Regional Rail Link

Work on the Regional Rail Link project was continuing, with the new track connections to the North Melbourne flyover taking shape to separate V/Line and suburban trains.

The launching truss was also in place at the new Maribyrnong River bridge.

Forming a third pair of tracks between North Melbourne and Footscray.

Including a flyover outside Footscray to swap the position of the V/Line and Werribee line track pairs.

At Footscray station work continued on the expanded station concourse.

With two new platforms being built on the north side of the station, to allow V/Line and suburban trains to be separated.

The bridge at the west end of the station was also being widened for the extra pair of tracks.

As well through the cutting towards Middle Footscray.

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

Car parking – cheap at twice the price

At North Williamstown station a $530,000 car park upgrade had just been completed.

The gravel forecourt being turned into an asphalt car park with 50 spaces.

Another screw up by V/Line

In mid-2013 V/Line discovered cracked bogies beneath their fleet of 1950s-era locomotive hauled carriages, which also happened to be the only wheelchair accessible carriages in their long distance fleet.

A total of 22 carriages were impacted by the bogie cracks, with 13 returned to service by June 2014 when new bogies were sourced, the last finally fixed by the end of 2016. Fast forward to today, and the carriages are now retired.

Touring Melbourne’s train control centre

I somehow managed to wrangle a tour of ‘Metrol‘ – Melbourne’s train control centre.

Inside train controllers were busy directing trains across the network.

Each controller being responsible for one part of the network.

With an array of screens showing the location of trains, and a control panel to set which route they would take.

And next door was the shiny new Train Control and Monitoring System room – ready to go, but not yet in everyday use.

But there was one low tech system still in use – stringline graphs.

Depicting the timetabled services running on each line, the hand drawn annotations show where ad-hoc changes needed to be made following delays and disruptions.

Buses

On Queens Bridge I found a Melbourne Free Visitor Shuttle bus.

A victim of competition from the Free Tram Zone, the City of Melbourne finally killed off the service in August 2017.

Trams

A decade ago there were still no platform tram stops on Elizabeth Street.

They were finally built in late-2013.

And the B1 class ‘light rail vehicles’ were still in service.

They were eventually withdrawn in 2016, following a farewell tour.

The clunky old Z1 class trams were also still kicking around.

They were also withdrawn in 2016, having also had their own farewell tour.

And finally, the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant was still trunding around the streets of Melbourne.

The service last ran in October 2018, when Yarra Trams banned the fleet of the network citing safety concerns.

Stupid motorists

I found this old man driving down through the tram stop on Swanston Street – did he think his beat up Mercedes Benz was a bike?

While this motorist figured they could actually take their Toorak Tractor off road, and decided that instead of squeezing out of the bike line, driving off the edge would be quicker.

And the cost of living

A decade ago you could travel anywhere in Melbourne on a weekend for just $3.50.

But fast forward to today – public transport fares are now $10 a day, which on weekends is discounted to ‘just’ $7.20.

Footnote

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

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I’ve written about the history of the Ballarat line a lot recently, including the construction of a deviation to cut the length of the journey between Melbourne and Ballarat, but today I’m looking at a much less “sexy” improvement – curves easing so that trains could run through them a little bit faster.

Some background

If you’ve read my past items on the history of the Ballarat line and the looping section of track outside Bacchus Marsh you know the story by now – the line was born as two single track branch line serving towns along the way, until 1889 when the two met in the middle to form a through route that now linked Melbourne to Adelaide.

For this reason the railway was built to a cost, avoiding expensive earthworks, viaducts and tunnels by following a twisting route around the countryside, with multiple 40 chain (800 metre) and even some 20 chain (400 metre) radius curves along the way, forcing trains to slow down to to 80 km/h and 50 km/h respectively when traversing them. For early steam locomotives this wasn’t much of a problem, given their low top speeds.

PROV photo VPRS 12800/P0001 H 5012

But as the top speed of trains increased, these curves limited the actual speeds that could be achieved.

PROV image VPRS 12800/P1, item H 2545

Enter Regional Fast Rail

In 2000 the newly elected Bracks Government announced Regional Fast Rail – a project to speed up trains between Melbourne and the regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Traralgon.

For the Ballarat line travel times before the upgrade were quite variable.

6.9 Ballarat Line
6.9.1 Existing Infrastructure Review

Existing Timetable
The existing travel time between Spencer Street and Ballarat varies according to the particular service, the time of day, available train paths, rolling stock and stopping patterns:
· The shortest travel time is 85 minutes
· Typically, the most frequent fastest travel time for an Up train is 85 minutes
· Typically, the most frequent fastest travel time for an Down train is 88 minutes
· 60% of all trains have travel times less than or equal to 90 minutes
· The slowest trains are mainly for opposing peak flow moves
· The slowest train is 104 minutes, an up train where this has to wait for two down train crosses.

As can be seen the variation in travel time is considerable.

For the Ballarat line a number of upgrades were considered.

6.9.3 Travel Time Scenarios

For the Railway line from Melbourne (Spencer Street) to Ballarat three travel time scenarios have been proposed:
· 70 minutes,
· 60 minutes, and
· 55 minutes.

Various options to reduce travel time were investigated. This investigation included assessing the merits and impacts of these options. The options ranged from low cost options to large scale engineering works, and are as follows:

· Applied cant and transition adjustments; low cost solution with small benefit.
· Curve easings to achieve typical minimum curve radii of 1500m; moderate cost with small benefit.
· Curve easings to achieve typical minimum curve radii of 2000m; significant cost with increased benefit.
· Major route alignment changes; major works costs resulting in significant time savings

At this stage, it is likely that deviation works (and associated land acquisitions) will be required to achieve travel time targets.

Eventually a target travel time of 64 minutes was set, which meant that the existing steam-era alignment needed to be rebuilt to allow the new maximum top speed of 160 km/h to be reached.

The headline act was the construction of a 8.2 kilometre deviation to shorten the journey between Millbrook to Dunnstown, west of Ballarat.

But another factor limiting top speeds was having to slow down to 50 km/h on what was otherwise a 160 km/h railway. Hence a targeted plan to replace tight curves with wider ones, using land already within the railway reserve wherever possible.

Speeding through Melton

Before the upgrade, Melton station had a 40 chain (800 metre) radius curve on the approach, limiting trains to 75 km/h.

And a 20 chain (400 metre) curve on the departure, limiting trains to 50 km/h.

But both were rebuilt, as well as the station platform.

7 November 2005

Over the past four weeks, Thiess Alstom Joint Venture has worked to upgrade the Station-Exford Road level crossing so that it could accommodate the addition of a second track, which leads to the newly extended Melton station platform.

Melton station platform has been extended 27.5 metres on the Melbourne-bound side and 44 metres on the Ballarat-bound side, to accommodate the new signalling requirements.

A swathe of land beside Melton Weir flagged as part of the project area, allowing a chunk of land beside the Coburns Road level crossing to be acquired.

