Article: Connex cancels four afternoon services as temperature rises

[ozbob]

I grew up in Melbourne, we never had these problems on the trains ...  it is getting beyond a farce.  Privatisation?   Who wants it ...

From the Herald Sun click here!

Connex cancels four afternoon services as temperature rises

Connex cancels four afternoon services as temperature rises
Article from: Herald Sun

Ashley Gardiner

January 19, 2009 07:55am

UPDATE 3:50pm CONNEX is offering free ice-creams to commuters who have seen more than a dozen services cancelled this afternoon.

This is in addition to the 10 services that were cancelled earlier today.

Commuters travelling on the Belgrave-Lilydale line are expected to be the worst hit, with Connex already cancelling 11 services.

The 3.44pm Belgrave train, and the 4.59pm from Belgrave to the city, will not run today.

On the Frankston line, the 1.45pm from the city and the 2pm service to the city were axed.

The 1.50pm train to Glen Waverley and the 1.57pm to Lilydale were also cancelled.

The company will attempt to appease angry commuters this hour by giving away free ice-creams.

Earlier today, Connex chairman Jonathan Metcalfe was corrected by his media team after blaming train cancellations on yesterday's alleged heat.

Mr Metcalfe said yesterday's weather - which reached a maximum of 24.6C - was to blame for the continued cancellations debacle.

"Yesterday was a very hot day, we all know that, and this was part of the problem,'' he told 3AW radio.

But in a later interview, Connex spokeswoman Lanie Harris said Mr Metcalfe was wrong.

"23C is not hot enough to cause that problem,'' Ms Harris said.

"The cancellations we experienced this morning were not related to heat ... we had some faulty overhead cables, a smashed side mirror, a faulty door locking mechanism and also an ill passenger,'' she said.

"But given the full online report wasn't available to him, it is unfortunate."

But she warned today's expected 35 degrees could lead to transport chaos this afternoon.

"It could lead to some cancellations this afternoon but we are working very hard to plan ahead and we have all our maintenance crews on standby, and buses on standby as well.''

Connex held crisis talks with State Government transport officials this morning as an afternoon blast of melting conditions loomed.

After the meeting, Mr Metcalfe said the company was doing all it could to keep Melbourne?s trains running during the heat.

?What came out of (the meeting) was recognition and an understanding that we were doing all that we can, that all the right decisions have been taken that all the right resources have been committed,? Mr Metcalfe said.

?The minister wanted to make sure that there was nothing else that we could do or they could do to prepare.?

Ten peak services were cancelled this morning, and Mr Metcalfe said some were the result of air-conditioning faults.

?Some are a result of other issues,? Mr Metcalfe said.

?There is no question yesterday was a very hot day. So some of the issues (today) would have been following on from yesterday.?

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said there would be extra staff and standby buses today as the mercury soared.

?Last week was very extreme weather and it happened very quickly,? Ms Kosky said.

?We can anticipate hot weather this week.?

Ms Kosky was unable to guarantee the week would be trouble-free.

?Everything that can be done is being done if there are very high temperatures and there are significant numbers of cancellations,? Ms Kosky said.

?We can assure the public that we are doing all that we can to make sure they can get to their destination as quickly as possible.?

With temperatures of 30 degrees and higher expected almost every day this week, Ms Kosky wants to avoid a similar debacle last week that saw a raft of train cancellations.

Opposition leader Ted Baillieu has slammed the Government's management of the public transport network.

Mr Baillieu, with public transport spokesman Terry Mulder,  put the train network to the test this morning, riding the 8.17am train from Oakleigh to Flinders St station speaking with commuters.

"We have a transport system that doesn?t work,'' Mr Baillieu told radio 3AW.

"The Government has to deal with this problem today, and it is going to require a significant investment,'' he said.

"We hear this stuff about heat stress on the tracks, but it's not hot today and there's been a swag of cancellations this morning...it doesn't add up to me.

"It is an overcrowded, unreliable system."

Meantime, tram ticket inspectors are aiming to fine more than 2500 commuters a week, a leaked report shows.

with Shannon Deery, Geraldine Mitchell and Matthew Schulz

[ozbob]

If you neglect track and train maintenance .... the results are apparent.

Farcical poll  --> http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24931641-661,00.html

Poll Results

Thanks for voting, here are the results so far:

Is an ice-cream fair compensation for your train being cancelled?

Yes 21% (32 votes)

No 78% (116 votes)

Total votes Total of 148 votes

[Otto]

Poll update !

Is an ice-cream fair compensation for your train being cancelled?

