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Subject: Tues.18.5.21 daily digest

Roderick

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 "210518Tu-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-CaribbeanGardens-b-train.jpg" with TDU
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 "210518Tu-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-Xtrapolis2-b-ss-no.hard.hats.jpg" They can't be real politicians.

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Trains resume at Sydney Airport stations after police operation Sarah McPhee May 16, 2021
Services have resumed at the Sydney Airport domestic and international train stations after police searched the area following a threat.
Passengers had earlier been evacuated from both platforms for the police operation, which resulted in nothing being found.
A NSW Police spokesperson said the search resulted from a threat being received, however, the nature of the threat was not outlined. Police had earlier said the operation was precautionary.
Flights at the airport were unaffected, however, travellers were told to seek other means of transport and allow extra time to get to and from the airport.
In response to the operation buses had replaced trains to Green Square, Mascot, Domestic Airport, International Airport or Wolli Creek stations.
Transport for NSW tweeted just after 2.30pm that services had resumed through the area, with some flow-on delays being experienced.
“Please allow additional travel time, check real-time apps and listen to announcements, or get in touch if you require any further assistance,” the government agency said.
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-domestic-international-train-stations-evacuated-for-police-operation-20210516-p57sdr.html>

Tues.18.5.21 Metro Twitter
Aircraft: No ramp access to platforms until late 2021 (pedestrian-underpass works).
Buses replace trains Sunshine - Sunbury until the last train of Wed 19 May (works). [wrong]
We recently heard over 500 pieces of important feedback about the new Glen Huntly station precinct, to be built when we remove the level crossings at Neerim and Glenhuntly roads. The level crossings are set to go in 2023, with the job done in 2024! More, https://bit.ly/3foLbUh
10.13 Frankston line: Delays over 20 minutes (an 'operational incident' near Cheltenham).
- 10.27 Trains are now on the move.
- 10.31 delays of up to 30 minutes.
- 11.32 Delays of up to 15 minutes.
18.22 Sandringham line: Major delays (police near Elsternwick). Trains will be held at available platforms.
Buses replace trains Blackburn - Lilydale/Belgrave from 20.30 until the last train (maintenance works).
Buses replace trains Epping - Mernda from 20.50 until the last train (works).

The road to recovery: Are Victoria's mega-projects still worth it?  Clay Lucas and Timna Jacks April 25, 2020
Comb through government funding records for 1932, the year unemployment peaked at 32 per cent during the Great Depression, and you will find £5000 set aside for a significant road project in Victoria.
video Melbourne's mega-projects: why do they cost so much? If there's one thing Melbourne is doing a lot of right now, it's massive road and rail projects.
The money was part of “an unemployment relief fund used to widen the Great Ocean Road and provide work for more than 200 returned soldiers”.
The road – now one of Australia’s biggest tourist attractions – shows the legacy governments can leave when trying to boost a collapsed economy.
Almost a century later Victoria is staring at another savage economic downturn, of a magnitude not seen since the Depression, and certainly since the state’s last recession in 1991.
Premier Daniel Andrews has fronted the media almost daily since calling a state of emergency in March, with a forceful focus on staving off a health catastrophe.
But the economic woes coronavirus could wreak upon Victoria may be as big a challenge as the health crisis, with state treasury estimates this week predicting a quarter of a million Victorians will soon be out of work – twice the current number. To cope with the economic battering, Victoria will borrow up to $24.5 billion in extra cash.
Andrews has regularly said construction will be one of the ways his government digs Victoria out of the crisis. “We are going to need to do more in road and rail. It will need to,” he said this week, "go to another level”.
But with the state’s infrastructure drive already at what most thought “next level” before the pandemic, can Victoria realistically contemplate embarking on more mega-projects – builds with price tags in excess of $1 billion? Or could the pandemic provide a sort of reset, where Daniel Andrews relaxes his focus on big builds and instead turns the state towards other infrastructure to get the economy pumping again?
'We've been conned into a major projects approach'
Andrews this week said his government’s choice of projects had always been both big and little, with the state’s massive transport build packaged up so that “small firms, medium firms and large big tier-one firms” got work.
Four immense transport projects are either underway in Victoria, or might already have been signed off had the pandemic not ground the state to a halt.
The West Gate Tunnel motorway is under construction, bidding is underway for the North East Link toll road and freeway widening, plans for an airport rail line were close to finalised, and the Metro Tunnel rail line is being built. Then there is the $50 billion Suburban Rail Loop, on which the bill for planning alone comes to $300million.
Is it wise to forge ahead with all of these enormous projects?
“No” was the resounding answer from financial and planning experts quizzed by The Age this week. The prevailing view was that while city-shaping projects are nice in theory, their enormous lead times and vast cost reduce their wider community benefit.
“More smaller projects, you can turn the tap on and off easier,” said economist Terry Rawnsley, from consultants SGS. “You don’t want to get in a position where in five years’ time you’ve built [major] projects and maxed out the credit card.”
Some projects put forward by the Andrews government also don’t make as much sense as they once did, with COVID-19 likely to see population growth dip, travel patterns change and a recession if not worse.
“We’ve been conned into a major projects approach,” said economist John Stanley, a Sydney University transport professor and former Victorian transport industry executive.
He said costly projects like the Suburban Rail Loop were “grossly over-designed” and shorter-term public transport projects that helped people navigate Melbourne’s suburbs made more sense.
The North East Link done “more modestly” might benefit the city but its vast cost meant it should be postponed, he said.
The proposed suburban rail loop would intersect with 10 other rail lines.CREDIT:FAIRFAX MEDIA
If past practice is anything to go by, Andrews is unlikely to back down. He has pushed through virtually all promised projects – even the troubled-plagued West Gate Tunnel.
John Hearsch, president of transport think tank the Rail Futures Institute, said the $50 billion Suburban Rail Loop – the most expensive transport project in Victorian history – needed rethinking, as did the North East Link.
His group wants to see a $2 billion City Loop reworking built to expand trains flowing through – swiftly delivering the equivalent of a 10-lane freeway.
Electrification of trains to Melton and Wyndham Vale must go ahead too even if the pandemic causes public transport journeys to dip, he added.
Other smaller-scale rail projects where federal money is already on the table such as light rail for Doncaster, electrifying trains past Frankston to Baxter and duplicating rail tracks in Geelong’s Waurn Ponds should also proceed, others said.
The Victorian government needs to talk to Bombardier about new trams, say experts, as part of boosting the economy.CREDIT:GOVNEWS VICTORIA
But simply ramping up construction would not avert wide-scale unemployment, Hearsch said. For this reason, an extra 100 new trams should be built in Dandenong by Bombardier, along with more locally made buses.
Public Transport Users Association’s spokesman Tony Morton agreed, noting that much spending on multibillion-dollar projects wound up spent on expensive machinery – not wages.
He said Victoria’s Treasury had an “ideological conviction” that spending was better on capital projects like new rail station car parks than on state-run operations such as a better bus network, which increased jobs both in manufacturing and driving.
“A feeder bus can deliver passengers to the station all day,” he said. “It doesn’t depend on the car park getting full after the first 200 passengers drive in.”
Stimulus: the lessons of history
Victoria has of course seen this show before, even if the script is more dramatic now, said respected economist Saul Eslake, who pointed to the enormous stimulus packages of the early 1990s recession.
Then, prime minister Paul Keating’s One Nation package funded a range of huge infrastructure projects.
“By the time these got started, the recession was well and truly over,” said Eslake, who believes the nation’s biggest states such as Victoria and New South Wales need to concentrate not on mega-projects but genuinely “shovel-ready” works.
Treasurer Wayne Swan and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announce their economic stimulus package during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.CREDIT:GLEN MCCURTAYNE
He said the Rudd government’s school halls program during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis partially worked because it was spread “around the country, rather than concentrated in a few areas as is typically the case with large projects”. It also required locally sourced labour and materials.