VicPlan map

The old sharp curve being cut off.

Weston Langford photo

And the road rebuilt across it.

Weston Langford photo

And a new track on a smoother alignment constructed to the south.

Weston Langford photo

Combined with land acquisition closer to Melton Weir, the 50 km/h curve was replaced by a 120 km/h curve to the left, followed by a 150 km/h curve to the right.

Rebuilding the Parwan Curves

The sweeping curves over Parwan Creek outside Bacchus Marsh have been a favourite of railfans for years.

But they played havoc with the speedy operation of trains, thanks to the series of 30, 26 and 20 chain (600, 520 and 400 metre) curves, limiting train speeds to 50 km/h.

As a result, a wide swathe of land was made part of the project area, and land compulsorily acquired to give a smoother alignment between the curves.

VicPlan map

The bulldozers and dump trucks then rolled in to create a new embankment over the Parwan Creek.

Weston Langford photo

The fill coming from a massive cutting created between Parwan Creek and Bacchus Marsh.

Thiess ALSTOM Joint Venture photo

The end result – 50 km/h curves replaced by a 120 km/h curve to the right, followed by a 120 km/h curve to the left.

Bacchus Marsh station

Bacchus Marsh station is located at the bottom of the valley, with a 20 chain (400 metre) curve at the down end limiting trains to 50 km/h as they start their long climb towards Ballan.

The solution – rebuilding the entire Ballarat end of the station.

15 November 2005

Realigning the track
Major changes have also been made to the track alignment on the western entry into, and within, the rail yard.

The Ballarat-approach to Bacchus Marsh has traditionally supported trains that travel at an average speed of 45km/h. Track alignment works were required so that the faster trains could approach and enter the Parwan Road level crossing and rail yard safely.

Thiess Alstom Joint Venture’s works have included the installation of one new crossover and six refurbished turnouts within the yard. Recycled timber sleepers have been used in the reconstruction of the sidings which is where the trains will park when not in operation.

The existing station platform has also been modified to support the new track alignment. Over 30 m of bluestone has been cutback so that the platform aligns with the newly positioned track. A concrete platform extension of 75 m has also been constructed.

With a wider curve leading away from the station.

Leaving a disused section of platform behind, so that trains could enter the new wider curve earlier.

The end result – a left hand curve up from 50 km/h to 100 km/h.

Arriving into Ballan

You wouldn’t notice it today, but at the Melbourne end of Ballan station was once a sticking point – a 30 chain (600 metre) curve limiting trains to 65 km/h.

So the Regional Fast Rail project went and flagged a whole row of properties on the inside of the curve.

Department of Sustainability and Environment map

Then acquired a chunk of each to build a new smoother curve.

VicPlan map

The new route left the old one behind.

Weston Langford photo

Making a bridge redundant.

And creating a big green patch of land beside the Windle Street level crossing.

On what was once the main railway line between Melbourne and Ballarat.

The end result – an increase in curve speed from 65 km/h to 160 km/h.

Blink and you’ll miss it – Llandeilo Lane

Midway between Ballan and Ballarat is the Llandeilo Lane level crossing – otherwise forgettable, except for a 40 chain (800 metre) radius curve that limited trains to 80 km/h between to otherwise 160 km/h sections of straight track.

The solution – cutting the corner by relaying the track on a wider curve, squeezing up against the parallel road.

VicPlan map

Giving a speed increase from 80 km/h to 160 km/h.

Portland Flat Road – a bridge to nowhere

Still following the back road from Ballan, you’ll find something bizarre – a rusty stretch of disused railway, crossed by a timber bridge.

And the bridge leading leading nowhere.

Thanks to the railway running alongside.

The reason for the rebuilding was the 40 chain (800 metre) curve that limited trains to 80 km/h.

Weston Langford photo

Demolishing the bridge was not an option, as it is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, so the new alignment was built clear of the existing bridge.

Thiess ALSTOM Joint Venture photo

Construction able to progress without disturbing rail services.

Weston Langford photo

Until the new line was cut into service.

Weston Langford photo

Allowing trains to increase their speed from 80 km/h to 160 km/h.

And the big one – the Bungaree Deviation

The original circuitous route via Bungaree was full of 30 and 40 chain (600 and 800 metre) curves, with speeds as low as 65 km/h.

It was replaced by a 8.2 kilometre deviation on a far more direct route.

The top speed for the new line – 160 km/h.

The verdict

Increasing line speeds from 80 km/h to 160 km/h is a massive improvement, especially in sections of railway between stations where a train could be travelling at top speed.

But improvements such as those at Ballan and Bacchus Marsh now look rather pointless, given the demise of the Ballarat to Melbourne express services, that skipped these stations to complete the run in 59 minutes.

As today every train stops at both Bacchus Marsh and Ballan, with both stations having gained a second track, platform and footbridge as part of the Ballarat Line Upgrade.

All part of a focus on service frequency and reliability, not raw speed.

Footnote: more detail on curve speeds

Current day curve speeds on the Ballarat line are from this V/Line driver training video.

While historical curve radii are taken from the 1989 Grades and Curve book:

Melton
Old: 40 chain approach, 20 chain departure
New: 120 km/h curve left, 150 km/h right

Parwan Creek:
Old: 30, 26 and 20 chain curves
New: 120 km/h curve right, 120 km/h left

Bacchus Marsh
Old: 20 chain curve
New: 100 km/h curve left

Ballan
Old: 30 chain curve
New: 160 km/h line speed

Llandeilo Lane
Old: 40 chain
New: 160 km/h line speed

Portland Flat Road
Old: 40 chain
New: 160 km/h line speed

Bungaree Deviation
Old: 30 and 40 chain curves
New: 160 km/h line speed

Historical curve speeds can be found in the Victorian Railways 1928 General Appendix, page 291.

12-20 chains = 25 mph (40 km/h)
20-25 chains = 30 mph (48 km/h)
25-30 chains = 35 mph (56 km/h)
30-35 chains = 40 mph (64 km/h)
35-40 chains = 50 mph (80 km/h)
40 chains = 60 mph (96 km/h)

With metricated distances found alongside miles per hour speeds in the 1979 edition.

402m = 30 mph (48 km/h)
604m = 35 mph (56 km/h)
805m = 50 mph (80 km/h)

Footnote: construction timeline

The February 2004 Thiess Alstom Joint Venture project newsletter gave a timeline of works along the Ballarat line.

Dec 2003 to April 2004
Melton: Earthworks and track formation west of Melton Station.

Dec 2003 to April 2004
Bacchus Marsh: Earthworks and track formation between Bacchus Marsh Station and Woolpack Road.

Feb 2004 to April 2004
Ballan: Realignment of Walsh Street, upgrade of the Windle Street level crossing.

Dec 2003 to April 2004
Gordon: Earthworks and construction of the new Portland Flat Road Bridge.

