As all a bike thief needs is a shifter to unbolt it from the ground.

And ride away with the bike that was locked to it.

It’s the reason why they say put your bike lock through the rear wheel *and* the frame.

A U-lock can go around the rear rim and tire, somewhere inside the rear triangle of the frame without looping it around the seat tube: the wheel cannot be pulled through the rear triangle. A lock which passes around a rim makes the bicycle unrideable even if the object it is locked to can be broken or disassembled.

Because cutting up a bike defeats the point of trying to steal it.

Some people will object that felons might cut the rear rim and tire to remove a lock. This just doesn’t happen in the real world. It is possible to cut the rim with a hacksaw, working from the outside to the inside, but first, the tire must be removed or cut through. It would be a lot of work to steal a frame without a usable rear wheel, the most expensive part of a bike after the frame.

What makes these particular bike hoops egregious was that they installed as part of the Regional Rail Link project a decade ago along with the concrete path, so it isn’t even “boring holes was too hard” – they could’ve embedded the bike hoops into the concrete when pouring it.

And retrofitting concreted in bike hoops isn’t that hard – you just need a core drill.

There is your hole.

Pop out the paving.

And you’re all done.

And it’s not the first time

Did you notice anything odd about the row of bike hoops in my lead photo?

Yes, they’re all brushed metal except for one with a galvanised finish – presumably a replacement after another bike thief unbolted the previous hoop.

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A trip to Sydney

I decided to make the trip up to Sydney this month, catching the XPT north from Melbourne.

And being greeted by a light rail vehicle tram as soon as I arrived at Central Station.

I saw a double decker train the next day.

And presumably took some other photos up there, but they weren’t of trains – as I still haven’t uploaded them to my Flickr account.

Then then flew back home to Melbourne – to be greeted by a Myki visitors pack advertisement inside the Qantas terminal.

Along with a SkyBus one.

A decade on and the Myki machines at Melbourne Airport are just as hard to find, and SkyBus is still the only public transport route that runs from the airport to the CBD.

Melbourne Central

I also went on a tour of the Melbourne Central Tower this month, where we got to look out over the roof of Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, towards Myer House and Emporium.

But unfortunately we only got to look down on the glass cone, not look inside like some previous tours did.

Technology

It seems like an everyday scene now, but a decade ago seeing an entire tram full of passengers absorbed in their smartphones was still novel.

But Telstra was still behind the times – rollout out their ‘Telstra Air’ wifi hotspots to payphones, despite almost everyone having stacks of mobile data to use on their phone.

The Wi-Fi network is still in place today, but free since 2023.

Trams

‘Safety’ zone trams stops were still common place in the Melbourne CBD a decade ago – this one was on Collins Street at William Street.

This particular tram stop was replaced by a platform stop in June 2015, with the last safety zones in the CBD upgraded in July 2024. As for the rest of the tram network – the December 2022 deadline to make all tram stops accessible has been and gone, with hundreds still non compliant.

Meanwhile Yarra Trams was coming up with crackpot schemes like a coffee stall taking up precious space for passengers at the Flinders and Swanston Street stop.

Luckily that idea got kicked out very quickly.

A handful of 1970s-era Z1 class trams were also still kicking around the network, with their crappy little sliding windows and only two doors per side – despite having supposed to have been retired a decade earlier in favour of the incoming low floor C and D class trams, but kept on due to increasing patronage.

This particular tram – Z3.86 – was eventually retired in August 2015, following the delivery of the new E class trams.

A different flavour of stupidity are people who drive down Swanston Street – this driver managed to break down in the middle of the tram stop, and drum up help from passersby to get clear of the tracks.

While this confused country bumpkin headed up Swanston Street in their LandCruiser got pulled up by an unmarked police car, and got sent on their way.

And a decade on – nothing much has really changed.

V/Line trains

Here we see an original liveried VLocity train departing Richmond station for the city.

These days the entire VLocity fleet is in the PTV purple livery, the open air ramps at Richmond station are now roofed over, and Eureka Tower has been usurped by Australia 108 as the tallest building in Australia.

Down in Geelong I photographed a 6-car V/Line train approaching the brand new terminus station of Waurn Ponds.

Opened in October 2014, Waurn Ponds gained a second platform in 2022, and the 8 kilometers of track between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds has just been duplicated.

And a V/Line train in are more shocking condition was VLocity set VL12.

