and Salt Water Wharf.
Heritage sites along the river would be enhanced and Aboriginal history and stories told through creative installations and signage.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Greenline would mark one of the city’s biggest transformations since Southbank Promenade in 1990 and Federation Square in 2002.
“This investment would transform some of the most unloved areas in the city into a series of connected parklands with opportunities for food, art, culture and entertainment,” Ms Capp said.
The Lord Mayor’s original vision for Greenline included building a pedestrian and cyclist deck over CBD railway viaducts, similar to New York’s High Line Park. But that idea was shelved as impractical and too costly, with the project scaled down to focus on linking existing and new green spaces.
Ms Capp said forecasting showed Greenline would deliver $1bn in economic activity and create up to 1000 construction jobs.
“The Greenline will become one of Melbourne’s premier destinations … our investment in the waterfront would create jobs for Melburnians and encourage investors to open their cheque books and deliver new projects,” she said.
City transport, infrastructure and operations deputy lead councillor Roshena Campbell said the project would boost local tourism, especially in the wake of the pandemic’s effects.
“Unlocking under-utilised land in the heart of the city is a vital way in which we can stimulate our economy and create local jobs,” she said.
A project budget is being prepared and business cases will be developed for various parts of the plan.

Fri.30.4.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' Letters:
Re (LOTD, 28/4) about edicts to wear masks on public transport. Trains and trams are confined spaces circulating non-fresh air. Apart from COVID protection, a mask also helps protect against winter bugs.