Feb to June 2004
Millbrook to Dunnstown: Construction of a new bridge over Spread Eagle Road.

Feb to June 2004
Construction of a new bridge over Peerwerrh Road.

Feb to December 2004
Construction of a new bridge over Lal Lal Creek.

Feb to July 2004
Construction of a new bridge over Moorabool River.

April to August 2004
Construction of a new bridge over Old Melbourne Road.

April to August 2004
Construction of a new bridge on Sullivans Road.

Feb to December 2004
Earthworks throughout the newly constructed corridor.

Sources

The archived website for the Thiess Alstom Joint Venture which delivered the Ballarat line portion of the Regional Fast Rail provided further detail, as did the archived Department of Infrastructure website.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Regional Fast Rail Project, Integrated Approval Requirements document for the “Rail Infrastructure Projects Ballarat Rail Corridor Deviation” gave a high level overview of the land affected by the project.

A more detailed view of each railway deviation can be found on the VicPlan planning map.

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Some history

I’ve written about the history of the Melbourne-Ballarat railway before. Ballarat’s first railway was completed in 1862 as double track, but was indirect and travelled via Geelong. Today’s direct route to Melbourne came much later, being built from both ends over a 10 year period as a single track branch line serving towns along the way, until 1889 when the two met in the middle to form a through route that now linked Melbourne to Adelaide.

PROV photo VPRS 12800/P0001 H 5012

But following the completion of the heavily engineered Geelong-Ballarat and Melbourne-Bendigo railway lines, the finances of the young colony were depleted, so the new railway to Ballarat was built on a more economic basis. An example of this was when the surveyors reached the steep Moorabool River valley, they didn’t build a bridge – they sent the railway north for for the flatter terrain of Bungaree and Wallace, then back south to avoid the foothills of Black Hill outside Gordon.

In the years that followed the number of trains using the railway between Melbourne and Ballarat grew, as did the size of each – but the dogleg via Bungaree remained.

PROV image VPRS 12800/P1, item H 2545

In the 1970s the Bureau of Transport Economics looked at a number of upgrades to the Melbourne – Serviceton railway, with straightening out the line one of the options considered.

Millbrook to Dunnstown Deviation

It is proposed to straighten out the line between Millbrook, and Dunnstown to reduce the distance between these two localities by about 5 km.

A 5 minute reduction in transit time is expected for both directions of travel if the deviation is introduced at a capital cost of $1.5 million.

But this option was not pursued – instead a lower cost package of signalling upgrades and longer crossing loops was completed.

Weston Langford photo

Enter Regional Fast Rail

In 2000 the newly elected Bracks Government announced Regional Fast Rail – a project to speed up trains between Melbourne and the regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Traralgon.

For the Ballarat line a target travel time of 64 minutes was set, which meant that the existing steam-era alignment needed to be rebuilt to allow the new maximum top speed of 160 km/h to be reached.

At Bungaree the solution to speeding up trains was simple – they brushed off their old plans, and proposed a brand new 8.2 kilometre section of railway joined the two halves of the existing doglegged route, bypassing the numerous tight curves along the way.

Sounds simple, eh?

But where will the line line run?

Drawing a line on a map is one thing, but new railway deviation cut through 30+ parcels of private land.

Department of Sustainability and Environment map

And the government failed to engage the local community following the announcement of the project.

Hansard, Legislative Assembly
13 June 2001

Mr Leigh (Mordialloc) – I will quote a letter from the Department of Infrastructure. It is a very nice letter to a whole range of people who live along what is called the Bungaree diversion. It is part of a loop on the Ballarat line that the government has to get rid of .It is where the government should look if it wants to use of some of the $550 million and reduce time frames on the Ballarat line.

Firstly, the government introduced the program without telling a resident or anyone else. Following the announcement, when the people in the area looked at the local newspaper they saw a report that their land would be blighted by this scheme, and the government had not told the parties concerned. What did Premier Bracks then do? Nothing.

After some months I forced the government to call a public meeting of the residents, and the honourable member for St Kilda — or Ballarat East, as I think he refers to himself — said he was getting on with it.

A letter dated 5 June from the Department of Infrastructure, which I will make available to the house, if necessary, says, in part:

Millbrook to Dunnstown deviation – Regional Fast Rail project

On 31 May the government released the expression of interest documentation to the market as the start of the bidding process

Work on whether the deviation is required between Millbrook and Dunnstown is still continuing, however this may not be resolved until the end of the tendering process early next year.

The government regrets the uncertainty …

Farmers and others who live in the community have no knowledge of what is going on.

At the public meeting the people supporting the fast train proposal put forward a great idea about how farmers could resolve the problem of crossing the track with their sheep. They said the train line should be buffered to protect them.

The track will go right through the middle of one farmer’s property. The head of the infrastructure group said, `I do not understand what your problem is, because we are going to make a payment to you. With that payment you will be able to afford to hire a transport company to move your sheep from one side of the railway neck to the other when you need to. Every time you want to move your sheep you will have to ring Ballarat to get a transport company out. There will be enough money for you in an account so you can afford to pay for that forever’.

That is the sort of nonsense that is going on.

The first community meetings being held in 2002.

Minister Meets with Landowners On Regional Fast Rail
Media release from the Minister for Transport
22 July 2002

Transport Minister Peter Batchelor attended a meeting Thursday of last week in the Millbrook Community Centre to brief landholders who could have their properties acquired for the Millbrook to Dunnstown rail deviation as part of the Regional Fast Rail Project.

The deviation is essential to reduce the distance the new fast trains will travel in this location, and to allow the trains to reach a speed of 160km/h to achieve a 64 minute express trip between Ballarat and Melbourne.

The Fast Rail project is the biggest upgrade of the regional rail system in 120 years.

But with the 2002 Victorian state election approaching, the railway deviation became a political football.

Liberals not prepared to reveal fast train policy called
Ballarat Courier
21 October 2002

The Liberal Party will reveal its policy on the fast rail project’s controversial Bungaree loop after the next state election called.

That was the message it delivered to Millbrook and Dunnstown residents at a public meeting on the issue last night.

The Liberal Party’s Ballarat East candidate Gerard FitzGerald and Ballarat Province candidate Helen Bath met with up to 50 people at the former Millbrook Primary School to discuss the impact of the Bungaree loop bypass on landholders.

Mr FitzGerald said he supported the farmers’ stance at the meeting and had presented their concerns to the Liberal Party.

Millbrook and Dunnstown landowners have banded together to fight a plan to build a new train line through or near their properties to bypass the Bungaree loop.

The group believes the bypass is unnecessary and would not be worth the pain it would cause the area.

At Millbrook and Dunnstown 18 properties will, under present plans, be affected by a new track that will partially replace the Bungaree loop and cut four minutes off travel times.

Mr FitzGerald said he wanted to see the money proposed for the Bungaree loop to be spent on improving the gridlock between Sunshine and Spencer St instead.