Of course there was a downside: “A lot of schools got halls that they didn’t need.”
Also funded in Rudd's GFC response was the Regional Rail Link through Melbourne’s west. A success as a transport project, but an abject failure as a stimulus measure. Billed as “shovel ready” in 2009, it took two years to start.
Eslake was among a range of voices The Age spoke to who said the biggest success story from the Rudd-Swan stimulus was housing for the poor. In particular, it fitted the need for speed.
Across Australia 20,000 new social housing units were built and another 12,000 got repairs. A KPMG spending review found the most vulnerable - the homeless, disabled and elderly - were the beneficiaries.
In Victoria, Eslake said, where social housing as a percentage of total housing stock is low, home-building was an ideal focus point to lift the economy. It would also calm the jangled nerves of many in the sector.
Construction expert and RMIT professor Ron Wakefield is also a director of Launch Housing, which has helped the state house 700 homeless people during the crisis. “When the pandemic finishes, they will just get pushed back onto the streets,” he said. A once-in-a-generation home-building program would create jobs and tackle the housing crisis affecting many Victorians before the pandemic, he said, and meant Victoria was “not putting everything into roads and trains”.
Overseas cities beset by pandemic lockdowns have also urgently pushed cycling and walking projects into action, said Monash University planning lecturer Liz Taylor. “There are so many Melbourne projects shelved for ages that could quickly be reprioritised,” pointing to the west’s Federation cycling trail as a prime example.
She said while the economic uplift and job creation from building new active transport infrastructure was minute on the scale of mega-projects, they would leave a lasting legacy.
She said pouring millions into permanent bus lanes should also be considered because coronavirus might change travel patterns long-term. “Travel demand for cars will be lower, just from changes to people’s working-from-home habits."
The dangers of getting stung
Another lesson from Australia’s GFC response, economist Rawnsley said, was another shovel-ready project commissioned back then: Peninsula Link.
The road improved trip times to the Mornington Peninsula but failed to deliver many other promised benefits. And it proved a “sweet deal” for the project’s private-sector consortium, Rawnsley said. Taxpayers are now paying around $100 million a year until 2037, a total of $2.75 billion for a road built for just $651 million nine years ago.
The case showed the Victorian public can get stung when state governments hastily dust off long-planned projects and start construction to boost the economy.
Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel is among the massive infrastructure projects that need renewed scrutiny.
Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel is among the massive infrastructure projects that need renewed scrutiny.CREDIT:LUIS ENRIQUE ASCUI
“The view on this was at the time the economy was falling off a cliff and the state was happy to pay a bit more,” he said, “to make sure things were happening.”
As builders grow increasingly risk-averse in the face of a deepening recession, Daniel Andrews may be forced to pay a premium for the major projects he does build – whether trying to repair the state’s economy or not.
Rawnsley doubted the $16 billion North East Link would deliver bang for the bucks, and questioned its legacy beyond getting trucks off Heidelberg’s Rosanna Road. And in the face of global travel bans, Rawnsley warned an airport rail link costing between $8 billion and $13 billion might be dubious. “The imperative for the rail link,” he said, “has kind of disappeared overnight.”
However, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia's chief executive Adrian Dwyer said maintaining a pipeline of mega-projects was important, in addition to prioritising $50-$500 million projects and fast-tracking level crossing removals.
Keeping the construction industry open during the crisis was also a "master stroke" by the Victorian government he said, because it saved jobs and built industry confidence.
Where will the growth come from?
The key unknown in the crisis, the Grattan Institute’s city and transport head Marion Terrill says, is how quickly the economy will recover if social distancing continues for years in the absence of a vaccine.
“Traditionally we tend to grow our way out of debt. After World War II, we grew fast and debt dwindled to nothing and that works as long as the economy is growing faster than interest rates on government borrowing,” Terrill said. "At the moment, it’s hard to imagine a lot of economic growth.”
Borrowing while interest rates were radically low to build infrastructure was a good idea, but it was crucial the money went towards projects that increased productivity and matched the needs of a changing world, she said. “You can waste money cheaply as well as expensively.”
The risk in marching ahead with major transport projects already being promoted by the Andrews government is that many of their underlying assumptions – surging population growth and travel patterns – have now been turned on their head by COVID-19.
And those changes could be permanent: commuters may be less inclined to travel on overcrowded trains and more people may work from home, putting less strain on transport. It was time for the government to stop and think about what projects the state truly needed. “The big projects are particularly risky right now,” Terrill said.
<www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/the-road-to-recovery-are-victoria-s-mega-projects-still-worth-it-20200423-p54mja.html>
* It is easy to see all this construction is about Melbourne centric. The rails and tunnels are there because Melbourne is essentially gridlocked. All the growth is too far out for people to get to work in Melbourne or Melbourne suburbs. Some time ago we had a chance to start a new port outside of Melbourne, it was declined by the businesses that use the current gridlock because they would have to build new warehouses and build their businesses outside of Melbourne. The politicians in authority caved in. They would rather borrow billions to spend on the current gridlock with only a temporary solution that a new port would bring. The politicians we get never have any longterm vision for this nation, state or federal, that is the truth.
* Who controls Andrews? Which union? Certainly not public interest.
* Yes I know not much air travel happening currently Mr Rawnsley BUT it is this sort of short thinking which has seen Victorians waiting 50 years already for airport rail. Another 50 ???
* With working from home becoming the trend, perhaps all these road projects will become unnecessary white elephants , just like the 40 billion dollar desalination plant.
* The North East Link if it goes ahead in its present form is an environmental, health, social and financial disaster! We don’t need it as the COVID19 Pandemic social changes have shown. A lot of us will want to continue to work from home, use active transport in clean air, walk and cycle with our partners and kids with whom we can spend more time, and expand and enjoy natural habitats. Back to the drawing boards for a comprehensive Town plan that will provide non polluting electric transport, less overconsumption and waste, beautiful natural surroundings, physical and mental health, community gardens and organic farms, renewable electric energy with solar panels, Wind power, battery and pumped hydro storage, and insulation with efficient use of resources.
* Need more Overseas investment in Victoria.
* Good opportunity to keep more people employed by public housing projects etc compared to the risky costly infrastructure projects
* Up to 70,000 people are gradually being made redundant as a result of the NBN being 'completed'. Why not build the NBN as initially planned with full fibre connectivity? This is about as shovel ready as possible. There are already the skills and workforce, the design has been done and there need for a world-class broadband network is more apparent then ever as a result of huge demand on remote working emanating from this pandemic.
* I really hope now the proposed airport rail tunnel project gets approved, state doesn't have to pay for it and we do need it. The idea of running the trains through the Metro tunnel, guh, no thanks!
* The lack of media scrutiny of the $24Bn COVID19 loan is outrageous given we are told that the curve is squashed - that’s almost 2 North East Links ( or actual cost after blowout!) - punchdrunk media, punchdrunk Treasurer and Premier
* Rhetorical question. Infrastructure is always needed for a myriad of obvious reasons. However, the question is about overpriced contracts that somehow manage to result in cashed up Labor sinking funds.
* We need money flowing to households and communities. Big projects like tunnels, done under secretive Public/Private deals, with mezzanine financing and big overseas corporations milking every last drop, are not efficient at getting money flowing into communities. Up to 50% of the money simply flows straight out of here, overseas. Remembering as well - roads are tolled. So it is a massive drain on the economy for decades, again with all the money going to a few big corporations, with huge percentages of foreign ownership. We should be building - it is the what and the how. It is the time for more smaller projects. I am personally getting sick of these secretive PPP arrangements. They are our taxes being spent, and billions in future tolls, but commercial in confidence palaver means we dont even know what we are on the hook for. Or to who. Is this Belt and Road?
* It won't matter to Dan & Co if projects dont go according to plan or when theyre built and completed and found to be wanting. Thats because, barring illegal activities, MP's and govts arent accountable. And if problems do arise long after completion, those MP's, either wont be there anymore or not walking upon the face of the earth anymore.
