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Subject: Sat.17.9.22 daily digest archive, part 1

Roderick

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Sat.17.9.22 Metro Twitter
Flinders St: still with a lane closed for tunnel works.
Because of tunnel works, Degraves St subway at Flinders St is closed until 2024. No platform transfer via Degraves St subway. Passengers should use Elizabeth & Swanston St entry/exits.  Campbell Arcade remains closed to 2024. Platform  interchange via that subway was available until mid 2022.
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Sunbury until the to last train of Sun 18 Sep (maintenance works).
Buses replace trains Essendon - Craigieburn until the last train of Sun 18 Sep (works).
Bell: No lift access to platforms until Oct 2022, while works continue around the station precinct. A shuttle bus will run from Bell to Preston and Thornbury.
Buses replace trains Macleod - Hurstbridge until the last train of Mon 19 Sep (works).
Lilydale/Belgrave lines: Union Rd and Mont Albert Rd closed until 18.00 Friday 23 September, for removal work. Detour using Elgar, Canterbury, Whitehorse and Balwyn roads. 
14.31 Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: Minor delays (an 'operational incident' near Parliament). Trains may [ie will] run direct to Flinders St. Trains may be held or altered.
- Trains are resumed running via the loop.  The first: 14.09 ex Cranbourne.
1.50 Sandringham line: Major delays (a trespasser near Windsor).
- 1.54  clearing.

Mon.23.4.62 (Easter): AETA Suburban
Motive power E1109, F209
Consist 11BC-8G-3G-2BC. A ‘Werribee set’ was used on the tour.
Itinerary E1109 to Paisley & Inner Circle (including the use of all three sides of the Northcote Loop triangle) with F209 over the North Fitzroy electrification gap. Destination quoted as North Carlton with the forward and return journeys via Clifton Hill.
Notes AETA tour 36.
References Divisional Diary Apr.62. Electric Traction May 62, p.1 – photo on the down at Rushall; Jul.62, p.14. Ramble to Northcote Loop (ARE lineside notes) – DD section, ‘special workings’ and photos at North Fitzroy and Rushall. Rail News Victoria Apr.92, p.21; Apr.02, p.53. Newsrail Apr.84, p.104 – photo at Paisley; Aug.01, p.248 – photo of F 209 with train on Merri Creek bridge, near Northcote Loop Junction.https://web.archive.org/web/20230307082206/http://www.railtourist.com.au/vrtours/index.php/Mon.23.4.62_(Easter):_AETA_Suburban

~Thurs.15.9.22 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'.  Austalian time zones.
HERE’S one for the experts on early Melbourne history among our readers. Doug Brockfield knows his history pretty well, but he’s perplexed by a bizarre fact that popped up in a book he’s reading about trains in the 19th century.
“The writer in 1883 on a train between Melbourne and Sydney says that in ‘earlier days’ there was a 25-minute time difference between Melbourne and Sydney!” says Doug, from Milawa. “Presumably he’s talking about the 1860s or 1870s".
Maybe some readers can throw some light on the subject?