Involved in a collision on the Werribee line in August 2014 where a V/Line train passed a signal at stop and crashed into the rear of a Metro train, it had to be dragged to the workshops at Bendigo to be repaired.

The collision resulted in Metro trains rewriting the rules around passing a signal at stop, while VLocity VL12 reentered service in March 2015 as the only 2-car VLocity set to ever wear the PTV livery.

A load of rubbish

After the removal of rubbish bins from Melbourne stations due to the “increased terror alert level”, they all got dumped in a pile at Flinders Street Station.

And the average passenger responded as you might expect – like a filthy pig just leaving their rubbish on the ground.

The bins were eventually returned in March 2015, with the exception of the private management at Southern Cross Station, who still refuse to place any rubbish bins on their platforms.

A different kind of rubbish

It was the leadup to the 2014 State Election, and the Napthine Government was ramped up their ‘Moving Victoria’ campaign, promoting their unfundedthe Melbourne Rail Link project.

Conceived as an alternative to the Metro Tunnel, the Melbourne Rail Link tunnel would have run between South Yarra and Southern Cross, serving new stations at Domain and Fishermans Bend – instead of Arden and Parkville, who would be stuck using buses and trams.

But as you might have guessed, the Melbourne Rail Link project went nowhere, construction of the Metro Tunnel started a few years later and is almost finished, work on the Melbourne Airport Rail project has been stop-start, and a rail link to Fishermans Bend is as far away as ever.

And another piece of pork barrelling I photographed was this Denis Napthine’s $115 million dollar train on the Frankston line – or what the government called the ‘Bayside Rail Project’.

Announced in May 2013, the Bayside Rail Project was promoted as bringing the newest trains in Melbourne – the X’Trapolis – to the Frankston line.

However these trains accelerate faster than anything else in the Melbourne fleet, putting them at risk of beating the boom barriers at level crossings, but because of the upcoming election, it was decided in October 2014, to just run a single X’Trapolis train on the line each morning, but with a speed restrictor on the throttle and two drivers in the cab.

Following changes to level crossing timings on the line in August 2016, the restriction on X’Trapolis trains was removed, allowing any X’Trapolis set to run revenue services to Frankston, and more amazingly a decade later, the bulk of the level crossings on the Frankston line don’t even exist anymore.

And a third kind of rubbish

For decades this ancient advertisement for Medibank Private faced passengers at Melbourne Central platform 1.

But 2014 saw this billboard finally removed from the platform wall, replaced by the ‘Xtrack TV’ digital screens with their insipid loop of advertisements – with audio soundtrack.

And Medibank Private – it’s still just as useless as the rest of the Australian private health insurance system.

Footnote

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

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Some background

Early government media releases used generic language such as:

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

As well as:

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

The only hard figures being an increase in peak capacity.

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

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

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

But is this it?

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

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

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

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

And after the Melbourne Airport line has been completed.

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

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

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

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

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The clues all add up:

• Australia Post mail box, and post office;
• Herald Sun sign on shop;
• a leafy green road with two lane road, wide enough to overtake on;
• and green painted traffic signal masts, which Whitehorse City Council loves to do.

So somewhere in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne – but where?

Unfortunately this is the first time my “nothing good happens east of Punt Road” policy has failed me, so I had to phone a friend – who suggested the Mitcham Road shopping strip in Mitcham.

And boom – there it is.

Google Street View

But try as I may, I couldn’t find the same parked cars found in the Google reCAPTCHA scene in the images captured by Google Street View, no matter what date I picked, which leads to the question – where is Google getting their reCAPTCHA images from?

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I set off from the CBD at C̶i̶r̶c̶u̶l̶a̶r̶ ̶Q̶u̶a̶y̶ the Ferry Building.

The ferry set off across the water, C̶e̶n̶t̶r̶e̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶ ̶T̶o̶w̶e̶r̶ Sky Tower above the skyline.

The arch of the S̶y̶d̶n̶e̶y̶ ̶H̶a̶r̶b̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶B̶r̶i̶d̶g̶e̶ Auckland Harbour Bridge to one side.

Navy ships moored at the G̶a̶r̶d̶e̶n̶ ̶I̶s̶l̶a̶n̶d̶ Devonport Naval Base.

As we headed across S̶y̶d̶n̶e̶y̶ ̶H̶a̶r̶b̶o̶u̶r̶ Waitematā Harbour.

Before our arrival at the M̶a̶n̶l̶y̶ Devonport ferry pier.

There I realised I could catch a bus back to the city.