* He had taken on too many big complex projects at once. They always overrun cost wise and will break the state finacially
* These projects are more important than ever and we will need even more to get out of the coming recession. Remember that Pres F D Roosevelt saved the US during the great depression by bringing in the New Deal and building the massive Hoover Dam to employ unemployed workers.
* Andrews only listens to the unions and no one else.
* It would appear the state govt gets rings run around it continually . Borrow to build...cease these ridiculous long-term deals where the tax payer pays many many many times the cost of the project over many years. You are letting these companies take our future, then they offer relief by leveraging the same dodgy deals to pay for another round of dodgy deals, further committing us to even more ridiculous over payments. Can't anyone in the State Govt actually negotiate? And politicians...stay out of it! Where is the unbiased, unmanipulated Procurement?
* Even more so Further there are future generations
* A very good article. Given the scale of change brought upon us by COVID-19 it would be neglectful NOT to review all existing projects, etc. A reset of our economy is required because of this virus - so our governments tell us. Therefore existing projects to which we are yet to fully commit must be reviewed. This doesn't mean they have to cease or be put on hold - just reviewed in the context of designing an economic path forward. However, as the article suggests, there are many more ways of stimulating the economy besides what is essentially road building.
* We're still paying for under investment in major infrastructure with terrible congestion. These hand picked academics always say we shouldn't build project xxx and instead just incease urban density. Keep the projects rolling Dan. Thats why we re-elected you.
* We NEED these projects and many more NOW! They are at least 20 years behind when they should have been built
* Build hospitals. We need more hospitals and public housing.
* Except this isn't the Great Depression, unemployment is tipped to hit 10% not 32%, with a bounce back next year. Then we are back to congestion and the same problems that need fixing.
* Please correct the title of this article. Instead of 'The road to recovery: Are Victoria's mega-projects still worth it?' it should read 'The road to recovery: Are Melbourne's mega-projects still worth it?' - You would think no-one lives outside of Melbourne.
* Good grief. If anyone giving planning advice is thinking we are loving this lockdown so much we are going to keep working from home and avoiding air travel into the future voluntarily, please don’t let them anywhere near policy. By the time these projects are completed we will need them more than ever.
* There are many opinions expressed in this article that I think are based on either sour grapes or fallacious arguments. Firstly, the ridiculous claim that COVID-19 has made some projects no longer necessary because of reduced population growth. You don;t need to be a Rhodes scholar to know that projects like the North-East Link (which has been called for for a decade or two) are needed now based on current (as in pre-coronavirus) congestion levels, so will be even more beneficial when they eventually are completed. As much as I'm against the continual population growth, it will resume in time. The article also continually assumes that no smaller infrastructure works are happening, when that is patently untrue, as Daniel Andrews states. There are always small and medium-sized road projects happening all over Melbourne and the rest of Victoria, as well as the enormously beneficial level crossing removals. All up, a very slanted, non-objective article.
* The best possible thing to happen would be for bipartisan agreement at the federal level to end population growth as the chief economic driver. Sensible population growth will still occur (natural growth plus some immigration) but at levels close to a quarter or less of where they are now (immigration levels controlled only of course). Melbourne and Sydney are getting far too much population growth, green wedges are being built over and urban densification is destroying both cities. The economic advantage at federal GDP level does not justify the damage to the Australian way of life and does not raise per capita GDP levels. With the above restrictions in place, state projects can be reviewed and projects that still make sense can continue, whilst other new projects may appear more relevant.
* We were treated to a variation of the same story by the same journalists in the same newspaper last weekend. All that's changed is that Daniel Andrews has legislated to borrow $25 billion, which margically equals the cost overruns his government has run up so far on their current projects. Lock downs will end eventually and we will need roads for our growing population.
* There are many smaller projects that would probably give better value for money but they don't provide photo opportunities for politicians in hard hats & hi viz vests.
* It's like Richard Wynne realised this week his role is an economic position not a red tape creation position. But even then he issued permits on projects with huge lead times and unlikely to start in current economic climate. After 5 years realised his job then failed at it. Planning on family homes and small scale development has ground to a halt, councils "town planners" have become red tape administration officers obsessed with adding reports, dragging decisions and responses to the maximum timelines. Aborist reports on properties with no trees, 3D shadow diagrams where existing fences already cast shadow, Cultural heritage management plans in inner city suburban streets. Structural engineering drawings for planning. Just to list a few of the long winded high cost completely ridiculous reports requested recently. And this isn't just to block big greedy developers these are people wanting to build an extra room for a growing family or a home office or a garage.
* For a while during this crisis, there seemed to be hope of a realisation of how out of kilter everything had got with what humans most need. That is, health, homes, community, positive connections, all of which have been subjugated to the almighty dollar and the economy under 30+ years of neoliberalism. Now, it seems it's more of the same, more roads, more massive development (but no housing for the homeless), more glass to let in the hot sun requiring more air-conditiining, more artificial building materials that provide no buffer to the heat or cold,, more pollution and more damage to the environment. Meanwhile, the cladding and building defects' crisis is not even dealt with from decades of exactly this pattern. Why not learn from the mistakes cities have made overseas, not replicate them? There's no point in complaining about climate change when cities are being beefed up in the least environmentally friendly way possible.
* Jobs in regional areas of Victoria are required more than jobs in Melbourne. But the vast majority of union members are in the city so that is where the money will be short by Dan. As much as Victorian government seems to think the CBD is the only place of workers moving functionality to the region's is a key strategy to be processed. What covid-19 isolation had shown is that much can be done by working from home, do rather than returning to the CBD offices, we should be working from regional cities. This would provide state wide stimulus.
* After every global crisis, historically and today, the road to economic recovery has and will always be construction and manufacturing. Both sectors employ huge amounts of people, skilled and unskilled, with long programmes. To change tact now would be to spit in the face of history. There could be spreading out of work to other parts of the city, but unfortunately the population isn't there to support the cases. People want to see major investment in rural areas but yet they all live in Melbourne.
* Yes they are. Now more than ever.
* No. They are not worth it. They never were. These BIG projects get BIG votes. Were they run past the Department of Transport before they were announced? Were they shown to be NEEDED? Or were did they just SOUND good? What we need is what we already have to be working well. For example: that turn into Swan street from the Punt is rubbish. Why couldn't they just fix it properly and build a bridge? Because fixing stuff doesn't sound good at all to a PR person. Oh? They're just going to fix something? BORING. We want NEW, BIG, announcements. OMG. I just want them to start asking the experts what is the BEST thing to do and stop trying to get elected using big projects that might not be the best use of money.
* Many will not be able to understand why several big projects should be abandoned in favor of hundreds of little ones. If they employ the same number of people, what difference does it make. In addition, the claim that we will max out the credit card is inflammatory when market interest rates are zero, and credit card rates are not relevant here. History also shows that big projects can be massively morale boosting in times of need and often end up as iconic examples of triumph in the face of adversity. During the last great depression, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney underground and New York's Empire State Building are three such examples. To summarize, one wonders what the motives are for the claims in this article.
* When the built the Sydney harbour Bridge they didn't go through 10years of planning.
* The risk is that future generations will be paying off the "credit card" for decades to come - just look at the articles' Peninsula Link costs cited as an example.
* North East Link will kill the business case for the Outer Suburban Rail Loop. Dan Andrews will be gone by then, but, he should state clearly whether his preference is car dependence or public transport. If North East Link was such a winner, why not get the private sector to build it and run it? Because the BCR is too low an its too risky. The same goes for airport rail. - let it out to the private sector, or dont bother. It will just clog up the Melbourne Metro capacity and we will all catch Ubers to the airport in 10 years time anyway Government should leave toll roads to the private sector and spend its limited funds on projects that help with transition to the new green economy (public transport, solar and storage, energy hubs)
* "Government should leave toll roads to the private sector and spend its limited funds on projects" Hey Itoldyoutotrimthosesideburns besy you ask the Victorian public if they want more toll roads first and I can tell you the answer will be NO!
