Melbourne Trains

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Attention please, Metro staff told

Attention please, Metro staff told
Clay Lucas
July 21, 2011

TIRED of the distracted ticket seller behind the counter at the train station? Metro is.

The rail operator's 300 station staff have been warned: put away your newspapers and magazines, switch off that radio, and sell tickets.

In a memo to all Melbourne station staff sent last week, workers were told it was unprofessional to have a radio or reading material on public view at any of the city's 90 booking offices.
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''There is to be no reading of papers in any booking offices, no newspapers, magazines on booking counters, and no radios in any booking offices and control rooms,'' station operations manager Ron Bria wrote.

Metro spokeswoman Geraldine Mitchell said yesterday the memo was sent to remind staff to present a ''professional public image at all times''.

The directive followed customer complaints about staff not being attentive enough to passengers.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union, which represents station staff, says the memo is dealing with a non-existent problem in a petty way. Station staff are among the rail company's lowest paid employees (the most experienced station staffer gets about $27 an hour, or about $53,000 a year).

Grant Wainwright, of the union's rail division, said Metro's management shouldn't be ''wasting time worrying about the removal of radios and newspapers from booking offices''.

The union recently put forward a plan to Metro and the government outlining the big projects it argued should be undertaken in Victoria's public transport system.

One suggestion was the extension of the Epping line past South Morang to Mernda.

''That plan identified real matters of concern ... [and] of daily importance to the ... public. Not whether someone has a newspaper or a radio on their desk,'' Mr Wainwright said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/attention-please-metro-staff-told-20110720-1hoxz.html

[ozbob]

Twitter

9newsmelb Nine News Melbourne
by ptua
Hundreds more commuters forced to stand as Metro begins ripping dozens of seats from trains @Andrew_Lund has the details on Nine News at 6
11 hours ago

=============

andrew_lund Andrew Lund
by danielbowen
Metro expects to have first round of seat removal complete on 48 trains within 6-8 months. Still examining options for others #standingroom
8 hours ago

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Metro starts ripping out train seats to help ease commuter crush

Metro starts ripping out train seats to help ease commuter crush

    Nick Leys
    From: Herald Sun
    July 22, 2011 12:00AM

PASSENGERS will have less chance of getting a seat on Melbourne's already crowded train carriages as Metro starts ripping out seats in some trains to increase capacity.

The train operator says the removal of the third aisle seat in 48 trains in the X'Trapolis fleet will provide more space for commuters and speed up the time it takes to get on and off.

Every six-car X'Trapolis train will have 72 fewer seats - down from 528 to 456.

Metro says the reconfigeration will bring the older X'Trapolis trains into line with the 38 new X'Trapolis trains being rolled out.

The reconfigured trains will come into use from next week. Extra handles will also be installed.

Metro spokeswoman Geraldine Mitchell said the changes will provide more capacity on the network.

"It enables us to better utilise the space we have available and will provide more comfort for customers," she said.

"There tends to be a lot of congestion with people crowding near the doors. By creating more space, we're providing more room for people to move about.

"Ultimately this will help to get more people to work on time and home on time, safely and comfortably."

The changes were approved by the State Government in March and should be complete by next March.

Daniel Bowen, president of the Public Transport Users Association, said the changes were acceptable as long as Metro did not remove any more seats than had been decided.

"The old seating layout is inefficient and leaves a narrow gap between seats which means people crowd around doorways," he said.

Ms Mitchell said Metro would apply for more funding next year to remove seats on the Comeng fleet.

The X'Trapolis fleet only services less crowded lines.

[#Metro]

Ha ha ha!

Hurry up Queensland Rail and Brisbane Transport, RIP OUT SEATS!!

[#Metro]

9newsmelb Nine News Melbourne
by ptua
Hundreds more commuters forced to stand as Metro begins ripping dozens of seats from trains @Andrew_Lund has the details on Nine News at 6
11 hours ago

Oh my heart bleeds </sarcasm>

Forced to stand. Well if they didn't do it they would be 'forced to wait' or 'forced into a sardine can'.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Metro under attack from Melbourne's short-statured population

Metro under attack from Melbourne's short-statured population

    Nick Leys
    From: Herald Sun
    July 26, 2011 12:00AM

TRAIN operator Metro has come under attack from Melbourne's short-statured population, who claim they are being left with nowhere to sit and nothing to hang on to.

Metro this week rolled out modified carriages with some seats removed to create more standing room.

But for anyone who can't reach an overhead handle, or push through a crowded carriage to grab a handrail, life has become just a little bit harder.

Local members of the Short Statured People of Australia have condemned the change, saying it is just one more reason not to use public transport.

Samantha Lilly, 22, said the thought of entering a crowded carriage with little hope of a seat was "just horrible".

"My face is at bottom height, so a crowded train is horrendous," the 112cm university student said.

"It's quite scary. People don't know you are there and if they step back you can get trampled.
"If people can see you and know your intentions they let you through, but if they can't move they can't let you through anyway."

Trams are just as frustrating. Several years ago Ms Lilly was fined for not having a ticket, but she could not reach the vending machine.

"A lot of us have that problem," she said.