So I caught a local bus to the M̶a̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶V̶a̶l̶e̶ Akoranga busway station.

And jumped on a B̶-̶L̶i̶n̶e̶ Northern Busway double decker bus.

To the northern terminus of M̶o̶n̶a̶ ̶V̶a̶l̶e̶ Albany.

And then hopped on a bus headed back south towards the W̶a̶r̶r̶i̶n̶g̶a̶h̶ ̶F̶r̶e̶e̶w̶a̶y̶ Northern Motorway.

I found a separate set of lanes to one side, o̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶r̶a̶m̶s̶ ‘cliped-on’ to the original bridge.

On the other side there was a tangle of exits from the W̶e̶s̶t̶e̶r̶n̶ ̶D̶i̶s̶t̶r̶i̶b̶u̶t̶o̶r̶ Auckland Northern Motorway.

And there it was – S̶y̶d̶n̶e̶y̶ ̶ Auckland!

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Arrival into Auckland

I flew into Auckland Airport on the North Island.

And immediately made my way to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, where steam locomotive WW 644 was running for the day.

I also headed over to the nearby New Zealand Steel mill at Glenbrook, but unfortunately no trains were running there.

Luckily the Te Huia train was runing, complete with ex-Auckland driving carriage.

And closer to Auckland, there were freight trains aplenty at Westfield Yard.

I headed out to the Museum of Transport and Technology Auckland, and look at what I found on their line – a bloody Melbourne tram!

Driving down the North Island

I then started the drive south towards Wellington, finding the first of many of KiwiRail’s dinky little remote controlled shunting locomotives.

I continued south along the electrified North Island Main Trunk, but all I found were diesel locomotive hauled freight trains.

And the thrice-weekly ‘Northern Explorer‘ passenger train.

The 25 kV electrical substations sitting there doing little.

On the way I found a memorial to the 1923 Ongarue railway disaster.

An obelisk marking the driving of the last spike of the North Island Main Trunk railway in 1908

And a memorial for the 1953 Tangiwai railway disaster.

I also found a yard full of ex-Auckland suburban carriages at Taumarunui, abandoned since 2014.

But scrapping of them had started.

And an abandoned double deck bridge over the Ongarue River

Some much taller bridges included the historic steel Makohine Viaduct further south.

And the modern South Rangitikei Viaduct built of prestressed concrete.

A quick stop in Wellington

On arrival into Wellington what was I greeted by – but a rail replacement bus!

My first electric train sighting not being until the next morning.

Across the Cook Strait

Time to take my campervan onto the ferry.

We bid Wellington Harbour behind.

And arrived into Picton.

South Island adventures

I hoped to follow a freight train south from Picton, but fading light put paid to that idea.

But I did find another remote control shunter at work.

And a freight train headed into the opposite direction to me!

Meaning my trip towards Christchurch being scenic, but with no trains along the tracks.

Around Christchurch

I headed out of Christchurch for a day on the TranzAlpine train.

And spent the rest of my time on the hunt for freight trains.

Unfortunately my visit to the Ferrymead Railway didn’t coincide with a running day.

But the Weka Pass Railway an hour north had a diesel locomotive running trains for the public.

There I spotted a two-wire high voltage transmission line that screamed ‘HVDC’ to me – and it was.

Also in Christchurch I rode the gondola to the top of Mount Cavendish, despite the summit being covered in fog.

But I passed on paying $40 to ride the Christchurch tramway – another bloody Melbourne tram!

But one thing they had that I’ve never seen before is their indoor bus station – incoming services get allocated to a random stop, and passengers have to quickly run to the relevant doors to board their bus.

And heading back north

Turns out a Jetstar flight from Christchurch to Wellington was half the price of a combined bus and ferry journey, so onto a plane I went.

The trip into the city went via the single lane Hataitai bus tunnel.

In Wellington I checked out obvious tourist sights, like the Wellington Cable Car.

And gunzel things like the diesel hauled Wairarapa Line service.

The next day I spent on the Northern Explorer train towards Auckland, retracing the route I’d taken a week earlier.

And finished my journey in Auckland.

Catching the ferry over the harbour to Devonport, and catching a bus back.

And ending my trip with a bus ride to Auckland Airport for my flight home.

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Regional Rail Link

Work on the Regional Rail Link project is an ongoing theme, and this month is no different. Over the Christmas and New Years break, rail access to the country platforms at Southern Cross Station was cut off.