* No doubt you had stickers on your vehicle saying “No tolls” on Eastlink
* This Andrews goverment in charge of more big $$$ construction projects? God help us when the bill needs to be paid
* did you pay cash for your house?
* True that. Borrowed $24.5b to start shovel ready projects or just cover the cost blow outs of his current ones.
* The mega projects arnt in Victoria , They are in and around Melbourne. Lakes Entrance , Mansfield Traralgon Warnambool Mildura Horsham or Wodonga don't get no share of mega projects . So how is Daniel Andrews any different to say Jeff Kennett the former Premier of Melbourne who was gifted the title ?
* check out this link. https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects Next time be informed before making comment.
* All good and logical but Dan A strength in the coved crisis is his weakness also, arrogance
* An unintended consequence of the virus is demonstrating how much better it is getting around with less traffic, and public transport not the usual sardine situation. Hopefully the manic population growth has stopped now and infrastructure given at least a few years to catch up. And maybe all the dog box flats built for overseas students can be repurposed as public housing, the government should be able to buy them at a big discount with foreign student demand falling off a cliff for the foreseeable.
* I think it's reasonable to suggest many businesses will realise they don't need all workers in the office every day, and that *may* translate to reduced peak hour travel. But I think many of the assumptions that covid-19 will have significant long term impacts on our behaviour are questionable. Climate change is far more of a long term driver of necessary economic change, and in the next 10-15 years the world economy is likely to go into overdrive attempting to adapt, mitigate and decarbonize.
* 'dog box' housing for public housing tenants what a good idea, NOT.
* Perhaps many who are working from home could continue this in some form, say 2 days or 3 days per week at home. Traffic congestion would be more manageable.
* Just get on with the projects as planned please! Delaying them will incur a much larger cost that we wouldn’t be able to take on. At least while we can let’s absorb the cost now so we can pay it off rather than waiting forever and paying much more.

An artistic awakening, Kimberly Gillan May 3, 2021
It was in early 2019 when artistic directors Gideon Obarzanek and Hannah Fox started hatching ideas for Melbourne’s inaugural RISING festival, which was slated for August 2020.
But as COVID-19 spread and Melbourne spent months in extreme lockdowns, it became clear in their virtual catch ups that the festival would not only have to be postponed, but re-thought to give an appropriate nod to what Melburnians – and the world – have endured.
Witness some of the very best of Melbourne’s diverse culture.CREDIT:PETE TARASIUK
“I think Hannah and I have created about 20 different festivals in the last 18 months, only to shred them a week later,” Obarzanek says.
“It was always called RISING and the title remains really fitting to suit what Melbourne has experienced – we believe RISING will be that gateway opportunity to bring the community back together.“
The resulting festival, which replaces the Melbourne International Arts Festival and White Night Melbourne from May 26 to June 6 this year, is set to be the city’s newest major event.
Kicking off at sunset, Melburnians will get to see their city in an entirely new light, with events taking place everywhere from the Arts Precinct to Town Hall to Chinatown and along the Yarra River.
“We will be showcasing some of the very best of Melbourne’s diverse culture with artists, musicians, choreographers, writers, theatremakers, designers and hospitality all coming together,” Obarzanek explains.
“It’s a very large endeavour and we see it becoming a really important national cultural place for great works.”
Perhaps the most significant piece of programming will be Patricia Piccinini’s A Miracle Constantly Repeated.
The immersive experience will take over the top floor of Australia’s oldest train station, Flinders Street Station, including its mysterious majestic ballroom, which has been closed to the public for some 35 years.
“Flinders Street Station has been this almost mythological space that very few people have seen. We’re not only able to give Victorians the opportunity to witness this long-hidden space but to see it really transformed by another Melbourne icon, Patricia Piccinini,” says Obarzanek.
Built in 1910, the now-abandoned top floor of Flinders Street Station was originally constructed for the “betterment” of rail workers, and included a gymnasium, library, boxing ring and lecture hall.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the ballroom was the setting for public dances, with attendees spilling downstairs to catch the last trains home. But since 1985 the top floor has been closed to the public, and it’s re-opening could not be a grander affair.
For RISING, Piccinini will create a walkable ecosystem of hyper-real silicone sculptures, video, sound and light, in a bid to explore themes of nature, care and connection, while looking at the ability of communities to bounce back from traumatic events.
“We put a call out to artists for ideas that were ambitious, unusual and radical; and that were contemplative and philosophical, celebratory and unifying. To say that Patricia’s proposal exceeded that brief is an understatement,” Obarzanek says.
“It’s hugely ambitious and a perfect collision of place, art and experience coming together to create something truly extraordinary for Melbourne audiences.”
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/an-artistic-awakening-20210422-p57llt.html>

Ballarat plant bags $1b contract for 25 new Melbourne trains Timna Jacks May 18, 2021
Twenty-five new Ballarat-built trains will be running on Melbourne’s suburban network within five years under a deal with French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom worth $986 million.
Two days before the state budget, acting Premier James Merlino and Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll unveiled plans on Tuesday to start building the X’Trapolis 2.0 trains at Alstom’s Ballarat factory next year and have them running on the network by 2026.
Leaked artist’s impression of the preliminary design of the new X’Trapolis 2.0 trains.
The six-car trains, which will start to replace the ageing Comeng fleet, are required to be built with a minimum 60 per cent of local content. The trains will be designed to carry 1200 people, well beyond the Comeng capacity of about 760.
The trains will run everywhere on the network except for the new Metro Tunnel. New high-capacity metro trains being constructed as part of a separate, severely delayed $2.3 billion program are set to operate through the tunnel by the time it opens in late 2025.
“We are currently the only state that actually builds trains, builds trams and builds buses. Often our factories are supplying other public transport modes to other states,” Mr Carroll said.
Mr Carroll said the new trains would be lighter and more energy efficient and the doors will be wider in a bid to reduce wait times at stations, while carriages will be roomier and more accessible for people with wheelchairs and prams. He said the contract would deliver a major boost to regional manufacturing.
video Victorian government to spend $986 million on 25 new X'Trapolis 2.0 trains The Andrews Labor government has announced $986 million will be included in next week’s budget to purchase 25 brand new trains.
Alstom will employ 150 people, adding to the 25 workers currently engaged at the dormant Ballarat site, while a total of 750 jobs will be created, the government has said. About $13 million will be spent on upgrading the Ballarat facility.
“So, this is a very important investment in regional Victoria,” Mr Carroll said. “Whether it’s the steel, wood extension componentry, whether it’s electrical, whether it’s the glass, it will go a long way to securing those 750 jobs right through the supply chain production.”
Alstom’s managing director in Australia, Mark Coxon, said 15 per cent of the workers would be apprentices and 7 per cent would be disadvantaged Victorians.
He said the company was exploring different designs, including some with “transversal and longitudinal seating”, which would involve seating running along the sides of the carriages rather than across them.
The Age obtained an artist’s impression of a preliminary design of the X’Trapolis 2.0 train
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said many of the Comeng trains are nearly 40 years old and will need to be replaced before they start to cause widespread reliability problems.
“Updated train designs can also provide for more efficient layouts to improve passenger flow at stations and better customer information in the trains, such as displays to show next stops and service status information,” Mr Bowen said.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union Victorian secretary Luba Grigorovitch said the union welcomed the order, which is the “first step in providing long-term certainty for rail workers in the region and stable work for the rolling stock industry”.
Since 1999 Alstom has received government orders for a total of 106 six-car X’Trapolis trains.
The details of the new train order come two years after workers rallied outside a Labor MP’s office and the Ballarat workshops with the support of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, Rail, Tram, and Bus Union and the Electrical Trades Union, demanding the Andrews government commit to a new order of trains to secure more jobs in Ballarat.
