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Subject: Mon.25.7.22 daily digest

Roderick

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Mon.25.7.22 Metro Twitter
Flinders St: still with a lane closed for tunnel works? [reopened by July?  Closed again by Nov.]
Campbell Arcade (Flinders St station) is closed until 2024. The exit from the Myki gates within the subway will  also be closed. No pedestrian access between the arcade & Flinders St. Use Elizabeth & Swanston St entry/exits. Platform  interchange via that subway will be available until mid 2022.
Buses replace trains on sections of the Craigieburn line until the last train of Mon 25 Jul (works).
Mernda line: Trains will run to an altered timetable until Sep 2022 (works).  Trains operate on a single track Thornbury - Regent, and trains will not stop at Bell or Preston.  Shuttle buses operate Thornbury - Bell - Preston - Regent - Reservoir. No access to station facilities during this time.
Frankston line: Trains will run to an altered timetable until late Aug 2022 (works). Trains will stop at all stations Caulfield - Cheltenham in both directions, all day.
11.32 Mernda/Hurstbridge lines: Major delays (a trespasser near Collingwood).
- 11.40 clearing
We think we've met our biggest fan! Toby celebrated his 3rd birthday over the weekend in absolute spec-track-ular fashion! Mum Carly sent in some photos of the big day.
15.09 There is no lift access at Flagstaff (a fault). Passengers requiring lifts travel to Melbourne Central.
17.55 Frankston line: Major delays (a track fault near Glen Huntly).
- 18.09  Buses replace CITYBOUND trains between Moorabbin & Caulfield.  Buses ordered, but will take 60 minutes to arrive. Trains are operating OUTBOUND, with delays.
- 18.40 Buses are in operation, with more enroute.
- 19.29 Trains to resume, with major delays.
18.03 Werribee/Williamstown/Sunbury lines: Major delays (trespassers near Footscray). Trains may be held/altered.
- 18.09 The past six of my transits have all been delayed/cancelled.  Do the posters at the stations for punctuality include these delays, or if there is an excuse it’s not counted?
- just hit the pathetic low lifes
- And then the line gets shut down for 3 hours while replacement buses are ordered and they investigate.. great idea
- 18.27 clearing
- trains are operating, with delays.
18.26 Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: Major delays (an 'operational incident' near Melbourne Central). Trains may be held/altered.
- 18.52 clearing.
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Upfield from 20.35 until the last train (maintenance works).
Sunbury line: Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Sunshine from 21.00 until the last train (maintenance works).
Sunbury/Craigieburn/Upfield lines: All trains direct to/from Flinders St from 21.00 until the last train (maintenance works).  From loop stations, take a Flinders St train from pfm 2 to Melbourne Southern Cross.
Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: All trains will terminate/originate at Caulfield from 21.00 until the last train (works).  Change to/from Frankston trains.

Metro Trains feared shortage of vaccinated staff would derail network.  Patrick Hatch July 25, 2022
Metro Trains feared it would not have enough drivers or other workers to operate its Melbourne rail network last year because such large numbers had refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The rail operator’s concerns have been revealed after 14 former employees lost an unfair dismissal case seen before the Fair Work Commission that challenged their termination for refusing to get a COVID-19 jab.
Metro employees had been given until October 15 last year to get vaccinated or risk being fired.CREDIT:LUIS ASCUI
Premier Daniel Andrews announced on October 1 last year that some essential workers, including Metro employees, needed to be vaccinated by October 15 to continue attending work.
The tribunal heard that by October 15, more than 8 per cent of train drivers, 7 per cent of station staff and 18.5 per cent of structure inspectors – who conduct planning and safety work – had not proved they were vaccinated.
Metro was “concerned at the operational impact of employee absences”, the tribunal heard, particularly because the premier had flagged the vaccine mandate would remain in place through 2022 and possibly into 2023.
“Metro Trains reached a view that it could not operationally support the absence of staff who did not wish to be vaccinated for an extended period,” Fair Work Commissioner Michelle Bissett wrote in her ruling, published last week.
