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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Overview of the carriage yards from the north-east side of La Trobe Street

Regional Rail Link

Work on the Regional Rail Link project will still ticking away, with Sunbury line passengers often having to change to buses at Footscray station.

New tracks had been completed along the edge of Docklands.

But work continued on the route past South Kensington.

Where the old tracks were getting rebuilt.

And at Middle Footscray, where space needed to be created for a third pair of tracks.

The north end of the footbridge at Footscray had been demolished for the same reason.

But work on the 1 McNab Avenue office tower was also underway.

Visible from all over Footscray.

The first stage of Regional Rail Link between the city and Footscray opened in July 2014, with the project completed in June 2015.

Myki

The changeover to Myki was still underway, with ‘Myki Mates’ talking to Traralgon passengers at Southern Cross Station ahead of the rollout of Myki to their line.

Public Transport Victoria also opened a new ‘PTV Hub’ beneath their head office at 750 Collins Street, Docklands.

And a ‘Pop up PTV Hub’ at Southern Cross Station for myki queries during the V/Line rollout.

But the reliability of the Myki system left much to be desired – defective readers onboard trams were still common.

Trams

A decade ago the corner of Elizabeth and Collins Streets still had a tram stop, located a short walk from the Elizabeth Street terminus.

It was eventually replaced with a platform stop located a block to the north in October 2013.

I also paid a visit to the much older trams found at the Ballarat Tramway Museum.

Luckily the sun came out on what was a cold winter’s day.

And back at the depot I found a 1970s advertisement from the State Electricity Commission of Victoria promoting all-electric kitchens.

A case of everything old is new again!

Southern Cross Station

At the far end of Southern Cross Station I paid a visit to the ‘Cavalcade of Transport’ mural – it was still in place, but the rest of the shopping centre had been stripped out for redevelopment.

While at the other end I found a curious sign – a train icon directing me to the ‘Airport Express’.

But it was a lie – the only service them, as is now, was a bus.

In the years since SkyBus has swapped their articulated buses for even larger double deck buses, but they still get stuck in traffic on the run between the CBD and Melbourne Airport.

And the other bits

Down at Avalon Airport I found ex-Qantas 747-300 VH-EBU ‘Nalanji Dreaming‘ still in storage outside Hangar 6.

It was repainted into a white livery in 2016, but was scrapped in June 2023.

Out at Campbellfield I went past the site of Pipeworks Fun Market on Mahoney’s Road.

The market closed in 2013, but opened on a new site in 2022.

On the Monash Freeway I found a set of new fixed speed cameras being installed.

They catch around 7,500 speeding motorists in each direction each year, despite standing out like dog’s balls.

And on the Metropolitan Ring Road works were underway on the upgrade between Edgars Road to Plenty Road.

That section was finished in April 2014, but it only marked the start of a decade of works elsewhere on the Ring Road.

And finally, a giant pile of mX newspapers unopened after the end of evening peak.

The evening commuter newspaper continued to be published until June 2015.

Footnote

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

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Checking the speeds of both motor vehicle,s and a a procession of trams on route route 57 and 82.

Tram drivers have been caught speeding before – such as this 2006 article from ‘The Age’.

A Melbourne tram has been clocked speeding by police – the first time a driver has been caught by a radar gun.

A traffic policeman with the laser radar gun clocked the tram at 57kph in a 40kph zone on Malvern Road, Prahran, shortly after 7.30am, a police spokeswoman said.

The officer intercepted the tram and issued the driver with an on-the-spot fine, she said.

“It’s the first time that a member has detected a speeding tram. He said it was quite unusual,” she said.

The officer, from Stonnington traffic management unit, said the tram driver was “co-operative”, the spokeswoman said.

“There was no animosity,” she said.

The driver was fined $215 and will lose three demerit points from his normal driver’s licence.

Yarra Trams spokesman Colin Tyrus said the driver also would be counselled by the company and would be subject to an internal disciplinary process, but would not disclose the process for privacy reasons.

“There’s no exception for tram drivers to the speed limit,” Mr Tyrus said.

“This is something that Yarra Trams regularly refers to in refresher training and initial training, that drivers are required to observe the road laws of the state of Victoria, and that includes speed limits.”

As well as running red lights.

About four trams an hour are running red lights in Melbourne’s CBD, a Herald Sun investigation has revealed.

Pedestrians have had to jump out of the way as trams hurtle through intersections on a red light.

But Victoria Police statistics reveal that since September 2006 only two tram drivers have been booked for running red lights.

A spokesman for the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said: “I don’t think any driver blatantly goes through a red light.”

Yarra Trams spokesman Colin Tyrus said tram drivers were trained to do their best to be on time, but not at the expense of safety.

He said trams were 30m long and unable to accelerate through an intersection like a car.

He added that drivers could cause injuries to passengers if they hit the brakes too suddenly.

Tram drivers are required to hold a normal driver’s licence – but for tram drivers who started the job before the rule was introduced in 1984, they had to be grandfathered in.

Lenny Bates started working at the Kew depot in 1955, forsaking a promising career as a registered plumber. In the ensuing 5½ decades he was a conductor, a driver, a trainer of hundreds of other drivers, and finally a driver again.

He spent his later years on routes 109 from Box Hill to Port Melbourne and 48 from North Balwyn to Docklands, gaining recognition and affection for his colourful and detailed announcements about local landmarks along the route.