“What I am telling my party in Melbourne is that the deviation is clearly a waste of money,” Mr FitzGerald said.

However, the two candidates stopped short of committing to scrapping the Bungaree Loop plans.

Ms Bath said it could not yet commit to scrapping the loop deviation project until an election was called, any time between November 30 this year and the end of next year.

“As soon as the election is called you will have a very clear distinction (between the Liberal Party and Labor),” Ms Bath said.

Ms Bath also said she would organise a meeting with the party’s leader Robert Doyle and transport spokesman Geoff Leigh.

But the deviation was given the go ahead in 2003.

Government to Proceed With Millbrook Rail Deviation
Media release from the Minister for Transport
6 February 2003

Works on the deviation of the Ballarat rail line between Millbrook and Dunnstown for the Regional Fast Rail project will go ahead, Transport Minister Peter Batchelor announced today.

Mr Batchelor said the deviation was one of several necessary to create a high-quality 64-minute trip between Ballarat and Melbourne, a travel time strongly supported by the Ballarat Council and community.

Mr Batchelor will meet with affected landowners tonight at the Millbrook Community Hall.

“There is no feasible or cost-effective alternative to the deviation,” Mr Batchelor said.

“The only way that the travel time can be achieved on the Ballarat line is by building the deviation and realigning the track in four other locations.

But the state opposition still kept up the pressure on the government’s handing of the project, and proposed an alternate solution – double tracking the Ballarat line closer to Melbourne.

Hansard, Legislative Assembly
27 August 2003

Mr Mulder (Polwarth) — On 8 August, without any discussion, the Minister for Planning gazetted compulsory acquisition of 44 pieces of land in the Millsbrook–Dunnstown area for the $30 million Bungaree deviation. As one of the 20 affected land-holders, Graeme Harris says that Labor has bulldozed its way along.

There has been no proper consideration of alternatives such as those suggested by the Liberal Party to spend the same amount on duplicating the rail line between Deer Park West and Rockbank and abandon the Bungaree deviation.

Not a single rail has been laid on the $573 million fast rail projects. Today we see in the Herald Sun that there are further cost blow-outs of an initial $8 million for just the Bendigo and Traralgon projects. This bill will be picked up by all Victorians.

When will the Premier, the Minister for Transport and the members for Ballarat East and Ballarat West start to listen? The Bungaree deviation is about the Premier’s image in his own home town of Ballarat. According to the Ballarat mayor, David Vendy, it is no wonder the Premier’s body language is embarrassed! Fast rail construction delays are set to cost Victorians over $100 million.

Duplicating the track closer to Melbourne would benefit Ballan, Bacchus Marsh and Melton residents. This is all about the selfish pride of the Premier versus a small country community. The Ballarat members would do better to look after the small country.

But the government stuck to their plans, with newsletters for the Regional Fast Rail project being used to justify their choice of upgrades.

Regional Fast Rail Bulletin
Issue 2
November 2003

Why can’t the Government just run some more trains and leave the rail line as it is?

Victoria’s regional rail network has not been upgraded in decades, and much of the infrastructure is reaching the end of its life. The track includes sections of poor quality rail and sleepers which can result in uncomfortable journeys and wear-and-tear on trains, and the outdated signals are responsible for many delays.

As with roads, rail lines need to be upgraded. The Government is spending $130 million on bringing the Ballarat line up to modern standards to provide high-quality rail services which are frequent, fast, comfortable, reliable and safe.

How can services travelling in opposite directions run without being delayed on the single track?

Many sections of the country and metropolitan rail network operate safely and efficiently as single-track lines with passing loops. Duplication of the Ballarat line from Melton is not required to provide for more frequent and reliable services, and is unaffordable within the project’s budget. The introduction of 38 new trains, the redevelopment of the timetable to better match community needs, and the major upgrade of the tracks and signalling system will improve service frequency and reliability for all communities along the line.

What will be done about the delays between Melton and Sunshine, and in the metropolitan area?

Many of the delays experienced between Melton and Sunshine are caused by signalling problems. By replacing the outdated signals with an automated, centrally-controlled signalling system, reliability will be greatly improved. The upgrade of the signals on the country network will also reduce delays caused by trains missing their timetable slot once they reach the metropolitan system.

Improving the capacity and operation of the metropolitan system is a priority for government. Planning studies have begun to examine rail service operation on the Sunshine corridor, which provides paths for Ballarat line services. These studies will identify bottlenecks, clarify the causes of delays and formulate options for upgrading infrastructure, signalling and operating systems.

Why is the land acquisition necessary?

The track realignments are necessary to achieve the target express travel time of 64 minutes between Ballarat and Spencer Street station. A travel time close to one hour is strongly supported by the City of Ballarat and the Ballarat community, and faster travel times are required if rail is to compete with road travel. The only other option for achieving the 64 minute travel time without bypassing the Bungaree Loop is to bypass Bacchus Marsh, which is not appropriate. Affected landowners will be fairly compensated in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986.

Building it

Now that a route was chosen, it was time to build.

VicPlan map

In came the bulldozers, scrapers, dump trucks and graders – clearing the way for the new railway.

Weston Langford photo

Some impressive civil works were required to build the new line, which had no level crossings:

• 380,000m3 of cut and fill earthworks,
• Construction of four road over rail bridges:
  • Sullivans Road (16m span)
  • Spread Eagle Road (12.5m span)
  • Peerewerrh Road (12.5m span)
  • Old Melbourne Road (18.5m span)
• Two rail over water bridges:
  • Moorabool Bridge: 270m long, 27m high
  • Lal Lal Bridge: 363m long, 40m high

The two massive rail over water bridges being the main feature.

Thiess ALSTOM Joint Venture photo

Built to an innovative design not seen before .

The construction of the Moorabool River and Lal Lal Creek bridges on the Bungaree Deviation included many innovative design and construction solutions. The challenge for the design team was to develop an innovative design that would minimise the on-site works and therefore minimise risk for the construction phase of the project.

The design and construction methodology included the following objectives:
• Minimise work at heights
• Prefabricate and preassemble as much as possible including access systems
• Assemble as much on the ground as possible
• Use of physical handrails rather than fall arrest systems

A breakthrough in the design was the use of wind tower technology for the steel bridge columns, fabricated by Keppel Prince in Portland.

Lal Lal Creek piers:
– rolled from 32mm plate
– maximum length of 38m
– maximum weight of 82 tonnes
– base diameter up to 4.5m tapering down to standard 1.5m at the top

Moorabool River piers:
– rolled from 20 – 25mm plate
– maximum length of 25m
– maximum weight of 25 tonnes

All the piers were transported to site in one section including the platforms and access systems to enable piers to be erected straight off the truck.

During construction, the pre-cast concrete crossheads weighing 27 tonne were lifted onto each steel pier with the permanent access platforms installed on the crossheads on the ground prior to final erection.

Three super T pre-cast concrete beams (ranging from 62-76 tonne and 27-33 metres) were laid in parallel to span each gap between the columns.

