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The sharp curves catching V/Line unaware a few years later, when almost the entire VLocity train fleet was withdrawn from service due to wheel wear issues.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 It’s all since been replaced by a modern power supply as part of the work to support the rollout of High Capacity Metro Trains to the Pakenham line.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.

I’ve spotted them up in Queensland, where they use the 25 kV AC electrification system.

I’ve spotted them over in Adelaide, which also adopted the same voltage for their new electric trains.

And I’ve noticed them in Sydney, which uses the same 1500 volt DC system as Melbourne.

And curiously, on the Sydney Light Rail, which uses 750 volt DC power for traction.

The reason for these insulation gaps is safety – if the overhead lines that power trains fall to the ground, the last thing you want to happen is the entire railway station become live, and electrocute any passengers who happen to be touching a metal object! By providing insulated gaps in metal fences between the ‘trackside’ and ‘station’ sections, this risk is reduced.

Back in Melbourne, I’ve never seen an insulated gap in our station fences – only jumper cables between the overhead stanchions and the running rails.

And grounding connections between the tram fences and the tram tracks.

It makes me wonder – why doesn’t Melbourne have insulated gaps in the metal fences around out railway lines?

Some recent developments

About five years ago Melbourne started adding some new.

Insulating plastic shrouds around overhead stanchions on station platforms.

I wonder what the driver for their rollout was?

Further reading

The Transport for NSW Asset Standards Authority (ASA) has published Guideline on Earthing and Bonding at Railway Stations that explains the safety issues further.

At railway stations, three main types of risks may exist:

1. Risks associated with 1500V DC stray leakage or fault current.
2. Electric shock risk due to 1500V DC touch & step potential rise under fault condition
3. Electric shock risk due to high voltage/low voltage distribution systems’ touch & step potential rise under fault condition

There is a possibility that overhead wiring structures may rise to a potential above earth. The risk of persons receiving an electric shock when standing beside an overhead wiring structure and touching the structure is present and is of concern.

Other hazardous situations where persons could receive an electric shock is when physical contact is made by touching overhead wiring structures at the same time as they touch lighting poles, metallic parts of canopies or awnings, steel troughing, metal fences or rolling stock.

In order to minimise these risks, methods have been developed and deployed for the overhead wiring system.

As well as a document detailing the specifications for insulation panels found in their fences.

Insulation Panels

Insulation panels, a minimum of 2200mm in length, are required in metallic fencing in the electrified area to break the fence up into short electrically isolated sections. The panels consist of the fence material with supporting posts that are non-metallic. The panels are installed where ‘continuous’ fencing:

• would otherwise approach within 2.0 metres of an OHW structure (including any metallic attachments to the OHW structure such as switch handles, back anchor guy rods etc)
• would otherwise approach within 2.0 metres of station fences, foot bridges, rail bridges, entrance fences and metallic buildings
• runs parallel to, and within 2.0 metres of, above ground metallic signalling/cable troughing or air lines. The insulating panels must be located directly adjacent to the insulated joint in the signalling/cable troughing or air lines
• meets any high voltage substation fence (either RailCorp or local electricity distributor). Where the substation earth mat extends outside the substation fence, ‘continuous fencing must not enter the area of the earth mat.
• meets any pole mounted or pad mounted substation (either RailCorp or local electricity distributor). The ‘continuous’ fencing must not enter the area of the earth mat. The continuous fencing must also not be closer than 2.0 metres from exposed substation metal fittings.

Insulation panels are to be installed:

• to ensure that persons cannot contact ‘continuous’ fencing and any other metallic service such as OHW structures, station fences (associated with the station low voltage earthing system and water pipes) and footbridges that extend outside RailCorp property,
• at approximately 300 metre intervals in the ‘continuous’ fencing (with a maximum spacing of 800m in areas away from above ground signal troughing).

The non-metallic posts shall have a clearance of minimum 50 mm and maximum 100 mm from the adjacent metallic post of the ‘continuous’ fencing. Each non-metallic post must have a warning sign attached as shown on the drawing.

The bottom rail shall be installed so as to remain 80 mm clear of the ground.

Security and High Security Fences

When installing security and high security fencing, the fence shall be designed and positioned so to reduce or eliminate the requirement for insulation panels. Where insulation panels are required and can not be avoided, they shall be of a design that complements the high security performance of these fence types.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Insulated fences beside electrified railways appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.

At the main entrance to Roma Street Station I noticed a useful feature of the next train display boards – they were colour coded.

Note that colours used matching those used in the network map.

The stopping pattern for the next train departing each platform is displayed, along with the colour for the appropriate railway line.

Additional screens list the next three trains on each route:

As well as the next trains heads in each direction out of the city.

Note how the line based colour coding makes the screens incredibly easy to read at a glance.

If only the next train displays on Melbourne’s rail network were as simple to read!

Footnote on Melbourne

Until a few years ago the next train displays at Melbourne’s City Loop stations used colour to distinguish the different lines – unfortunately the upgrade to LCD panels resulted in this useful feature being killed off.

At least Melbourne’s train network map is undergoing a much needed revamp – the almost useless fare zone information is being removed, with the different colours being used to indicate something far more important – which railway line goes where!

And for people searching for “brisbane train map”

For some reason I get a few hundred hits each month from people searching for “brisbane train map” – you can find the complete map over at the Queensland Rail website.

Post retrieved by 35.215.163.46 using

The post Brisbane’s multi-coloured rail network map appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.