A trip to Sydney

I decided to make the trip up to Sydney this month, catching the XPT north from Melbourne.

And being greeted by a light rail vehicle tram as soon as I arrived at Central Station.

I saw a double decker train the next day.

And presumably took some other photos up there, but they weren’t of trains – as I still haven’t uploaded them to my Flickr account.

Then then flew back home to Melbourne – to be greeted by a Myki visitors pack advertisement inside the Qantas terminal.

Along with a SkyBus one.

A decade on and the Myki machines at Melbourne Airport are just as hard to find, and SkyBus is still the only public transport route that runs from the airport to the CBD.

Melbourne Central

I also went on a tour of the Melbourne Central Tower this month, where we got to look out over the roof of Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, towards Myer House and Emporium.

But unfortunately we only got to look down on the glass cone, not look inside like some previous tours did.

Technology

It seems like an everyday scene now, but a decade ago seeing an entire tram full of passengers absorbed in their smartphones was still novel.

But Telstra was still behind the times – rollout out their ‘Telstra Air’ wifi hotspots to payphones, despite almost everyone having stacks of mobile data to use on their phone.

The Wi-Fi network is still in place today, but free since 2023.

Trams

‘Safety’ zone trams stops were still common place in the Melbourne CBD a decade ago – this one was on Collins Street at William Street.

This particular tram stop was replaced by a platform stop in June 2015, with the last safety zones in the CBD upgraded in July 2024. As for the rest of the tram network – the December 2022 deadline to make all tram stops accessible has been and gone, with hundreds still non compliant.

Meanwhile Yarra Trams was coming up with crackpot schemes like a coffee stall taking up precious space for passengers at the Flinders and Swanston Street stop.

Luckily that idea got kicked out very quickly.

A handful of 1970s-era Z1 class trams were also still kicking around the network, with their crappy little sliding windows and only two doors per side – despite having supposed to have been retired a decade earlier in favour of the incoming low floor C and D class trams, but kept on due to increasing patronage.

This particular tram – Z3.86 – was eventually retired in August 2015, following the delivery of the new E class trams.

A different flavour of stupidity are people who drive down Swanston Street – this driver managed to break down in the middle of the tram stop, and drum up help from passersby to get clear of the tracks.

While this confused country bumpkin headed up Swanston Street in their LandCruiser got pulled up by an unmarked police car, and got sent on their way.

And a decade on – nothing much has really changed.

V/Line trains

Here we see an original liveried VLocity train departing Richmond station for the city.

These days the entire VLocity fleet is in the PTV purple livery, the open air ramps at Richmond station are now roofed over, and Eureka Tower has been usurped by Australia 108 as the tallest building in Australia.

Down in Geelong I photographed a 6-car V/Line train approaching the brand new terminus station of Waurn Ponds.

Opened in October 2014, Waurn Ponds gained a second platform in 2022, and the 8 kilometers of track between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds has just been duplicated.

And a V/Line train in are more shocking condition was VLocity set VL12.

Involved in a collision on the Werribee line in August 2014 where a V/Line train passed a signal at stop and crashed into the rear of a Metro train, it had to be dragged to the workshops at Bendigo to be repaired.

The collision resulted in Metro trains rewriting the rules around passing a signal at stop, while VLocity VL12 reentered service in March 2015 as the only 2-car VLocity set to ever wear the PTV livery.

A load of rubbish

After the removal of rubbish bins from Melbourne stations due to the “increased terror alert level”, they all got dumped in a pile at Flinders Street Station.

And the average passenger responded as you might expect – like a filthy pig just leaving their rubbish on the ground.

The bins were eventually returned in March 2015, with the exception of the private management at Southern Cross Station, who still refuse to place any rubbish bins on their platforms.

A different kind of rubbish

It was the leadup to the 2014 State Election, and the Napthine Government was ramped up their ‘Moving Victoria’ campaign, promoting their unfundedthe Melbourne Rail Link project.

Conceived as an alternative to the Metro Tunnel, the Melbourne Rail Link tunnel would have run between South Yarra and Southern Cross, serving new stations at Domain and Fishermans Bend – instead of Arden and Parkville, who would be stuck using buses and trams.

But as you might have guessed, the Melbourne Rail Link project went nowhere, construction of the Metro Tunnel started a few years later and is almost finished, work on the Melbourne Airport Rail project has been stop-start, and a rail link to Fishermans Bend is as far away as ever.

And another piece of pork barrelling I photographed was this Denis Napthine’s $115 million dollar train on the Frankston line – or what the government called the ‘Bayside Rail Project’.

Announced in May 2013, the Bayside Rail Project was promoted as bringing the newest trains in Melbourne – the X’Trapolis – to the Frankston line.

However these trains accelerate faster than anything else in the Melbourne fleet, putting them at risk of beating the boom barriers at level crossings, but because of the upcoming election, it was decided in October 2014, to just run a single X’Trapolis train on the line each morning, but with a speed restrictor on the throttle and two drivers in the cab.

Following changes to level crossing timings on the line in August 2016, the restriction on X’Trapolis trains was removed, allowing any X’Trapolis set to run revenue services to Frankston, and more amazingly a decade later, the bulk of the level crossings on the Frankston line don’t even exist anymore.

And a third kind of rubbish

For decades this ancient advertisement for Medibank Private faced passengers at Melbourne Central platform 1.

But 2014 saw this billboard finally removed from the platform wall, replaced by the ‘Xtrack TV’ digital screens with their insipid loop of advertisements – with audio soundtrack.

And Medibank Private – it’s still just as useless as the rest of the Australian private health insurance system.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Photos from ten years ago: November 2014 appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

Regional Rail Link

Yes, more Regional Rail Link this month! First off, a V/Line train headed over the newly upgraded North Melbourne flyover bound for Southern Cross, avoiding the suburban trains down below.

The sharp curves catching V/Line unaware a few years later, when almost the entire VLocity train fleet was withdrawn from service due to wheel wear issues.

At Footscray the upgraded station was open to passengers, with the forecourt to Irving Street nicely landscaped.

And restoration work underway on the heritage listed station buildings.

There were also works happening in the background – a new traction power substation was under construction, so that extra suburban services could use the track capacity freed up by giving V/Line trains their own route into the city.

But despite the infrastructure upgrades, little use was made of the extra capacity – by 2018 only half of the extra capacity was being used.