With prefabricated track panels being moved into place.

As the tracks towards the station were rearranged.

To direct trains towards the North Melbourne flyover, which was being rebuilt for the use of V/Line trains towards Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.

The new track pair towards Footscray was starting to take shape.

But the new platforms 3 and 4 at Sunshine were still to come.

With just the pair of tracks for suburban trains in place so far.

Much of the work was able to be completed while suburban trains were still running, but on some weekends passengers were put onto rail replacement buses – with ageing high-floor clunkers without air conditioning still in use.

And trains elsewhere

Work was also underway on the removal of the Mitcham Road and Rooks Roads level crossings in Mitcham, with trains terminating at Blackburn station.

But luckily for passengers they didn’t need to go traipsing through the dank and flooded pedestrian underpass to find their replacement buses

A temporary footbridge was provided at the end of the platform, leading directly to the temporary bus interchange located in the station car park.

Metro Trains Melbourne also used the Christmas and New Year break as an excuse to cut services under a ‘summer timetable’ that lasted two weeks into the normal work year, causing gross overcrowding. Thankfully this practice is now a thing of the past.

While at Southern Cross Station passengers encountered the usual Friday afternoon ticket queue, thanks to the inability to purchase tickets ahead of time.

Trams

In January 2014 the tram tracks on Collins Street were extended westwards by one more stop to the intersection of Collins Street and Bourke Street, which became the new Victoria Harbour terminus.

And work to relay the tram tracks along Mount Alexander Road in Ascot Vale was about to kick off.

The old maroon liveried City Circle trams were still running around the CBD.

And on La Trobe Street I found a route 24 tram, and a Ventura-liveried Transdev bus.

But on January 16 and 17 route 82 high floor trams were replaced by high floor buses thanks to the extreme heat – the trams freed up were used on other routes to replace those expected to fail in the heat.

And the other bits

In the CBD I found a Melbourne Bike Share ute transferring bikes between stations. The service ended in November 2019.

And down at Port Melbourne I found trucks being loaded onto the Spirit of Tasmania for the voyage that night. It moved to Geelong in October 2022.

In Ascot Vale I found a speed and red light camera being calibrated.

And for some reason this Telstra payphone had received a ‘this telephone booth is monitored by Moonee Valley Council. Please use your discretion and be mindful of residents at all times’ sign.

Footnote

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

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In 2013 ‘Lowest prices are just the beginning…’ was still front and centre on their brand new stores.

But by 2018 they had added a cheeky ‘Our Policy’ disclaimer in front of it.

And then in 2021 they got out the paint brushes.

Painting it over.

Until it was gone.

Turns out the slogan was quietly dropped in early 2020 – from news.com.au.

It’s one of the most well-known and high profile advertising slogans from one of Australia’s most loved retailers – but not for much longer.

Bunnings is quietly pulling the pin on its famous tagline.

“Lowest prices are just the beginning …” is, well, ending. At least for now.

The home improvement giant has confirmed to news.com.au the slogan has been slowly removed from the side of its stores, uniforms and its advertising.

Bunnings confirmed to news.com.au the slogan had vanished from TV screens and the airwaves last month and was progressively being painted over on stores, where it has been seen for 25 years. New stores built since 2018 haven’t sported the tagline.

Footnote

In October 2021 a print advertisement in the Adelaide Advertiser happened to reinstate the ‘Lowest prices are just the beginning’ line.

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It was no ordinary truck, with air conditioning units on the roof, and an equipment cabinet beneath the floor – was it an outside broadcast truck?

Photo by Enbytv, via Wikimedia Commons

But turns out it wasn’t – this barely readable logo on the side being the critical clue.

I eventually worked out that the ‘7’ was actually a stylised ‘V’, so the logo read ‘HatchTraveller’ – leading me to the website of a Dutch firm that specialises in chick hatching and transportation equipment.

They describe the trailer I saw as.

This extensive, high-capacity trailer is designed to meet the needs of larger poultry companies that already have a significant transportation need, or those looking to grow their business in the future.

Measuring almost 47 feet in length, the trailer is composed of nine sections. Together, these are able to accommodate up to 183,600 day-old chicks at any one time, making this one of the largest chick transportation systems available on the market. Having this additional square footage can allow poultry companies to consolidate their transport fleet: maximising the capacity of each trailer can result in fewer journeys, helping to reduce operations costs.