Union cancels Opal switch-off after state tries to ban tweeting on dispute.  Alexandra Smith and Sarah McPhee September 17, 2022.  125 comments
The rail union has abandoned plans to turn off Opal ticket readers at train stations this week after the NSW government dramatically escalated its war with rail workers, lodging an urgent application to stop peak body Unions NSW from tweeting about the intended action.
Sydney Trains lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission in the early hours of Saturday morning to stop what it says is unlawful action – turning off the readers – as well as to block Unions NSW from using Twitter to encourage workers to carry out the threats.
The rail union has abandoned plans to switch off Opal card readers next week.CREDIT:MICHELE MOSSOP
The Opal machines at Sydney stations were to be completely turned off from Wednesday this week in the latest stage of an ongoing bitter industrial dispute with the government.
In a statement on Saturday night, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said while it was “confident the government is wrong”, delegates had decided to cancel the Opal reader action as a result of what it claimed were “irrational and illogical threats” from Transport Minister David Elliott to sack or prosecute members.
“The gates at stations will also be closed from Sunday as a result of this dirty legal trick,” it said.
The NSW branch said commuters would not be getting free travel from Wednesday, but it was “fully committed to giving fare-free travel” and was considering alternative ways that could be achieved.
While the rail union began leaving Opal gates open at most stations last month, the card readers on the machines were left on, which allowed people to pay their fares. The government says 90 per cent of commuters were continuing to tap on and off.
Elliott said on Thursday that the government had received advice suggesting the new industrial action was illegal, and he issued a strong warning to the rail unions to drop their plans.
However, Unions NSW said the government had “upped the ante” over the weekend and union boss Mark Morey said banning a Twitter feed was “the kind of action you expect in Vladimir Putin’s Russia”.
“Only a government composed of fragile control freaks with something to hide would attempt such a cynical move,” Morey said.
“Unions NSW is committed to open dialogue and free information. Rather than trying to silence working people, perhaps the government should focus on improving their wages and easing the crushing increases in the cost of living that have happened on their watch.”
A statement from Elliott’s office, released on Saturday afternoon, said: “Last night, the NSW government lodged a section 418 application in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to have the destructive action proposed by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) to turn off or short circuit Opal machines declared ‘unprotected’.
“The application to the independent FWC has been made following legal advice received by the government that the proposed action is prima facie unlawful,” the statement said. “Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink believes the notified action is also unsafe and could cause financial impacts on commuters.”
The government said it expected the matter to be heard within the next 48 hours.
“The NSW government remains committed to bargaining in good faith but will take all measures available to ensure taxpayer assets are not tampered with as part of the union’s Labor endorsed campaign of strikes and disruption for commuters,” the statement said.
Elliott, who had initially had good relations with the union, slammed the RTBU for its planned action.
“What the union is advocating is nothing short of the vandalism of public property and taxpayers have a right to protect their assets,” Elliott said.
RTBU state secretary Alex Claassens warned last week that the latest industrial action would not end until the long-running dispute between the two sides was resolved.
RELATED ARTICLE Transport Minister David Elliott. Elliott threatens to sack staff who illegally shut down Opal readers
<www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/state-tries-to-ban-unions-tweeting-about-dispute-ahead-of-opal-switch-off-20220917-p5biv5.html>
* "The Opal machines at Sydney stations were to be completely turned off. " RBTU LNP Government - "What the union is advocating is nothing short of the vandalism of public property and taxpayers have a right to protect their assets,” Elliott said. Mr Elliot and many commentators here seem to think if you turn machine off its some sort of vandalism. Maybe if it was the signals or security monitors or Zaporizhzhia power plant but its not, and no harm will come to any person as a result. Like saying every time we turn off turn off our cars or TVs its vandalism.
* I hope this dispute goes on and on, because no one is looking forward to riding in these horrible new trains and sitting backward for hours with no view.
* Maybe the Union Leaders have realised they don't really have support of the public. I have always tapped on/off and will continue to do so.
* Withdrawing labour is a right in a free country. Interfering with equipment such as Opal readers is vandalism. The current series of 'go slow' actions by the union ensures members get paid while the public suffer.
* There should be a class action to the Fair Work Commission to examine the fairness of the politicians pay rises and wages. Fair is not a word in politicians eyes in this matter. David Elliot should have had the negotiation skills to end this campaign months ago. He is responsible for the safety of workers and commuters, and should play his part in providing workers with fair wages and conditions.
* How much do these guys need for pushing a button to make trains go forward and back?
* Perhaps, if it is so easy peasy you can become a train driver.
* Safely, about triple an NRL players salary Emma, if not safely, then let them eat cake….
* There is a reason why unions are dying in Australia, no one wants this endless disruption wherever your loyalties lie. There will be a point where, one side will just shut the whole system down as they did in the seventies, and cost everyone a lot of money. I don't take public transport and I'm already sick of this endless wrangling, imagine the people who rely on it for their day to day employment and study.
* The reason is the un-relenting push by the LNP over decades to destroy unions ,hence workers rights. The LNP have pretty well succeeded as evidenced by 1.stagnated wages for the last decade. 2. any share of productivity gains have not flowed to workers. 3. endemic and pervasive wage theft under LNP rule. 4 the rapid rise if the GIG economy.
* The statement claims the union intended “to turn off or short circuit Opal machines”. Where did they get the “short circuit” from? I’ve only heard of plans to simply turn the machines off.
* It was in a letter to its members, as reported by SMH.
* Look at the quotes from Classons reported over Friday/Saturday - he was suggesting tripping switches!
* De register this Union.
* Every person you see click on is a person they despises the unions and sees through their “safety” campaign. 90% at last count…. Says it all
* Nope it’s because we don’t want a fine for fare evasion. I’ve been tapping on and I support the union.
* most stations do not have gates, only the big ones, so people just tap on as normal - habit
* The ultimate losers in this will be the NSW taxpayers who will pay for the cost of turning off the Opal system and commuters whose daily ride to work is disrupted. This dispute is politically motivated are the RTBU is most definitely not negotiating in good faith. Welcome back to the 1970s.
* neither is the government . no one wins in a war .
* I don't fully understand the issues, claims and counter claims here. But if I look at the manner in which Elliot and Claassens are engaging with this dispute I can only judge that the government needs a different lead negotiator.
* Both sides are acting like children.
* How can you "lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission in the early hours of Saturday morning"? I mean, it's hardly office hours is it
* When your the Government you can make workers do whatever you want including the Fair Work Commission, who by the way have been stacked by the Liberal National Party.
* Well done Dom and Elliot! while I am not LNP supporter in the past, I may now. Under no circumstances can anyone resort to damage public properties with threats. This must be met with firm and decisive actions!!
* This union has overplayed their hand and most of Sydney has lost whatever sympathy we might have had for them. We've had enough of union greed.
* Just give them the same pay rise as the politicians gave themselves last time round. Fair’s fair…
* They won’t accept it, it’s significantly less than they’re asking for
* No it’s not, it’s not even 40% of the pay rise that pollies got.
* Is the Rail Union still acting for its members or is it needlessly extending this campaign under instruction from Unions NSW and by extension NSW Labor?
* Typical of a right wing government....threaten. Can't wait for the next election to get rid of these useless muppets......
* The LNP NSW Government… Well it’s hard to imagine they would be re-elected given the power of the union movement and the amount of battles currently and those looming with other union sectors. Not exactly smart antics from this current governmen. All Chris Minns has to do is keep quiet and speak up at the right time, just like Albo did. Dumb Dom really needs Aunty Gladys advice!
* This government seems to want to fight every worker who kept things going during the lockdowns
* They volunteered during lockdowns? No, they were paid whilst many others lost their jobs completely.
* I’d really like to read an article in my lifetime about how the liberal government is working productively to resolve this dispute. Don’t think it’s gonna happen till we have a Labor government.
* The govt should just given the unions what they want, so they can focus on what's really important - flying cars.
* Leaving Elliott as Transport minister for NSW just shows you how lacking this government is in finding good competentant ministers to run things properly.
* “Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink believes the notified action is also unsafe and could cause financial impacts on commuters.” If the 'financial impact' is commuters not having to pay their fares while the government sorts out their crap, I'm sure commuters will be happy to weather this impact.
* I don’t support the mess that the NSW Government are creating with our public transport systems and that they have created in this rail dispute. However it is simply ridiculous for the union to attempt to sabotage the Opal card readers in a dispute that is allegedly about safety on intercity trains and a new enterprise agreement. Both sides are playing a game of dumb and dumber. The race to the bottom must be nearing its conclusion as it is impossible to imagine it getting any worse. It’s also impossible to understand why we are paying a lot of money for all of these public servants to act like complete idiots.
* If the unions want open dialogue they should publish the normal pay and conditions and overtime bonuses for train drivers and let the public see the comparison with truck drivers
* They’ll never do that. It will show up the laughably generous wicket they are currently on.
* It’s an EBA. It’s not secret.
* Sick to death about the fact that all those comments from union sympathizer are being published, yet hardly any comments AGAINST strike actions make it past the censors
* Train operators and drivers getting paid too much for doing nothing.
* Unlike CEOs & pollies.
* Yep, time to get Elliott out of there, he has obviously lost ability to see clearly. Banning twitter?! Give me a break…
* "...taxpayers have a right to protect their assets". I'm a taxpayer, and I'm fine with rail workers turning off Opal readers. They're not exactly my most cherished assets! And it sounds to me like the government is looking to unjustly accuse workers of property damage, surely just flicking the mains switch to "off" is perfectly safe.
* why is the premier sitting by and watching this fiasco get worse?
* I can not understand why this liberal government can not be more generous with tax payers' fund towards the union. Just double average transport union workers' pay from 120k to 240k, double their perks and privileges such as paid picnic days, and we all shall have some peace till next election day. And indeed why even bother to have elections ---union bosses can pick the leaders for us
* Just what the union wants: More for less productivity. Such a reasonable argument.