And still on the trains

I photographed a slice of the past out at Beaconsfield, where the 1950s-era overhead wiring and traction power tie station was still in place. It’s all since been replaced by a modern power supply as part of the work to support the rollout of High Capacity Metro Trains to the Pakenham line.

At Flagstaff station I found a set of defective myki gates under repair – presumably from being smashed open by a fare evader.

While over at Southern Cross were Authorised Officers in their new military-style vests, looking out for the next person trying the same trick.

On the trams

A decade ago City Circle trams were still in the maroon and gold livery, and the ‘shard’ at Federation Square had yet to be demolished for the Metro Tunnel entrance.

The original Z1 class trams were also still running down Swanston Street, with only two doors per side and dinky little sliding windows.

East Preston Depot was still open to serve the high floor B2 class trams used on route 11 and 86 – all since replaced by the low floor E class trams based out of ‘New’ Preston Depot.

While testing of the new E class trams was still continuing – I found one at the route 57 terminus in West Maribyrnong on a late night test run.

Meanwhile on Collins Street, things were going backwards – passengers having to step up to trams from street level.

The platform stops closed so they could be dug up and raised to current standards, despite only being a decade old.

Buses

Transdev had taken over from National Bus, but the transition into the new PTV colour scheme was going in fits and starts.

While route 286 through the back streets of Blackburn was removed, but then a few months later, reintroduced as route 271.

Another changed bus stop can be found at Melbourne Airport – the route 901 service to Broadmeadows and eventually Frankston once stopped outside Qantas terminal T1.

But these days it’s hidden at the far end of the ‘Ground Transport Hub’, a long walk from terminal 4.

And something different

My next stop at Melbourne Airport a decade ago was Brisbane.

Catching a train from Brisbane Airport into the city.

To Roma Street – the Brisbane Transit Centre since demolished for the Cross River Rail project.

While I was in town, I photographed some of their first generation EMU trains.

The Merivale Bridge.

And buses on the network of Brisbane City Council operated busways.

Which include underground bus stations.

Passengers boarding buses from air conditioned platforms.

But the reason for my visit was a trip on The Sunlander.

A locomotive hauled sleeping train that ran from Brisbane to Cairns until December 2014.

When I woke up the next day, we were well into cane country.

But the trip north is a long one – not arriving into Cairns until that evening.

While in Cairns I rode the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway up to Kuranda, and with some lucky timing spotted a Kuranda-bound train stopped at Barron Falls.

After lunch, it was time to head to Kuranda station, where I found a signal box still in service.

And caught the Kuranda Scenic Railway back down the range to Cairns.

Unfortunately I didn’t have time for the four day journey on the Savannahlander, but I did see it arrive back into Cairns.

But it was time to fly home via Sydney – my plane passing over the Hawkesbury River railway bridge on our descent.

The Inner West Light Rail

And a Pacific National container train shunting the freight yard at Cooks River.

Time to change planes, and soon enough I was back in Melbourne – greeted at the airport luggage claim by propaganda for the Napthine Government’s East West Link, CityLink Tulla Widening, and an unfunded Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

A decade on we’ve gotten the west half of the East West Link, the Tullamarine Freeway has been widening, and airport rail – still talking.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Photos from ten years ago: August 2014 appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

Paperwork ahoy

The morning starting when I pulled into the airport car park at 6.30am.

Then off to the terminal, where I and the other lucky winners met the staff from Melbourne Airport, and filled in the paperwork required to be issued with visitors passes so we could enter the airside security restricted area.

Almost an hour later the paper shuffling was finally done and passes issued, so time to go – upstairs, downstairs, around the bend and then through a staff only door, leading to the security checkpoint leading airside. Time to bring out our ID and visitors passes, have them cross-referenced against the Aviation Security Identification Card of our Melbourne Airport sponsor, photo taken, bags x-rayed and put through the explosive detection swab, and we were in.

Or not – we were greeted by the baggage handing room.

Kane Constructions photo

Down another corridor, out a door, along the apron, and there it was – the bus that would take us out beside the runway.

And the Melbourne Airport airside safety car that would escort us there.

But a piece of bad news – the Qantas A380 arrival we had came here to photograph had been cancelled, the plane stuck in Sydney due to technical issues.

None the less, there was still a busy morning of both international and domestic arrivals and departures to see, so all aboard!

Headed airside

Off we went driving along the taxiways.

Having to give way to taxiing planes.

But we made it – the bus pulled up beside the arrival end of runway 34.

A taxiway on the other.

And aircraft lighting beneath our feet.

Our instructions from our airfield safety escort were quite simple – “don’t go past the gable markers in the grass over there or the runway gets shut down, but you can go behind the bus, just not onto the taxiway”.

Time for some planespotting

The first arrival was a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter.

Touching down a short distance away from us.

Rolling past with full reverse thrust.

Next up was a far smaller QantasLink DHC Dash 8 Q300.

A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800.

And a Xiamen Air Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Who were amused by our group of photographers standing out beside the runway.

The stream of inbound flights led to a queue of planes waiting to take off.

First to take off was an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

Soaring off into the grey skies.

From out in the middle of the airfield, this landing Jetstar Airways Airbus A320 looked quite tall and lanky.

But the noisiest plane was this relatively small 125-seater QantasLink Boeing 717.

I swear the pilot had wound the two rear-mounted engines up as far as they could go, and launched the plane right off the runway in no time at all.

“Change places!”

With the international arrivals finished for the morning, we climbed back onboard the bus and drove a little further down runway 34 to where departing pilots call “rotate” and take off.

The first take off to greet us – another run of the mill domestic Boeing 737.

A Jetstar A320 that rotated much earlier along the runway.

Another yet another 737, but with far more photogenic lighting.

But it was cameras out for the next departure.

A United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Off to the USA.

Next up, a Thai Airways International Airbus A350.

And the last international departure.

A Bamboo Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner off to Vietnam.

And with that, time to go back to the bus.

Our final stop, taxiway Sierra.

To inspect the Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER parked for the weekend.

And with that, our morning airside was over – back onto the bus for the trip back to the terminal.

Footnote: car parking at Melbourne Airport

My usual trick at Melbourne Airport is to head to the cheaper long term car park, rather than park at the terminal. It’s currently branded the ‘Value Car Park‘ and costs $12 a day.

