Level crossings Melbourne

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/LukeHildred/status/957937714610913286

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/958942839378919424

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/961844184163409921

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/vicsig/status/962182718187450368

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/9NewsMelb/status/962609255864991744

[#Metro]

^ This looks bloody amazing!

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> First trains run on Melbourne's sky rail

The first trains are running on Melbourne's controversial 1.4-kilometre "sky rail", but passengers will have to wait until Thursday to experience it for themselves.

Test trains ran on a new stretch of elevated rail through Noble Park this weekend, as train drivers familiarised themselves with the first of three extended rail bridges the Andrews government is building to replace nine level crossings on the busy Cranbourne-Pakenham corridor.

The existing station at Noble Park is being demolished and an imposing new above-ground station will also open on Thursday, although it is still under construction.

Premier Daniel Andrews said he was proud to be able to say that the Corrigan Road, Heatherton Road and Chandler Road level crossings were gone forever.

He pointed out that the recently decommissioned ground-level rail line had long been a barrier between Noble Park's shopping strip on the southern side and its recreational centre, including a swimming pool and skate park, on the northern side.

"Well, now that is unified ... and a community that's been divided by a rusty, deadly corridor will now be able to be one community," Mr Andrews said.

The three-level crossings are on the southern boundary of the premier's Mulgrave electorate and he has said previously he looks forward to bringing his children to the new open spaces that will be built below the sky rail.

Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the old tracks would be ripped up and those spaces, including an off-leash dog park, added in coming months.

The Opposition argued Labor had misled people by promising to remove level crossings, then building a sky rail when most would have expected to see a rail trench.

"He did not promise to [build] a sky rail, nobody knew about this," opposition public transport spokesman David Davis said.

"There's no doubt it's a magnificent view from on top of the sky rail, huge distances out, but it's also ...  a massive impost on the community - overshadowing on one side, intrusion on the other."

The removal of nine level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong is a $1.6 billion project, including the replacement of five railway stations.

The project is due for completion later this year.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/962925989914275840

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/963877099915235328

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/963878183392002048

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/austrain37/status/964064688454553605

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/danielbowen/status/975484514918023168

Caulfield to Dandenong skyrail nears completion

>> https://www.danielbowen.com/2018/03/19/cfd-dng-skyrail-nears-completion/

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/LukeHildred/status/979534130760200192

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/981788609198964736

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/985629116316565504

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ACarbinesMP/status/985636319857487872

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/985690221739061248

[ozbob]

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/clayton-crossings-consigned-to-history/

Clayton Crossings Consigned To History

Minister for Public Transport

16 April 2018

The Andrews Labor Government has now removed 17 dangerous and congested level crossings, with two more gone in Melbourne's booming south east.

Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan was at Clayton Station today to mark the occasion and catch one of the very first passenger trains to run on the latest section of elevated track.

With level crossings at Centre and Clayton Roads now removed, ambulances transporting critically ill patients to Monash Hospital will no longer be held up by boom gates – which used to put lives at risk.

Prior to their removal, the boom gates were down at the notorious Clayton Road level crossing for up to 82 minutes in the two-hour morning peak, creating major local traffic congestion.

The former level crossing was located at a crucial nexus for health, education and research in Melbourne's south east, just 550 metres from the Monash Hospital and a few kilometres away from major employers Monash University, CSIRO, and the Australian Synchotron. 

The station features an improved layout, dedicated interchanges for buses, bikes and taxis, as well as 86 additional car parks, making it better equipped to handle the high volume of passengers who use it each day.

Meanwhile, work is continuing to rip up old tracks and create parks, paths and play areas right along the rail line. 

Today's announcement comes at the end of an around-the-clock construction blitz and marks another major step towards removing every single level crossing between Caulfield and Dandenong.

Last week, boom gates at Clayton Road were carried away by work crews, cheered on by around 150 onlookers who gathered to catch the historic moment for themselves.

A construction blitz starting next month on the Frankston line will see the removal of the twentieth dangerous and congested level crossing, fulfilling the Labor Government's election commitment.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan

"This brings us another massive step closer to achieving exactly what we said we would – getting rid of every single level crossing between Caulfield and Dandenong."

"It's simply not okay to have ambulances regularly waiting at boom gates for five or ten minutes at a stretch – yet this is exactly what has happened at this crossing for decades."

