Ministerial Statement: Works to begin on the $60 million Hurstbridge line ...

[ozbob]

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/3491-works-to-begin-on-the-60-million-hurstbridge-line-upgrade.html

Works to begin on the $60 million Hurstbridge line upgrade

Thursday, 22 March 2012
From the Minister for Public Transport

Main works are set to begin shortly on the Hurstbridge line upgrade project with the construction contract awarded to Abigroup.

Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder said the $60.8 million upgrade will improve the reliability and efficiency of the Hurstbridge line.

"The project includes the addition of two new stabling tracks at the Eltham stabling yard and a signalling upgrade between Greensborough and Hurstbridge," Mr Mulder said.

"Currently, trains operating on the Hurstbridge line are stabled on the Epping line and in Melbourne.

"Adding two new stabling tracks at Eltham will mean fewer trains will have to be transferred from other lines to travel on the Hurstbridge line.

"The upgrade to automatic signalling between Greensborough and Hurstbridge railway stations will enable more than one train to travel in the same direction along the single line track."

Member for Northern Metropolitan Craig Ondarchie said these improvements would help free up the track and increase capacity in the timetable to add extra peak hour trains on the Hurstbridge line.

"The local community will see preparatory works in the area over the next few weeks in the lead up to the start of the main works," Mr Ondarchie said.

During the course of the upgrade, project staff will provide regular updates and information to the local community and key stakeholders.

Detailed information about construction activities and any changes to road conditions and rail operations will also be provided in advance to those affected.

The Hurstbridge line upgrade project will involve:

    Reconfiguring the Eltham stabling yards to add two extra tracks, bringing the total to five.
    Upgrading 15 kilometres of signalling between Greensborough and Hurstbridge railway stations.
    Building a new section of track north of the Diamond Street level crossing to allow trains to enter and exit the stabling yard independently of the main rail line.
    Constructing a new substation at Sherbourne Road in Montmorency to provide additional power supply to support the new infrastructure on the Hurstbridge line.
    Modifying the car park on Youth Road to provide facilities for rail staff, while retaining the same number of car parking spaces for rail passengers.
    Improving the visual amenity of Eltham railway station with landscaping and fencing.
    Establishing a heritage exhibit near Eltham railway station to display the historical manual signalling equipment.

The first stage of the project has been completed. This included the relocation and upgrade of the pedestrian crossing near Eltham railway station and an upgrade of the shared pathway adjacent to the rail line.

The Hurstbridge line upgrade project is scheduled for completion in 2013.

The project is being delivered by Metro Trains Melbourne on behalf of the Department of Transport.

[SurfRail]

I don't know why the line beyond Eltham is still open.  They could get better frequency from Eltham to the city if they just gave up on the 3 stations at the end and installed a better feeder bus, which could run half-hourly and still be more frequent and probably faster than the train.

[colinw]

Maybe, however I think you will find that Diamond Creek, Hurstbridge, etc., add up to more population than the catchment for the longer Rosewood line here.  Given that the line is there and operating, it would probably not be sensible to remove it, given that rail removal and bus substitution would tend to lose a lot of patronage.

[SurfRail]

Maybe, however I think you will find that Diamond Creek, Hurstbridge, etc., add up to more population than the catchment for the longer Rosewood line here.  Given that the line is there and operating, it would probably not be sensible to remove it, given that rail removal and bus substitution would tend to lose a lot of patronage.

The distinction is there is some possibility the catchment around the Rosewood line might increase, particularly around Rosewood itself.  There is much less chance of that happening beyond Eltham.  (Diamond Creek, maybe - the other 2, no chance.)

They are among the least patronised stations on the system - not quite as bad in absolute numbers as General Motors, but almost there.

[Jonas Jade]

It's not really hard to get more patronage than General Motors: 

[colinw]

Hurstbridge & Epping line patronage, according to Daniel Bowen:



It can be seen from this that the stations beyond Eltham under-perform relative to the rest of the line, but those 3 stations are still used by 1700+ people per day.

[SurfRail]

I understand that those are the boardings for an entire weekday, not just the am peak. 1762 / 75 pax on a bus = 25 bus loads, or 2 well-loaded trains. 

Spread that out and I'd say buses are a good option for this catchment (particular where a lot of it probably isn't walk-up).

For this particular stretch, given the maintenance costs of keeping up a railway (and how much maintenance needs doing elsewhere, even just on this line), the benefit of having more frequent trains inbound from Eltham and having more service frequency than the current abysmal frequency to Hurstbridge, I'd seriously consider it.

Having said that I would not be advocating it anywhere else on the Melbourne system.  It's just a case of urban form in this particular spot.