But try and find a space at the northern end, where you can walk direct to the terminals, instead of waiting for the shuttle bus.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Airside adventures at Melbourne Airport appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

Google Earth

14 January 2014
Air India flight AI301
Boeing 787-8 VT-ANM

Photo by byeangel from Tsingtao, China, via Wikimedia Commons

From the Carry-on blog.

Operating AI301 from Sydney to Melbourne VT-ANM approached and crossed Melbourne from the east following usual tracking paths for aircraft inbound from the north-east to YMML’s active Runway 34.

The flight crew initiated a right turn to lining up for Essendon’s Runway 35 mistaking it for YMML’s Runway 34.

Sources in Airservices Australia confirm the flight crew discontinued the approach at roughly 1,050 ft after being notified by Melbourne Approach, made a left turn, climbed to 1,500 ft and re-established a second approach this time to Runway 34.

The missed approach is easy to see on the flight track.

FlightAware flight tracking log

31 March 1994
Australian Airlines
Boeing 737-300 VH-TJA

Photo by Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland, via Wikimedia Commons

Note: not the same 737 as this incident

From the ATSB investigation.

At about 18 NM from Melbourne, the crew were requested by air traffic control to report when the Melbourne runway was in sight. The crew reported they had that runway in sight and were cleared to track to join final inside 8 NM from Melbourne.

The crew requested and were given further track shortening until they were instructed to make a visual approach for runway 34 and to call Melbourne Tower. The Approach Controller then diverted his attention to other duties for a short period.

On rechecking the progress of the aircraft it appeared, to him, to be on final for runway 35 at Essendon. The aircraft was at an altitude of approximately 1500 feet. The Approach Controller advised Melbourne Tower who instructed the aircraft to turn left for Melbourne. The aircraft subsequently landed without further incident.

The flight crew subsequently advised that when they were given the visual approach they believed they had the Melbourne Airport in sight and its position was confirmed by checking the map displayed on the aircraft flight management computer. However, they had not used any other aircraft navigational systems to confirm their position in relation to Melbourne.

24 February 1991
Lufthansa
Boeing 747-400 D-ABTC

Photo by Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland, via Wikimedia Commons

From the ATSB investigation.

The aircraft, which was approaching Melbourne Airport from the west, was radar vectored onto base leg and descended to 3000 feet.

At 1704 hours Melbourne Approach Control advised the crew that their position was nine miles south-west of the field. They were asked to advise when they had the runway in sight and also to say when the runway 34 lead in strobe lights were sighted.

Shortly after, the crew responded that they had the runway and strobe lights in sight. Approach Control gave the crew their position as six miles south-west of the field, told them to make a visual approach and not to descend below one thousand five hundred feet until established on final.

At 1706 hours the controller told the crew they were approaching the runway extended centre line. The Approach Controller noted that the aircraft was passing through the extended centre line and had not turned to line up with runway 34. He promptly issued instructions to the aircraft to climb to 2000 feet. At about the same stage the crew realised that the runway they had been looking at was too short for their operations and also decided to go around. Further radar vectors were given and the aircraft subsequently landed normally on runway 34 at Melbourne without any other problems.

Runway 35 at Essendon Airport was the runway sighted by the pilots. It does not have lead in strobe lights. The crew indicated they must have seen reflections near Essendon which they mistook for strobe lights.

On the approach the crew had seen a runway from a long way out, which they thought was the north/south runway for Melbourne Airport, but was in fact runway 35 at Essendon Airport. In the lighting conditions at the time they did not see Melbourne Airport, until on the go around.

On the approach the minimum height descended to was just over 1000 feet above the elevation of Essendon Airport.

8 August 1987
Singapore Airlines flight SQ31A
Boeing 747-200, 9V-SQM

Photo by Ted Quackenbush, via Wikimedia Commons

From the ATSB investigation.

On arrival in the Melbourne area the aircraft was vectored by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to a left base position for an approach to runway 34.

At a point 5 nautical miles (9.2 kilometres) south of the airport, and 1 mile (1.7 kilometres) to the left of the extended centreline of the runway, the aircraft was instructed to turn left to take up a north-easterly heading. The crew reported at this time that “we have the field visual.”

The aircraft was then instructed to make a visual approach, and to turn further left for a direct approach to the runway. The crew acknowledged this instruction, but the aircraft was observed to pass through the extended centreline. ATC advised the aircraft that it was now to the right of the centreline, and instructed it to turn left onto a north-westerly heading to intercept this line. The aircraft landed without further incident.

The Captain of the aircraft later advised that he was familiar with the Melbourne/Essendon area. Appropriate navigation aids had been selected to monitor the approach.

The Captain reported that he had initially mistaken Essendon for Melbourne, because the latter had been obscured by rain and low clouds. However, the crew became suspicious when the navigation aids did not confirm the visual indications. They were in the process of correcting the situation when ATC instructed the aircraft to turn to the left as it had passed the extended centreline. The crew had then sighted the Melbourne runway complex and had proceeded visually.

13 May 1987
Air New Zealand
Boeing 767-200ER, ZK-NBC

Photo by Ken Fielding, via Wikimedia Commons

From the ATSB investigation.

The aircraft was radar-vectored for an approach to Melbourne (Tullamarine) Runway 34. The flight crew reported they were “visual” when at 2000 feet and about 17 kilometres (9 nautical miles [nm]) south east of Melbourne.

The Approach Controller advised the flight of its radar position in relation to Melbourne and requested confirmation that the crew had Runway 34 in sight. When this was acknowledged, instructions were given for the flight to take up a heading of 320 degrees; to intercept the extended centre line of Runway 34 from this heading; and to make a visual approach.

Shortly afterwards the Tower Controller at Essendon Airport (5 nm south east of Melbourne) called the Melbourne Approach Controller and reported that a heavy aircraft was on approach for (Runway 35) Essendon.

The Approach Controller called the aircraft, requested its present altitude and, on being advised it was “through fifteen hundred” (feet), instructed the flight to climb to 2000 feet and turn left onto a heading of 320 degrees. He also advised that the aircraft was 7 nm south east of Melbourne and still two miles to the right of the runway centre line.

Shortly afterwards, the flight crew reported they were at 2000 feet and had “Runway 34 Melbourne in sight”. The aircraft was then cleared for a straight in approach and for transfer to the tower frequency. The aircraft landed without further incident.

The flight crew have confirmed that they initially turned towards Essendon but detected their error at about the time the Approach Controller instructed them to turn (back) to 320 degrees and to climb.