"When I argued with them they told me to ask a stranger to buy a ticket for me. Eventually they dropped the fine, but I thought things would change. They haven't."

Sam Millard, 23, is 120cm and also a university student. He stopped using public transport because he decided it was unsafe.

"The hardest thing is getting on and off," Mr Millard said. "When things are really crowded it can be dangerous and you get bumped around."

Metro spokeswoman Geraldine Mitchell said the removal of seats would improve access to handrails.

"Our assessment of the congestion near the door areas has proven there is limited access to handrails for all heights," she said.

"This change will ease congestion and improve customer flow, providing better access to handrails."

Metro is removing the third aisle seat in 48 trains in the X'Trapolis fleet, meaning every six-car X'Trapolis train will have 72 fewer seats - down from 528 to 456.

[#Metro]

Just put another handrail on the seat. Don't our trains already have this anyway?

[SurfRail]

Just put another handrail on the seat. Don't our trains already have this anyway?

And virtually all buses too.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Metro finally runs the trains on time

Metro finally runs the trains on time

    Nick Leys
    From: Herald Sun
    August 01, 2011 12:00AM

MELBOURNE'S train operator Metro has posted its best performance results since it took over the service in 2009.

The latest performance targets show marked improvements across metropolitan rail lines with the Sandringham line achieving the best result - 98.62 per cent of services maintaining punctuality and delivery.

The least successful train line is Belgrave, which has only managed a score of 82.3 per cent.

Overall Metro claimed a 91.69 per cent success rate for punctuality and delivery across the 16 main rail lines that make up the metropolitan system.

And significantly for voters in the southeast, the Frankston line, a source of criticism for the Brumby Labor government before it lost the state election last November, has jumped from an appalling 58.9 per cent last March to 94.5 this month.

Metro CEO Andrew Lezala said the latest figures were the result of a year where the rail operator focused on improving commuter services.

"We were confident from the outset our customers would see improved performance as a result of our efforts to put in place long-term improvements," he said.

"When we first took over the network in November 2009 we analysed the issues affecting performance and we've since brought about real change."

Metro's March figures show the effects of the train drivers' union "go-slow" campaign to derail Metro's performance.

Punctuality plummeted in mid-March, with the Cranbourne, Frankston, Pakenham, Sandringham and Werribee lines the worst-hit.

Metro later investigated the delays using radar guns to check train speeds and CCTV cameras.

Average performance results across the network for the first half of March were a deplorable 77.3 per cent as a result.

In the first half of May average results had risen to 80.1 per cent, a rise Metro attributes to the introduction of the new timetable on May 8 that saw an extra 635 weekly services.

Performance results were given a further boost in June with the removal of the speed restrictions that had applied to the Siemens fleet. "The overhaul of the timetable is part of a step-by-step process to simplify train running by segregating lines to improve reliability," Mr Lezala said.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Best-ever punctuality result for Metro

Best-ever punctuality result for Metro
August 4, 2011 - 9:29AM

Around nine out of every 10 Melbourne suburban trains arrived on schedule in July, the best result for the network in five years.

The city's metropolitan rail operator, Metro, says its punctuality target of 91.9 per cent is the best result since it took charge of the network in 2009, and the high mark since August 2006.

Since that time, the number of weekly services has increased 17 per cent and annual patronage has almost doubled.

Metro chief executive Andrew Lezala said new timetables and the lifting of speed restrictions on part of their train fleet helped increase performance.

"This is no fluke. We have reviewed the data, we identified the reasons for infrastructure faults and service delays, and implemented solutions to fix them," he said.

AAP

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/bestever-punctuality-result-for-metro-20110804-1icee.html

[Fares_Fair]

Given the QR 'created definition' for on-time performance, I wonder if Mebourne uses a similar 'created definition' for punctuality ?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[SurfRail]

Given the QR 'created definition' for on-time performance, I wonder if Mebourne uses a similar 'created definition' for punctuality ?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

I'm given to understand that ours is actually one minute more stringent than theirs.

[Fares_Fair]

Given the QR 'created definition' for on-time performance, I wonder if Mebourne uses a similar 'created definition' for punctuality ?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

I'm given to understand that ours is actually one minute more stringent than theirs.

Thanks SR,

It's a sad day when the proper english (and accepted) definition of words are altered to mask the performance or otherwise of government services.
I think that they should make on-time performance (or punctuality in the Melbourne case) within 1 minute (59 seconds), and perhaps note the variances from that in a table of 1-5 minutes, 6-10 minutes late etc.
To continue using these common english terms that have contrived definitions is misleading, and in my opinion false advertising.

That is NOT a sign of open accountable and transparent governance.

Regards,
Fares_fair.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Western rail passengers Melbourne's most unhappy

Western rail passengers Melbourne's most unhappy
Reid Sexton
August 8, 2011

PEOPLE in Melbourne's west are the most unhappy rail passengers in the city, while those who live in the east are the most satisfied with how the network performs, confidential data shows.

Customer satisfaction surveys obtained by The Age under freedom of information laws reveal that for several years Sydenham line passengers have on average rated the network far worse than other passengers.