The Fair Work Commission has ruled that Metro’s sacking of unvaccinated workers was lawful.CREDIT:JOSH ROBENSTONE
“Metro Trains needed to plan for how it would deliver on its operational requirements.”
Metro told the commission it did not consider it practical to recruit and train staff to cover for the unvaccinated employees because that would “create an excess staff situation” when the mandate expired and the unvaccinated workers returned to work.
Metro told unvaccinated employees they would probably be fired if they did not submit a vaccine certificate by November 5. It sacked 13 of the workers on November 30 and the final worker on February 21.
The workers argued to the tribunal that they had been “discriminated against” and that the vaccine mandate breached the Fair Work Act by “making it a requirement to undergo a highly dangerous, completely ineffective medical procedure in order to enter the workplace”.
video Long COVID fear for Aussies There are concerns Australia is facing a surge in long COVID cases.
Metro submitted that it was entitled to fire the 14 workers because they could no longer perform their jobs without being vaccinated and had refused to comply with a lawful and reasonable direction.
The dismissed workers argued that Metro had failed to respond to their questions before it sacked them.
However, Bissett agreed with Metro that it was not its role to provide medical or legal advice about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, constitutional matters, or the Nuremberg Code, which is a set of principles intended to guide ethical human experimentation.
Bissett ruled that Metro was entitled to fire the workers and had done so fairly, noting that it was acting under government health orders by enforcing the jab mandate.
“Metro Trains cannot be found to be at fault because it refused to breach the law,” she wrote.
A Metro spokesperson said the company had almost 6700 employees and it was proud of its staff “who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and acted to keep them and their community safe”.
RELATED ARTICLE Metro boss says there is merit in mandatory vaccines. Metro Trains boss sees merit in mandatory vaccinations
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/metro-trains-feared-shortage-of-vaccinated-staff-would-derail-network-20220725-p5b4dp.html>

Damage to new Manly ferries to worsen, leaked report says.  Matt O'Sullivan July 25, 2022.  125 comments [just a selection appended]
Damage discovered on a new Manly ferry just months after it began carrying passengers is expected to worsen and occur on the other overseas-built vessels now used on the popular Sydney harbour route, a leaked report warns.
Independent inspectors found a deformed plate, buckling to a crucial internal rod, and cracked coatings and welds near the front of the new Fairlight ferry in April not evident during an examination about four months earlier.
They warned that similar damage appeared to be on the Balmoral, one of the three new Emerald-class ferries which sail between Circular Quay and Manly. The Balmoral was not subject to the same inspection as the Fairlight in April.
The leaked report reveals damage to a new Manly ferry just months after it started services.
The leaked report by independent inspectors hired by Transdev, which operates the government-owned fleet, warns that the damage to the Fairlight’s port side “will only increase with time due to further fatigue of the area”.
The inspectors say that, while unlikely to compromise the 34-metre ferry’s structural integrity, it is likely that over time the damage will appear on the starboard side of the Fairlight as well as the two other new Manly ferries because they “share the same design and operational loadings”.
“Some evidence of this is already present on Balmoral,” the report says.
The inspectors who examined the Fairlight in April believe the damage to the plating near the front of the ferry was the result of flexing of its hull. They do not think the buckling was due to the ferry hitting a wharf or other structure.
“If the damage is simply repaired without addressing the cause, any repairs are likely to be ineffective in the long term,” the report said.
The new Emerald-class ferries are at the centre of a fierce debate over whether they can handle large swells near the entrance to Sydney Harbour as capably as the larger Freshwater vessels they are designed to replace on the Manly route.
Damage to the new Fairlight ferry.
A leaked Transdev memo in February revealed captains of the new Manly ferries had been warned not to sail directly into waves near Sydney Heads in heavy swells in case their vessels became airborne.
Labor transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said Manly ferry services had been cancelled and passengers stranded because the new vessels had serious systemic flaws.