30 December 1985
Qantas flight QF36
Boeing 767-200, VH-EAJ

Photo by Ken Fielding, via Wikimedia Commons

From the ATSB investigation.

Air Traffic Control of the aircraft was being exercised by Melbourne Approach, which was directing the aircraft for a landing on Runway 27 at Tullamarine. The controller obtained approval from the Essendon controllers to vector QF36 through Essendon airspace.

The aircraft was progressively descended and when clearing the aircraft to descend to 2000 feet the controller advised the crew that the aircraft was 4 miles to the left of the runway extended centre line. The crew advised that they had visual contact with the ground and were then cleared to continue a visual approach.

Shortly afterwards, the crew sighted a runway and commenced a turn to the left, during which visibility reduced as the aircraft entered a rain shower.

On passing through the shower, the crew immediately realised that they had turned towards Essendon, and a right turn was carried out to continue tracking towards Tullamarine.

When the premature turn was commenced, it was observed on radar by the Approach controller and visually by both the Melbourne and Essendon Tower controllers. The Approach controller queried the aircraft intentions at about the same time as the crew commenced the turn back towards Tullamarine.

A normal landing was carried out about 3 minutes later.

19 June 1985
Garuda flight GA898
Boeing 747-200, PK-GSB

Photo by Peter Bakema, via Wikimedia Commons

From the ATSB investigation.

Garuda Flight 898, was being radar vectored by Melbourne Air Traffic Control (ATC) for a landing on runway 34 at Tullamarine Airport. Shortly after the pilot acknowledged an instruction to call Melbourne Tower the aircraft was seen to turn and descend as though making an approach to runway 35 at Essendon Airport.

The Melbourne Tower controller instructed the aircraft to climb to 3000 feet above mean sea level (AMSL), and a few seconds later the aircraft was seen to be established in this climb. After further radar vectors were given, an uneventful landing was carried out at Melbourne.

It was subsequently determined that the aircraft had descended to a minimum height of approximately 350 feet above the level of Essendon Airport, and was about 1.5 kilometres from the runway threshold before the climb was commenced.

So why is it confusing?

Until the 1960s Essendon Airport was Melbourne’s main international gateway.

Photo by Peter Hough, via Wikimedia Commons

But today it is mainly used by business jets and light aircraft.

But mid-sized jets such as the Fokker F70 can also safely operate into the airport.

From the 1,921 metre long east-west and 1,504 metre long north-south runways.

Google Earth

Which just so happen to be a similar orientation to the 2,286 metre long east-west and 3,657 metre long north-south runways at Melbourne Tullamarine.

Google Earth

This similarity has been noted by ATSB investigators.

There have been a number of instances where Essendon has been mistaken for Melbourne. The two airports are in close proximity and have similar runway configurations. In this instance the flight crew members were not very familiar with the Melbourne area or with the approach to Runway 34.

Who recommended the following back in 1987.

It is recommended that consideration be given to the following

– 1 Operators briefing the relevant flight crews on the real possibility of misidentifying the two airports.
– 2 Operators instructing flight crew to make full use of available radio aids on visual approaches to Melbourne.
– 3 The Department of Aviation providing visual and/or radio aids to assist ready identification of Runway 34, such as sequenced strobe lights leading to the threshold and/or an instrument approach facility to the south of the airport.

The largest aircraft ever to land at Essendon Airport were a handful of Boeing 707s back in the 1960s – I’d hate to see what would happen to a Boeing 747 that tried to do the same.

Spot the difference

One spotting feature is the different strobe lights pattern at each airport – Essendon Airport’s beacon flashes white every four seconds – Melbourne Airport’s beacon flashes alternate white/green.

While the aerodrome charts also feature a warning – “WARNING: Secondary airport (Essendon) 5NM south-east”.

Airservices Australia – Aerodrome Charts

And Melbourne Airport runway 34 now has a distinctive identifier – three sets of sequenced white strobe lights commencing 485 metres from the end of the runway, and aligned with runway 34 centreline.

Airservices Australia – Aerodrome Charts

Footnote: freeway confusion

A hazard for pilots landing at Essendon Airport at night is the freeways that surround the airport.

An issue raised by the ATSB in a 2017 investigation.

The airport has two runways aligned 17/35 and 08/26, and it is bounded on two sides by freeways with substantial amber lighting and well-lit residential areas. At night, the lights around the airport present a complex picture. The published aerodrome chart had a caution note describing that amber freeway lighting may confuse flight crews when attempting to identify runway 08/26 lighting.

Computer confusion too

On 10 March 2015 an AirAsia flight from Sydney to Malaysia ended up having to divert to Melbourne when the pilot entered the wrong initial coordinates into the inertial navigation system.

Photo by byeangel from Tsingtao, China, via Wikimedia Commons

And some unsourced stories

I found this story online referring a supposed incident around 1996.

About 5 years ago I was flying in the circuit in a little PA-28 at Moorabbin. It appeared to me that there was a B747 on long final. My flight instructor flicked the freq to Melbourne International, and sure enough, Alitalia 747 was lined up on the Moorabbin runway (which is less than 1.6 km long!) and complaining that he had visual but his navaids were all wrong. Melbourne Airport cleared him for a visual landing but then cancelled the clearance when they saw where he was on radar!

And this one from the 1970s.

They were also aware of anecdotal accounts of a DC-10 lining up to land on the Essendon runway sometime in the 70s, and being warned off at the last minute.

• An even longer list of mistaken approaches to Essendon Airport
• Boeing 737 at Essendon Airport? –
  Sydney Airport Message Board
• 100th Anniversary of Essendon Airport – Aviation Spotters Online
• Flightpaths and building heights around Melbourne Airports
• Wrong Runway, Wrong Airport, Wrong Country – OpsGroup
• Runway confusion – Flight Safety Australia

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Pilots confusing Essendon Airport for Melbourne Airport appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

A land before COVID

Remember peak hour crowds at CBD railway stations? I wrote about it a decade ago, and ended up in The Age.

In the years since much faster ticket readers by Vix have been deployed at busy stations, but for the past 18 months they’ve been barely used – COVID has cratered patronage.

How about the days when the AFL Grand Final was held in Melbourne? Back in 2011 Collingwood and Geelong were playing, with V/Line running extra trains from Geelong to transports Cats fans to the big game.

V/Line retired their fleet of P class locomotives in 2017, selling them to freight operator Southern Shorthaul Railroad in 2019, and thanks to COVID both the 2020 and 2021 AFL Grand Finals were held interstate.