This is in contrast to the ratings passengers through much of the eastern suburbs give the Metro network, with people who use the Glen Waverley line the most satisfied and the next top four locations with happy customers all located in Melbourne's east or outer-east.

Daniel Bowen, president of the Public Transport Users' Association, said the eastern suburbs' much higher satisfaction levels was a reflection of the better quality service there.

''There's certainly cases of more frequent train service in the east than in the west,'' he said. ''For example ... many stations on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines in peak hour get a train about every three or four minutes but very few stations in other areas of Melbourne get anywhere near that frequency.

''It's not really a deliberate kind of bias, it's more that historically the eastern suburbs were strong growth corridors and back when there was good planning in public transport ... they got upgrades. In the last 10 to 20 years the growth has been elsewhere in Melbourne but the planning and investment hasn't been there.''

The Department of Transport surveys thousands of passengers on a range of rail-related issues for reports that are released four times a year, with an overall satisfaction calculated and broken down by people's local station.

The surveys reveal that after an unprecedented patronage surge on Melbourne's rail network that started about 2004, satisfaction levels fell to an all time low last year.

However, satisfaction has been boosted with new trains and improved timetables slowly improving the network's performance.

But analysis by The Age on data from January 2008 to March 2011 shows that passengers whose main station is on the Middle Footscray to Sunshine segment of the Sydenham line have rated the network only 49 out of 100 on average over the past three years.

This is followed by Hawksburn to Caulfield on 55, which is used by the Frankston and Pakenham lines, then Seaholme to Werribee, North Williamstown to Williamstown and Jolimont to Clifton Hill.

Passengers on the Heyington to Glen Waverley segment have rated the network the highest in the past three years with an average score of 66, followed by East Camberwell to Ringwood, East Richmond to Camberwell, Ringwood East to Lilydale and Heathmont to Belgrave.

A government spokeswoman blamed Labor's inaction for the high levels of dissatisfaction, saying the former government had failed to plan for massive population growth in areas that recorded poor ratings.

A Metro spokeswoman said results would continue to improve as it reconfigured the timetable.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/western-rail-passengers-melbournes-most-unhappy-20110807-1ihof.html

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Train fire due to bad practice

Train fire due to bad practice
Clay Lucas
August 9, 2011

METRO'S failure to satisfactorily maintain one of its trains and a railway power substation in Reservoir led to a fire igniting on the train as it pulled out of a Northcote railway station last year, a report by the state's rail safety investigator has found.

A lack of repair records for the train and extensive fire damage meant the investigation was unable to establish what had caused the blaze, chief investigator Ian McCallum found.

Metro disputes Mr McCallum's findings. A spokeswoman said the fire had been caused not by a lack of maintenance but by a faulty power substation part installed by the previous operator, Connex, in 2008.
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On March 17 last year, 50 passengers were evacuated from the final train of the night to Epping, after it caught fire as it left Croxton station.

Failsafes on the train and the substation failed to cut out a sustained power surge so intense it melted steel casing from a power line.

The train's driver said he realised the train was on fire when he lost power and saw ''massive flames'' coming from under the final carriage.

Emergency crews were called to put the fire out. No one was hurt but the train sustained extensive damage.

The report on the incident found a lack of maintenance on the train's electrical components and a poorly maintained circuit breaker at the power substation caused the incident.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/train-fire-due-to-bad-practice-20110808-1ij9p.html

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Metro trains wait to arrive on time

Metro trains wait to arrive on time
Clay Lucas
August 10, 2011

A NEW rail timetable introduced by Metro in May allows so much extra time for trains to run on schedule that drivers say they are waiting for up to three minutes at some railway stations before leaving.

Metro chief executive Andrew Lezala said last week that in July, the operator had achieved the best on-time running performance in five years.

However, train drivers, their union and the Public Transport Users Association say the result has been achieved by building significant ''slack'' into a new timetable introduced in May.

Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder approved the timetable early this year.

Metro last month ran 91.9 per cent of the trains within five minutes of their scheduled time.

Mr Lezala said this result was the best since 2006 and patronage has risen 44 per cent since.

Key to the improvement was funding from the state government for Metro to install new equipment on the city's 36 Siemens trains to fix a long-running braking issue. As a result, 30km/h speed restrictions were removed at 61 locations across the network.

But significant extra time had been built into the May timetable for delays caused by these speed restrictions.

This is detailed in government briefs from January and in a report written by Metro and released to Greens MP Greg Barber.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union is embroiled in an increasingly bitter fight with Metro over changes it is making to the rail system.

Division secretary Marc Marotta said the new timetable had made it much easier for drivers to run trains on time. ''The change was really an increase in travel times, dressed up to make Metro look like they are doing a good job.''

Six Metro drivers questioned by The Age yesterday said the new timetable provided too much ''slack''. All said they were often forced to wait several seconds longer than they needed to at each railway station, or pause for between one and three minutes at a single stop along the line.

This was happening predominantly on four lines: Frankston, Sandringham, Pakenham and Cranbourne.

The president of the Public Transport Users Association, Daniel Bowen, said Metro had not adjusted its timetable to recognise that the Siemens brake issue had been resolved.