“This damning internal report shows that normal repair works won’t be enough to fix the government’s defective overseas-built Emerald-class Manly ferries,” she said. “Their decision to purchase overseas-built ferries has led to a marked decline in the quality of ferry services.”
Transport for NSW launched a review in May of the Emerald-class vessels. The new ferries’ poor performance has also led to the agency taking “contractual actions” against Transdev.
Last month the Fairlight was temporarily removed from service after the ferry’s fire pump was found to be faulty.
The transport agency said in a statement that it was “closely monitoring” the performance of ferry services, especially the fleet’s reliability and availability.
Fairlight is one of three new Emerald-class ferries that the government bought for the Manly route.CREDIT:WOLTER PEETERS
“We are focused on providing a reliable service for customers and will continue to work with the operator of the service to ensure the best outcome for customers,” it said.
Transdev said inspections in April confirmed the second-generation Emerald-class vessels were structurally sound, and the “minor cosmetic issues” identified had “no impact on safety”.
The costs of repairs were covered under warranty with the shipbuilder, the French company said.
However, Action for Public Transport spokesman Graeme Taylor said the larger Freshwater ferries needed to be permanently returned to the Manly route, and the smaller Emerald-class ferries used on easier inner harbour runs instead.
“As the Emeralds continue to flex, the welds on the hulls will start to crack and water will get into the hulls and the vessels will corrode from the inside out,” he said.
“They are simply not a strong enough to withstand the wave action at Sydney Heads.”
2.1.1 An initial global assessment of the hull was made with a visual inspection of the port and starboard sides of the vessel. An area of damage in the port forward bulwark (upper section) was noted, as well as a slightly deformed hull plate in the same location (below the weather deck). These areas are highlighted on the image below.  No further damage was noted.
RELATED ARTICLE A second generation Emerald-class ferry undergoes testing near the entrance to Sydney Harbour in early March. Leaked memo warns new Manly ferries risk becoming airborne in heavy swells
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/damage-to-new-manly-ferries-to-worsen-leaked-report-says-20220627-p5awzv.html>
* Australia still does build ferries but countries overseas order them. It is below the NSW liberal party to even consider them because they are Australian made and must be inferior to the ferries ordered built in France or the trams which are breaking down built in spain or the country trains too big to fit into tunnels built in Korea. Yep all them countries must build better is the LNP thinking. After all they are not Australian made. Pity they are also not fit for purpose.
* Cheaper to buy but rubbish quality. Same as the trains and trams. All have issues. Should have been built in Australia.. And to think all they were bought overseas to save money....
* This is all fine, soemtimes things break after you buy them. It is very simple, if something is not fit for what it was sold for then the seller has to replace it at thier expense, end of story.
* The Emerald class ferries are faster and despite not having the soul of the previous slower models are quicker and more frequent ...sure they are not suited to the large swells but hey they are not as bad as the bloggers on this site make out ...there are many people who prefer them - dare I say it !
* The trams. The trains. The ferries. When will our governments learn to build what we need within Australia. They argue that it's cheaper to build overseas. But it ends up costing twice as much in the end because we then have to fix (or dump) them.
* The decision to construct the Emerald class ferries overseas has proved to be false economy. They are clearly not fit for purpose. Is there any expertise left inside this government or is it all supposed to reside within Transdev? Whether it's going under bridges, coping with large swells or structural/design defects this is not value for taxpayers money. However you can bet that nobody will be held responsible.
* On the plus side, now that all of the government's relatively recent transport purchases have displayed faults, everyone can now safely assume they are all lemons and there will be no more surprise revelations.
* Bring back the Freshwater ferries that were actually fit for this route!
* Bring Andrew Constance back to fix his disasters!
* NSW LNP ministerial incompetence for all to see.
* Buy cheap, buy twice. Locally made ferries might have cost more but the people employed to build them would have paid income tax in this country and spent their wages here. Our already excellent local ship builders would have benefited from the work and we’d have a fit for purpose product. We need to further develop our own, local, manufacturing capability and provide more skilled employment for more Australians. Buying from the cheapest bidder, buying overseas and cutting out Australian workers for ideological reasons doesn’t make sense.
