I pulled over to take a closer look, and found a car belong to SGS S.A. – a Swiss multinational company which provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services.

There was a piece of tripod mounted equipment labelled TIRTL on one side of the intersection.

And a second unit on the other side.

Also connected to an equipment box.

So what was it all for? The green thing labelled ‘TIRTL’ is actually a ‘The Infra-Red Traffic Logger‘ unit:

The transmitter sends two cones of infrared light across the roadway, and the receiver records vehicles as they break and remake these cones. TIRTL transmitter’s infrared cones cross each other and form two straight and two diagonal beam pathways.

When a vehicle crosses the beam pathways, TIRTL records two beam events; it records one from the vehicle breaking and one leaving the beam pathway. These two beams events are recorded for all four beam pathways. Thus, eight timestamped events are generated per axle. The velocity is derived from the timestamps of these beam events.

This velocity data is then compared with the velocity data calculated by the speed camera system itself, as part of the testing and maintenance procedures required under the Road Safety (General) Regulations 2019.

Quarterly:

– Speed accuracy and speed reliability testing
– Camera system asset inventory
– Camera system sensor evaluation

Which leads to the issuing of an annual test certificate for each camera.

Footnote: and another one

I’ve also found the speed and red light camera at the corner of Flinders Street and William Street undergoing testing.

Back in 20114 it was the speed camera which issued the most fines in Victoria, with 20,774 in one quarter. While in 2017 it claimed the dubious honour of Victoria worse location for motorists running red lights, with almost 2000 fines issued in one quarter.

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The backstory

The shutdown was announced at a Victoria Police press conference on Wednesday 15 September.

Public transport in Melbourne will be suspended for six hours on Saturday as part of a large-scale police operation to stop a planned protest against the ongoing Covid lockdown in the city.

The Victoria Police commissioner, Shane Patton, said on Wednesday that public transport – including buses, trams and trains – would be suspended going into the Melbourne CBD between 8am and 2pm on Saturday in an effort to prevent “freedom” protesters gathering in the city after thousands gathered in late August.

“We have no problem with facilitating protest when there’s a place in time for that to occur. This weekend is not the place and time for that to occur,” Patton said.

“It’s really interesting that this whole cohort of people who are about freedom don’t seem to respect the freedoms of others and anyone coming in here places those freedoms at risk.”

Two thousand police officers will be on hand as part of the operation to stop the protest and bollards will be erected with traffic management points and roving patrols. Only essential workers with valid permits will be allowed into the city centre.

Public Transport Victoria began publicising the disruption that evening.

Public transport will not run through the CBD on Saturday 18 September at the direction of @VictoriaPolice.

This will impact all metropolitan and regional train services, trams and buses from 8am.

For more information, visit https://t.co/DkIl2uYJy5 pic.twitter.com/kRVHM80bLS

— PTV (@ptv_official) September 15, 2021

“Trains terminate at suburban stations” was the initial message from Metro Trains.

Metro train services will not run through the CBD on Saturday 18 September 2021 between 8am and 2pm.

City-bound train services will terminate at suburban stations.

For more details: https://t.co/QIXfjoLnf8 pic.twitter.com/9GEoYeNAIC

— Metro Trains (@metrotrains) September 16, 2021

And “no trams in the city” the message from Yarra Trams.

No trams are running in the city on Saturday from 8am – 2pm, by police request. Trains and buses are also affected. Details: https://t.co/OOUQ7TOVba pic.twitter.com/iQfX9r1HHU

— Yarra Trams (@yarratrams) September 17, 2021

But by Friday 17 the extent of the shutdown of public transport was made clear, when Public Transport Victoria published maps of the services that would be running.

At the request of Victoria Police, public transport will not run through the CBD on Saturday 18 September 2021.

This will impact all metropolitan and regional train services, trams and buses from 8am to 2pm with services expected to take some time to resume to regular timetable.

Major road closures on thoroughfares into the CBD will also be in place. Significant delays are expected on roads leading to the CBD. CBD access will only be granted at roadblocks to those travelling for essential work, healthcare or to attend a vaccination appointment.

Metropolitan train services will terminate at suburban stations, where can effectively turn around and continue to provide services away from the city.

Tram routes and bus routes that normally travel into or through the CBD will now terminate at stops, some distance outside the CBD boundary and turn around. Some tram and and bus routes will not run at all, while others will run to a reduced timetable.

No trains within 10 kilometres or so of the Melbourne CBD.