Yes 19% (289 votes)
No 80% (1159 votes)

Total votes Total of 1448 votes

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Desperate bid by Connex to calm passengers gets frosty reception

Desperate bid by Connex to calm passengers gets frosty reception
Article from: Herald Sun

Staff writers

January 20, 2009 12:00am

A DESPERATE bid by Connex to cool angry passengers has been given a frosty reception.

The embattled train operator handed out free ice-creams yesterday to soothe the pain of more than 60 cancelled trains.

Help to cool off was only available in the city: an elderly woman collapsed in the heat at Westall station.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky was yesterday unable to guarantee a trouble-free week.

"We are doing all that we can to make sure they can get to their destination as quickly as possible," Ms Kosky said.

But many were unimpressed with the ice cream ploy yesterday.

Halinka Wierzbowska, 53, of Hampton described it as a stunt to bribe commuters.

"It is so hot, so an ice cream is nice, but I'd rather not have my train cancelled to be honest," Ms Wierzbowska said.

Robert McGrath, 49, of Epping, said the ice creams would soon be forgotten when people were crammed together on trains.

Connex spent $1500 on the ice-creams, a figure dwarfed by the $19.5 million it expects to be fined for poor performance during 2008-09.

And new figures show more than 6500 train services were cancelled in Melbourne last year with the Lilydale, Sandringham and Frankston lines the worst hit.

Connex executive chairman Jonathon Metcalfe yesterday defended his company's performance.

"All the right decisions have been taken that all the right resources have been committed," Mr Metcalfe said.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu spoke to commuters on the 8.14am from Oakleigh yesterday, which arrived at Parliament Station late.

"Lynne Kosky, her time's been up for some time and she should have gone ages ago," he said.

But Ms Kosky dismissed the call for her resignation. "I absolutely intend to stay in this portfolio," Ms Kosky said.

- Ashley Gardiner, Anne Wright and Geraldine Mitchell

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6447441,00.jpg

[Matt]

Just as well they had hot weather to blame their woes on, they even blamed the heat when it was only 24 deg.
I hope we never privatise QR.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Ed: Melbourne is on DST +one hour from AEST.

At least 25 trains cancelled amid high temperatures

At least 25 trains cancelled amid high temperatures
Article from: Herald Sun

Matthew Schulz

January 20, 2009 02:52pm

LATE-night maintenance of Connex's trouble-plagued train network was not enough to prevent dozens of cancellations this afternoon.

Earlier, Connex said it was "very pleased" that round-the-clock maintenance had this morning prevented a repeat today of heat-related train cancellations plaguing the network.

But by 3pm today, at least 25 trains had been cancelled including a string of services between 1.15pm and 3.30pm, with affected lines including the Frankston, Cranbourne, Werribee, Glen Waverley, Epping, Craigeburn, Lilydale and Hurstbridge.

The Hurstbridge line is suffering severe delays inbound and citybound due to fire brigade operations. There are also minor delays on the Craigieburn line due to an ill passenger.

Connex spokeswoman Laine Harris hinted the cancellations were possible as the mercury headed to a top of 37C.

Despite the latest trouble Acting Premier Rob Hulls has backed Lynne Kosky as minister.

He conceded there would always be train services cancelled, but said commuters were fed up with regular cancellations.

?There will always be cancellations from time to time for a whole range of reasons, but commuters get sick and tired of so many cancellations on a regular basis," he said.

?They want an improved transport system they want a reliable transport system and they to be assured the government has a plan to deliver that.

?We certainly do have a transport plan, a $38 billion transport plan.

Mr Hulls again defended Ms Kosky and described her as a ?passionate minister".

?Lynne Kosky has done a great job in relation to the public transport plan," he said.

?She has been one of the architects of this $38 billion plan."

Mr Hulls refused to speculate about a Cabinet reshuffle before the 2010 election that could see Ms Kosky moved to another portfolio.

Earlier Ms Laine said ?all available staff? had been called up to fix tracks and trains that were behind more than 60 cancellations yesterday.

?We?re really pleased that there weren?t any cancellations this morning, and we were certainly working very hard for that to happen,? Ms Harris said.

?We?ve had our maintenance crews working around the clock to attend to any faults that were identified and trains that were knocked out yesterday.

?Also some cancellations were caused by issues on the network itself with some points failures. So we had our track maintenance crews attending the scene and basically rectifying all those issues yesterday.

?We?ve basically been working really hard to prepare for today?s hot weather,? Ms Harris said.

But she also hinted there could be more trouble ahead for commuters.

?It?s going to be a hot one again though, and we?re doing what we can to minimise the disruption.

?There may well be trains affected by heat. And any hot day can mean our train and tracks are susceptible.?

