Melbourne Trains

[STB]

Strangely I kinda feel happy that he did this, in the context of forcing those who choose to drive to pay like those who choose to take the bus - an exercise demonstrating this would be fascinating.  Those funds could eventually be fed into the bus network, improving the connections between train and bus. 

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Councillor calls for public transport to run through night

Melbourne's public transport would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week under a proposal a Melbourne city councillor hopes the state government will adopt.

Cr Richard Foster has called on lord mayor Robert Doyle and transport portfolio chairwoman Cathy Oke to lobby Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder for all-night public transport in the city, arguing it would reduce crime and benefit the economy.

''We're trying to create a 24-hour international city and it's pretty hard to do that if you're not offering 24-hour public transport as well,'' Cr Foster said.

''It's certainly practical, it's what the public has been calling for for some time [and] if we seriously want to offer an international city that is safe and vibrant, you've got to have an international-standard public transport service.''
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But the Napthine government was quick to hose down the proposal, arguing it would prevent maintenance work that is needed to run peak-hour services efficiently.

''The government has introduced more than 1000 new train services to the metro rail network each week,'' a spokeswoman said.

''The government's commitment is to the reliability and availability of services to passengers, and results are heading in the right direction. Achieving those outcomes requires maintenance on the network, both trains and tracks, overnight ...

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/councillor-calls-for-public-transport-to-run-through-night-20131003-2uxh9.html

[#Metro]

Very interesting to see this push for night services in different countries at the same time. Notice how the response is so different between Australia and the UK and US on an identical issue. The UK response is to look into it and see what changes can be made to make it happen, the Australian response is to immediately make out that it is an IMPOSSIBLE thing and can't be done.

It really does show you the different mindset.

[ozbob]

[somebody]

Haven't we seen that video before?

[ozbob]

Probably, but timely to review it again ...

[ozbob]

Some folks have all the fun ..   

Melbourne Age --> Peak-hour passengers trapped in trains

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> 30-year-old railway computers take a byte out of the past

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Signal failures are causing chronic rail delays

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Government claims safety works in rail loop on track

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Metro rail link: Labor promises a start

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Melbourne train services reduced over summer in major works upgrade

[ozbob]

Twitter

Metro Trains ‏@metrotrains 3m

Check out the pop up @Myer_MyStore open for business on Flinders Street concourse http://t.co/LmVMZOP2t4

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Why our rails can't cope with the heat

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> 50 train services to be cut as buckling heat looms

[ozbob]

http://www.metrotrains.com.au/summer-heat-cancellations/

Summer heat cancellations

On Thursday and Friday, December 19 and 20, Metro will be forced to cancel some services to allow for the anticipated high temperatures in Melbourne.

We have planned this in advance as a safety precaution due to the impact of high temperatures on our steel railway tracks. The tracks can expand in high heat and we need to run trains at slower speeds to ensure your safety.

Heat-related speed restrictions come into place when the temperature reaches 38 degrees, causing most services to run behind time.  By cancelling trains in advance we are able to manage this and continue to run the smoothest possible service despite the limitations.

While this Friday isn't expected to reach 38 degrees, we have nonetheless had to plan cancellations on this day, as many of our trains will be out of their normal positions and some are likely to require additional maintenance due to the heat.

Once we have made these planned cancellations, it's not possible just to reverse the decision if temperatures fall short of the forecast. There is a lot of planning required, including the placement of trains and the number of drivers we require to service these timetable changes.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this might cause to your normal travel plans, but your safety is our main priority.

All of the planned cancellations are outlined below. For all information on your line and to stay up-to-date, keep an eye on MetroNotify on your smart phone, or check the health board at metrotrains.com.au

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Cracks found in Metro train bogies

Potentially dangerous cracks have been found on 18 Metro rail carriages, forcing the state government to spend millions on replacement parts for Melbourne's ageing Comeng fleet.

Metro has begun repair work on 18 carriages where cracks have been identified, although it believes any patch-up job is likely to be temporary. The cracks are also likely to affect more of Melbourne's train fleet, Metro said in an internal document, potentially cutting short the damaged carriages' service life.

The cracks are confined to the bogies of some of Metro's Comeng trains, which began to come into service in 1981. The trains are due to be taken out of service in 2024 ...

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cracks-found-in-metro-train-bogies-20131223-2zumq.html

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Rail relief won't last, Metro warns

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Ageing train system leads to soaring power costs

[HappyTrainGuy]

But weren't we told in a comment on the BT website that Metro had cheaper power costs 

[SurfRail]

1200kW versus our 25,000kW if I'm not mistaken...