* They should name each ferry after the name of the politicians responsible. The only problem is how many ferries can you call Gladys or Andrew.
* This screams that there is a fundamental design flaw. It would be very interesting to see the Finite Element Analysis of this part of the hull.
* WHY are they not made in AUSTRALIA? Why was our previous govt and current NSW govt so obsessed with sending work offshore? Outsourcing never works and we know it. Make them here. Trains and submarines as well!
* The Emerald Class ferries are supposed to be faster - but the narrow single gangways (compared to wide & additional upper deck exits on the Freshwater class) become choke points and the need to queue to get off the ferry erodes any time savings gained. It's becoming like the Fast Ferry where commuters start to queue up as soon as the vessel rounds the Opera House to avoid the slow shuffle off.
* These ferries are a disaster for everybody in Sydney. They disadvantage commuters who have random cancellations and destroy tourism, because they simply can't meet demand or provide services during swells. Bring back the Freshwaters...
* We told you so. The Emerald class ferries are simply not capable of the large swells or even smaller swells encountered on the Manly run. Safety is a definite concern. As well as on safety these new ferries fail on every other facet. Their appearance cannot compare with the traditional beauty of the Manly ferry. The Freshwater class was built in Australia, unlike the the Emerald class ones, with the purpose, history and tradition in mind. They have been international tourist icons as well as part of the history of Manly. NSW has a very poor record of protecting and retaining its history. This, I’m afraid, gives the city a cheap and crude appearance. Without the Bridge, Opera House, a few elegant buildings such as QVB and the beautiful harbour with its elegant ferries the city lacks charm.
* "...unlikely to compromise the vessel's structural integrity" That is basically the whole story. Jo Haylen (who I hadnt heard of previously) appears to have read a completely different report
* Clearly this government, and these ferries are unfit for purpose.
* We have a perfectly good Australian company that could have been contracted to build the ferries. Austal has been making this type of craft for decades. Why not support Australian businesses.? It isn't a good idea to pick the cheapest quote.
* the cheapest quote isn't always the lowest cost.
* We have some perfectly capable NSW maritime boat builders that are more than capable of designing and building new ferries for the State Government. The folk that awarded the contract should hang their heads. Keep the work and the funds in NSW. Listen to the men and women who work on operating and maintaining Sydney Ferries - they know the pitfalls of going for the cheap options.
* Too late to build them here. These ferries could go possibly have a life of 30 years with several refits.
* Will the seemingly endless detection of faults with Sydney's public transport cease if the ALP win the next election?
* Unfortunately no. The LNP have left a Cuckoo egg in the nest which will plague our public transport for the next 30 years. That's the life-span of the inadequate new ferries and intercity trains that the LNP procured, and are too expensive to replace in a shorter time.
* if they are only used as Inner Harbour ferries they won't develop these faults as they are not flexing over waves, so they can be used for quite a long time And just bring back the rejuvenated Freshwater class ones to do the hard work
* at least they wont have andrew constance who oversaw all these trasport disasters
* we're been here before , some years ago a mate of worked as a decky on Sydney ferries when they tried to introduce cats to the manly run , same result .Government needs to talk to a Naval Architect about what is required in the worst conditions .
* Melbourne trams are built in Victoria. Sydney trams were not built in NSW - and they're falling apart. We have multiple shipbuilders in Australia - some supplying to foreign military sales. The NSW COALition has pursued an ideological drive to ignore NSW workers and, as a consequence, NSW companies. Why? In case there was a unionised workforce? Really?? Ditch existing heavy rail and build a completely separate metro - so you can get rid of train drivers and guards? The entrenched ideology of the COALition has caused immense damage to Australia over the years - businesses, economy, trained workforce, local jobs have all suffered because of this flawed ideology. What a disgrace.