Mr Bowen recounted a train trip where the train driver had stopped for about a minute at Hawksburn station. The driver, Mr Bowen said, announced to passengers: ''Apologies for the delay. It's not because I'm a slow driver; it's because it's the slackest timetable I've ever seen.''

Mr Bowen said: ''If trains are consistently running early, then it's making the trip longer than it needs to be.''

Metro spokeswoman Geraldine Mitchell said the May timetable had been developed a year before it was implemented.

''At the time, it wasn't clear when speed restrictions would be lifted. Partial speed restrictions [on the Siemens trains] were one factor, along with dwell times and patronage growth, which contributed to the projected actual journey times,'' she said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/metro-trains-wait-to-arrive-on-time-20110809-1ikwi.html

[johnnigh]

Have 'enjoyed' Metro these last couple of days while in Melbourne. I was particularly struck by the queue to get from the platform, lower level, at Melbourne Central, onto the escalator up to the concourse and shopping mall. A milling mob off the train, out of peak hour (about 10am) squeezing onto the two-person width escalator - took nearly a minute for us to reach the foot of the escalator. I did wonder about fire escapes... just as I do at Town Hall in Sydney, a well known fire trap. But Town Hall was built in the 1920s, Melbourne Central just a decade or so ago.

BTW, we also enjoyed the 'wait at station' and 'wait between stations' in order to stay on time and not ahead of time. I would have thought that the easy timetable method of on-time running would have been penalised by the transport regulators by now.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Train operator boosts earnings

Train operator boosts earnings
Clay Lucas
August 15, 2011

THE Hong Kong-based operator behind Metro has reported a $A7 million pre-tax profit increase from running Melbourne's trains in the first half of this year.

Hong Kong's MTR is majority shareholder in Metro Trains Melbourne.

In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday, MTR said Melbourne earnings before tax and other expenses for the first six months of 2011 were $HK263 million ($A33.7 million), up from HK$209 million for the same period in 2010.
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MTR, 77 per cent owned by the Hong Kong government, operates the city's metro system. Outside China it operates suburban railway systems in Stockholm and London.

The Stockholm system earned MTR $A4 million first-half profit, while its London overground routes earned $A1.5 million. The increased earnings from Melbourne were the result of changes to operating procedures, the MTR statement said.

It blamed poor performance early this year on the city's train drivers, and also said severe flooding in February had damaged signalling systems and reduced punctuality.

The statement also said a new timetable in May was ''producing tangible reliability improvements''.

The Age last week reported that many train drivers were now waiting for one to three minutes before leaving stations, because so much slack had been built into the schedule so Metro could meet punctuality targets.

MTR's Hong Kong system is one of the world's most reliable, with near 100 per cent of trains running ''on time''.

In Hong Kong this is considered within two minutes of the scheduled time, while in Melbourne on-time is within five minutes.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/train-operator-boosts-earnings-20110814-1it08.html

[O_128]

Wouldn't be surprised if within 5 years Melbourne is running at MTR standard, It would be interesting to see the profit that QR earns.

[ozbob]

From mUmBRELLA click here!

TorchMotion lands Metro Trains deal

TorchMotion lands Metro Trains deal

TorchMotion has won a contract to sell advertising on behalf of Melbourne's Metro Trains.

The announcement:

    New commuter advertising brand TorchMotion launches this week with the announcement that it has secured the rights to sell advertising on the external of Metro trains in Melbourne. TorchMotion is a sister-division to established shopper media network, TorchMedia.

    The Metro carries around 220 million passenger journeys each year, which equates to an audience of 4.2 million people a month. The journeys include commuters to work, school and university as well as recreational activities such as shopping.

    "Melbourne is the first market for TorchMotion, our new division focusing on the commuter market, and we hope to expand that offering over the next two years," said Andrew Gibson, CEO of TorchMedia.
    "TorchMotion is off to an excellent start, with audience numbers equal to mainstream media. The three-month trial commenced on 1 July and has so far been well received by the Melbourne public and generated a raft of potential advertisers." The trial campaign was for Vic Super.

    The train exteriors represent a new medium in Australia that has been highly successful in several Asian markets including Hong Kong. With Metro, TorchMotion will be offering two advertising panels per carriage, and with six carriages per train that totals 12 panels per train.

August 24th, 2011 at 3:40 pm

[somebody]

Wouldn't be surprised if within 5 years Melbourne is running at MTR standard, It would be interesting to see the profit that MTR earns.

Presume that is what you meant.

[ozbob]

MTR makes its money from the commercial activities - retail etc. not directly from the passenger trains themselves.

Why isn't KGSBS full of shops?  Similarly many railway stations could be retail hubs.  The move to generate income from advertising is exactly the sort of thing MTR would do ..

[O_128]

MTR makes its money from the commercial activities - retail etc. not directly from the passenger trains themselves.

Why isn't KGSBS full of shops?  Similarly many railway stations could be retail hubs.  The move to generate income from advertising is exactly the sort of thing MTR would do ..

Shops have been boarded up in the KGSBS underground plaza, obviously the rent was to expensive a little coffee shop and newsagent would do well there though.