October also used to be when the Royal Melbourne Show was held, with trains to Showgrounds station to transporting the crowds.

The show has been cancelled for two consecutive years thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the site turned over to a COVID-19 testing site and vaccination hub.

Changes on the railways

Ginifer used to be a station located at ground level.

Flowers placed beside the pedestrian crossing, following yet another person being struck and killed by a train.

And I found more flowers beside a second pedestrian crossing closer to St Albans.

After years of lobbying by local residents, in 2015 level crossings grade separated and new stations were built at Ginifer and St Albans, but there was one omission – the pedestrian crossing between them was left behind.

And finally down in the shadows of Docklands, I found freight wagons being shunted ready for another trip down the Frankston line.

The entire freight yard was relocated in 2015 to make way for the E-Gate urban renewal project, but the land has since been co-opted by the West Gate ‘Tunnel’ Project, to be covered by a tangle of freeway ramps.

Build it up

At 199 William Street the long abandoned skyscraper was seeing some activity.

Redeveloped as ‘The William‘ the lower floors are the Wyndham Hotel Melbourne, with apartments above.

Out at Melbourne Airport, work was well underway on a new air traffic control tower.

The 75 metre tall tower was built at a cost of $19 million, and took over from the 1970s facility next door in 2014.

Outside of Geelong, work on the $78 million final stage of the Geelong Ring Road was almost complete, with a 4.6 kilometre extension from Anglesea Road at Waurn Ponds to Pettavel Road.

It opened to motorists in 2013, and was followed in 2016 by the $164 million Princes Highway West duplication 25 kilometres from Waurn Ponds to Winchelsea.

A nice change from endless road projects was a brand new rail freight terminal at Spotswood.

Operated by Sadleirs Logistics, the terminal sees freight trains daily.

Changes were afoot on the railway towards Sunbury – electrification works were underway

The $270 million project extended suburban train services from Watergardens to Diggers Rest and Sunbury stations, allowing the retirement of the dedicated V/Line services to Sunbury from November 2012.

And the first extension of the suburban rail network in decades – 3.5 kilometres from Epping to South Morang.

When I visited the civil works were mostly complete, with ballast being dropped along the freshly laid track.

The extended line opened to passengers in April 2012, and cleared the way for a further extension of the railway – 8 kilometres north to Mernda, completed in August 2018.

And tear it down

Between Lonsdale and Little Bourke Street in the CBD there was a massive hole.

That was once occupied by Myer Melbourne.

The site was being cleared for the Emporium Melbourne shopping centre, completed in 2014, and which sits behind the facades of the former Myer store.

Over at the former RAAF Williams airfield in Laverton, I found a runway that wasn’t in very good shape.

Last used in 1998, the site is now the suburb of Williams Landing.

On Buckley Street in Footscray I found a row of abandoned houses, with windows boarded up.

Compulsorily acquired for the Regional Rail Link project, the remaining sliver of land is now occupied by townhouses.

While beside the West Gate Freeway another abandoned building was being demolished – the former West Gate Bridge toll plaza.

Made redundant in 1985 following removal of tolls on the bridge, VicRoads retained the site as a conference centre before selling it to a developer in 2010. The site is now the Expressway Business Park.

Things that are gone

Remember yellow ‘Bumblebee’ trams?

By 2014 the bee themed decals were looking rather tatty, so the trams were repainted into the standard Public Transport Victoria livery.

How about the mX newspaper?

Handed out free to homeward bound commuters at CBD railway stations, readership declined thanks to the rise of smartphones, with the final edition published on 12 June 2015.

And the food court at Southern Cross?

It was located on the mezzanine floor at the Collins Street end, and overlooked the country platforms.

The food court closed in November 2011 to make way for a redevelopment of the food and retail outlets at the station, with a Woolworths Metro supermarket now occupying the site.

And things that are the same

Marketing stalls blocking the main entrance to Melbourne Central Station? Still there!

Waiting 20 minutes for a train on the Craigieburn line after 6pm? Still there!

‘Smartbuses’ stuck in traffic in the Melbourne CBD? Still there!

And something foreboding?

Outside Melbourne Central Station I found a line of people dressed in Tyvek coveralls.

But they weren’t testing patients at a COVID exposure site – but handing out marketing junk for the 2011 film ‘Contagion’.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Photos from ten years ago: October 2011 appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

The scope

The Melbourne Airport Rail Link project has been divided up into three regions.

With the work to be tendered out as six ‘work packages’.

Which include:

Airport Station Package

The Airport Station package will be responsible for the following scope:

• construction of the new Airport Station including operational control systems (OCS);
• construction of a new 1.5km track pair from the new Airport Station to Mercer Drive;
• overhead wiring system and structures;
• land clearing and minor civil works for traction power substations and Digital Train Radio System (DTRS) Towers;
• Combined Services Route (CSR);
• utility services relocations;
• civil structures; and
• roadworks.

Viaduct Package

The Viaduct package will be responsible for the following scope:

• construction of approximately 5km of twin track viaduct commencing at Mercer Drive and continuing above the median strip of Airport Drive towards Steele Creek North and across the Western Ring Road;
• overhead wiring system, wiring and structures;
• land clearing and minor civil works for traction power substations and DTRS Towers;
• CSR;
• utility services relocations;
• civil structures and grade separations; and
• roadworks.

Corridor Package

The Corridor package will be responsible for the following scope:

• construction of approximately 6km of new track and associated civil works;
• overhead wiring system, wiring and structures;
• land clearing and minor civil works for traction power substations and DTRS Towers;
• CSR;
• utility services relocation;
• modifications to Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) tracks and supporting infrastructure including ARTC signalling works;
• shared user path works; and
• modifications to existing road bridges spanning the rail corridor.

Maribyrnong River Bridge Package

The Maribyrnong River Bridge package will be responsible for the following scope:
• construction of a new elevated twin track rail crossing to the West of the existing Albion Viaduct; and
• associated earthworks, drainage, lineside fencing and maintenance access.

RPV note that the Maribyrnong River Bridge package may ultimately be delivered as part of the Corridor package rather than as a standalone works package.

Rail Systems Package

The Rail Systems package will be responsible for the following scope:

• High Capacity Signalling (HCS);
• Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) system;
• Traction Power System (TPS) including:
– intake substation;
– new traction power substations and 22kV AC reticulation systems;
– 3.3kV Essential Services Distribution System (ESDS) Cable pulling, jointing and any required field equipment;
• Rail Control Systems;
• Communications Systems;
– Fibre optic network;
– Digital Train Radio System; and
• Systems integration and assurance.