* More unionised workers in shipyards and industrial fabrication works is the LAST thing any LNP government wants! The decision to buy all this cut-rate foreign made rubbish was just another way to destroy unions and collective bargaining.
* Ah yes. another farce brought to you by the complete incompetence of the NSW Liberal government.
* that can't be right, they keep telling us what great economic managers they are! All they really are, is a tragic comedy, at our expense.
* Another Andrew Constance achievement!
* Fortunately his local federal electorate agreed that with his incompetence he would be better left out of his ‘dream’ to take his expertise to Canberra
* How STUPID can NSW govt be?
* There is no good answer to that
* if these ferries are a problem, then maybe it was a good thing to cancel the subs as well.
* The way it’s going the ferries will become subs, surfacing may be an issue.
* I tend to think that the French would know how to build a decent ferry.. however, build them in NSW - we know how to build ferries very well.
* another day, another story that highlights the total incompetence of the NSW government. I do hope the voters of NSW are paying attention and will know what to do come the state election next year.
* Andrew constace oversaw all theses disasters
* If the NSW government had taken a few more breaks from being woke it might have been able to exhibit more common sense than it has. When Mike Baird took over ( a good man but a businessman rather than a statesmen) the rot began to set in. We can (or could) build our own trains and ferries, to our specifications, but we haven't. Madness is not the preserve of just the previous Labor rabble.
* Queensland had a "Oncer" LNP government about 9 years ago.
TransDev were contracted to run our ferries and they did.
No maintenance was included in the contract for our classic wooden hulled Norm Wright river ferries and now they are costing us a fortune to restore. Some are irreparable, so much for the cheap as chips contract, eh?
TransDev moved back to Sydney and onto the harbour.
Our train building workshops in Marybourgh are still rebuilding the Indian purchases so that they fit our stations and the toilets work, the seats are replaced, the doors have emergency exits, the wiring has been completely replaced........ and so it goes.
The madness is the BS Neo Con idea that outsourcing is cheaper. For natural monopolies it is not cheaper.
* Just where overseas were they built? Is it a design issue or faulty workmanship? Did the State Govt. have QC signoff responsibilities? What was the actual contract cost saving gained from overseas construction? Are these works covered by warranty, and if not, why not? Time to get some answers so we can avoid repeating the same blunders.
* Corner cutting and no quality control with state government sign off. No one knows about the "savings" because Australian companies weren't asked to tender. No warranty, who knows why? Buy cheap pay twice.
* Foreign made Ferries. Defective.Foreign made Trams. defective. And this same Government demonising the Rail Union for taking a stance on the foreign built trains and bullying them to withdraw the Action ? Says it all. Who is in the wrong and who is right... Govt or Rail Union.
* I'd believe those who have to work with the defective transport items, they see and know the problems every day All the Govt looks at is the initial price tag, they have NO experience with the workings of these cheap overseas built lemons By the time you add the cost of modification of the trams ,trains and ferries they are not cheap any more
* Do you remember the Granville Bridge disaster? That is what happens when maintenance isn't done properly. Which entity is responsible for the repairs and maintenance?

Expansion of Brisbane’s domestic terminal shelved amid bigger plans.  Cameron Atfield July 25, 2022
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/expansion-of-brisbane-s-domestic-terminal-shelved-amid-bigger-plans-20220707-p5azuw.html>
* High speed rail along the east coast would remove the need for many of these flights. 25% of the traffic at Brisbane airport is domestic travel to and from Sydney, as is 50% of the traffic at Gold Coast and 30% at Sunshine Coast. That's before you take into account intermediate destinations like Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Newcastle. If there was decent high speed rail north of Brisbane there wouldn't be a need for ANY flights to places like Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Gladstone and Rockhampton.
* We currently have a state govt, that can't take heavy rail on from Varsity Lakes to Coolangatta, can't connect the State Capital to Australia's second largest Inland city [Toowoomba] by quality inter-urban rail link and is still dithering re a propper Sunshine coast rail link.....you'll wait a long...looonnnng....time, for high-speed rail in "World Class" Olympic's, movie-mak'n Quuueeensslllaaannndddd!
