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.

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Some background

Early government media releases used generic language such as:

“This project will create space to run more trains, more often, right across Melbourne. We’re getting it done.” said Premier Daniel Andrews.

As well as:

“We know these changes will be disruptive but we need to get on and build the Metro Tunnel – so we can deliver the frequent, reliable, turn-up-and-go transport system passengers need.” said Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan.

The only hard figures being an increase in peak capacity.

And the Melbourne Metro Program “Business Case Baseline” document dated February 2016 showing half of off-peak trains terminating at West Footscray.

Leaving Sunshine as a station where V/Line services outnumber ‘Metro’ ones.

But those pathetic sounding numbers didn’t actually reflect the service that the government intended to provide through the Metro Tunnel – a spokesperson ringing up blogger Daniel Bowen and telling him it was just a “base case” and not a service plan – which just left us all in the dark as to what the Metro Tunnel would deliver.

But is this it?

In September 2022 the Victorian Government published the Melbourne Airport Rail business case, with a 296 page main report, and a 413 pages of appendices.

And on page 11 of the appendices is what we’ve all been waiting for – a proposed service specification for the Metro Tunnel.

The assumed service specification of each option is summarised in the tables below. Note these assumed service specifications are for the purpose of comparing the options only. All changes to the Base Case under each option are highlighted orange.

The number of trains due to use the Metro Tunnel before the opening of the Melbourne Airport line.

And after the Melbourne Airport line has been completed.

So if the above is to be believed, the Sunbury line is in line for a massive off-peak service increase once the Metro Tunnel opens:

• Sunbury – twice as many trains, from every 40 minutes to every 20 minutes,
• Watergardens – twice as many trains, from every 20 minutes to a ‘turn up and go’ 10 minute frequency,
• Sunshine – three times as many trains, with a ‘turn up and go’ 10 minute frequency, with three more trains slotted in between,
• West Footscray – four times as many trains, with one every 5 minutes.

And once Melbourne Airport line opens, things will become even better – the Sunshine and West Footscray shortworkings will be extended through to Melbourne Airport, providing a 5 minute off-peak frequency to the Sunbury line as far as Sunshine.

Now we just need to hope that this is what actually gets delivered!

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Service relocations at Sunshine

The north-east side of Sunshine station used to be shaded by a number of tall trees.

But in January 2023 Melbourne Airport Rail posted a notice that they needed to be removed from the rail corridor to make way for the location of power and signalling cables.

So rev up the chainsaws, these trees are coming down.

Allowing new signalling and power conduits to be run beside the railway line.

But it turns out the tallest trees they removed didn’t even lie on the path taken by the cables.

The rail corridor being so narrow they decided to use above ground trunking to carry the power and signalling cable runs.

But it’s too late for the trees – they’re already gone.

And another at Albion

Albion station used to have tall trees between the railway line and the car park.

They even appeared in the artists impressions that Melbourne Airport Rail released in August 2022 in their application for a Heritage Victoria permit.

Melbourne Airport Rail artists impression

The trees apparently not causing any issues with the parallel 15 metres tall rail viaduct.

Melbourne Airport Rail artists impression

But in January 2023 the trees were fenced off.

And in came the chainsaws, reducing them to just a stump.

So why were they removed?

It seems the only possible reason is because they wanted to put the new underground services conduit in a straight line parallel to the railway line, and routing them around a tree would be too hard.

The only upside being a clear view of the John Darling flour mill.

At least until the view gets blocked for good by the cheap and nasty Melbourne Airport Rail viaduct passing over Ballarat Road.

‘Temporary’ car park at Tottenham station

In January 2023 the Melbourne Airport Rail announced that they would be building a “temporary” 300 space car park at Tottenham station to compensate for car park closures at Albion and Sunshine – “no net loss of car parking” strikes again.

But it was being delivered at more than just a financial cost – three trees were also due to be chopped down.

A big gum tree.