She agreed the meeting between Connex and the government had been important in preparing for the heat.

Certainly we talked about contingency plans, including standby buses and maintenance crews, she said.

She said a ?variety of other issues? could also add to delays, including vandalised trains which could have a knock-on effect to several services.

Yesterday, Connex made a desperate bid to cool angry passengers by handing out free ice creams.

Help to cool off was only available in the city: an elderly woman collapsed in the heat at Westall station.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky was yesterday unable to guarantee a trouble-free week.

"We are doing all that we can to make sure they can get to their destination as quickly as possible," Ms Kosky said.

Many were unimpressed by the ice cream ploy.

Halinka Wierzbowska, 53, of Hampton described it as a stunt to bribe commuters.

"It is so hot, so an ice cream is nice, but I'd rather not have my train cancelled to be honest," Ms Wierzbowska said.

Robert McGrath, 49, of Epping, said the ice creams would soon be forgotten when people were crammed together on trains.

Connex spent $1500 on the ice-creams, a figure dwarfed by the $19.5 million it expects to be fined for poor performance during 2008-09.

And new figures show more than 6500 train services were cancelled in Melbourne last year with the Lilydale, Sandringham and Frankston lines the worst hit.

Connex executive chairman Jonathon Metcalfe yesterday defended his company's performance.

"All the right decisions have been taken that all the right resources have been committed," Mr Metcalfe said.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu spoke to commuters on the 8.14am from Oakleigh yesterday, which arrived at Parliament Station late.

"Lynne Kosky, her time's been up for some time and she should have gone ages ago," he said.

But Ms Kosky dismissed the call for her resignation. "I absolutely intend to stay in this portfolio," Ms Kosky said.

- Nick Higginbottom, Ashley Gardiner, Anne Wright and Geraldine Mitchell

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Open your eyes, Lynne Kosky

Open your eyes, Lynne Kosky
Article from: Herald Sun

Susie O'Brien

January 20, 2009 12:00am

YOU know you've lost popular support when the city's main newspaper runs a huge unflattering picture of you with your eyes closed.

Last week's coverage should have been the wake-up call Transport Minister Lynne Kosky needed.

She should have finally accepted the entire state believes her running of the public transport system has been a train wreck.

So you can imagine my surprise when I saw Minister Kosky outside the upmarket EQ bar at Southgate at 4.45pm last Thursday.

There she was sitting - her back to Flinders St station - chatting, smiling and sipping a glass of white wine. Meanwhile, 100m or so across the river, thousands of commuters were entering the moving hell that is getting home on Victoria's public transport system.

Now, Lynne is entitled to a drink just like anyone else.

And then it dawned on me.

Maybe Lynne doesn't appear worried because she can't be held responsible. After all, she's only the Transport Minister.

Why should she take the blame?

You see, whenever anything goes wrong with the rail system - which is pretty much every day - she can simply blame Connex.

This is what happens when governments outsource their responsibilities. It means they can also outsource any blame.

Whether Kosky resigns or not is irrelevant because if she moves on, then someone else will be able to take her place and use the same trick to avoid any blame.

If there's something wrong with a car's engine, changing drivers isn't going to fix the problem.

People just want a safe, cheap, reliable transport system that's standard in most other world-class cities.

But what we've got is regular cancellations of peak-hour trains, and overcrowded smelly, poorly kept carriages, often without properly operating heating and cooling.

I know, because unlike Kosky, I'm a regular train passenger.

As soon as the weather tips over 30C there's a further raft of cancellations due to track and maintenance faults.

I heard one Connex spokesperson claim on the radio yesterday that more trains were cancelled on hot days because they didn't want to run trains with broken airconditioners.

Here's a tip. Fix the airconditioners before the weather gets hot. And maintain them so they don't break down.

And it's just about impossible to get anyone to talk to at many stations to ensure you're on the right train - Flinders St included.

But of course there's always a huge line-up of ticketing officers at the turnstiles, and the inspectors seem to roam the network in bloodthirsty packs.

Where does the buck stop?

Certainly not with the minister.

And for Kosky it's not just Connex she can kick. Thanks to privatisation one company runs the trains, another the buses, another the trams, another company services them, another cares for the tracks, and another runs the ticketing system. When everyone is responsible, no-one is responsible.

Kosky not only knows this, she benefits from it.

Then there's the $1.3 billion myki fiasco. The system has now blown out by $350 million, it's years behind schedule, and doesn't work.

And yet the Government appears to keep getting away with it.

We keep writing the stories, you all keep reading them, and we all share the outrage. But nothing changes.

The Government continues to treat this as a media problem. Well, forget it.