This HatchTraveller model is equipped with a hybrid power system as standard, which powers the trailer independently of the truck’s main fuel supply. We note that the charging range can be extended with the use of additional batteries.

So what was this “chick transportation system” doing in the back streets of Pakenham? The big unmarked warehouse down the road was probably why – run by chicken processor Ingham Enterprises.

Google Maps

So what does Inghams do in that warehouse? According to animal liberation groups it’s a chicken hatchery.

Footnote: so why was I there?

So why was I doing in the back streets of Pakenham?

It happens to be the same street that Ventura’s Pakenham bus depot is located on.

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The closure affected the Williamstown, Werribee and Sunbury lines were closed from June 23 to July 9, so that the Dynon Road bridge over the railway at North Melbourne could be widened to provide more traffic lanes aimed at the heart of the Melbourne CBD.

West Gate Tunnel Project photo

Media attention

Unusually this two week shutdown got a lot of media attention.

A bus driver shortage could exacerbate transport mayhem for the next two weeks as work on the West Gate Tunnel Project shuts down the train network and blocks off a major road connection, effectively cutting off Melbourne’s west from the city.

The state government is warning of significant delays and urging residents in the western suburbs to consider working from home from June 23 to July 9, which coincides with the school holidays.

Across the city, nine of the 16 lines in the Metro network and four of the V/Line corridors will be out of operation this weekend, placing bus replacement services under strain.

Transport Workers’ Union Victoria branch assistant secretary Mem Suleyman said bus operators were experiencing a driver shortage, one which left them struggling to deliver enough replacement services earlier this year.

He said drivers had a good track record supporting rail replacement work, but the size of the upcoming shutdown would be challenging.

“This is a big demand, and it won’t be perfect.”

Eastern suburbs commuters experienced long delays to board buses when part of the Lilydale/Belgrave line was shut for level-crossing removal work between February and May this year. Lines of passengers stretched almost 150 metres along Spring Street from the corner of Collins Street to the steps of parliament.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the failure to provide enough replacement buses was a recurring issue. With so many train stations cut off, resourcing would be particularly stretched in the upcoming work, he said.

“There’s often insufficient information for passengers, not enough staff at stops to help people, a lack of shelter at the temporary stops, and a lack of [road] priority to help these buses get past other traffic,” Bowen said.

“They will have to look at resourcing very carefully, particularly during peak hour, and they need to make sure they get enough buses and drivers.”

Bus Association Victoria executive director Chris Lowe said replacement providers were “as best prepared as we can be at this stage and don’t anticipate any major shortfalls”.

The combination of road and rail disruption had been specifically scheduled to take place during the school holidays, while fewer people were driving or using public transport, a Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said.

But the impact will still be felt: almost 32,400 passengers catch trains along the affected Sunbury, Williamstown and Werribee lines every weekday during school holidays, according to state government data.

The Herald Sun testing five modes of transport between Yarraville and Southbank to see which was quicker.

The challenge found cycling was the quickest way to make the 9km trip, our rider Ethan Kusch clocking in at 24 minutes, making use of the dedicated bike paths to record an average speed of 23km/h.

The motorcyclist was next to arrive at 27 minutes, negotiating trucks, cars and roadworks along Footscray Rd and through Docklands.

But car driver Jackson Haddad, who took the West Gate Bridge route, was delayed exiting Williamstown Rd and crawled into Southbank in 40 minutes.

“It was a bit of a nightmare getting on to the West Gate. Think we waited about 15 minutes just to get on the bridge,’’ he said.

That time was a mere three minutes faster than runner Fergus Ellis whose size 12s carried him along Footscray Rd and Southbank Promenade.

“It was just under 44 minutes. Nice view of Melbourne on the way in but (I’m) pretty sweaty.

“But I’d rather run in both directions than catch a bus any day,’’ Fergus said.

On the bus and the slowest, by a long way, was not surprisingly Helena Powell whose disjointed trip – bus to North Melbourne and then packed City Loop train to Flinders St station – took one hour and four minutes.

All for a journey that would normally take about 18 minutes.

And Channel 9 News interviewing passengers stuck waiting for buses.

There's been commuter chaos in Melbourne this morning, as major construction projects force nine train lines to close. @_Stephanderson #9News pic.twitter.com/aSN1Y0rmSJ

— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) June 26, 2023

And on the ground

On the morning of Friday 23 June the car park at Sunshine station was turned into a interchange for rail replacement buses.

Marquees to shelter waiting passengers.

Along with some giant puddles.