And the controversial part

And the most complicated and controversial one – the Sunshine/Albion Package. The state government released the details of this work package back in March 2021 – an ‘exclusive’ media drop made to the Herald Sun by the State Government in return for not asking any difficult questions.

The headline feature – a rail-over-road-over-rail bridge at Albion station.

The rest of the work including.

Sunshine/Albion Package
The SAP Works primarily comprise of works in and around Sunshine Station, extending to the southern end of Albion-Jacana corridor. Key scope will include:

• modifications to the Anderson Road rail underbridge to accommodate the new Melbourne Airport Rail lines and the adjusted positions of the existing lines;
• construction of a new elevated viaduct for the Melbourne Airport Rail lines to span over Ballarat Road bridge, St Albans Road bridge and the Stony Creek;
• Overhead Line Equipment (OHLE) works between Sunshine Station and the Albion-Jacana corridor, crossing Ballarat Road, the Sunbury rail corridor, St Albans Road and Stony Creek;
• upgrades to Sunshine Station, including platform and car park modifications and the construction of a new concourse;
• upgrades to Albion Station car parks and forecourts;
• Shared User Path (SUP) works to connect the Principal Bicycle Network and the Strategic Cycling Corridor;
• relocation and implementation of rail systems;
• modifications to existing substations;
• diversion, relocation and protection of existing utilities and underground services;
• signalling, including relocatable equipment buildings (REB), signalling HT locations, axle counters in the Sunshine/Albion area; and
• CSR works in the Sunshine / Albion area and on the new Melbourne Airport Rail lines to the Corridor package interface.

Resulting in a tangle of new track between Sunshine and Albion.

To be delivered in three parts.

• Final Sunbury and Bendigo Commissioning Works – all track works, signalling works, substations and OHLE in relation to the Sunbury and Bendigo lines and all station works at Sunshine Station;
• MAR Spur Works – all works relating to the new Melbourne Airport Rail lines contained within the SAP scope; and
• Balance of SAP Works – the balance of works contained within the SAP scope.

Locals up in arms

Brimbank City Council had big plans for a ‘super hub’ at Sunshine and a rebuilt Albion railway station.

Their plans made public back in February 2021.

The Sunshine Super Hub and Albion Station precinct is a landmark project that is set to reinvent Brimbank as a thriving economic centre.

The council is hoping the hub will help unlock Brimbank’s investment, development and employment potential.

In preliminary designs for the hub, included in a document presented to last week’s council meeting, the council highlighted two possible scenarios for the future of Sunshine and Albion stations.

– The first scenario will result in both Sunshine and Albion stations being upgraded as dual ‘existing’ stations, with Albion station to move to the north.

– The second scenario involves moving Sunshine station to the north and into the new super hub.

Mayor Ranka Rasic confirmed the council had undertaken preliminary design work on the project.

“These options are indicative and exploratory only and further work is needed on the state-led project to determine the best outcome for our community and the western region.

“The Sunshine Super Hub and Albion Station upgrades could create Sunshine and Brimbank as the economic powerhouse of Melbourne’s west.”

The council has also commissioned art impressions to highlight the enormous transformation potential that could be delivered as part of this major infrastructure project.

Cr Rasic said the council will be discussing these preliminary options with the government.

So the announcement of the rail-over-road-over-rail bridge didn’t go down well.

The locals disappointed with the reduced scope of the project.

The proposed concept plans for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link will drive a “lethal stake through the heart of Sunshine,” according to a local advocacy group

The Greater Sunshine Community Alliance’s convener Stephen Torsi said the group was concerned by the plans which were released last month by the state and federal governments.

The plans include a new bridge over the Maribyrnong River and elevated twin tracks between Sunshine and the Albion Junction.

There was no mention in of the Sunshine Super Transport Hub in the plans.

Mr Torsi said community members were concerned by the information that had been released so far.

He said the alliance was concerned about two issues in particular: the omission of the Sunshine Super Transport Hub and the skyrail between Sunshine and Albion Junction.

As reported by Star Weekly, Brimbank council has raised also concerns that the hub has been overlooked.

“The fact that it looks like the superb hub has been downgraded is a massive blow as a community,” he said.

“We’re keen to work with developers and all the stakeholders and push back on something that looks like it will be second rate.

“We want to make sure we get the best for Sunshine, we don’t want just another track that divides the city.”

Mr Torsi said the proposed elevated tracks from Sunshine to Albion Junction would split Sunshine.

“They split Sunshine in two in the 60s due to bad planning and this goes further in splitting the city,” he said.

“It drives a lethal stake through the heart of Sunshine. We will fight hard on this, Imagine the uproar if this was Toorak.

So what is Albion station like anyway?

The disused railway substation and John Darling & Son Flour Mill form a distinctive industrial backdrop to the area.

But the pebblecrete station building has all the charm of a public toilet block.

Seedy at dusk.

And more so at night time.

Sections of the platform are made of timber.

Which is rotten away.

And the concrete Ballarat Road bridge is crumbling.

And the wider area

A non-DDA compliant ramp is the only access to Albion station.

Connecting to a dank pedestrian subway.

Car parking dominates the entire area.

The Ballarat Road bridge overshadows the Albion side of the station.

Making the car park feel even seedier than they usually are.

Go for a walk down the west side of the tracks, and you’ll find a cyclone fence with rusty barbed wire at neck height.

Or head towards Sunshine North via St Albans Road, where you’ll find a narrow foothpath squeezed beside cars.

Keep going, and you’ll find a second bridge over the Albion-Jacana railway.

Squeeze between the road and the fence.

Hopefully you don’t need to pass someone coming in the other directions.

Or get crushed into the steel guard rail by a wayward motorist.

So I’m not exactly surprised that a rail-over-road-over-rail solution was chosen for Albion – a penny pinching State Government doesn’t want to spend money on fixing the problems of the west, so they’re just throwing a new bridge over it all, so the rest of Melbourne doesn’t have to look at it.

Update – Albion isn’t completely forgotten

Turns out an upgrade to the shared use path between Albion and Sunshine North is in scope.

