First we have the much disliked monorail.
I was standing in Pitt street and just made a quick grab. I dislike riding this thing very much. Reminds me of the rides at Wobbies World... I remember one day I was eating in one of the fast food places in Pitt street near where I took the video and watching a curtain of water go down the street. It was raining, but the wall of water was of course the monorail going past overhead pushing all the water off the track. I wish I'd taken a video of that. From memory it was actually raining quite heavily and the street was more or less a river of water.
Now the polar opposite, the Manly Ferry. This is by far my favourite.
I'd rate this crossing as moderate, I've had calmer, and only hope for worse one day. Perhaps not quite as bad as the in the videos that Highriser found on Youtube. As fun as the ride is I am always glad to get off though. A land lubber by nature I guess.
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 19, 2009
Further North to Canada
On Saturday I took the train from Seattle, Washington, USA to Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. ( see previous post) While it was overcast and raining, it was a very scenic trip up the coast. Along the way we passed mud flats, swollen rivers, rocky shorelines, industry and suburbs.
The train itself was very comfortable and quite smooth. It was about a 3 hour journey, although we were a bit late because we had to slow down because there was water on the track (Did I mention it was raining).
In Vancouver you arrive into a caged platform and you pass Canadian Customs when you go into the station building. Luckily the train was lightly loaded and we did not have to line up for long. As usual there was a sniffer dog inspecting the line, although the dog was more interested in biting the toy the handler had for it.
After clearing customs it was a matter of finding the Skytrain station and getting to the hotel.
The train itself was very comfortable and quite smooth. It was about a 3 hour journey, although we were a bit late because we had to slow down because there was water on the track (Did I mention it was raining).
In Vancouver you arrive into a caged platform and you pass Canadian Customs when you go into the station building. Luckily the train was lightly loaded and we did not have to line up for long. As usual there was a sniffer dog inspecting the line, although the dog was more interested in biting the toy the handler had for it.
After clearing customs it was a matter of finding the Skytrain station and getting to the hotel.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Seattle to Vancouver by train
While researching this online, I came across the fact that this route is part of the growing trend back to public transport in America. The full route runs from Eugene south of Portland in Oregon, all the way through Seattle, and over the border to Vancouver. The route has been opened to passenger trains in stages since the early 90's (the tracks are primarily freight tracks owned by Union Pacific and BNSF). Known as Amtrak Cascades, the trains run multiple times daily, mostly between Portland and Seattle, but a few go north/south from this main spine.
To me the most astonishing thing is that the carriages used are articulated tilting trainsets manufactured by Talgo in Spain. Think of the French TGV (or Spanish AVE)and that is pretty much what they look like. The only difference is that instead of the sleek electric locomotives found on trains in Europe, they use a diesel locomotive (an EMD F59PHI) at one end and at a an unpowered locomotive at the other. The unpowered locomotive looks exactly like an EMD F40 locomotive only the "locomotive" parts are missing and it is filled with ballast instead (concrete or something heavy like that), but still allows the train to be driven from that end.
Despite being designed for higher speeds, the trains travel at the regular speeds of North American trains.
I almost forgot, the scenery looks like this! Not that I will be there in winter, but still...
To me the most astonishing thing is that the carriages used are articulated tilting trainsets manufactured by Talgo in Spain. Think of the French TGV (or Spanish AVE)and that is pretty much what they look like. The only difference is that instead of the sleek electric locomotives found on trains in Europe, they use a diesel locomotive (an EMD F59PHI) at one end and at a an unpowered locomotive at the other. The unpowered locomotive looks exactly like an EMD F40 locomotive only the "locomotive" parts are missing and it is filled with ballast instead (concrete or something heavy like that), but still allows the train to be driven from that end.
Despite being designed for higher speeds, the trains travel at the regular speeds of North American trains.
I almost forgot, the scenery looks like this! Not that I will be there in winter, but still...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sydney 2009 - Day 6
It's about time I got around to writing about our last day in Sydney...
We Checked out of the apartment quite early, about 8.30am, after giving a place a bit of a tidy, doing the dishes, and throwing out all the uneaten food.
We walked the length of Kent Street to The Rocks and up some stairs to the Sydney Observatory, it didn't open until 10 and it was only 9 at this stage. After going around to the park at the front of the observatory and looking at the harbour and bridge for the millionth time I suggested to Daniel it might be an idea to go for a ride across the bridge on a train. So we walked down to Wynyard station and got the next train to the north shore.