[SurfRail]

I expect it is a combination of:

(a) unrealistic expectations on the government's part for market rent;
(b) failure to provide appropriate lease incentives, which have been very common since 2008 to present;
(c) generalised incompetence and/or lack of focus in the Department of Public Works and the Public Trustee's office, who tend to handle most of the government's leasing work (DPW does the commercial stuff, PT do the legal work); and
(d) the fact it is right next to the mall and Adelaide St retail frontage and that there is a coffee shop upstairs anyway.

The only place on the network that seems to have this right is the Valley - Toowong is sort of there, but compromised because the station entrance is outside the shopping centre and is very tatty.  Ipswich is the same as Toowong but magnified to be many times worse because the shops are over the road and there are public health services right next to the station...

[Golliwog]

Who 'owns' the little cafe upstairs anyway? Is that leased through BCC or Translink/TMR/whatever?

I don't know, while great for those using the busway, not having anything at the surface may be a bit limiting for businesses trying to set up at KGSBS. That said, the newsagent above and on the platforms at Central doesn't seem to have any problems. Though I wonder if those on the platforms would be enough to turn a profit on their own.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

In transit? Can't miss these ads

In transit? Can't miss these ads
Clare Kermond
August 25, 2011

MELBOURNE commuters will soon see billboard-style ads on the outside of their trains, in an advertising contract to deliver a windfall worth hundreds of thousands to Metro.

Following a three-month trial of ads for superannuation fund VicSuper, at least one advertiser has signed up for a contract to begin next month.

The advertising company that will be selling the space, TorchMedia, would not reveal the name of the first advertiser but said it had had strong interest from advertisers since the trial began, including several government departments.

TorchMedia's marketing director, Kirsty Dollisson, said the train advertising had huge appeal for advertisers and was successful in many other countries. ''It's such a visual medium. The trains will be virtually moving billboards, moving around from station to station and seen by not just commuters, but also cars and pedestrians.

A Metro spokesman last night confirmed that the money from the ads went to Metro but could not provide further details.

The trial, which involved VicSuper ads on three trains, was approved by Transport Minister Terry Mulder.

Ms Dollisson said ads would typically appear on six carriages of one train and advertisers would buy space on up to four trains.

Under its contract, Metro can sell advertising space on any state-owned asset it manages, as long as advertisements comply with all laws and are not offensive.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/in-transit-cant-miss-these-ads-20110824-1jaau.html

One of the trains with the VicSuper ad



Photograph R Dow 15th August 2011

[Jonno]

Advertising on the side of Brisbane Trams help make them a profitable business. 

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Commuter satisfaction for transport down

Commuter satisfaction for transport down

    Greg Thom
    From: Herald Sun
    September 05, 2011 12:00AM

TRAIN operator Metro was fined more than $3 million for failing to meet performance targets in the three months to June.

Fines for failing to meet obligations in areas including punctuality rose from $603,000 the previous quarter to $3.092 million, Transport Department statistics show.

The number of trains arriving on time fell from 86 per cent in the three months to March to 82.4 per cent by the end of June.

Yarra trams went from being $21,000 in the black from bonus payments to shelling out $317,000 in fines as its punctuality dipped 0.2 per cent to 81 per cent in the same period.

Commuters' satisfaction with transport fell from 60 to 59 per cent.

Customer satisfaction with trams rose 0.9 points to 70.2 per cent.

The news comes as Metro has shown marked improvement in the three months to the end of August, with train punctuality and performance exceeding the 88 per cent trigger for fines.

Metro spokeswoman Geraldine Mitchell said Metro was focused on improving its reliability.

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here

Commuters face pain as Metro declares war on train drivers' union

Commuters face pain as Metro declares war on train drivers' union

    Ashley Gardiner, Stephen Drill
    From: Herald Sun
    September 09, 2011 12:00AM

COMMUTERS face chaos as Metro declares war on the train drivers' union in a high-risk bid to end the sabotage of services.

Melbourne's rail system will become the latest battleground in an increasingly bitter fight pitting the rail operator and Baillieu Government against the unions.

Metro last night filed an application with Fair Work Australia to have Rail, Tram and Bus Union locomotive division secretary Marc Marotta banned.

It follows a claim by Metro chief Andrew Lezala in April that some train drivers were on a deliberate "go-slow" designed to sabotage Metro's performance.

It also follows a Metro investigation into claims of assault at the Epping train depot in June.

Transport sources fear the move could provoke wildcat industrial action - including possible walk-outs, more "go-slows" and bogus fault reports - which could cripple or severely undermine services.

The Baillieu Government, which has backed the Metro move, has launched a separate crackdown on what it calls union thuggery and intimidation on the $5 billion Regional Rail Link project.

Metro spokeswoman Leah Waymark said the Fair Work Australia application had been made because of serious allegations.

"Our employees should be able to come to work and be treated with respect," Ms Waymark said.

The allegations were disturbing and, if true, the company had an obligation to protect its workers.

An industry source said the move could be provocative.

"A private operator has never taken on the unions like this before. They might go quiet, or there might instead be an angry backlash," the source said.

Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder last night demanded swift action.

"These are extremely serious allegations and Fair Work Australia will need to deal with them as soon as possible," Mr Mulder said.

"Train drivers are respected members of the community with highly responsible jobs and the public rely on their integrity and professionalism."

The Herald Sun believes a police investigation into the alleged assault in June resulted in no charges.

If Fair Work Australia revoked Mr Marotta's right of entry he would be unable to conduct union meetings on railway property.

Mr Marotta did not return calls from the Herald Sun last night.

As work continues on the rail link, the Government yesterday told companies bidding for work on the project they must allow its inspectors on site or they would not get the job.

Australian Workers Union secretary Cesar Melhem, who has brokered agreements with Regional Rail Link bidders, said the Government should stop bashing unions.

"It's hypocritical of this Government to attack unions. They should butt out," he said.

"The only reason they are doing this for political point-scoring. It's a throwback to the days of the waterfront dispute."

[ozbob]

New ad on Metro trains --> http://yfrog.com/keh2kyhj

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Metro plan to introduce super-size trains in Melbourne

Metro plan to introduce super-size trains in Melbourne

   Ashley Gardiner
   From: Herald Sun
   September 19, 2011 12:00AM

SUPER-sized trains could run on Melbourne's rails under a Metro plan to cope with booming patronage.

The idea, raised in private talks with the State Government, would involve having trains nine carriages long on the Dandenong line.

Platforms would be extended to accommodate trains about 70m longer than today's.

There would also be an impact on signals and overhead lines.

But not all stations would need platform extensions: longer trains could run express, bypassing stations with shorter platforms.

Cost estimates are yet to be completed; nor have matters such as parking been considered. But Metro engineers believe it can be done.

The proposal is revealed in minutes of private meetings in January and March, seen by the Herald Sun.

They also reveal that:

RISING patronage will "open the debate into removing seats and changing load standards".

A REPORT has been done on cracking in the City Loop.

ESCALATORS could be used for advertising space.

FEWER ticket inspectors are on the books than are needed, at a time when fare evasion is increasing.

METRO has handed over a list of the top 50 stations for armed-guard deployment.

AN independent passenger authority is being looked at.

Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said squeezing in extra services by better signalling was an option.

"Nine-car suburban trains, or improved signalling, are among the options on the table for the Dandenong line in the medium term," he said.

"Both would be costly. Both require grade separations (removal of level crossings)."

Squeezing in extra trains means increased boom gate operation, leading to traffic disruption.

This would require earlier removal of level crossings, making it the more expensive option.

Metro's Geraldine Mitchell said it was analysing the network and finding ways to maximise infrastructure use.

"The option of nine-car trains, which is still under investigation, would enable us to increase capacity where it is needed the most," she said.

[ozbob]

Daniel Bowen blog --> Nine carriage trains – could they work?

[ozbob]

Metropolitan train passenger load surveys

--> http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/pt/facts-and-figures/metropolitan-train-passenger-load-surveys

This level of public reporting is  needed for for South East Queensland  too ...

[somebody]

Even more detailed for CityRail.

What is the "Benchmark"?  That should be explained.

Although doesn't Translink Tracker have basically the same info as this?  EDIT: Where is the June 2011 one?

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Smoke and mirrors

Smoke and mirrors
Clay Lucas and Jason Dowling
October 6, 2011

IT IS Melbourne's busiest railway line, and barely a decade ago it would have been absurd to think that the fortunes of a state government could ride on it. But ask Rob Hudson, the former Labor MP for Bentleigh, what the performance of the Frankston line meant to him last November and the political potency of getting the city's trains to run on time becomes clear.

Hudson lost his seat, and with it went John Brumby's keys to 1 Treasury Place. And Hudson says the performance of the Frankston line - along which four seats went from Labor to the Coalition - was largely to blame.

"It was just a disaster," says the former MP of the line's performance in an election year.

Jump forward 12 months and everything has changed. Over the past four months, following a big timetable change in May, rail operator Metro has been able to boast for the first time in years that the line is running "on time".

And the latest results, released today, show the improvement has been sustained in the past month. Some might describe this performance as miraculous.

How Metro achieved this turnaround on a number of lines, most obviously Frankston, deserves closer scrutiny.

The question is whether the Baillieu government has allowed Metro to pull off a smoke-and-mirrors trick that has saved it millions, and allowed it to boast that the problems on this and several other lines have been fixed.

Ted Baillieu was, after all, elected on a platform of "Fix the problems. Build the future."

Cynicism about this apparent success story is understandable given the degree to which questionable crime statistics and fudged data in the hospital system have in recent years challenged public confidence in official performance statistics.

In this context, performance on the Frankston line - one of Melbourne's oldest, finished in 1882 - is crucial. With 5705 trains each week, it carries more services than any of the city's 15 lines. Until recently, a third of these trains turned up late - if they turned up at all.

The tardy performance of Melbourne's trains along this line, which hugs Port Phillip Bay from Mentone to Frankston, cruelled Labor's election prospects in 2010, Hudson says.