The rallies in late 2019 occurred as Alstom was submitting detailed proposals to the government for the X’Trapolis 2.0 train, as revealed in The Age, promising that an order of new trains would help cut future maintenance costs by retiring the older fleet sooner.
Alstom missed out on the contract to build the new high-capacity metro trains in 2014 and has relied on a drip feed of state contracts since.
The company has now become the key rolling stock manufacturer in Victoria, after it acquired Melbourne’s former tram maker Bombardier last year. Bombardier also built the VLocity trains that run on the V/Line network.
In a sign of weakened competitiveness in the industry, Alstom could also soon be building a new fleet of next-generation trams.
The company will submit two of the three bids to government, including a bid Bombardier started in 2019 separate to its own. The process will be closely watched by probity officers to ensure the bids remain independent.
RELATED ARTICLE The proposed suburban rail loop would intersect with 10 other rail lines. Is the super loop getting in the way of real public transport upgrades?
RELATED ARTICLE Daniel Andrews unveiled the new CRRC trains at Downer's Newport facility in 2018. Melbourne's new trains being built in China by blacklisted Belt and Road firm
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/ballarat-plant-bags-1b-contract-for-25-new-melbourne-trains-20210518-p57svs.html>
* Well at least they're not from China. Can't believe how we spend money with that place now we have seen their true colours - which most people saw, but has taken many companies and Governments some time to wake up to.
* Taxpayer funded public transport! How is that outrageous?
* Great news ! We are making stuff again.
* 'French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom worth $986 million.' Hope it has a better contract then the French Subs - where there are language and cultural barriers and issues on site
* Will Sandringham line be upgraded so Xtrapolis trains can run on it as the article states they will run on the entire network
* Will be built by Australian rolling stock manufacturer would be nice. I know it’s Utopian. But it would be nice.
* More grandiose schemes rushed through to appease Union leaders who are threatening to change their votes next election...
* I hope the new trains are better than the ones they ordered from China, which had all sorts of manufacturing defects and were delivered late.
* It's only the shells from china, the rest is put together here.
* I've lived in Melbourne for only 3 years and the trains are awesome. Smooth, quiet, no jolting. Even the oldest ones.
* The Victorian Govt leads the way again unlike other States like the LNP NSW Govt who are spending billions buying Chinese Train sets!
* The spin from the state Labor government is breathtaking. It is a stretch to say that they are “built in Victoria” they arrive from Europe on a ship and then sent to Ballarat for final fitting out unlike the V/Locitys which truly are built in Victoria, Dandenong to be precise. But at least they aren’t partially built with forced labour like the HCMT trains for the Metro tunnel project.
* “Mr Carroll said … carriages will be roomier”. Great! That means fewer seats. The “company was exploring different designs … which would involve seating running along the sides of the carriages rather than across them”. Yep, as I said, fewer seats! I’m surprised we haven’t got horizontal tubes to stack passengers in yet. All that space above their heads is so wasted.
* Best you check they are also not building submarines the co - builders that is.
* What happened to the high capacity trains with all the new jobs attached. One started in December but are there others. Have our Chinese friends curtailed that build? Plants in Newport and Pakenham were promised as well as 1100 new jobs. This sounds like a deflection!
* About 20 has been delivered with some running on the Pakenham line. Both sets will be running side by side but on different lines.
* yet more money being spent at taxpayer cost! No wonder we are being taxed to the eyeballs and beyond
* This is why we pay tax Malvern. Health, education, roads, public transport etc. These are the basic necessities.
* And who would you like to pay for more Public Transport then?
(1) Would you prefer getting Private Enterprise to build these Trains: With higher costs and profits probably going overseas, and then Higher fares from the Private Enterprise.
(2) Or maybe just don't have more Trains, Trams or Buses. Just push more and more people into them like sheep and cattle
(3) Or maybe, no extension of any of the Public Transport system, in fact let's just wind it back a bit to save some money. Result - More cars on the Roads creating even greater congestion.
* "60% per cent of local content" Very important to me and for Australia but the BIG winner is that we are actually going to build them in Australia - Ballarat with Australian based workforce. Trams, Buses - all modes of public transport - continue to grow this concept of Australian made - "60% per cent local content".
* Heavy rail should be designed for longer distances - sure, stand if you're only on the train for ten to fifteen minutes, but many of us are on the train for over an hour each way. While I get a seat in the morning, pre Covid in the evening - even as late as 6.30pm - I would have to stand from the loop to Box Hill. Sideways seats are not the answer, as every time the train stops or goes around a bend everyone slides sideways. You have to brace yourself, with nothing to hang on to; and most of us aren't teenagers any more. Just run more trains - there hasn't been a new service on the Belgrave line in decades, despite thousands of new homes and people driving up from the Cranbourne area when that line is disrupted. Maybe if our local member the Deputy Premier stopped taking chauffeur driven cars and took the train he'd realise that we aren't well-served by public transport.

International Energy Agency calls last drinks on fossil fuels Nick O'Malley May 18, 2021
<www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/international-energy-agency-calls-last-drinks-on-fossil-fuels-20210518-p57sxl.html>

New trains set to service growing Melbourne suburbs in $1b boost Mitch Clarke and  Kieran Rooney May 18, 2021
A new fleet of trains is set to ease the commuter squeeze in some of the city’s fastest-growing suburbs — see if yours is one of them.
video: Victorian budget to include $986 million spend on 25 new X'Trapolis 2.0 trains The Andrews Labor government has announced $986 million will be included in next week’s budget to purchase 25 brand new trains. Acting Victorian…
Twenty-five brand new trains will be unveiled under an almost $1 billion state government budget boost to the public transport network.
Acting Premier James Merlino and public transport minister Ben Carroll were in Ballarat on Tuesday to announce the new fleet of X’Trapolis 2.0 trains which have been touted as “more accessible, reliable and energy efficient trains”.
The new trains are set to run through some of Melbourne’s fastest-growing suburbs along the Craigieburn, Upfield and Frankston lines, and will have a capacity of 1200, replacing the current capacity of 760.
They will also allow for the gradual retirement of the Comeng fleet, which are the longest-running trains on the metropolitan network.
A render of the new X’Trapolis 2.0 trains.
The project is expected to create 750 jobs — including 150 in Ballarat — across manufacturing and supply chains.
Around 60 per cent of the manufacturing will be built in Victoria, with other parts to come from Europe and Asia.
“These are trains made in Victoria, for Victorians, by Victorians, supporting local jobs at a time we need them most,” Acting Premier James Merlino said.
Part of the funding will also go towards upgrading the Craigieburn Train Maintenance Facility.
Production on the new trains will begin in 2022 and are expected to be on line in 2026.
JOB CERTAINTY FOR FACTORY WORKERS
The announcement comes after nearly two years of campaigning from Alstom and unions working at the train workshop for certainty over the future of 70 workers at the facility.
As building on the last fleet died down, there were claims the company had asked staff to paint fences and find other activities to provide them with work while they waited.
In an effort to save jobs while the X’Trapolis 2.0 design process was still underway, the state government helped move the manufacturing staff to work on maintenance for V/Line’s VLocity trains.
When asked why it took two years to make the announcement and provide certainty for Alstom’s Ballarat facility, Mr Carroll said: “There’s nothing wrong with taking your time. Taking your time means you can get the design work done. You can work collaboratively with the department, you can have a good look at the lines that the train will run on, you can look at world’s best practice from Europe on what the modern train will do.”
Alstom managing director Mark Coxon said the company was “delighted” with the contract announcement.
Approximately $13 million of the total spend would go towards upgrades at Alstom Ballarat facility.
“We have a long, proud history of building trains here in Ballarat,” he said.