After crossing the bridge I suggested we stay on the train for a while and after a brief stop at Millsons Point we stopped a North Sydney for a good 5 minutes. I then suggested that we should stay on until Chatswood. Chatswood is one end of the new Epping - Chatswood rail link. This line is in a tunnel that runs bellow the Lane Cove River and gives Macquarie University access to the rail network.
And so after waiting a few minutes at Chatswood our train approached from a siding down the track a bit. The trains used on this line at the moment are the new interurban H sets, as apparently the older trains are unable to climb the steep grades in the tunnel. The journey itself was pretty boring, but at least I can now say I've been somewhere new. Arriving at Epping and up onto the cold hard light of day of the northern line platforms we boarded a citybound train after waiting not even a minute. From here it was a long way back to Sydney, first heading south through Ryde the over the Paramatta River, past the 2000 Olympic site and to Strathfield turning east to Burwood, from where the train then ran express to Redfern and the city stations.
We got off at Town Hall and then had a bite to eat in one of the underground shopping arcades. Then came the second part of my covert mission that day, to find my all time favourite store, Hobbyco. You name it, Hobbyco has it be it planes, cars, trains, boats, rockets etc etc etc. They used to be in Pitt Street near Myer, but I had heard they had moved to The Queen Victoria Building, and that is where I found them.
I usually spend ages just browsing around Hobbyco, but today we were pressed for time as we had a flight to catch. So I made it quick(er) visit. I actually bought 3 things too. Normally I walk out empty handed. The first thing was a model plane for my nephew's birthday. He's been nagging me about helping him build one. I don't think he has the patience for the full glue and paint experience, and I found they had the Revell Easy Kits that don't need glue and come pre painted. I have been looking everywhere for these in Melbourne, but they seem hard to come by in the shops I frequent. So I was happy about that. The other things I bought were an indoor remote control helicopter and an AVRO RJ-85 model kit, both for myself.
Leaving with a rather large bag of goodies we walked back to the appartment, got our bags out the storage and went back to Town Hall to get the train to the airport. In all we arrived at the airport over an hour before our 2:30 flight. The departures hall was deserted (no bikies bashing the living suitcase out eachother either) and we checked in and passed through security rather to quick. That is except for me trying to juggle the three bags I had as carry on (laptop, backpack, and hobbyco) onto the conveyor and off again. We had time to sit down for some lunch before walking straight up to the gate just as boarding was announced, so we were among the first people on the flight.
Good thing we got seats right down the back, 53 A and B as I had to work out where I was going to stow everything, so I didn't block people trying to find their seats. In the end two of the boxes went into my backpack and into the overhead with my laptop, while the remaining box in the Hobbyco bag went under the seat in front.
While we were having lunch inside the terminal earlier they were calling passengers for the preceding flight to Melbourne, which was scheduled to depart at 2pm, half an hour before our flight. That plane was parked right next to ours and it only left about 10 minutes before we did. I saw it push back and taxi from my window before another flight arrived a few minutes later.
As usual when leaving Sydney our flight seemed to taxi half way to Melbourne before turning around onto 34 R (that's the third runway that sticks way out into Botany Bay) and departing to the north. Shortly after take off we made a right hand turn and headed over the eastern suburbs and out into the Tasman Sea. I was begining to think we were being routed via Wellington when we turned to the south, and we eventually made landfall south of the 'Gong. Out the window I could make out Jervis Bay and the township of Nowra.
That was when we entered the cloud and it was actually quite bumpy for about 10 minutes before we reached a smooth cruising altitude. We popped out of the cloud again right over Sugarloaf Reservoir, right there I knew I would be able to see my house soon. Not quite, but I could make out the sporting fields at the end of my street as well as the Greensborough Plaza shopping centre and general roads and train stations etc. It was one of the best approaches I've ever had into Melbourne as I could recognise a lot of stuff that I usually can't see.
We touched down on Runway 27 at exactly 4:07pm. Waiting in the terminal was Daniel's mum, who had agreed to give us both a lift home.
That's it really. It was a good trip and we packed a hell of lot in to our time there. Mostly stuff I've done before though, but it was still good. Even though I'm a bit over Sdyney at the moment, I definitely look forward to going back. Don't know why but the city has a strange attraction. I have heaps of photos from this trip I might get around to posting a few at some stage soon.
We Checked out of the apartment quite early, about 8.30am, after giving a place a bit of a tidy, doing the dishes, and throwing out all the uneaten food.