Bid to block NSW rail union Opal action.  September 17 2022
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union plans to deactivate Opal readers at NSW train stations. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)
The NSW government is headed to court in a bid to block union plans to deactivate Opal readers at train stations as part of an ongoing industrial stoush.
A section 418 application has been lodged in the Fair Work Commission to have the "destructive action" to turn off or short circuit the machines from Wednesday declared unprotected, Transport Minister David Elliott said.
The move follows legal advice received by the government that the proposed action is prima facie unlawful, he said in a statement on Saturday.
"Sydney Trains and NSW Train Link believe the notified action is also unsafe and could cause financial impacts on commuters," Mr Elliott said.
"The submission comes after the (Rail, Tram and Bus Union and others) rejected a number of formal requests from transport officials to withdraw the action."
Mr Elliott said the matter was expected to be heard within 48 hours. In the meantime, the government remained committed to bargaining in good faith but would take all measures to ensure taxpayer assets were not tampered with, he said.
The union plans to leave station gates open as it did last month but this time the Opal readers will also be deactivated, preventing commuters tapping on, rather than giving them an option not to.
Not all stations have gates, although the action will also deactivate stand-alone payment poles at suburban stations.
The Opal system is operated by a private company and Mr Elliott said on Thursday he planned to seek advice on whether the union action would result in the government having to pay any penalties under its contract.
RTBU is among unions that recently took Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to the Fair Work Commission in a bid to keep negotiating a new enterprise agreement and modifications to a fleet of new intercity trains it says is not yet safe to operate. Premier Dominic Perrottet declared negotiations were over at the end of August, after a month of industrial action disrupting services across several days. He threatened termination of an enterprise agreement if there was further industrial action.
RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said the government and senior bureaucrats were "the ones responsible for this mess, they can now live with it"
<www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7906951/bid-to-block-nsw-rail-union-opal-action>