Acting Premier James Merlino and public transport minister Ben Carroll at Alstom in Ballarat. Picture: Mitch Clark
“It’s not just a production site, it’s an integral part of the community. We’ve seen many generations of workers come through this facility, learning their craft and applying their trade and building trains for Victoria, so we’re absolutely delighted about this.”
Mr Coxon said the announcement had provided some much needed certainty and security to employees going forward, with production to continue until at least 2025.
“In the past you’ve really been looking at production for one year, maybe 18 months,” he said.
The facility’s current 25 employees would be expanded with a “significant” number of new staff to be hired as part of the contract.
Mr Coxen said 15 per event of all new staff would be apprentices while 7 per cent would be disadvantaged Victorians.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Luba Grigorovitch welcomed the announcement for the Ballarat workshops.
“This order is the first step in providing long term certainty for rail workers in the region and stable work for the rolling stock industry,” she said.
“RTBU will continue the fight to ensure this order is the first of many creating a rail manufacturing pipeline for the Ballarat workshops.”
More Coverage
Car parks scrapped at key train stations
Mykis fail to track virus-exposed passengers
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/new-trains-set-to-service-growing-melbourne-suburbs-in-1b-boost/news-story/62972ababde61e15baba50eb5c0b9197>
* Trains 25 in number a cost of 1 billion dollars means they have gold plated handles. It may be time for people to have a look at who comes up with these figures and more closely examine contracts . John Mitcham
* First train to take 5 years to make, what a joke, another Vic Government spin exercise. In the Chinese train factories they pump out one of these a day. Surely if it was serious contract with an experienced contractor in Alstom, the requirement would be faster than that.
* How about spending money on a decent public transport system for Doncaster/Templestowe Sick of paying taxes for the rest of Melbourne while we have to either drive or use a substandard bus service. Why are we building the metro tunnel when a train to Doncaster would alleviate traffic congestion on the eastern freeway and hoddle st Of course we are a liberal area so not important to the labor party and yet they continue to build apartments on every single bit of land available. Which we will mean even more congestion Sadly Melbourne is becoming more and more less liveable due to continuous incompetence from current and previous Victorian governments.
* I saw the new trains being tested on Saturday on the Werribee line. Looked strangely like the old red rattlers. It was a red rattler straight out of the museum, restored by volunteers.
* But they’ve just raised taxes to pay for their reckless spending so now they’re spending more?
* If these trains were built in Europe, they’d be here next year & working flawlessly. Instead we get cheap Chinese crap the continually breaks down & has half the shelf life of their European counterparts. It then takes us 4 years to read & understand the Chinese instructions on how to put the bloody thing together! Hopeless.
* We seem to be absolutely incapable of making anything work in Victoria any more other than self serving pay rises.
* Judging by his comments Carroll is keeping up the tradition of incompetence amongst ALP Transport Ministers - Batchelor, Kosky, Allan, Horne. Enough said.
* Increased capacity? You mean more standing spaces. That is not the way forward, it is treating people like sardines, having to stand up for hour or more long trips. Disgraceful smoke and mirrors!
* Look at the last contract. When you cannot deliver best to make a major announcement about a new contract. Hopefully the old one will be forgotten.
* great opportunities for apprentices and disadvantaged workers. This is a good thing.
* 25 more trains? We are still waiting on the last lot to start service. 2 years behind schedule as usual under Dapper Dan
* But are they still going to have substandard Chinese made wheels?
* A billion dollars for new trains? So, they will be increasing ticket prices by $50 million a year for 20 years to cover the cost? The train users will love that.
* and these trains still have drivers! Unbelievable!
* a billion here, a billion there, just raise taxes further and everything will be happy days.
* Of course thee will be new trains; built in China and Europe, whilst our workers will add the tinsel to the trains.  If the build quality of the Chinese trains are anything like my Lawn Edger also made in China; I wish Victoria the very best of luck.  My edge trimmer worked on about four occasions and like everything else made in China; it sits in the back corner of my garage waiting for a trip to the rubbish tip.  
* What a load of rubbish if they do not build the car parks then nobody will be able to use the trains
* The car parks were promised by the Lib govt. Blame that mob.
* they could not get agreement with the Labor Government. Blame that mob. To quote you.
* Yes and Labor won’t build them....but blame the Libs
* that what the left do always.
* The wheels from Europe, the rest all made in China. Rest assured this will blown out netting more money for the CCP and quite possibly never see a track.
* boom gates at Oak Park will be down even longer making traffic bank up even more. It’s a nightmare now.
* In a Covid world, which is the future, trains will be avoided by most people, if possible.
* Hope the new trains will fit all the new stations.
* unlike the ones that didn't fit through the city Loop tunnel years ago. Or the new trams recently that didn't fit on the super tram stops.
* What happening to the 36 train set that has been sitting out in Pakenham for the past 3-4 years? What a complete waste of money.
* So what parts are being made in Melbourne?
* the decals that say 'No food on board' maybe? Oh no, we don't have those. Disgusting smelly food is allowed on Melbourne trains.
* This is great but why only 60% here? Why can't we produce 100% of our trains and trams here?
* The rest will be made in China of course.
* the Unions' wage demands over the decades have made us too uncompetitive compared to anywhere else. But also, China and Dan are buddies.
* A new fleet of trains is set to ease the commuter squeeze in some of the city’s fastest-growing suburbs - Article Headline. How is coming in 2026 equating to "set to ease the commuter squeeze?" That is TWO elections away.
* probably planned to purposely coincide with the 2026 election.
* Standard Labor spin, propaganda and outright lying. The new trains are in no sense 'high capacity, and have required a megabillion railway to accommodate them. A double-deck fleet would have held more people, and could have run on the whole network for trivial engineering needs, and could have been running 25 years ago.  Unfortunately, the general public was fed propagated lies about dwell times and not fitting the infrastructure.
* 1200 people means standing room only. the train platforms aren't longer...I wonder how they are going to do this with the social distancing focus right now... it will also be a problem on the Frankston line because it's so long... people don't want to be crammed in and standing for 40 minutes each way!
* Labor state government budget boost - Borrow more from China. -  Sell off the State and leave a massive debt. Labor  = Pathetic 
* When asked why it took two years to make the announcement and provide certainty for Alstom’s Ballarat facility, Mr Carroll said: “There’s nothing wrong with taking your time. Taking your time means you can get the design work done. You can work collaboratively with the department, you can have a good look at the lines that the train will run on, you can look at world’s best practice from Europe on what the modern train will do" So many questions, but few answers. How long did it take to rip up the East/West link? MYKI  another 'design works' done by Labor. The government needs to look no further than NSW which has brand new driverless trains that are absolutely spotless. Those trains also have beautiful new stations which have a type of glass that aligns exactly with the doors of the train and operate automatically.
* We cannot have driverless trains.  Luba and her RTBU mates will have a fainting spell
* I know.  Bot I watched the excellrnt documentary.  So many people turned up on that first day to ride in the driverless trains in Sydney It is so sad because NSW has done it so much better than Victoria.  There were so many different nationalities brought in for this project. But it was run by Aussies who seemed to have got on famously.
* Now if only we could get people to start using public transport again.
* Trains with no seats to boost capacity. Wow, revolutionary innovative thinking by the government 
* Hope they can get them into service quicker than the so called 'High capacity trains'. Supposed to be in service 2 years ago and managing 1 trial trip a day at the moment!
* You can be sure, that like everything the Andrews government tries performance will not match the hype! Out of interest where are the high capacity trains promised to be in service over two years ago? Still under plastic in Newport or broken down and being towed away?
* they are all being tested. I have seen them running around
* parts for the trains stuck on the South China Sea?
* Extending the rail lines, especially down freeways should be a priority, not tunnels.
* tunnels aren't even a priority. What the Andrews Government are building are pathetic little tunnels of very few stations. Go overseas to see rail tunnels! Or the new Sydney Metro being built.