The only spin that will get them out of this mess is spinning wheels on punctual, clean buses, trains and trams.

Part of the problem seems to be that Kosky - for all her earnest pleas - doesn't have a finger on the pulse of public transport users.

"The reason the criticism does hurt is because I am so committed to this job and I've worked so hard to make improvements," she told the Herald Sun last week.

She just doesn't get it.

It's not about her.

It's about a system that's under-funded and over-used and lacks any real accountability to passengers.

How she feels matter a lot less than what she does.

It's no wonder most Australians don't rate many party politicians.

It doesn't seem to matter how bad a job someone is doing - if they've got the numbers in their faction or they're a mate of the bloke or broad in charge, then they get to keep their job regardless.

Maybe I'm being too pessimistic about our transport system.

But Lynne's clearly too much of an optimist - a wine glass half-full kind of politician.

[Emmie]

Just to put it in perspective, this is what crikey.com.au has to say about the Herald affair:

4 . News Ltd takes campaign journalism to new heights
Andrew Crook writes:
The idea that News Ltd tabloids have state Labor ministers over a barrel is hardly a blazing political insight, but the Herald Sun?s relentless campaign to force Victorian Transport Minister Lynne Kosky from office must surely set a new standard for tabloid bullying.
Last Wednesday, after a spate of heat-related train cancellations, the Herald Sun demanded Kosky abandon her "chauffeur-driven limousine" and take public transport to expose the hypocrisy allegedly at work (see the story's remarkable progression here, here, here, here and here).
Kosky had begun last week with some low level meetings, but when Wednesday's 39 degree temperatures struck, causing the cancellation of 32 services, the Herald Sun was quick to pounce, enlisting online hack Shannon Deery to the cause of peeved commuters. Deery went straight for the jugular -- accusing Kosky of double-standards because she only sometimes commuted by train. But the paper failed to mention the crucial fact that Kosky rides the rails two or three times a week.
It then launched the following online poll, which allowed it to claim "90 per cent of Victorians" supported its stance:
Should Transport Minister Lynne Kosky catch the train home?
Yes, she should experience the day of other Melbourne commuters
No, she should go home in her air-conditioned chauffeur-driven car
After following up on Thursday with a nasty page five splash of Kosky blinking (she?s got her eyes closed, geddit?) and another online poll calling for her head (88 per cent in favour), Kosky?s office capitulated, instructing the minister to board that night's 5:40pm Williamstown train with Herald Sun transport reporter Ashley Gardner and a photographer in tow to capture the "gotcha" moment.
But it was this morning?s op-ed by family reporter Susie O'Brien that has taken the cake. O'Brien repeats the erroneous claim that Kosky is an irregular train passenger and then recalls seeing the minister drinking a glass of wine at 4:45pm last Thursday at Southgate's EQ Bar, the same afternoon, coincidentally, that Kosky had agreed to catch the train with the Herald Sun -- a fact O'Brien conveniently omits:
There she was sitting -- her back to Flinders St station -- chatting, smiling and sipping a glass of white wine. Meanwhile, 100m or so across the river, thousands of commuters were entering the moving hell that is getting home on Victoria?s public transport system.
What O'Brien fails to mention is that Kosky was actually sitting at EQ Bar with O'Brien?s newsroom colleague Gardner, waiting to be escorted across the Yarra to Flinders St. EQ Bar is conveniently located just metres from the Hun's Southbank offices. Within the hour Kosky was on the train with Gardner bound for Williamstown.
Crikey put this directly to O'Brien on the Herald Sun's "live blog" early this afternoon:
I saw her when she was waiting, apparently for our reporter...she didn't seem particularly worried about anything and got a nice seat on her train for her ride home...
I didnt say Kosky wasn't working - I just said she was sitting in the sun having a wine...
Earlier in the blog transcript, O'Brien admits she was actually at EQ bar at table next to Kosky's, having "knocked off for the day".
O'Brien's amazing spray dovetails nicely with a similar Herald Sun attack in December, when Kosky referred commuter's complaints to Connex -- the firm that actually operates Melbourne's trains. Over both periods, articles in that morning's Herald Sun were followed up by splashes in News' afternoon throwaway MX.
It also fits a pattern that has seized the other Labor states. A senior ALP minister has commented to Crikey that the acute sensitivity to the front page of the the Daily Telegraph has resulted in farcical scenarios when complex policy proposals had to pass the "Tele test". In NSW, theoretical front-page scenarios are mulled over for days and government reports routinely emaciated to skirt controversy.
It's worth remembering that when Melbourne's public transport system was privatised in 1999 under the reign of one Jeff Kennett the Herald Sun prosecuted the push relentlessly -- which some might suggest is the root cause of the chaos currently engulfing the network.