As trams evolved, Mr Bates embraced whatever training was required to master the new models. ”Lenny came to the depot when we had 1920s technology, and progressed through that into today’s high-tech trams … He came from pencil and paper up to the touch screen,” Mr Andrews says.

But he never learnt to drive a car, even after a rule was brought in that tram drivers must have a valid driver’s licence. An exception was made for him.

Footnote: how fast can trams go anyway?

The Yarra Trams “Infrastructure – Tram Track Design” standards list the maximum speed for each class of tram.

Under Appendix C “Tram Specifications”.

Z3, A1, A2, B1, B2 classes
65 km/h powers off
75 km/h forced braking
Speed at max current draw: approximately 30 km/h
Acceleration: 1.5 m/s² ± 0.05

Citadis C1 class
77-80 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Speed at max current draw: 29 km/h @ 600V, 21.8 km/h @ 450V
Acceleration: 1-30 km/h ± 1.57 m/s², 1-60 km/h ± 1.57 m/s²

Citadis C2 class
70 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Acceleration: 1.03 m/s² ± 5%

Combino D1 class
70 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Speed at max current draw: 39-55 km/h
Acceleration: ≤1.3m/s² to 39 km/h, ≤0.95m/s² avg. to 70 km/h

Combino D2 class
70 km/h powers off
No forced braking
Speed at max current draw: 30-55 km/h
Acceleration: ≤1.3m/s² to 30 km/h, ≤0.86m/s² avg. to 60 km/h

Flexity E class
Max speed: 80 km/h
60 km/h traction cut
65 km/h brakes apply
Acceleration: 1.3m/s² to 30 km/h (fully loaded)

As well as the standards to which new track is built to.

In table B16 “Minimum Design Speed”.

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Members of various car enthusiasts forums were the first to post about them in late June 2013.

Located on the Monash Freeway where the speed limit changes from 80 km/h to 100 km/h, just south of the High Street exit, the new cameras have been installed on both the inbound and outbound lanes.

Each installation consists of two overhead gantries, each having four cameras fitted to it – presumably one per lane.

The cameras are pointed inwards towards the detection loops, enabling images to be captured of both the front and rear registration places of speeding cars.

An article titled “Safer cameras on the Monash” on the Victoria Government “Cameras Save Lives” website has the following to say on the new speed cameras:

June 28, 2013

A new pole is set to be erected on the Monash Freeway near Karana Place in Glen Iris. This large pole is the site for a new road safety camera, which will be up and running soon.

The pole that this camera is mounted on isn’t the usual kind we have in Victoria though. It’s a mechanism that’s the first of its kind in Australia, and it’s come all the way from England.

This new type of pole (a ‘Crown VMC Pole’) is an achievement in safety and efficiency. The pole has a mechanism that means it can be wound back from the road when the camera is undergoing maintenance.

This ability to wind back from the road means that traffic won’t need to be disrupted for routine maintenance, and normal traffic flow can continue. It’s also safer for camera maintenance workers, who will no longer need to work up high, as the camera can be brought down to a workable level.

Keep an eye out for this new structure on the Monash, as it’s the first site that doesn’t require working at heights, and we hope to see more of them.

I’m sure most motorists disagree with the “hope to see more of them” line!

An update

As of January 2013 the cameras will be switched on:

Monash Freeway cameras enforcing soon
Monday, 23 December 2013 15:11

Victoria Police is preparing to activate fixed speed cameras on the Monash Freeway within the next two weeks.

Two camera sites have been installed to the south of High Street in Glen Iris, detecting vehicles travelling both north and southbound.

The cameras are detecting at the posted speed limit of 100 km/h.

Police are also issuing a warning to drivers after more than 1450 drivers were detected speeding during a 10-day testing period.

Nearly 300 drivers were detected travelling in excess of 10 km/h but less than 15 km/h and more than 100 drivers were detected travelling in excess of 15 km/h but less then 25 km/h.

Twenty one drivers were detected travelling in excess of 25 km/h which normally would have resulted in those drivers losing their licences.

Six of these drivers would be considered hoons after being detected travelling in excess of 45 km/h over the posted speed limit which would have resulted in their cars being impounded if the cameras were active.

Variable message signs will be placed on the roadway from today. They will be placed on each side of the road, prior to the camera sites, and will initially carry a message advising “Speed cameras on soon”.

The cameras will be activated sometime in the week commencing 6 January and at this stage the messaging will change to “Cameras now enforcing”.

The variable messaging signs will stay in place for a month after the activation of the cameras.

Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said it’s disappointing that people were still not getting the message about the dangers of speeding.

“Speed is a major factor in about one third of fatal collisions every year, so it is concerning to see some drivers travelling at excessive speeds and putting the lives of all road users at risk,” A/C Hill said.

“It is also concerning to see more than 1000 drivers exceeding the speed limit by less then 10 km/h as we know low level speeding can be just as dangerous as high-level speeding.

“I welcome the activation of these cameras as the research shows that cameras help to reduce death and road trauma on our roads and are an important part of our overall enforcement approach.

“We are giving motorists advanced warning that the cameras are going to be activated soon.

“This is a reminder to motorists to slow down, pay attention and make sure you are driving within the signed speed limit at all times.”

Sergeant Sharon Darcy
Media Officer
VP31760

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