* I hope the Frankston ones don’t operate till the Caulfield-Glenhuntly level crossings are removed. Otherwise we all will get a free trumpet show 24/7. Pity the horns aren’t musical. Baaaaarrrrpppp
* NSW trains gave up most of that pointless horn noise about 15 years ago. Don't fall for any justification on safety grounds - they make no difference.
* I’ve raised it a stack of times with Spring Street. Lousy safety bla bla from Jacinta Allan no doubt supported by the union so its members have a toy to play with whilst driving the trains. 
* "Around 60 per cent of the manufacturing will be built in Victoria, with other parts to come from Europe and Asia."  Here's a thought: how being truly self-sufficient, diversifying the manufacturing industry, and manufacturing 100% in Victoria?
* like the high capacity trains that were meant to be 60% Australian, they won’t keep the promise and we will be lucky to get 40%
* We can't because the base load power needed to do the manufacturing isn't available due to the shut down of Hazelwood and the imminent shut down of Latrobe in the future, you need reliable power to manufacture anything and this State is going down the unreliable ruinable power path! But on another matter, didn't Albo say he was going to get all trains built in Australia only, maybe he doesn't talk for Andrews and the Victorian Labor Government.
* Believe it when I see it with their track record you can at least add another two years. What about the trains that are idle at Officer that you can see from the highway? When are they going to be in service? Good question!
* We should be asking Jacinta Allan this question. But she’s probably forgotten about them.
* Just as long as they don't have those damn noisy trumpet horns we have to put up with day after night.
* Made in China, assembled in India and breaking down in Melbourne on the next hot day
* What's this?...new fleet of trains, new fleet of divvy vans, pay rise increase for public servants, etc etc...so, where's all this money coming from?...keep spending ya labor incompetents!
* coming from the Commonwealth GST of nearly 15.9 Billion dollars, then more revenue raising from Stamp duties and increases in fines.
* Trains are from China, who are you trying to kid?
* Yep, they're the one’s that are full of faults,and have been delayed for at least 2 years,and way over budget.Gold standard. Should have stuck with the alstom trains in the first place,proven,reliable product.
* More trains in 5 years?  Wow.  And this from a government that blew over $1 billion to not build the East West link that would have been operating now and served some of the suburbs mentioned.  What a joke.
* Made in Victoria by a Chinese company?
* no, parts made in China
* The Pakenham/Cranbourne line still do not have the 'promised' new trains.  How long are they behind on that project? Two years.  So typical of Labor, they over promise and well and truly under deliver.
* Don't expect the Liberals to look after you if you live in Victoria thats a given, well done Dan.
* Bankruptcy of Victoria- yes, well done Dan.
* Why? What's he done other than ruin Victoria?
* Well Andrews has broken his promise ‘I’ll be looking after all Victorians’ how many times?
* Just one of many he has broken, try the open and transparent government promise, that went well - not.
* That’s the contract signed up with a Chinese company to build those trains isn’t it?
* 40% of it according to the article, although Europe is mentioned too. A breakdown (maybe wrong word) of the project's components would also help. That is, who is providing the "smarts" and who is doing the coach work, fit outs etc.
* These are the new trains to paper over the cracks because they haven't been able to get the trains they bought from the Chinese to run our our Metropolitan network. They are years behind schedule and way over budget. Perhaps Dan can return them to the Chinese and ask for a refund.
* No, it’s an announcement designed to deflect attention from the fact that the Chinese train Project is an absolute disaster.
* No, it's a different batch from made in China Metro Tunnel trains, they're assembled in Williamstown. This one is the successor to those Alstom trains originally ordered by Connex.
* No. That was the high capacity trains which are only running one service a day..
* And the 60% local content includes the raw iron ore shipped to china and made into steel.  So real local content is probably less than 10%.  They are just assembled here. 
* the acting Premier said that these trains are made in Victoria for Victorians by Victorians BUT only 60%
* Is that why Tim Pallas is going to tax our land to pay for these new trains? Typical of unionists.
* Where have the new Chinese made trains gone? Not into service.
* Where are these new trains produced? China?
* Commuter squeeze! The trains are empty the roads are chockers.
* parked in pakenham still on test trials 2 years later
* What's the point of more trains if you can't park or access stations? They've just dumped car park upgrade projects at major train stations in the South East... 
* money growing on trees
* Only 60% made in Victoria? Surely a better procurement policy should be in pace.
* So Victoria is only assembling these trains; all the parts are from Europe and Asia. Can the Daniel Andrews Government please give us the percentage from both Europe and Asia and if the Asia components are from China 🇨🇳 (Mrs)
* That “new” train in the photo looks like one of the clapped out old bangers that have been trundling on the Frankston line for years. Non story.
* I hope the new trains are better than the ones they ordered from China, which had all sorts of manufacturing defects and are late.
* What are Melbourne's "fasting growing suburbs" along the Upfield and Frankston lines? Moreland, Bentleigh?
* More money spent. More taxes
* Can someone please indicate how the capacity increase will be achieved from 760 to 1200 in this era of social distancing? Perhaps the PSOs could be given modern electronic prods to ensure this capacity target is met. 
* 15 workers will keep their jobs. You could have employed more staff opening a couple of fast food outlets.
* Seeing that they are scrambling to get money into the coffers via raising property taxes and the like, where are they going to get this $1 billion from? It's Labor. Carry on. Stupid rhetorical question. From the mug taxpayer, that's where.....again.
* That’s great but commuters will still need to walk past the injection room at their own risk.
* Probably costs twice the price because the unions are controlling the work place
* They are already over double the price of the last order
* Excellent news. Just wondering where the high capacity metro trains are though? You know, the ones announced about 6 years ago? How many of them are running? If the answer is 0 (and guess what, that is the answer), why the delay and why well should we be silly enough to get excited about this latest announcement?
* Why is 40% of the manufacturing of these trains in Asia and Europe?
* at some point the Vic public will have to pay for this like all the other spending.
* just to make it easy to understand Victorian Labor Government is going to implement a project for $1b. I can see this have a creeping assumption to be $3b.
* Increasing the capacity from 760 to 1200.  Sounds like a cattle truck on rails to me.
* the Upfield line is along fastest-growing suburbs! It wasn't that long ago trains stopped running on that line after 7pm and no trains on Sundays. They also wanted to close that line and convert it to a tram line replacing the tram line along Sydney Road. I wonder how many lines were closed that would should not have been, like Healesville and Warburton?
* What happened to the 65 High Capacity Trains HCMT with maintenance stores at Newport and Pakenham with 1100 jobs created. Are the 65 still coming?
* When Asia is mention, I get the feeling that they mean China. How about building the trains from scratch here in Victoria. It was most recently done with the suburban Comeng fleet at Dandenong and the N-Car (carriages) for V/Line at the Newport Workshops.
* A billion here a billion there...where is all the money coming from?
* Yet again, nothing for the western suburbs.
* But, but people are not travelling by public transport like they used to and a lot will be permanently working from home.  More union pressure for the Labor party I think.
* What about the ones sitting idle in the new yards East of Pakenham?
* Great news, all we need now is for the long awaited train line extension to at least Clyde, in the south-east, so that these new trains can be employed to carry those people into the CBD and elsewhere! If this isn't done soon, you'll need to extend the line to Koo Wee Rup.
* A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there, what the heck - we will just keep increasing taxes to pay the bill.

Hills to Adelaide train link not viable, says Corey Wingard. Lydia Kellner May 18, 2021. 215 comments [just the first few posted]
Adelaide Hills commuters would not be able to make a train link to the CBD viable, the government has decided.
video: Government commits further $15b national infrastructure programs Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced a further $15 billion in additional infrastructure commitments will be added to the government's 10-year, $110 billion…
The State Government has ruled out passenger rail from the Adelaide Hills to the city.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Corey Wingard has confirmed he will not entertain a community-wide push to construct a rail line between Mount Barker and the CBD, on grounds it would be too expensive.