"We thank passengers for their patience during these disruptions – but without action now, the congestion would continue to grow and our network would grind to a halt."

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/989761352083255296



Murrumbeena is my home station when I am in Melbourne.  Looking forward to checking it all out early July.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/992291224554885120

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/993751482489978880

[ozbob]

Last day for surface trains Carnegie and Murrumbeena today.  Will be up in the air from June 17th.

( https://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/disruptions/cranbourne-and-pakenham-lines-buses-replacing-trains-may-jun )

A friend captured a few farewell images today ..

https://twitter.com/railmaps/status/1001319578377453568

https://twitter.com/railmaps/status/1001323576404819968

https://twitter.com/railmaps/status/1001325336527757312

https://twitter.com/railmaps/status/1001329543095832576

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/1001426366472929280

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/1001428834913153024

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/1002052024429568000

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Louella_Cooper/status/1002755505595355136

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/1002810451867066368

https://twitter.com/railmaps/status/1002813163300052992

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/1004251238098071557

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/1004213404645462016

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/1004912050244468741

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/1006508833487794177

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/1007823129027022849

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/vicsig/status/1007874854219943936

[ozbob]

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/getting-it-done-election-commitment-smashed-with-25-level-crossings-gone/

Getting It Done: Election Commitment Smashed With 25 Level Crossings Gone

Premier 17 June 2018

The Andrews Labor Government will smash its election commitment to remove 20 level crossings in its first term, with 25 set to go by the end of the month.

With six level crossings to be removed by the end of the month, and three new stations open for passengers from tomorrow, it confirms work is well ahead of schedule to remove 50 crossings by 2022.

Following a construction blitz, the final four level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong will be gone for good tomorrow with trains running on the final section of elevated rail. This brings the total number of level crossings removed to 23 – with 25 on track to go by the end of the month.

In addition to the crossing removals at Murrumbeena, Grange, Koornang and Poath roads, new stations will be operational at Murrumbeena and Carnegie. Work will continue to complete the stations over coming months.

Further along the Cranbourne line, the level crossing at Thompsons Road in Lyndhurst will be removed when the first section of a new road bridge opens at the end of the week.

On the Frankston line, passengers will be able to board trains at the new Frankston Station from tomorrow. Trains will also begin travelling over a new rail bridge at Skye/Overton Road in Frankston, safely separating trains and cars with Skye/Overton Road set to reopen to traffic before the end of the month.

This massive pipeline of work is not only getting Victorians home safer and sooner but creating thousands of local jobs, and providing skills and opportunities to hundreds of apprentices, trainees and cadets through the Major Projects Skills Guarantee.

More than 23 million hours have now been worked on the project – the equivalent of around 3,400 jobs to people including engineers, signal operators and labourers – with major flow-on benefits for the local economy.

Workers have excavated more than 590,000 cubic metres of soil and rock, enough to fill 236 Olympic swimming pools, and installed more than 369 kilometres of rail signal cabling – enough to go nearly half way to Sydney.

Over the decade to 2015, 20 people have lost their lives at the 50 dangerous level crossings the Government is removing, with 60 collisions and around 680 near-misses.

In addition to the 25 crossings removed this week, 14 new stations will have opened with a further five level crossing removals under construction. Up to 28 level crossings will be gone by the end of the year.

Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews

"We promised we'd remove 20 of our most dangerous and congested level crossings and that's exactly what we've done – and we won't stop getting rid of these relics of the past."

"Too many Victorians have lost their lives at level crossings – today we remember them and their loved ones as we make real change that will save lives in the future."

Quotes attributable to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan

"No government has ever removed this many level crossings, this quickly. As we reach the half way point of the project, we celebrate the significant progress we've made but recognise there is still plenty more to do."

"With every level crossing gone on this line, we've paved the way for more trains, more often to get Victorians home safer and sooner."

[matlock]

What a fantastic project. We need that in Queensland ASAP.

[ozbob]

Indeed!  I am going down to for an update in two weeks 

Trains in the sky and every 10 minutes 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/VicGovtNews/status/1008133420117946368

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1008134408409354240

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/1008281871812198401

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/levelcrossings/status/1008439006416199680

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/JacintaAllanMP/status/1008461422865465345

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ptua/status/1008499156577447936

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/1008514719097937925