Designing and undertaking all works for the SUP between the Albion eastern car park and Gilmore Road including:

• SUP along the east side of the eastern Albion Station carpark; and
• SUP connection along St Albans Road under the Ballarat Road underpass and a new stand-alone bridge over the Albion-Jacana corridor.

As is ‘public realm’ improvements to the area:

• the architectural gateway feature including public artwork or creative design treatments associated with the viaduct near Ballarat Road;
• boulevard landscaping treatment to Ballarat Road between Anderson Road and Adelaide Street;
• public realm, shared use zone, public artwork and creative design treatments between rail corridor and John Darling Flour Mill site;
• landscape treatments to Talmage Street;
• establishment of forecourt area, including street furniture, from Albion Station eastern entry to pedestrian underpass;
• landscape upgrade works to existing Albion Station car park on eastern side of rail corridor; and
• temporary creative works to ameliorate construction-phase impacts including creative hoarding treatments, pop-up parklets, street furniture or other pedestrian infrastructure, lighting, programmable spaces, and creative wayfinding.

So at least Albion station is getting something other than a new row of concrete pylons.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Melbourne Airport Rail Link – finally some detail appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

Like most months we start down at Geelong, where I paid a visit to Marshall station. There I found a locomotive hauled train running around the carriage set, ready to form a new service back to Melbourne.

And a few kilometres away I captured a V/Line service from Warrnambool headed through the paddocks outside Waurn Ponds.

The scene at both stations is now completely different – the empty paddocks are now covered with houses, Waurn Ponds station having opened on the site in 2014, and VLocity railcars now run the bulk of services on the Geelong line.

On the other side of Geelong, track duplication work was underway on the main line west to Adelaide.

The second track was completed in 2012, and allows grain trains to access the Port of Geelong without conflicting with through services.

On the drive up to Melbourne, I spotted a Qantas jet taking off from Avalon Airport, the pilot in training performing touch-and-go landings.

Today it’s more likely to be bound for long term storage.

I also found some American visitors on the apron at Melbourne Airport – Boeing E-4B 747-200B #31677 and Boeing C-32 757-200 #90004, bringing United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Australia on an official visit.

I can’t see any state visits by foreign officials happening any time soon.

Ding ding! Outside Flemington Racecourse on Melbourne Cup day I found six trams sitting in the siding on Union Road, waiting to take patrons home after the big race.

This year – empty stands.

Back in 2010 Metcard was still the ticket to use to travel by train.

They were eventually replaced by Myki in 2012.

A more random visit was the Bradmill factory beside the West Gate Freeway in Yarraville.

Back then it was just another factory, but in the decade since it has became an urbex hotspot.

With another changed industrial scene being the Melbourne Steel Terminal, located in the shadows of Melbourne Docklands.

Once used to ship steel products down to Hastings, the terminal closed in 2015 to make room for the ‘E’ Gate development, but was instead taken over by the West Gate ‘Tunnel’ project for a tangle of freeway ramps.

Finally, I made my way out to Melbourne Airport by bus, where the route 901 ‘Smartbus’ stopped out in the middle of nowhere.

It’s a little easier to find these days – the Terminal 4 transport interchange.

But my destination was elsewhere.

Hong Kong.

During my two and a bit week long trip I had a monkey around with my Myki on the Octopus card readers.

And I took thousands of photos, of which 2,391 of them eventually made it online.

Footnote

Here you can find the rest of my ‘photos from ten years ago‘ series.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Photos from ten years ago: November 2010 appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

Country Roads Board annual report 1968-69

Early years

A bridge taking inbound traffic from the airport over outbound traffic towards Sunbury.

Country Roads Board annual report 1968-69

A full diamond interchange was provided at Mickleham Road.

Country Roads Board annual report 1968-69

And a bridge taking Carrick Drive over the freeway.

Country Roads Board annual report 1968-69

Nothing changes

The years that followed saw a period of massive growth at Melbourne Airport, and the construction of CityLink at the Melbourne end.

Google Earth 2002

But the outer end of the Tullamarine Freeway stayed the same.

Google Street View 2008

The sign at Mickleham Road was metricated.

Google Street View 2008

But nothing new at Carrick Drive.

Google Street View 2010

At least until 2013, when the Western Ring Road interchange was expanded as part of the M80 Ring Road upgrade project, and an extra set of lanes was punched beneath the Carrick Drive Overpass.

Then the CityLink Tulla Widening project

The car parks at Melbourne Airport kept on growing.

Google Earth 2018

So in 2015 the Victorian Government said yes to an unsolicited proposal from Transurban for the ‘CityLink Tulla Widening’ project – a $1.3 billion package of works that would add extra lanes to the freeway between the CBD and the airport.

A bus-only bridge was constructed to allow buses to skip the queue exiting the airport.

Google Street View 2019

Collector/distributor lanes were constructed at Mickleham Road to separate traffic headed for the Ring Road from that entering the freeway.

Google Street View 2019

And an extra lane was added in each direction, taking the freeway from two to three through lanes at Carrick Drive.

Google Street View 2019

I wonder how long until the next road ‘upgrade’ will be needed?

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Another Tullamarine Freeway then and now appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

The Melbourne Airport website says the machines exist.

In order to travel on public transport in Melbourne, you’ll need a myki card. Top up or check your card balance at the myki machines located throughout the terminals using cash or EFTPOS/credit card.

Machine locations:

– T2 Arrivals
– T3 Arrivals
– T4 Baggage Reclaim

But have fun finding them on the official maps.

So here they are.

Melbourne Airport map, annotated by me

Terminal 2 – on the ground floor in the arrivals hall.

Next to the toilets.

Terminal 3 – on the ground floor in the arrivals hall.

Beside the windows to the street, next to the corridor towards Terminal 2.

Terminal 4 – on the ground floor in the arrivals hall.

Arup photo

Hiding beside some vending machines, along the landside wall.

And the bus stop – you need to head down into the dungeon at the Melbourne Airport terminal 4 transport hub.

PTV bus routes 478, 479, 482 and 901 departing from the end furthest from the terminal.

Footnote

Daniel Bowen has more on getting to Melbourne Airport by public transport.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Finding a Myki ticket machine at Melbourne Airport appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

The history of Melbourne’s SkyBus

SkyBus commenced operations in 1978, running a shuttle service between Tullamarine Airport and Franklin Street on the northern edge of the Melbourne CBD. In 1982 it took over the airport bus services run by the now-defunct airlines Ansett and TAA, with the service taking the current form in 2000 when the city terminus was moved to Spencer Street Station, with services operating express to the airport. 2002 then saw the state government contributing $3 million in funding to upgrade the service in place of the construction of an airport rail link.