Google Street View

This little introduced tree.

Google Street View

And this straggly thing.

Google Street View

A fence went up around the site of the car park soon after.

And then the excavators rolled in.

The locals weren’t happy about the permanent loss of trees for a temporary car park.

But the car park machine goes brrrr.

Gravel being used to show this was just a “temporary” car park.

And by Mary 2023 it was ready for use.

For just a handful of cars each weekday.

So what will come first – the resumption of work on the Melbourne Airport Rail and eventual removal of the “temporary” car park, or cancellation of the project and the car park living forever.

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The works notice that never was

The first sign of what was to come was posted on the Facebook page of local state MP Sarah Connolly, who posted a copy of a Melbourne Airport Rail works notice.

It advised that shared path between Sunshine station and Matthews Street in Station would be closed from January 16 until April 30, with a detour via Station Place and Drayton Street.

Signage soon appeared at Sunshine station telling motorists that a few parking spaces would be closed.

But nothing appeared beside the shared path.

Until January 20, when a fence suddenly appeared across the path at Sunshine station.

And a ‘footpath closed’ sign across the Matthews Street end of the path.

But still no signage from the Melbourne Airport Rail project regarding the path closure – just one abut the removal of trees.

Work starts

February saw the excavators roll in, installing new signalling and power conduit along the railway line.

Dumping spoil next to Matthews Hill.

But by March 2023 the new conduits had been installed, and work was underway to restore the shared path to its previous state.

The fencing along the railway line back in place, ready for the promised April 2023 reopening.

And a second closure

Turns out out the April 30 reopening date was a lie – the Melbourne Airport Rail project finally put up a works notice beside the closed shared path, with an updated ’30 June 2023′ reopening date.

The shared path now being used as an access point to thenew station concourse that the Melbourne Airport Rail project was due to deliver at Sunshine station.

The trees cleared between the broad and standard gauge tracks were removed.

And the ground levelled out.

A piling rig was hard at work on the foundations at the end of platform 2.

And in May it was joined by a second piling rig working on an extension of platform 1.

Then on May 17 a bombshell:

Hundreds of tradespeople will be seconded to other projects after the Andrews government confirmed Melbourne Airport Rail Link construction would be paused, awaiting the results of a major Commonwealth review of the country’s infrastructure pipeline.

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan on Wednesday ended weeks of speculation about the future of the long-awaited rail line, saying works would be temporarily halted on the $13 billion Airport Rail Link.

“States [were] informed that no new contracts to progress works can be entered into during the review period, without express permission of the Commonwealth government,” Allan said in a statement.

“That means projects that are moving from early works packages cannot move to the next phase of works for the review period”

A few days later, the piling rigs at Sunshine station had been packed up and taken away.

Leaving a row of completed concrete piles.

But it gets worse

Despite work on Melbourne Airport Rail having wrapped up, the Sunshine-Tottenham shared path was still fenced off, hidden behind a pile of abandoned construction materials.

And then in early June the shared path detour via Station Place was itself closed – so that stormwater pipes leading to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Primary School could be upgraded.

So sick of waiting for the proper path to reopen, someone decided to take matters into their own hands and busted open the fence.

Revealing the mess that the Melbourne Airport Rail project left behind.

Gravel covering the concrete surface.

Bits of fence missing between the path and the rail corridor.

And the concrete surface cracked from heavy vehicles driving over it.

And a reopening

The first sign of an official reopening was relocation of the temporary fencing away from the path.

And a Brimbank City Council contractor planting new trees along the shared path.

A John Holland work crew then placing crash barriers along the damaged sections of path.

Covering the gravel that littered the concrete.

The concrete broken by heavy vehicles.

Mudholes beside the path created by careless drivers.

And replacing fences destroyed by excavators.

So what will happen first – restoration of the shared path to original condition, resumption of work on Melbourne Airport Rail, or the entire project being cancelled?

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