The announcement comes only a month after Hills powerbrokers and commuters launched an attack on the State Government over congestion on the South Eastern Freeway, with many calling for a train to end traffic chaos.
Mr Wingard said he did not believe a rail line to be financially viable.
“A rail link between the city and the Adelaide Hills is not financially viable and the excessive costs wouldn’t be the best use of the limited taxpayer dollars compared with other infrastructure priorities,” he said.
“Instead the Marshall Liberal Government is investing in road projects to get more freight off the SE Freeway.”
While not offering an alternative solution to the Hills public transport crisis, Mr Wingard said a newly announced $5m Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass Planning Study would assist in exploring other options.
“The State Government is continuing to explore public transport to and around the Adelaide Hills,” he said.
Adelaide Hills commuters and visitors currently have limited public transport options,
with towns sparsely serviced by SouthLink.
Keoride, an on-demand bus service, also only services Mount Barker, Nairne and Littlehampton, while ride-share services such Uber and DiDi claim government legislations make it too hard to support the regional market.
SA Transport Action Group Chair John Hill said the government’s response was disappointing.
He said his group was working on a report to highlight the feasibility of a rail line, which they planned to present to the department at a later date.
“We think that Mr Wingard needs to listen to some broader opinions (on the issue) to the ones he’s been listening to,” Mr Hill said.
Hills locals Oliver and Julie Corfe, John Hill (Chair of the newly formed SA Transport Action Group) and Simon Jones are calling for a rail line between Mount Barker and the city. Picture: Keryn Stevens
“If he thinks the freeway is going to handle the future with all the development that is happening in the Hills, to not have a rail bypass, then good luck to him.”
Kavel MP Dan Cregan did not respond to calls from the Advertiser following Monday’s announcement.
However, he was among a number of powerbrokers to back a rail line last month, stating the service would relieve freeway congestion, which he blamed on “years of underinvestment”.
“I’m an advocate for extending a third lane from Crafers to Mt Barker and for ultimately restoring passenger rail services to Mt Barker, acknowledging the massive cost and real engineering challenges that would involve, even in the existing corridor,” he said.
<www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/adelaide-hills/hills-to-adelaide-train-link-not-viable-says-corey-wingard/news-story/3361ff45a730374fae1e409f11b69415>
* Minister Wingate, urgently swallow your pride and realize that passenger rail is the most efficient way of transporting commuters in the hills. Sir you are committing political suicide. I am sure if you do the sums three carriages = 500 passengers ad another three and you have one thousand you get the drift. Steel Hall had planned a fast rail to Balhanah Back in the sixties. So what are you waiting for the next election.
* Put quite simply, the Marshall government, like most South Australian governments since the 1970s, is not interested in regional rail services, of any kind whether they be for passenger or freight. The SA state government, for all intents and purposes, absolved itself of any responsibility for any rail service outside metropolitan Adelaide. So now they are only interested in solutions that involve trucks and cars. With metropolitan Adelaide growing, especially places like Mount Barker (that might once have been regional, but is now looking more metropolitan) the inconvenient problem that arises is how to service it, alongside dealing with complaints about the freeway and trucks. So Corey only sees extensions to the existing road network as the way to go, entertaining such ideas as bulldozing his way from the bottom of the freeway to South Road and thus encouraging the use of more freight by truck. Corey, like his predecessor has no vision unless it involves trucks.
* Another 5 million down the tube, just to come up with some ideas aka Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass Planning Study?  Not good enough.  What a waste of money which will only amount to a non idea.  Thats $5 million that could start to get the railway underway. 
* It is no different than the highway between Melbourne and Ballarat or Geelong and Bendigo at peak times Sydney has put up with this sort of traffic for years you live and like it or move
* The train lobby obviously can’t count, have no idea of logistics, and think other people should fund the answer to the problem they created.. Geoff
How should we fix the South Eastern Freeway? 4642 Voters
Build a new fast rail to Mount Barker that travels 160km/hr 24%
A heavy vehicle ban during peak hour traffic 6%
Northern rail freight bypass 10%
Realignment of passenger rail to extend to Mount Barker 30%
A heavy duty recovery vehicle on the freeway at all times 3%
A Hills road bypass for trucks 25%
Promoting alternative routes during peak hour traffic 2%

Tues.18.5.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' NEW LIFE FOR GARDEN RIDES. KIMBERLEY SEEDY
The chairlift and train in work in the halcyon days of he Caribbean Gardens and Market.
SOME historic Caribbean Gardens and Market rides could come to life again, with two popular trains and a chairlift for sale.
The owners of the popular market, which shut in 2020 after 55 years, listed the items for sale online, through expression of interest.
According to the market website, the owners want the “train and chairlift to be removed from Caribbean Gardens grounds and relocated to a place that can utilise the equipment”.
Caribbean Gardens acquired the rides in 1970, with the chairlift relocated from Whistle Stop Amusement Park in Frankston.
The trains have 11 carriages each, with 3.2km of railway also up for grabs.
The operational chairlift, which stretches 306m one way, includes 32 double chairs. According to the website listing, the ride has been regularly maintained and crack-tested.
The future of the site is unclear, with community members desperate to see it reopen to the public.
Many wanted to see public access to the lake, garden and playgrounds at the privately owned site.
Suzy Strati understood why the market had to close. “However, all the rides everyone’s kids loved should be available. Also the Japanese gardens, boat cruises, etc. Why not turn it into a mini adventure theme park. Keep some of it alive,” she said.

Tues.18.5.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' Station parking pledges off rails. Commuters waiting. TOM MINEAR
THE Morrison government has abandoned plans to build new carparks at five Melbourne railway stations in the latest blow to its problemplagued 2019 election pledge.
Five projects — at Brighton Beach, Balaclava, Mitcham, Kananook and Seaford stations — worth almost $50m have been dumped, along with the $70m extension of Thompsons Road in Officer South.
The Herald Sun understands planning complications and a lack of funding means the government will also struggle to deliver its full commitments at several other stations including Boronia, Surrey Hills, Narre Warren and Sandringham.
The decision to abandon five projects in Melbourne’s southeast comes just weeks before the Australian National Audit Office releases its investigation into the commuter car park fund.
Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher told the Herald Sun he was aware of the audit, and the ANAO had been in talks with his departmental officials.
He said the decision to abandon the car park upgrades — more than two years after they were promised — reflected “advice from either the Victorian government or the local council that either there’s no suitable sites or there’s no feasible design options”.
Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Catherine King said the program had been “one rolling disaster from a government that cares only about announcements and not delivery”.
“In the heat of an election campaign the Morrison government went ahead and made these promises in a desperate attempt to win headlines and votes,” she said.
“Once the election was over, so was their interest in delivering for these Melbourne communities.”
Herald Sun revealed earlier this year thousands of car parks promised for 30 railway stations would not even be under construction before the next election, that high-risk parks loomed as the only option in several areas, and the South Morang upgrade had already been quietly dumped.
Last week’s federal budget added $87.8m to the government’s $405m car park package and locked in multi-deck parking at Frankston, Heathmont and Ringwood stations.
Only two new car parks promised in 2019 have been completed — at Beaconsfield and Hurstbridge stations — and just two more are under construction at Craigieburn and Croydon.
Mr Fletcher said it was “unsurprising” that some of the 145 projects in the government’s urban congestion fund had required specific attention as he reviewed them since taking over the portfolio late last year.
He said Frankston City Council recently had a “change of heart” on the need for new parking at Seaford and Kananook. He maintained the $120m had been reallocated to other Victorian projects.

Tues.18.5.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' Letters:
* A TRAM that doesn’t need tracks for Melbourne. Hmm, what could we call it? I know … a bus.
* LAST week I caught a city-bound train from Hallam station. By the time I had reached my destination, there were about 25 people in my carriage and only myself and one other were wearing masks. If that’s people’s attitude, here comes another lockdown.