But after trains stopped running at 8.30pm, the bus interchange was empty.

For some reason the buses were sent to the other side of Sunshine station.

But by Saturday morning the buses had moved location.

But nowhere near enough buses for the number of intending passengers – long queues forming.

At the city end, rail replacement bus operated from a temporary interchange on William Street, next to Flagstaff Gardens.

With a second set of bus stops a block away on King Street.

Intending passengers sent on a long walk through Flagstaff Gardens to reach the bus stop for express buses.

To find their bus hiding in the dark.

On Sunday night an inadequate number of buses was again provided.

Buses filling quickly, and leaving passengers behind.

And the first weekday

Come Monday morning, the crowds of commuters arrived by train at Sunshine.

Sent over the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ to their rail replacement buses.

Only to be greeted by long lines at the bus stop.

And dozens of parked buses.

The Channel 9 News helicopter filming the scene from the air.

A bus would eventually show up but fill quickly, leaving a long line of intending passengers.

More buses arriving, but never able to keep up.

Queues might disappear for a minute or two.

Until the next train full of intending passengers arrived.

So where did the buses come from anyway?

Dysons was the lead contractor supplying buses for the rail replacement contract – as well as operating route bus services in Melbourne’s north, they have a fleet of older low floor buses dedicated for school and rail replacement work.

They also went scratching around the depot for spare buses, like this ‘301 Shuttle’ liveried bus not needed during the La Trobe University holidays.

Transit Systems is another large bus operator with a pool of older buses for rail replacement work, and sent out some buses they recently acquired second hand from Darwin.

And buses they bought second hand from Brisbane.

CDC Melbourne operates route buses in Melbourne’s west, and supplied a number of older low floor buses from their depot at Tullamarine.

Some newer PTV liveried buses not needed for normal route services.

And a bus or two normally used on charter work.

Kinetic also got tapped on the shoulder to supply buses, sending out a few PTV liveried buses not needed on their usual route service.

Plus a few older buses used for rail replacement work.

But still more buses were needed – so more operators were called up.

Sunbury Coaches supplied coaches normally used for school runs.

As did Firefly Charter.

And Crown Coaches.

There are also a number of second tier charter bus operators who in recent years have acquired secondhand low floor buses for rail replacement work.

Mee’s.

Nuline Charter.

Driver Bus Lines.

And Sunshine Coaches.

The call also went out to country Victoria for even more buses.

Gull Geelong normally uses their coach on runs to Melbourne Airport.

McHarry’s runs PTV services in Geelong.

And Millars Bus Lines sent a coach on a three hour drive all the way from Kerang to help.

But still that wasn’t enough – the call went out to third tier bus operators you’ve never heard of, using unbranded buses bought cheaply at auction, driven by drivers without uniforms.

ABC Tours with an ex-Brisbane bus.

Melbourne Premier Buslines with an ex-Perth bus.

Transporter with another ex-Brisbane bus.

And MelMax with a surplus coach from a mining contract in Western Australia.

So what work were they actually doing?

Interestingly, the media release from the State Government actually undersold the works on the Sunbury line – works for the West Gate Tunnel project being the headline item.

West Gate Tunnel Project photo

But on the ground, the bulk of the work was happening on the signalling the turnback platform at West Footscray .

Connecting up tracks installed back in 2020.

Welding rails.

Installing point motors.

And fitting out the signals.

The end result – High Capacity Signalling equipment for terminating trains at Footscray.

And West Footscray.

Platform 2 at West Footscray was also finally renumbered.

Now marked as platform 3.

So how soon until the new signalling is taken advantage of? Hopefully soon!

A note on the signalling at West Footscray

The new platform at West Footscray opened way back in July 2020, but as a direct swap for the previous platform 1.

In the years since, there have been multiple shutdowns of the Sunbury line to complete further work on the turnback.

Installing signal gantries.

And signal heads.

So why didn’t they bother commissioning it until three years later in July 2023?

The story I heard is that they didn’t want to commission a new conventional signalling arrangement at West Footscray to handle the new turnback platform, only to rip it all out a few years later when they were ready to install the final High Capacity Signalling system from the Metro Tunnel portal through to West Footscray.

However there is one flaw in that argument – in recent years just that has happened at Caulfield, which was resignalled in 2020, 2022 and then again in 2023!

I hope you enjoy another year or two of bus replacements!

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The post And it’s over – two weeks of buses on the Sunbury line appeared first on Waking up in Geelong.