''Between July 2009 and May 2010 the number of trains arriving within five minutes of the scheduled time had declined from 80.6 per cent to 62.6 per cent,'' he says.

Hudson is not alone in seeing this failure as electoral poison. His assessment is backed by Labor's review of the 2010 state election. Internal polling consistently found public transport was a vote switching issue, from Labor to the Coalition, for 25 per cent or more of voters.

''Public transport was a bigger vote switching issue than health and hospitals, water, law and order, education and financial management waste,'' the research found.

And the poor performance of public transport ''almost certainly contributed to the loss of all four marginal sand-belt seats on the Frankston line, which in the 18 months leading up to the state election had the worst on-time running performance of any line on the metropolitan rail system'', it found.

Compare this with seats that benefited from the Bracks government's $750 million investment in the Regional Fast Rail upgrade, delivered in its early years of government. Seats in Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo stayed with Labor. The seat of Rippon, where passenger train services to Maryborough returned in 2010, remained in Labor's hands too.

More than any state election in memory, the 2010 poll showed that, with increasingly congested roads and the cost of driving escalating, public transport now matters to voters - which is why the Baillieu government has been quick to welcome the improved performance figures on Melbourne's rail system in recent months from Metro.

In July last year - four months before the election - 30.3 per cent of trains on the Frankston train line were more than five minutes late. A year later, only 7.4 per cent of trains were recorded as late.

More widely, Metro in September recorded running about 89 per cent of trains within five minutes of their scheduled time, up from about 87 per cent at the same time last year.

Both Metro and the government say the improvement in Melbourne's train network is real.

Metro's performance figures are not independently audited; instead, the Department of Transport contracts surveyors to take results at Flinders Street and at destination stations every quarter to check Metro's performance.

Right now, these statistics show Metro's performance is on the up. Metro boasts it has exceeded its city-wide punctuality target for the fourth month in a row, a result unthinkable this time last year and the best average performance on the rail network since 2008.

While the numbers look good, there is a view that this illustrates how statistics can be manipulated. RMIT transport expert Paul Mees attributes the apparent success to the fact that Metro has shifted the goalposts: the system has been slowed down to help trains run on time.

''The whole mentality since privatisation started has been to relax the performance standards to make it look as if we are performing better,'' Dr Mees says.

The change in punctuality, rail union official Marc Marotta also says, was due to a simple increase in travel times to make Metro look good. "It's a joke," Marotta says.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen says that while Metro certainly has improved punctuality and cut crowding on lines such as Frankston - which he travels on - there have been problems and trade-offs.

"In some cases, too much slack has been put into the schedules. Some trains are regularly leaving stations early, or ... are sitting waiting at platforms for several minutes at a time - making travel times longer."

And some stations around the Altona area and on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines have had a reduction of services, he says.

Laburnum has lost 10 morning peak services, Camberwell 10 and Glenferrie six.

Bowen also believes many of the new timetables begun in May might make life easier for Metro but are overly complex for passengers.

Bowen says the timetable is ''impossible to memorise'' and some passengers are forced to change trains twice during their journey to the City Loop. He also says there has been little or no change to weekend services, despite increasing cases of overcrowding, and long waiting times between trains.

''In most cities,'' says Bowen, ''having a 'metro' means trains running every 10 minutes or better, all day, every day. Melbourne's Metro clearly has a long way to go before we reach that.''

The reductions on some lines come despite the former Labor government having spent about $600 million buying 38 new trains for Melbourne - 27 of which are now in service.

Simon Lane, who finished as Metro's chief operating officer in mid-September after almost 18 months delivering change, is a vigorous defender of the alterations to the timetable.

The changes, he says, have resulted in genuine improvement.

Lane, speaking just prior to his departure, identified the new timetable and greater reliability of the city's fleet of trains as key improvements.

He said staff had responded well to changes made to improve performance, and rejected claims from drivers that morale on the railways had never been lower.

''People always say morale is bad," said Lane. "[But] I think one of the reasons we are performing much better is that the staff have responded to the changes we have made."

In the background to the jump in performance has also been a range of measures designed to cut costs and keep trains with faults running for longer, and a new tough approach by Metro to its almost entirely unionised driver workforce.

The tough approach comes despite Metro itself acknowledging last year that drivers were responsible for delays to just 2 per cent of services. Other factors such as faulty trains and passenger behaviour have a much greater impact on train delays, Metro's briefings show.

The operator will begin formal negotiations early next year with its drivers for a new three-year enterprise bargaining agreement. It wants to reduce the power of the union, which has been remarkably successful since privatisation in gaining good conditions for its members.

Drivers never have to drive the same route twice in a day, control their own rosters, and earn good money - up to $110,000.

But their wages, handsome as they may be, do not compare to senior management at Metro, which is now almost exclusively made up of British railway men despite the company being majority owned by Hong Kong's MTR.

Chief executive Andrew Lezala has hired - on lucrative salaries - several former rail industry colleagues from Britain. One British railways figure recently observed, in discussion with The Age, that many of those hired by Metro were earning up to triple what they would get for a similar job back in the UK.

Victorian Greens MP Greg Barber has been a close observer of Melbourne's rail network in recent years, and was the driving force behind an inquiry into Victoria's train system in the state's upper house last year.