* Connectivity to the airport is atrocious. A train that runs half hourly? Please. It doesn’t even connect you to the earliest morning flights and it’s slow. Where is the express train?
Parking is exorbitant if it’s available. There are nowhere near enough scanners and screening pathways so security queues are massive. There is also nowhere for the queues to stand without flooding the check in hall.
Pedestrians walk in front of traffic rather than over a crosswalk so traffic is slow and congested adding to the inaccessibility.

Anti-vaccine sentiment threatened Melbourne train network.  Craig Dunlop July 25, 2022.  278 comments [comments mainly about vaccination, and not about metro]
So many train drivers and Metro staff refused Covid vaccines it threatened to bring down Melbourne’s train network.
video: Victoria overhauls COVID restrictions The easing of mask mandates at Victoria's airport terminals is among several adjustments to COVID restrictions. From June 24, the airport mask mandate will be scrapped, some vaccine mandates will be lifted and employers will be allowed to set their own rules for vaccines. The double dose mandate will be lifted for those in education, food distribution, and meat and seafood processing – but will remain for health and emergency services workers. The work from home rules have also been axed as have aged care visitor caps. The seven day isolation rule for positive cases is still in place but they are allowed to drive relatives to appointments if they remain in the vehicle.
So many Melbourne train drivers, station staff and inspectors refused to have Covid-19 vaccines it threatened the viability of Melbourne’s suburban train network, a tribunal has heard.
A group of 14 former Metro Trains employees last week lost their unfair dismissal cases in the Fair Work Commission, after being sacked late last year when they refused to have Covid-19 vaccines.
The tribunal heard nearly 10 per cent of train drivers and station staff, and nearly 20 per cent of structure inspectors last year refused to comply with state government vaccine directions.
The 14 former staff were among those put on unpaid leave when they refused be vaccinated. The tribunal heard Metro Trains management then became “concerned at the operational impact of employee absences”.
Commissioner Michelle Bissett said Metro Trains “reached a view that it could not operationally support the absence of staff who did not wish to be vaccinated for an extended period” and “needed to plan for how it would deliver on its operational requirements”.
The viability of Melbourne’s train network was threatened by anti-vax sentiment. Picture: Andrew Henshaw
The operator sent letters to all unvaccinated employees in late October last year saying management had “no choice but to terminate their employment” and train up new staff.
If the operator had let its anti-vaxxer staff remain on leave indefinitely, and hired replacement staff to do their jobs, it would have been left with too many employees on the books when the vaccine mandate lifted.
“Metro Trains has a business to run,” Commissioner Bisset said in a lengthy written decision.
“Metro Trains has the right to make decisions as to how to deal with the need for staff on the job in the circumstances that existed at the time.”
Some of the workers unsuccessfully claimed they were “discriminated against” as being vaccinated was “against their religious or other beliefs”.
Others, in statutory declarations signed after being placed on unpaid leave, claimed they were “ready willing and able” to work, but Commissioner Bissett said this was “not the case” because it was unlawful for them to attend work unvaccinated.
Others unsuccessfully claimed being notified of their sackings by email was “harsh, unjust or unreasonable”.
Commissioner Bissett also rejected claims Metro Trains did not properly respond to a series of pseudo-legal “questions” about the Constitution, the Biosecurity Act, the Nuremburg Code “and so on”.
In a statement, Metro Trains said: “We are proud of our staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and acted to keep them and their community safe”.
More Coverage
Train driver’s welcome to country on Pakenham line
Train order reveals Airport Rail Link on track
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/antivaccine-sentiment-threatened-melbourne-train-network/news-story/4eb9bed04f1f6249c682609792bb2b6a>

Mon.25.7.22 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'.  Letters.
* THE Andrews government has obviously run out of money, having blown the budget by billions of dollars on major Melbourne projects.  The government has dumped regional and country Victoria when it comes to funding or even thinking about any future projects.