Sat.17.9.22 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'.  SRL. SUSIE O'BRIEN
MORE than 150,000 students, staff and parents will be directly affected by the noise, dust and construction chaos of the $35bn Suburban Rail Loop running through key school precincts.
The 26km eastern link will run six storeys underground from Cheltenham to Box Hill.
It will go directly under Glen Waverley Secondary College and along the edge of Clayton South Primary and the Cheltenham Secondary College and Mt Waverley Secondary College campuses.
Documents show construction will last up to a decade and will take place from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and Saturday, mornings.
Work has already started at some sites.
Excavation and transport of contaminated and non-contaminated soil will be via 230 double-trailer haulage trucks a day, going in and out of key sites and travelling along already congested roads.
Contaminants include old lead-based paint, arsenic, herbicides, copper, nickel and fluoride.
A Department of Education submission to the state government says the four state schools will also be affected by dust emissions, contaminated water, land instability, traffic and construction noise.
“The proposed controls could affect building costs, occupational health and safety considerations, and affect emergency management and accessibility for school sites,” it states.
Up to a dozen private schools are also expected to be affected around the site, including Wesley College Glen Waverley campus, Siena College, Emmaus College, Mount Scopus, Huntingtower, Sirius College, Kingswood College, Presbyterian Ladies’ College and Our Lady of Sion.
More than 1000 trees could also be lost, and future development restrictions for sites directly over the tunnel could limit developments to three storeys.
Principal Tina Apostolopoulos, of Our Lady of Sion College in Box Hill, told the state government she supported the project but “matters of particular concern are noise, dust, vibration, access for our community to existing public transport as well as vehicular access to, from and around the campus”.
About 90,000 students and staff from Deakin and Monash universities in Burwood and Clayton, and John Monash Science School, will also be heavily affected.
The link’s Burwood site next to Deakin Uni and across the road from Presbyterian Ladies’ College will be a key site for the removal of a million cubic metres of soil.
Monash University’s submission to the government said that noise during construction would exceed benchmark levels at on—campus accommodation, affect the university’s “plans for a post- pandemic economic recovery” and cause “reputa- tional damage”.
Despite this, it now says it supports the project.
Former Monash councillor Lynnette Saloumi said the needs of the students of schools in the path of the line had not been taken into account and there had been little consultation.
“It seems the health and wellbeing of thousands of school students, staff and their parents and guardians is seen as acceptable collateral damage in prioritising the plans for the SRL,” she said.
Ms Saloumi said she was concerned that several experts, such as those on contaminated land, did a “desktop study” and had not been to the sites.
Roseanne, a parent with a daughter at Glen Waverley Secondary College, said that although the project might have merit, she was “extremely concerned” about the school’s students, staff and nearby residents.
“The question is whether enough has been done to alert the community and fully address environmental, safety and disruption issues,” she said.
A plan for site works states initial work will start in 2022, utility relocations and excavation from 2024-2030, tunnel boring from 2025-2030, surface works to 2033 and fit- out and testing from 2032-2035.
The state opposition has pledged to shelve the SRL if it wins the November election.