[ozbob]

 

It's worth remembering that when Melbourne's public transport system was privatised in 1999 under the reign of one Jeff Kennett the Herald Sun prosecuted the push relentlessly -- which some might suggest is the root cause of the chaos currently engulfing the network.

Indeed!

[stephenk]

Things may be bad in Melbourne, but at least they have decent frequencies (both peak and off-peak), and their trains aren't falling to bits (e.g. broken doors, seats, strobe lights, etc) as is common in Brisbane.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Nitpicking blamed for Melbourne's train drain

Nitpicking blamed for Melbourne's train drain
Article from: Herald Sun

Ashley Gardiner

January 21, 2009 12:00am

THOUSANDS of commuters are being delayed while trains sit idle because of aggressive and over-zealous fault-finding.

The Herald Sun can reveal that a disagreement between Connex and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union has sparked the cancellation crisis.

Connex last night confirmed many trains capable of operation were not being used.

"Had they been available this month the impact of the hot weather would have been mitigated somewhat," spokeswoman Lanie Harris said.

A source said had it not been for the union action, the train system would have been operating almost as normal.

Connex declined to specify the precise number of operable trains that were not being used.

The union's locomotive division has been talking to Connex about the definition of a train fault.

Some drivers were using minor faults as a reason to remove a train from service.

"Drivers can nominate pretty much anything imaginable," a source said.

Another source described the conduct as "aggressive and over-zealous fault-finding".

Talks lasted for months in the lead-up to the new timetable, introduced in November last year.

"Unfortunately, having reached agreement previously on these issues, the matters still remain under active discussion," Ms Harris said.

Talks about a new enterprise bargaining agreement were also under way, a source said.

But RTBU locomotive division secretary Brian Hill yesterday denied the existence of a fault-finding campaign.

"Whoever you're talking to is filling you up with s---," Mr Hill said.

No trains were cancelled yesterday morning, but Connex said 45 services were cancelled in the afternoon.

The Public Transport Users Association counted 84 as of 7.30pm.

Ms Harris said about half were because of faulty air conditioners when the temperature soared.

A fire on the Hurstbridge line, a faulty train stuck in the City Loop, and a tram derailment near Glenhuntly station also affected services.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Rail meltdown hit 1447 trains

Rail meltdown hit 1447 trains

    * Reid Sexton
    * March 1, 2009

THE heatwave that disrupted Melbourne's trains a month ago hit passengers in the east and south-east harder than anywhere else.

While commuters across the network faced massive delays during the three-day crisis, travellers on the Sandringham line were the worst affected, followed by those destined for stations on the Lilydale and Alamein lines.

Almost one-third of scheduled Sandringham services, a total of 151, were cancelled between January 28 and 30.

Of those that ran, many were late, creating difficult and unpredictable journeys for bayside travellers.

Lilydale passengers endured 141 cancellations, while the Alamein line recorded 126.

Cragieburn had the next most cancellations with 113, while only 65 per cent of trains that actually ran were on time.

The release of the figures comes a week after the Sandringham line was shut down for nine hours when warring factions of the Rail Tram and Bus Union refused to move a train blocking the line.

The heatwave, which saw temperatures reach 45.1 degrees, forced the cancellation of 1447 services across the network and meant only half of 6000 scheduled services arrived on time.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen blamed decrepit infrastructure and rolling stock, which is owned by the State Government, for most cancellations.

"This spells out the magnitude of the disruption over those days," he said. "Hundreds of thousands of train passengers rely on services running to time and they were let down severely."

Meanwhile, train operator Connex has revealed the agreements it has reached with the union to help solve the dispute that has plagued the network in recent weeks.

Under the agreement, trains will be kept in service until the end of the peak period if they have partially defective air-conditioning but air can be circulated by a fan.

Trains will also stay in service during the peak period if doors or windows in the driver's cabin are defective but can be secured using a bolt, and if the emergency lighting is deemed to be faulty in daytime.

Previously, these issues would have seen the train taken out of service.

A Connex spokeswoman said these measures would improve train reliability without compromising passenger safety.

[Matt]

There has been ads featuring an expose about delays on Bris trains and buses, but unless I've missed it, nothing has been shown yet.
Anyone know anything ??

[ozbob]

Short reports on Channel 7 news.  FOI inquiry, Caboolture - Ipswich line the worst.

Believe that last night was buses ..

Cheers
Bob

[Matt]

Thanks Bob,   dang, must have missed it in that brief interval between ads. !