We walked the length of Kent Street to The Rocks and up some stairs to the Sydney Observatory, it didn't open until 10 and it was only 9 at this stage. After going around to the park at the front of the observatory and looking at the harbour and bridge for the millionth time I suggested to Daniel it might be an idea to go for a ride across the bridge on a train. So we walked down to Wynyard station and got the next train to the north shore.
After crossing the bridge I suggested we stay on the train for a while and after a brief stop at Millsons Point we stopped a North Sydney for a good 5 minutes. I then suggested that we should stay on until Chatswood. Chatswood is one end of the new Epping - Chatswood rail link. This line is in a tunnel that runs bellow the Lane Cove River and gives Macquarie University access to the rail network.
And so after waiting a few minutes at Chatswood our train approached from a siding down the track a bit. The trains used on this line at the moment are the new interurban H sets, as apparently the older trains are unable to climb the steep grades in the tunnel. The journey itself was pretty boring, but at least I can now say I've been somewhere new. Arriving at Epping and up onto the cold hard light of day of the northern line platforms we boarded a citybound train after waiting not even a minute. From here it was a long way back to Sydney, first heading south through Ryde the over the Paramatta River, past the 2000 Olympic site and to Strathfield turning east to Burwood, from where the train then ran express to Redfern and the city stations.
We got off at Town Hall and then had a bite to eat in one of the underground shopping arcades. Then came the second part of my covert mission that day, to find my all time favourite store, Hobbyco. You name it, Hobbyco has it be it planes, cars, trains, boats, rockets etc etc etc. They used to be in Pitt Street near Myer, but I had heard they had moved to The Queen Victoria Building, and that is where I found them.
I usually spend ages just browsing around Hobbyco, but today we were pressed for time as we had a flight to catch. So I made it quick(er) visit. I actually bought 3 things too. Normally I walk out empty handed. The first thing was a model plane for my nephew's birthday. He's been nagging me about helping him build one. I don't think he has the patience for the full glue and paint experience, and I found they had the Revell Easy Kits that don't need glue and come pre painted. I have been looking everywhere for these in Melbourne, but they seem hard to come by in the shops I frequent. So I was happy about that. The other things I bought were an indoor remote control helicopter and an AVRO RJ-85 model kit, both for myself.
Leaving with a rather large bag of goodies we walked back to the appartment, got our bags out the storage and went back to Town Hall to get the train to the airport. In all we arrived at the airport over an hour before our 2:30 flight. The departures hall was deserted (no bikies bashing the living suitcase out eachother either) and we checked in and passed through security rather to quick. That is except for me trying to juggle the three bags I had as carry on (laptop, backpack, and hobbyco) onto the conveyor and off again. We had time to sit down for some lunch before walking straight up to the gate just as boarding was announced, so we were among the first people on the flight.
Good thing we got seats right down the back, 53 A and B as I had to work out where I was going to stow everything, so I didn't block people trying to find their seats. In the end two of the boxes went into my backpack and into the overhead with my laptop, while the remaining box in the Hobbyco bag went under the seat in front.
While we were having lunch inside the terminal earlier they were calling passengers for the preceding flight to Melbourne, which was scheduled to depart at 2pm, half an hour before our flight. That plane was parked right next to ours and it only left about 10 minutes before we did. I saw it push back and taxi from my window before another flight arrived a few minutes later.
As usual when leaving Sydney our flight seemed to taxi half way to Melbourne before turning around onto 34 R (that's the third runway that sticks way out into Botany Bay) and departing to the north. Shortly after take off we made a right hand turn and headed over the eastern suburbs and out into the Tasman Sea. I was begining to think we were being routed via Wellington when we turned to the south, and we eventually made landfall south of the 'Gong. Out the window I could make out Jervis Bay and the township of Nowra.
That was when we entered the cloud and it was actually quite bumpy for about 10 minutes before we reached a smooth cruising altitude. We popped out of the cloud again right over Sugarloaf Reservoir, right there I knew I would be able to see my house soon. Not quite, but I could make out the sporting fields at the end of my street as well as the Greensborough Plaza shopping centre and general roads and train stations etc. It was one of the best approaches I've ever had into Melbourne as I could recognise a lot of stuff that I usually can't see.
We touched down on Runway 27 at exactly 4:07pm. Waiting in the terminal was Daniel's mum, who had agreed to give us both a lift home.