[ozbob]

Waking up in Geelong --> Regenerative braking and Melbourne's trains

[ozbob]

Public transport network in Melbourne is failing in the sustained heat ...

Melbourne Age --> Go home now, Metro says as heat hits services

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Metro cancels one in 10 trains as commuters feel the heat

[ozbob]

Twitter

Daniel Bowen ‏@danielbowen 2m

Ugh, not pretty. (For some reason I have that Tom Petty song Free Fallin' in mind.) #MetroYarraVLine #SpringSt http://t.co/p1r06PcHR3

[ozbob]

Twitter

Metro Trains ‏@metrotrains 4m

Dear Cool Change, on behalf of Melbourne we welcome you with open arms.

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Temperature to plummet as cool change makes its way across Victoria

The long-awaited cool change that will break one of Victoria's longest heatwaves has begun to hit Melbourne.

This is the first time the city has had four days in a row above 41 degrees since records began, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The cool change began to arrive about 5pm – three hours earlier than orginally forecast, the Bureau said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/temperature-to-plummet-as-cool-change-makes-its-way-across-victoria-20140117-30ydr.html

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Single line to Upfield worsens north-west rail woes

A four-kilometre section of single track railway in a sparsely populated part of Melbourne is causing transport problems all over the north-western suburbs, Metro says.

The Upfield railway line, one of Melbourne's quietest, goes from two tracks to one at the end of the line between Gowrie and Upfield stations.

The single track section can only accommodate one train at a time, creating a bottleneck that has long condemned Upfield line passengers to 20-minute waits between trains, even as several other lines in Melbourne move towards 10-minute frequency.

Metro has called for the single-track section of the Upfield line to be duplicated by 2017, arguing that services on the line should be increased "towards a 10-minute frequency".

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/single-line-to-upfield-worsens-northwest-rail-woes-20140122-318u5.html

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Dandenong rail line on track for years of disruption

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Ageing trains targetted by vandals and Transport Safety Victoria

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Metro on track for more women behind the wheel

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Disabled train and tram passengers forgotten

... Only three stations in Melbourne - Flinders Street, Box Hill and Mooroolbark - have humps at the ends of platforms so passengers in wheelchairs can get on and off trains without the driver's assistance.

Union secretary Luba Grigorovitch said the government needed to get serious about making public transport accessible for travellers with special needs.

''Currently only three stations have functional platform humps that allow easy access onto trains for disabled and special-needs travellers. Even at these stations they are not on every platform,'' Ms Grigorovitch said.

''This means that at every other station the driver has to get out of the train and put a ramp in place, assist the traveller and then remove the ramp.

''As well as making access difficult for disabled and special-needs travellers, this also delays the train by two or three minutes.''

Newly built stations, such as West Footscray, had been built without platform humps, Ms Grigorovitch said ...

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/disabled-train-and-tram-passengers-forgotten-20140324-35e8a.html

[ozbob]

Melbourne farewells old trains
April 12, 2014: After more than 40 years of service Melbourne's much maligned Hitachi trains have carried their last passengers, with the special farewell tour almost marred by vandals.

--> http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/melbourne-farewells-old-trains/xcoikmi

[techblitz]

Melbourne Age --> Rail map gets a rainbow update

Melbourne's long-standing yellow-and-blue train network map is headed for the bin, to be replaced next year by a new, rainbow-coloured map aimed at making it easier for passengers to navigate around the city.

But the new map, a trial version of which has been put on show at just three stations on the Frankston line and at the PTV Hub at Southern Cross Station, lacks key information such as fare zones and whether a station has car parking or a connecting tram or bus.

The current Metro map, with its simple two-tone design in which yellow signifies zone one and blue zone two, has been around for several years but will be scrapped in time for the opening of the Regional Rail Link next year.

Public Transport Victoria is already piloting a potential version of the new map, but expects to make several changes following public feedback before officially launching the map.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rail-map-gets-a-rainbow-update-20140421-36zsy.html#ixzz2zW8ti6rT

[SurfRail]

^ I went and had a squizz at the installation at Bentleigh a few days ago.  It's just the same concept CityRail adopted a long time ago, but seems to be slightly better executed with the lines grouped by sector and colour.

Not sure why the new map shows Frankston trains continuing to the western suburbs, unless this is intended for when RRL is open.

The guy running the project at PTV is contributing to the thread about this in the VIC forum of ATDB, there is some interesting reasoning and discussion.

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Split-level luxury arrives at Springvale station, at $159 million]

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Delays to continue after trains suspended due to fire

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Rats likely cause of fire that sparked train delays across Melbourne

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Train delays: Metro crews scramble to finish repairs

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> New signalling system to thwart rats, transport minister says