Each beam was fitted out on the ground prior to lifting into final position. The fit out included the installation of ballast walls incorporating permanent hand rails, drainage system and temporary handrails around lifting points. Additional lifting clutches were incorporated to take into account the change in centre of gravity due to the beam fit out.

The use of very large steel columns, precast beams, and crossheads required detailed planning for each lift. Mobile cranes were used for all the lifts and special attention was placed on prepared detailed engineering solutions for all lifts including access roads and the provision of piled support systems and embankment strengthening works for the crane positions.

The two bridges were functionally complete by late 2004.

Weston Langford photo

And following the completion of works elsewhere along the line, Premier Steve Bracks and Transport Minister Peter Batchelor launched VLocity trains along the upgraded line on 22 December 2005.

Matt Julian photo

But a false economy

Despite building a shorter route, it was decided to retain the old route as a crossing loop, so that trains in opposite directions could pass each other without stopping.

The new deviation joining the existing route at Millsbrook in the east.

And Dunnstown in the west.

Cost cutting on the project was attacked at the time.

Submission to the Select Committee, Train Services, Parliament of Victoria
Rail Tram and Bus Union
18 September 2006

Much has been made of the improvements to the Ballarat line which features the hugely expensive deviation from Millbrook to Torpys Road ($45,000,000) This was done to facilitate a time saving of 5 minutes in the running time of the fast train service.

All the track improvements were carried out with one objective, that is to allow one service to negotiate the distance from Ballarat to Sunshine in 45 mins. This would explain why two sections of track from Bacchus Marsh to the Horseshoe Bend and from the Horseshoe Bend to Ingliston were not even touched and left with the original wooden sleepers and worn out rail. There was no speed gain on this section of track because it was too costly to upgrade. The total length of these two sections is around 15 – 20 kms. A further 2 km section of track exists on the approach to Ballarat where the concrete sleepered new track finishes at Stawell Street and passengers are treated the last bit of their journey on this rough old section. The reason for this? No speed gain on this piece of line so leave it.

All crossing loops were left in situ ( except for Bungaree) and were extended for run off purposes at Bank Box, Parwan, and Rockbank, using mostly second hand plant, ie: rails and sleepers.

The track around through Bungaree (the original line) has been made into a ridiculously long crossing loop (over 7 kms) purely to save the cost of constructing a new loop on the deviation track.

Because the Ballarat line is single track throughout any late running will compound right down the line causing delays to all trains because of the poor siting of the crossing loops.

The incompetent arrangements at Bacchus Marsh are a prime example. Rather than reworking the station (which has significant commuter traffic) to an island platform, the station still has only a single platform face which seriously inhibits crossing trains. In fact it is the only station on the line with a single platform face and over 70% of the patronage on this line occurs out to Bacchus Marsh.

And the cost cutting came back to bite them in the years that followed – in 2008–09 had to come back and install more than 50,000 concrete sleepers in the section of track they skipped a few years earlier.

And in the 2012/13 financial year VicTrack had to fund upgrades at four level crossings along the ‘old’ Bungaree Loop.

A mess finally cleaned up as part of the recently completed $518 million Ballarat line upgrade project – the ‘long way around’ via Bungaree was closed.

Replaced by a brand new crossing loop at Milbrook, so that opposing trains could still pass each other.

The project also duplicated the Ballarat line as far as Melton.

And provided second platforms at Bacchus Marsh and Ballan.

Upgrades suggested two decades earlier in place of the deviation via Bungaree.

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Like most months we start down at Geelong, where I found a stretch of decaying timber sleepered track on the main line to Melbourne.

Despite the millions of dollars spent on the Regional Fast Rail project between 2004 and 2006, this stretch of worn track was left behind – the measure of success for the project was a faster travel time for a handful of express trains each day.

Victoria’s fast-train network, a year behind schedule but scheduled to begin operating in 2006, originally promised the prospect of swift rail access from Melbourne to some of the state’s prime regional tourism destinations, such as Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and the coast.

But according to the draft 2006 fast-train schedule released by V/Line, the promised frequent express services, particularly for travel from Melbourne, will be often as slow as the old ones.

In the time brackets that suit people travelling out from Melbourne for the day, the 45 minutes to Geelong is typically 60-65 minutes, the 65 minutes eventually promised for Ballarat is as much as an hour and 50 minutes, and Bendigo as much as two hours.

It turns out that only a handful of services from the regions in the morning will meet the promised travel-time savings.

The reason? It all gets back to money and politics. Money because the Government eventually opted for a low-cost version of the original vision, which meant many time-saving features were axed.

Politics got involved when it was realised that to achieve the time targets, country communities along the line would miss out because the fast trains would have to run express throughout the day. So rather than introduce new express services, almost all will be slowed down by en-route stops.

By 2008 V/Line realised that maintaining decaying timber sleepers was a losing battle, so started replacing them with concrete sleepers.

Instead of ripping up the track and rebuilding it from scratch, they used slotted new concrete sleepers into the spaces where timber sleepers used to be.

This allowed trains to continue running while the works were going on.

But in the process destroyed the drainage properties of the track bed, allowing water to pump through the ballast, creating ‘mud holes’.

But a more immediate f^$@up occurred during the construction of a new platform tram stop at the corner of Flinders Street and Swanston Street.

Excavation work at street level misjudged the depth of the Degraves Street Subway below, breaking through the roof, and damaging the shops below.

Said shops were closed off for a number of weeks, while repair works were completed.

A more successful upgrade was the reconfiguration of the tracks at the arrival end of Southern Cross Station.

The existing tracks were ripped up.

And new dual gauge tracks laid to platform 2, ready for the operation of standard gauge V/Line trains to Albury.

Another upgrade was the installation of drivers air conditioning to the final six Hitachi trains still serving Melbourne.

Originally planned to be decommissioned following the 2006 Commonwealth Games, patronage growth on the suburban network saw them kept in service beyond their use by date, with passengers sweating inside the non-air conditioned saloons until their eventual retirement in 2014.

We then end on something positive – the debut of the route 401 shuttle bus between North Melbourne Station, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and the University of Melbourne.

It was the first example of a useful bus service in Melbourne:

Melbourne’s newest bus – route 401 – started operation today, and it seems to be quite a departure from existing Melbourne bus practice. Running from North Melbourne station to Melbourne University, it eschews basically everything we expect from a Melbourne bus. It is high frequency (every 3 minutes peak, every 6 minutes off peak), has very few stops, doesn’t allow the driver to sell tickets and runs as a spur from a trip generator to an interchange station.

Some of these developments – such as the high frequency and direct link between a railway station and trip generator – are very positive indeed. The limited stops idea is interesting, but the bus should really also stop at Abbotsford St. to connect with the 57 Tram. Furthermore, it’s disappointing that it won’t be running after 7:30pm or on weekends. It’s a start though and it’s nice to see a departure from the entrenched mindset. I didn’t see anyone aboard today, but given time it should start getting some decent patronage.