Documents released to Barber via the State Parliament show Metro's May timetable change helped slow down services on many lines.

The train operator predicted the new timetable would lead to increased punctuality - including a 20 per cent jump on Frankston morning peak hour services - ''due mainly to more realistic run times'', the documents say.

They also show Metro planning to add up to three minutes to train schedules on some lines.

''Slowing down trains is the same thing as burning money, because it means you need to buy more trains to deliver the same carrying capacity,'' says Barber.

The Baillieu government signed off on the timetable Metro introduced. Barber says the government should now be held to account for making life easier for the operator. ''The government slowed down the timetable to match Metro's lousy performance; now they are all trumpeting how much their on-time running has improved.''

Transport Minister Terry Mulder rejects questioning about whether Metro has achieved its improvements by simply fiddling with running times and adding slack to timetables.

Like Metro's Simon Lane, Mulder says there have been improvements in the performance across the train network. He points directly to the Frankston line for proof.

The May timetable change delivered 15 new one-way trips each weekday on the line. ''Punctuality on the Frankston line has dramatically improved under a Coalition government,'' he says.

Mulder says performance on this line is crucial, because it carries so many passengers, and the number using it rises by 6 per cent a year.

For former Labor MP Rob Hudson, some of the success that Mulder and Metro are claiming is being achieved now can ultimately be traced back to the belated extra spending on maintenance and new trains in the final years of the Brumby government.

And he warns the Baillieu government against falling for the same trap the former government did - waiting too late to act on public transport. ''We probably started a term too late in investing,'' he says.

Big "step-change" projects Labor put forward, such as a proposed rail tunnel to run from Footscray to Caulfield, are still needed more than ever, he says, and they need to start now because of their long construction timelines.

''It doesn't get any easier," says Hudson. "You can fiddle with the timetable and put on new trains and make half of them go to Flinders Street rather than around the loop, but eventually we are going to need new investment.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/smoke-and-mirrors-20111005-1l9kv.html

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

More trains running on schedule

More trains running on schedule
Jason Dowling City Editor
October 6, 2011

METRO has achieved its best four-month punctuality performance since taking over the running of Melbourne's trains in November 2009, but some are questioning whether timetable changes in May have undermined the credibility of performance figures and potentially cost taxpayers millions of dollars in fines for late services.

Metro has been allowed to add up to four minutes to the timetable travel times on some busy lines, including the Frankston, Cranbourne and Pakenham, to reflect ''real travel journey times''.

Under its contract with the government, Metro must operate 88 per cent of services on time - arriving at a station within four minutes and 59 seconds of the scheduled time, or face performance penalties.

Metro paid $3 million because services did not meet performance targets - including punctuality - between April and June.

Greens MP Greg Barber said timetables should not be changed to improve performance figures.

''Metro absolutely knew what they were getting into when they came to Melbourne in 2009; they should shape up or ship out,'' he said.

Questions about the credibility of public transport performance figures follow concerns about hospital data and crime statistics.

The Department of Transport's David Stockman said the extra travel time added to some lines in the May timetable changes did not require a rewrite of Metro's performance contract because ''the existing franchise agreement was developed to get agreement on changes to the timetable.

''It should be noted that the Frankston, Cranbourne and Pakenham train lines equate to roughly 20 per cent of the weekly services that Metro provides each week,'' Mr Stockman said.

''Over the course of a 31-stop journey from Frankston to Flinders Street, via the City Loop, a four-minute increase equates to less than eight seconds per stop,'' he said.

Daniel Bowen, of the Public Transport Users Association, said timetable changes and extra services running in peak hour had helped reduce over-crowding and improved punctuality.

''But there are also cases of excessive slack in the timetables, so you regularly see some trains having to wait several minutes at stations because they are ahead of the timetable,'' he said.

''That obviously means it has become a lot easier in some cases for Metro to meet those [performance] targets.''

Last month, Metro delivered 89 per cent of train services on time.

Metro's Leah Waymark said the new timetable had made it easier to achieve monthly performance targets.

She said the September result ''reflects the successful transition to the new timetable, but we still have plenty more to do''.

The last time Metro delivered the trains on time four months in a row was in December 2008 when on-time performance was measured to a five-minute, 59 seconds standard.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/more-trains-running-on-schedule-20111005-1l9pe.html

[ozbob]

Herald Sun --> Trains still on the right track

[somebody]

It's good to see this level of agitation in the media regarding the slow down.  "up to 3 mins" or "up to 4 mins" depending on which article is correct.  3 minutes is the difference between the 2007 and 2009 Gold Coast timetable and I'm not sure if that was ever covered.  The slow down of more like 10 minutes in Sydney wasn't seriously covered either.  I'd really like us to work at this.

[colinw]

I think a comparison of a 1986 (completion of Caboolture electrification) QR timetable with the present one might be instructive, or alternatively 1988 (full electrification of system + Nambour).  The slow downs in QLD have been just as pronounced on some lines, and as far as I know have never been reported.

[somebody]

If anyone has a copy, can they scan it and post it somewhere on this site?