Another instalment in my photos from ten years ago series – this time it is September 2010.
In the city
Trams on Swanston Street still stopped in the middle of the road, leaving anyone with limited mobility out in the cold.
The current platform stops were completed between May 2011 and July 2012.
At Richmond station, additional next train displayed were installed at the city end, each hiding beneath their own private section of roof.
Passengers had to wait until 2015 to gain their own shelters, installed at a cost of $7.28 million.
And at Southern Cross Station work on the new platform 15 and 16 was still crawling along.
They eventually opened in December 2013.
While over at the entrance to the country platforms, Myki readers had been installed.
Myki eventually replaced paper V/Line tickets in February 2014.
As part of the rollout the ‘Myki Discovery Centre‘ at Southern Cross was refitted as a customer service centre.
But it is worth remembering that Metcard wasn’t perfect – the gates needed regular clearing to ensure they read magnetic stripe tickets reliably.
Out in nowhere land
Out the back of Docklands, I explored the disused railway sidings that once served the port.
Including an abandoned passenger carriage.
Wegmann carriage OWA91 was originally built for the Commonwealth Railways in 1952, passing through a number of owners before arriving in Melbourne in 2006. There it remained until September 2017, when it was destroyed by fire in arson attack.
But beside the Maribyrnong River at Footscray something new was taking shape – the Heavenly Queen Temple.
The main hall opened to the public in 2015, with further halls still under construction today.
Changed scenes in Footscray
At Footscray station, the new footbridge was finally completed.
Nearby I found an old Darrell Lea sign hand painted on the shops over the railway line at Nicholson Street.
And at West Footscray station I found a V/Line train headed for the city, crawling along behind a stopping all stations suburban train.
None of which exist today, Regional Rail Link having completely transformed the area.
To make room for the extra V/Line tracks, the footbridge at Footscray station was partially demolished in 2013, the shops on the Nicholson Street bridge were removed, and a massive new station at West Footscray was built on a new site.
Thankfully for Deer Park the $5 million upgrade to the station platform and car park didn’t go to waste.
New timetables introduced following the completion of Regional Rail Link saw the station get three to four trains an hour, instead of the train every two hours it used to see.
And the police state
In the streets of Footscray I found a Victoria Police CCTV van.
It entered service in 2008, until an officer tried to drive it under a low bridge, destroying the cameras on the roof!
Footnote
Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.
“The gates needed regular clearing to prevent them reading the magnetic stripe tickets reliably.”
Yep. couldn’t have the gates reading the Metcard tickets reliably. People would expect everything to work.
Thanks for the pickup – fixed!
Those PID shelters at Richmond did provide some shelter for passengers, including at times me, although a limited number in a limited location. The upgraded shelter of the rest of the platforms and the stadium end ramps was and remains very welcome.
Frankly I was surprised when they added the full shelters at the city end of Richmond station – $7.28 million spent purely to make things better for waiting passengers!