And led the way for similar express bus services across Melbourne – route 601 from Huntingdale Station to Monash University, as well as route 201 from Box Hill Station to Deakin University, route 301 from La Trobe University to Reservoir Station and route 403 from Footscray Station to Melbourne University.

And a note on timber sleepers

The same half-arsed method of ‘side insertion’ sleeper replacement was used by the Australian Rail Track Corporation on the Melbourne-Sydney railway – leading to a flood of track faults, and delays to the V/Line service to Albury.

Footnote

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

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The easy bits

The government media release details the intended works.

• 17 kilometres of duplication between Deer Park West and Melton,
• 3 kilometres of duplication west of Warrenheip,
• new crossing loops at Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and near Bungaree,
• removing five level crossings,
• new stabling facilities at Melton and Rowsley,
• second platform at Bacchus Marsh and Ballan stations.

Duplication between Deer Park West and Melton is simple – in wide open countryside building a second track along the existing one is simple.

Rockbank already has two platforms, so the new track just has to tie in at either end.

At Ballan station, there is plenty of room for a crossing loop and second platform.

History note 1: As late as 1982 Ballan had a mainline track and crossing loop, two freight sidings, a goods shed, and stock yard for loading sheep and cattle onto trains. Today it just has a single platform, and a single track with no passing capability.

Bacchus Marsh station is a little more constrained, with stabling sidings located opposite the existing single platform.

But their existence needn’t block progress – presumably the new stabling facilities at Rowsley, west of Bacchus Marsh, will allow the existing sidings to be decommissioned and a second platform built in their place.

Confused at Warrenheip

We now get get into more confusing territory when we look at the three kilometres of duplication at Warrenheip, east of Ballarat. Two tracks already run between Ballarat and Warrenheip, and you can see trains run on them with your very own eyes.

The problem is that these two tracks operate as two completely separate railway lines – the northern track being used by V/Line trains heading to and from Melbourne.

While the southern track is only used by trains headed between Ballarat and Geelong – which almost exclusively freight services.

The reason for this complexity is tied up in history.

The first railway to Ballarat

Ballarat’s first railway was completed in 1862 as double track, but was indirect and travelled via Geelong. Today’s direct route to Melbourne came much later, being built from both ends over a 10 year period as a single track branch line serving towns along the way, until 1889 when the two met in the middle to form a through route that now linked Melbourne to Adelaide.

With the new direct line opened, the route via Geelong dropped in importance, so in 1934 it was cut back to single track as an economy measure. The exception was the section from Warrenheip to Ballarat – as the junction of the two routes, the double track was retained to allow for the heavy traffic headed up the hill, with trains using the left hand track in each direction.

This arrangement required signalling staff to attend Warrenheip station on a full time basis to direct trains – a cost considered too high by 1995, when the junction at Warrenheip was decommissioned, and the double track reconfigured as the current pair of two parallel and independent single tracks.

So what is the three kilometres of duplication at Warrenheip? In reality it is the reinstatement of the operational flexibility removed back in 1995, but without the staffing cost thanks to the use of modern remote controlled signalling.

How do you remove FIVE level crossings?

Given the millions of dollars being spent to remove just one level crossing in metropolitan Melbourne, how can you remove five crossings as part of a $518 million project?

The government media release doesn’t really help.

The new loop near Bungaree will also improve safety for motorists and the local community by removing five level crossings on the existing Bungaree Loop.

It takes an understanding of what exactly the ‘Bungaree Loop’ is for the promise to make sense – there are actually are two parallel sets of railway tracks passing through the area!

So why does one set of tracks run direct between the townships of Millsbrook and Dunnstown, and the other takes an extended detour via Bungaree and Wallace? The answer yet again lies in the history books.

Taking the goat track to Ballarat

The railway through Bungaree was never intended as a main line – it opened in 1879 as a branch line that ran from the main Geelong-Ballarat at Warrenheip, to the small township of Gordon. Given it was a railway to nowhere, taking the straightest route across the countryside wasn’t top priority – cost was.

As a result, when the surveyors reached the steep Moorabool River valley, they didn’t build a bridge – they sent the railway north for for the flatter terrain of Bungaree and Wallace, then back south to avoid the foothills of Black Hill outside Gordon.

As previously mentioned, this branch line from Ballarat was progressively extended east to serve towns along the way, as did a branch line headed west from Melbourne, eventually meeting in the middle in 1889 and forming the main line from Melbourne to Adelaide.

In the years that followed the number of trains using the railway between Melbourne and Ballarat grew, as did the size of each – but nothing was done about the dogleg via Bungaree.

PROV image VPRS 12800/P1, item H 2545

This changed in 2000 when the newly elected Bracks Government announced Regional Fast Rail – a project to speed up trains between Melbourne and the regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Traralgon.

For the Ballarat line a target travel time of 64 minutes was set, which meant that the existing steam-era alignment needed to be rebuilt to allow the new maximum top speed of 160 km/h to be reached.

At Bungaree the solution to speeding up trains was simple – a brand new 8.2 kilometre section of railway joined the two halves of the existing doglegged route, bypassing the numerous tight curves along the way.

Some impressive civil works were required to build the new line, which had no level crossings:

• 380,000m3 of cut and fill earthworks,
• Construction of four road over rail bridges:
  • Sullivans Road (16m span)
  • Spread Eagle Road (12.5m span)
  • Peerewerrh Road (12.5m span)
  • Old Melbourne Road (18.5m span)
• Two rail over water bridges:
  • Moorabool Bridge: 270m long, 27m high
  • Lal Lal Bridge: 363m long, 40m high

The new deviation joined the existing route at Millsbrook and Dunnstown, but it was decided to retain the old route as a crossing loop, allowing trains in opposite directions to pass each other without stopping.

But in the years that followed, keeping the old route for the purpose became a false economy – track maintenance expenses are a function of track length, so a far more cost effective option would have been to build a crossing loop on the new track, and abandon the ‘long way around’.

My theory for the inaction – the ‘target travel time’ based criteria driving the Regional Fast Rail project meant that minimising capital expenditure and ignoring future operational costs was the order of the day.

Which now leaves us back at the current $518 million Ballarat line upgrade project – the ‘long’ route (marked in red) and the five associated level crossings is being dismantled, and a brand new crossing loop is being built on the ‘short’ route (marked in green) to retain the ability for trains to pass each other.

If only the Regional Fast Rail project had done the job properly a decade ago!

Footnote 1 – wasted money on level crossing upgrades

Retaining the old route via Bungaree looks even more stupid when I remembered that the five level crossings along the way once lacked boom barriers.

VicTrack funded a upgrade of the four level crossings along the Bungaree Loop during the 2012/13 financial year.