Articulated buses were introduced to the service in 2002.

With the first Bustech “CDi” double deck buses entering service in 2015.

Travel times were once advertised as 20 minutes from airport to the city, but increasing congestion saw the claim gain a “times may vary due to traffic conditions” disclaimer, then dropped altogether in 2016.

The monopoly nature of the SkyBus service saw private equity firms take in interest in the company, with two foreign firms taking a majority stake in the company in 2014, in a deal valuing SkyBus’s parent company at $50 million to $100 million.

And diversification

It appears that the new management realised that their gravy train of monopoly profits on the Melbourne Airport – City route wouldn’t last forever, as they soon started acquiring other airport bus operators across Melbourne, Australia, and even New Zealand.

October 2015

SkyBus purchased the Airbus Express service in Auckland, New Zealand.

January 2016

SkyBus purchased the Frankston and Peninsula Airport Shuttle (FAPAS) business, rebranding it as SkyBus (sidenote: who the hell thought that FAPAS was a good name to call their business?)

August 2016

SkyBus launched a new direct bus service from Melbourne Airport to St Kilda, speeding up the journey for longer distance travellers from Frankston. (announced in April 2016)

February 2017

SkyBus took over operation of the Avalon Airport – Southern Cross Station route from Sita Group. (announced in December 2016)

July 2017

SkyBus took over operation of the Avalon Airport – Geelong route from Murrell Group.

November 2017

Skybus launched a new direct airport express for Southbank and Docklands.

December 2017

SkyBus purchased the Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle (GCTS) service in Queensland, rebranding it as SkyBus.

July 2018

Skybus launched two new airport bus services: Melbourne Airport to Tarneit and Werribee; and Melbourne Airport to the Mornington Peninsula via Rosebud, Mordialloc and Mentone.

July 2018

SkyBus purchased the Hobart Airporter service in Tasmania, rebranding it as SkyBus.

Seeing the writing on the wall

In 2016 SkyBus director, Michael Sewards, gave a hopefully response to airport rail proposals:

The reality is, just because you build an airport rail, it doesn’t mean people want to use it.

Yes, let’s plan for the next 15 or 30 years, but let’s also be somewhat sensible in this conversation by recognising we’ve had a service for over 38 years, which over 50 million passengers have used. We think we can co-exist with rail and provide a very competitive offering.

If we ever have an airport rail, it has to deliver all those value points for customer experience. Melbourne Airport warrants and deserves many modes supplying the highest level of customer experience, and we think SkyBus will be one of those.

But by 2018 they were more worried, questioning the government for choosing to subsidise a competing rail link.

“SkyBus welcomes any compelling mass transit rail option that can compete with our services, but surely there are important questions about at what cost the Victorian taxpayer will be asked to contribute both the build of this and the ongoing operations, let alone the fare price a $10-15 billion investment requires for a return to its investors,” added Mr Sewards.

Getting an opinion piece published in the Herald Sun on 28 August 2018.

Many people have welcomed the news that the long-debated Melbourne Airport Rail Link has finally secured funding from the Victorian and Federal governments.

As the existing provider of Melbourne Airport’s mass-transit service, SkyBus has also welcomed this development.

However, while a rail link to Melbourne Airport is an important development for the many thousands of people who currently travel to and from Melbourne Airport every day, it is only one part of the total transport solution needed to respond to the needs of travellers now and into the future.

And launching a ‘There’s room for everyone‘ campaign, and taking out a full page ‘We welcome an airport rail link too’ advertisement in the Herald Sun.

But experience at overseas airports shows that SkyBus will survive – many passengers will still choose an airport bus over an airport train, with one example being Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong experience

Hong Kong Airport is served by an airport rail link that overseas visitors love to rave about.

But it is the network of direct bus services that have captured the market.

In general, public transport modes dominate HKIA ground access market. Franchised buses have a large proportion (47 percent) with the Airport Express rail line (AEL) having 23 percent. The primary reason attracting air passengers to use the franchised buses is the lower travel cost. ‘Shortest time required’ is the main reason for those who used AEL.

Research there showed that directness of service was the reason for mode choice:

In order to understand the motivation for mode choice – and to explore the attribute of directness of service — MTR managers undertook some market research. Of those riders on the direct bus routes, an expected 55 percent said that the lower fare was a reason for choosing the bus; importantly, 51 percent stated that directness of service (i.e., no need to transfer) was a reason for their choice of mode. Directness of service was considered a factor by only 18 percent of rail riders, presumably those with destinations convenient to the terminals.

And that even throwing money at a gold plated rail service will do little to attract additional passengers.

It is apparent that even with a good design and well-integrated railway service, the Airport Express does not have inherent advantages over more direct single mode bus travel. In other words, the speed advantage of rail versus single mode road competitors when travelling over distances of only up to 34 km [21 mi] do not result in significant enough time savings to compensate for the necessary transfer.

Which also provides lessons for the State Government on how to deliver a Melbourne Airport rail link.

So what will Melbourne Airport rail do to SkyBus?

2018 saw the the signing of a new 10 year contract between SkyBus and the State Government, so it doesn’t look like SkyBus is intending to go anywhere.

I suspect that the Hong Kong experience will also play out in Melbourne – patronage on SkyBus’ primary Melbourne Airport to CBD route will plummet, with passengers switching to rail based on cost if it is a extension of existing suburban services, or quality if it is built as an express airport link.

As for the other SkyBus routes recently launched to other parts of Melbourne, patronage will stay much the same, with the one seat journey being preferred over a change trains in the city. However the real competition will be driving directly from home to the airport, over a freeway network that the State Government continues to expand.

Footnote

There is more than one way to get to Melbourne Airport, as Daniel Bowen describes in his post The cheap way to Melbourne Airport.

There are also a other privately operated bus services that run from Melbourne Airport towards Dandenong and Ringwood, as well further afield to Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland and Shepparton.

More photos

Until the early-2000s SkyBus used full sized coaches for the trip out to the airport – ‘The Tulla Flyer’ has posted a selection of photos from this period on the Australian Transport Discussion Board.

Photos of the former SkyBus terminal at Spencer Street Station can be found at the ‘Showbus Australia’ website.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Melbourne Airport rail and the diversification of SkyBus appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.