Trams terminating at the fringe of the inner city.

As were Transdev buses.

Due to a @VictoriaPolice request, routes 200, 207, 216, 220, 234, 235, 236, 250, 251, 302, 304, 905, 906 & 907 will not run through the CBD on Saturday 18 September from 8am to 2pm. See website for details: https://t.co/hzm77gJOU2 pic.twitter.com/KYu4OirvZ8

— Transdev Melbourne (@Transdev_Melb) September 17, 2021

And alternative transport for the vast swathes of Melbourne beyond the CBD, left without public transport – nothing.

The Public Transport Users Association said the Victorian government needed to do more to minimise any disruption to workers relying on public transport.

Spokesperson Daniel Bowen said the impact on commuters would be severe.

“It’s unprecedented to shut down the entire inner part of the public transport network, not just in the CBD, but also the inner suburbs,” Mr Bowen said.

“The shuttle buses they’re putting on won’t stop at intermediate points along the route to the city, so there’s going to be lots of areas in inner suburban Melbourne and around the CBD that will just have no transport options.”

The only public transport operating to the CBD was a half-hourly shuttle bus service, running express from the suburbs to a CBD drop-off point.

Those people undertaking authorised travel with permits are urged to allow plenty of extra time for their journeys. They must carry identification and proof of their reason for travel, such as an authorised worker permit, or vaccination booking confirmation.

As a last resort for authorised travellers, two shuttle buses per hour will run from the nine suburban railway station termination points (see list below) to key drop-off points in and around the CBD. Passengers will be required to complete their journey by walking to their location from the CBD drop off points.

Victoria Police officers and PSOs will be checking proof of reasons for travel prior to allowing people to board shuttle buses.

On the day

On the morning of Saturday 18 September I went for a walk down to Sunshine station, to see how things were going. On the station concourse there was no signage informing passengers of the service disruption – just two blank lines on the next train display, where citybound services would normally be listed.

A Watergardens-bound train departed the ‘wrong’ way out of platform 1, proceeding through a crossover to get back onto the left hand track.

A pair of Protective Services Officers were twiddling their thumbs down on the station platform for the next train to terminate.

Down in the station car park was a Victoria Police car.

And at the rail replacement bus stop were another six Protective Services Officers, checking the credentials of passengers intending to board the shuttle bus to the CBD.

Eventually a bus turned up.

With ‘Authorised Worker Shuttle’ and ‘Express between Flagstaff and Sunshine’ signs on the front windscreen.

A few minutes later it departed for the city, with about a dozen passengers onboard.

The shuttle buses continuing to run until 2pm, when normal services started running to the CBD again.

Public transport services have resumed running through the CBD after an earlier @VictoriaPolice request.

Services are expected to take some time to resume to regular timetable. Thank you for your patience. For more information visit https://t.co/elfmyj8EIP pic.twitter.com/QG4qYuta4f

— PTV (@ptv_official) September 18, 2021

So did it work?

It appears the shutdown of public transport didn’t make any difference to the protest – they moved their rally to outside of the CBD!

Anti-lockdown demonstrators met in Richmond at around 12:00pm on Saturday, ignoring authorities’ pleas for them to stay home.

Police surrounded the protesters on Bridge Road, where multiple people were arrested.

The several-hundred-strong crowd then moved down Burnley Street, with police appearing to use capsicum spray on some members.

Authorities said 235 people were arrested in the protests, 193 for breaching CHO directions and several others for a range of offences including assault police, riotous behaviour, weapon and drug offences.

Footnote: how were the termination points chosen?

Trams and trains aren’t like a car – you can’t just pull up anywhere, do a u-turn, and head back the way you came – you need to change tracks.

In the case of trams, there are crossovers all over Melbourne, giving trams the flexibility to terminate and return at places that aren’t the usual end of the line.

But for trains it is trickier – as well as crossovers, trains also require a signalling configuration that permits a train to proceed along the ‘wrong’ track towards the crossover, and a safe location for the train driver to change ends from the front to rear cab.

This is why the Glen Waverley line had to terminate at Darling instead of Burnley, Craigieburn trains could not terminate at Kensington, Sunbury trains could not terminate at West Footscray, and Werribee trains could not terminate at Footscray.

Sources

Public Transport Victoria disruption notification:

• No public transport into the CBD between 8am and 2pm on Saturday 18 September
• Metropolitan and regional train service termination map
• Tram service termination map

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