• Lesters Road, Bungaree (Flashing Lights, Boom Barriers)
• Bungaree-Wallace Road, Wallace (Flashing Lights, Boom Barriers)
• Old Melbourne Road, Millbrook (Flashing Lights, Boom Barriers)
• Wescotts Road, Wallace (Flashing Lights, Boom Barriers)

Less than five years after that upgrade, and all four crossings are about to close for good!

Footnote 2 – wasted money on new stations

Last week I wrote about the the forgotten access road to Caroline Springs station – if that wasn’t enough wasted money, now an additional $4.9 million needs to be spent reworking the yet to be opened station in order to provide a second platform on the soon to be duplicated track.

Once again, a lack of planning is burning up yet more taxpayer money.

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First off is a ghost sign for “Typewriters Galore” found on Moorabool Street – the main street of Geelong. When was the last time anyone bought a typewriter, let along visited a store dedicated to them?

I also paid a visit to the site of Geelong’s former Bow Truss Building – the largest reinforced concrete roof in the world until it was controversially demolished in 1990, with the site sitting empty for two decades, until the TAC offices were built on the site.

Back in Melbourne a massive concrete deck was taking shape over platforms 13-16 at Southern Cross Station.

A massive crawler track crane parked in the middle of Wurundjeri Way was used to lift the precast components into place.

Trains were also being use to bring wagons of building material to and from the worksite.

February 3 saw the official completion of the Regional Fast Rail upgrades to the Geelong line, when Victorian Premier Steve Bracks and Transport Minister Peter Batchelor cutting the ribbon.

From this date new VLocity trains started to take over from older rolling stock on the Geelong line – back then two carriage long trains once an hour was considered enough to handle the patronage.

And finally, at Southern Cross Station I spotted a failed Sprinter train in need of help, with an N class diesel locomotive being used to tow it back to the workshops.

Footnote

With the current VLocity level crossing debacle we are seeing similar movements of diesel hauled railcars, with VLocity trains having to be hauled by diesel locomotives to the workshops at Newport and Dandenong.

Further reading

The full photos from ten years ago series.

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My first find was in the 1954 ‘Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme’ compiled by the then Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, who were working with the assumption that Melbourne’s population would reach 2.5 million in the 1990s (a figure actually reached in the 1970s).

Inside were a number of railway proposals, one of which was a “cross country” line running from the existing lines south of Sunshine station, through the empty paddocks around Brooklyn, then joining the Geelong line near Laverton station.

Conceived as part of the relocation of the Newmarket saleyards and abattoir complex to a new site at Derrimut, the intent of the railway line was to enable trains to bring cattle to market from country locations.

Over the next few years the saleyards and abattoir complex proposal for Derrimut stuck around like the smell of the same – this short article from the November 1957 edition of Railway Transportation shows the idea was still on the todo list.

More detail of the proposed railway was given in the 1959 parliamentary paper ‘Report of the Interim Planning Committee on Derrimut Saleyards and Abattoirs‘. The report recommended the relocation of the existing Newmarket saleyards and abattoir complex to an area now adjacent to the Western Ring Road, along with associated railway arrangements.

The report also included itemised costings from the Victorian Railways for their portion of the project, which included a direct railway from Tottenham to Laverton, as well as a number of sidings leading into the saleyards and abattoir complex.

Putting £1,500,000 into the Reserve Bank of Australia’s pre-decimal inflation calculator, said works would have cost around $40 million dollars in 2012.

Whether passenger trains for Geelong would have been routed via the new railway is doubtful – at the time freight trains from Western Victoria were forced to share the main lines all the way into Newport, with the new line resolving this. In addition, closer inspection of the diagram from the 1959 proposal only shows connections to the freight network at the Tottenham end of the new route – and none to the existing passenger network.

Dependant on the relocation of saleyards and abattoir to Derrimut, the plan for the direct line died in 1961, when Victorian Premier Sir Henry Bolte announced that the project would not go ahead, with the decision made to improve the existing facility at Newmarket instead.

As for the Victorian Railways and their need to get freight trains from Western Victoria into Melbourne, between 1964 and 1967 they completed a number of smaller upgrades along the existing Newport to Sunshine railway: including a freight bypass track around the rear of Newport station, double tracking the existing single track to Brooklyn, and a bridge over the suburban tracks to link into the existing freight lines at Tottenham Yard.

In the years since, the Newport to Sunshine railway has become the subject of many flights of passenger train fantasy, dreamt up by those who discover an apparently unused railway line in the Melway and can’t help but want to extend the public transport network along it. The major flaw with these visions are the trains already using it – the railway is already the main route between Melbourne and Adelaide, and used by freight trains heading across the continent towards Perth and Darwin.

As for more realistic ways to increase the track capacity for passenger trains towards the west of Melbourne, the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan proposed a solution – construction of two new tracks between North Melbourne and Footscray, along with a third track between Newport and Footscray. The first part of the plan was completed in 1976.

But the third track to Newport was never built, apart from an extra set of abutments being included when the Francis Street over bridge in Yarraville was rebuilt.

Although not included in the 1969 plan, the idea for a third track from Footscray to Sunshine was also doing the rounds of railway head office, with the 1981 grade separation of Tottenham station including provisions for another track across the Ashley Street bridge.

Adding third tracks to the existing railways was a reoccurring theme throughout the early-noughties: the 2001 Melbourne Airport Rail Link study proposed the following:

In the Albion Corridor option, an additional track is constructed beyond Footscray Station to allow the express Airport trains to pass suburban trains. Private property adjacent to the existing reservation at Middle Footscray Station would need to be acquired.

Early planning for the Regional Fast Rail project also examined the creation of express tracks for V/Line trains through suburbia, which was detailed in the Fast Rail to Regional Centres feasibility study final report released in September 2000.

For the Ballarat line:

Five metropolitan options (identified as M1 to M5) have been developed for the Ballarat line
as follows:

• Option M1 – Third track between Sunshine and Footscray, under the Albert St overpass
• Option M2 – Upgrade the Down Independent Through Goods for Passenger Services
• Option M3 – A new ramp between Broadmeadows Suburban and Main Suburban
• Option M4 – Upgrade the Main Goods Lines to Docklands, including a new platform on the Docklands side of Spencer Street Station
• Option M5 – Upgrade Main Goods, Outside Goods, and the Dynon Flyover

Based on these criteria, Option M1 is preferred to Option M2 as the new track can be also used to deliver improvements to the metropolitan services. Option M3 extends the utilisation of the Essendon Flyover and the Through Suburban lines. This option also retains access to North Melbourne station, and facilitates access to the Docklands. It also meshes well with the mandated crossover project at Franklin Street. This Report concludes that Options M1 and M3 are preferable implemented in the metropolitan area.

For the Bendigo line:

Five options (identified as M1 to M5) have been identified, similar to the Ballarat corridor,
and a further option N1. The details are as follows:

• Option N1 – A new third track between Sunshine and St Albans. There is likelihood that the Airport Rail Project will affect this option and that, in order to satisfy the requirements of both projects, a four-track option extending to Middle Footscray may be considered.

Based on these criteria, Option M1 (expanded to include Option N1) is preferred to Option M2 as the new track can be also used to deliver improvements to the metropolitan services. This Report concludes that Options M1 (expanded) and M3 are preferable in the metropolitan area.

And finally, the Geelong line:

Options identified as MG4, MG5, MG6 and MG7 have been identified and reviewed as follows:

• Option MG4 – Upgrade the Main Goods Lines to Docklands
• Option MG5 – Upgrade Main Goods, Outside Goods, and the Dynon Flyover
• Option MG6 – Realign Champion Road Junction
• Option MG7 – Third Track from Laverton Junction to Aircraft
• Option MG8 – Suburban Operations into Werribee

It is recommended that options MG4, MG6, MG7 and MG8 are implemented.

As for the above plans, they all came to naught, with the Regional Fast Rail project instead focussing on the raising of speed limits in the country areas, with the use of track upgrades and curve easing.

However the idea of building additional tracks to Sunshine did hang around: the State Government’s unfunded ‘Meeting Our Transport Challenges’ plan released in May 2006 recommended the construction of third and fourth tracks from Footscray to Sunshine.

The final chapter in the story of Regional Rail Link’s evolution came in April 2008, when Sir Rod Eddington presented his ‘East West Link Needs Assessment‘ (EWLNA) report to the State Government. Chapter 9 included two big ticket rail transport recommendations:

Recommendation 1

Planning work should commence for the staged construction of a new 17 kilometre Melbourne Metro rail tunnel linking Melbourne’s booming western and south-eastern suburbs.

Recommendation 2

The Victorian Government should bring forward the construction of a new rail connection from Werribee to Sunshine (the Tarneit link) to significantly improve the frequency and reliability of services from Werribee, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.

The report also had the following to say on the new railway links:

The Government should commit to using the new rail tunnel and Tarneit link as the foundation for extending the metropolitan rail network further to the west within the next 15 years.

It is clear that a generational ‘step-up’ in Melbourne’s rail capacity is needed. This need can be met most effectively through the construction of a new 17 kilometre rail tunnel linking Melbourne’s booming western, north-western and south-eastern suburbs. In order to extract the full capacity benefits from the new tunnel, it will be necessary to bring forward work included within Meeting Our Transport Challenges to enable construction of a new rail link from Werribee to Sunshine (the Tarneit link) and the construction of the third and fourth tracks from Footscray to Sunshine.

The Tarneit link would end conflict between Geelong regional trains and Werribee suburban trains by running V/Line services on a new alignment through the growth areas of Tarneit and Derrimut. This would deliver very substantial benefits across the entire rail network, including providing residents in new growth areas with a high standard rail link and improved reliability for regional commuters from Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. It would allow for a significant increase in suburban services on the Werribee line to meet increasing demand in the growth area of Wyndham.

What became the final version of Regional Rail Link was made public in December 2008, when the State Government released yet another document full of transport pipe dreams – the ‘Victorian Transport Plan‘ of 2008, which superseded the three year old ‘Meeting Our Transport Challenges’ plan. It was also where the ‘Regional Rail Link’ name was coined:

Regional Rail Link is a new 40 kilometre twin-track rail link from West Werribee to Southern Cross Station via Tarneit and Sunshine, and new platforms at Southern Cross Station, will separate regional and metropolitan train services.

Rapid access to the city for Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo trains will be created as well as extra capacity on the Werribee, Watergardens and Craigieburn lines. This complex project will provide capacity for more than 9,000 extra passengers every hour and costs in excess of $4 billion.

In May 2009 the Regional Rail Link project did something none of the plans before had done, and was allocated the required funding to start work: $3.2 billion from the Federal Government, and $1.1 billion from the State Government. The first sod was turned in August 2009, but major works did not commence along the route until 2011.

So what are we actually getting?

Unlike long time pipedreams such as the Doncaster railway line, the idea of provided dedicated tracks to serve country trains is a new one, and the route of Regional Rail Link borrows from relatively recent transport studies:

• New platforms at Southern Cross: Option M4 from the Fast Rail to Regional Centres feasibility study, 2000
• Additional tracks from Southern Cross platforms 1 through 8 to South Kensington: Option M5 from the same study
• Additional tracks between the South Kensington and Footscray: a new idea for the RRL project
• Additional tracks from Footscray to Sunshine: Option N1 from the Fast Rail to Regional Centres feasibility study
• New route from Deer Park to Werribee: ‘Tarneit Link’ from the East West Link Needs Assessment, 2008

Less than a decade between railway upgrade options being publicised, and work starting on the project!

Sources

Unfortunately the Victorian Government has a habit of taking down the online versions of superseded transport planning documents. Conspiracy?

• Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme, 1954
• Report of the Interim Planning Committee on Derrimut Saleyards and Abattoirs, 1959
• Melbourne Transportation Plan, 1969
• Fast Rail to Regional Centres, 2000
• Melbourne Airport Rail Link study, 2001
• Meeting Our Transport Challenges, 2006
• East West Link Needs Assessment, 2008
• Victorian Transport Plan, 2008

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Friday the 3rd was the first day of VLocites on the Geelong line.

The train pulled in to Geelong at 11:30, only taking 50 minutes to travel from Melbourne. And this wasn’t at full speed either.

However, there were only a dozen passengers on board. All government officials.

Free goody bags for all!

The Victorian Premier Steve Bracks and Transport minister Peter Batchelor arrived at12:40 for the launch ceremony, along with a lot of other local politicians. There was a lot of newspaper photographers and TV cameramen there as well. The next 20 minutes was taken up by speeches.

The ribbon cutting followed.

The train took off at 1:30, but Steve Bracks never caught it. He just watched it depart from Geelong, while Peter Batchelor was on board, but bailed out at Lara. To go by road I assume…

I stayed on all the way to Melbourne. And grabbed a goody bag. Or half-dozen…

And now I have a lot of V/Line pens. And rail yard full of cardboard trains…

Footnote

• My photos from the day

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On Thursday the 22nd I went up to Ballarat. Why?

Well, V/Line was putting their new VLocity trains into revenue service for the first time, and I wanted to go for spin in one.

I caught the train up to Melbourne, as the first train was rumoured to arrive at around 11:30 at Southern Cross Station. (aka – The Station Formerly Known As Spencer Street…)

It didn’t turn up.

Turns out the first train left Melbourne at around 9:30 in the morning for Ballarat, and returned to Melbourne just before 2:00 in the afternoon.

However, the next Ballarat train at 2:08pm was going to be a VLocity, so I got on board.

And here we are, the train at Ballarat Station, about an hour and a half later.

And back again at Southern Cross, after catching the 4:29 train back to Melbourne.

Unfortunately, the train was only allowed to get up to 130km/h, even though it can do up to 160km/h. It’s because it has just been introduced into service.

And the good bit – NEW TRAIN SMELL!

Footnote

• My full set of photos from the day

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