That's it really. It was a good trip and we packed a hell of lot in to our time there. Mostly stuff I've done before though, but it was still good. Even though I'm a bit over Sdyney at the moment, I definitely look forward to going back. Don't know why but the city has a strange attraction. I have heaps of photos from this trip I might get around to posting a few at some stage soon.
Friday, April 24, 2009
MYKI, Trams, Fares and Ticketing etc
1. MYKI
So it appears that MYKIi is full steam ahead, with the system rolling out across buses in regional cities. One revelation that had not occurred to me, but was revealed over at Melbourne on Melbourne on Transit (and here), is that short term disposable tickets will be smartcards. There is no printing on the ticket issued by the bus driver to tell you what it is or how long it will be valid, it just comes of a pile of identical blank tickets (much like they do today with metcards on buses). I had imagined that the system would be similar to Perth and S.E. Queensland where short term tickets(ranging from 2 hour / single trip and dailys etc) are printed on thermal paper by the ticket machine or bus driver. The reason I thought this was that I noticed that the ticket machines at Perth rail stations are the same as those seen in the MYKI discovery centre at Southern Cross.
Examples of short term cash tickets.
From L to R, Brisbane from vending machine,
Perth from Bus driver and Perth from vending machine.
Thinking about it though retail tickets will probably be pre encoded, and therefore will probably have some sort of text denoting what they are. Vending machine tickets could also have printing applied as they are issued. This leaves just the fact that there is no way to tell how long the ticket is valid without pringing, although tram issues probably could as they would be tagged on as they are issued from the machine. This leaves only the bus issues with no physical indication at all. Doesn't seem very consistent or user friendly to me.
2. Tram Fares and Ticketing
On Sunday I took a tram ride along Bourke St, having driven to the city (I know I'm evil but I had a car and I had to go somewhere else on the way) I didn't have a ticket and so attempted to buy a city saver. As it turned out the machine was just spitting out all coins fed in, so I got a free ride. As I was pondering the fare structure on the sticker above the machine it occurred to me that having trams in both zone 1 and 2 is too complicated when considering that by and large the tram network is in zone 1. I'm not saying that the 3 tram lines (or is it 4?) that extend into zone 2 territory should should be curtailed at the zone boundary, but that tram ticketing would be greatly simplified it if they were treated as a zone 1 service no matter where they are.
I think I just like the simplified idea of having a single fare system for trams. Either buy a daily or a 2 hour, adult or concession, no need to worry about zones. I don't think it would or could happen with the current zone system as it would be unfair on people connecting too/from a bus or train in zone 2 .
3. Sunday Saver
On a related issue, I still can't believe they couldn't find a work around for dispensing Sunday savers from ticket machines. Actually IIRC it was never intended if a certain poster to some of the public transport forums is to be believed . On the tram I noticed some people using Sunday Savers and I couldn't help but feel that those buying tickets on the tram (this was on my return along Bourke St on tram that had a working ticket machine) were getting ripped off. The seniors daily button is useless on a Sunday as all seniors can apply and use a free Sunday ticket. Why not program the tram ticket machines to dispense a sunday saver when that button is pressed on a sunday?
So it appears that MYKIi is full steam ahead, with the system rolling out across buses in regional cities. One revelation that had not occurred to me, but was revealed over at Melbourne on Melbourne on Transit (and here), is that short term disposable tickets will be smartcards. There is no printing on the ticket issued by the bus driver to tell you what it is or how long it will be valid, it just comes of a pile of identical blank tickets (much like they do today with metcards on buses). I had imagined that the system would be similar to Perth and S.E. Queensland where short term tickets(ranging from 2 hour / single trip and dailys etc) are printed on thermal paper by the ticket machine or bus driver. The reason I thought this was that I noticed that the ticket machines at Perth rail stations are the same as those seen in the MYKI discovery centre at Southern Cross.
Examples of short term cash tickets.
From L to R, Brisbane from vending machine,
Perth from Bus driver and Perth from vending machine.
Thinking about it though retail tickets will probably be pre encoded, and therefore will probably have some sort of text denoting what they are. Vending machine tickets could also have printing applied as they are issued. This leaves just the fact that there is no way to tell how long the ticket is valid without pringing, although tram issues probably could as they would be tagged on as they are issued from the machine. This leaves only the bus issues with no physical indication at all. Doesn't seem very consistent or user friendly to me.
2. Tram Fares and Ticketing
On Sunday I took a tram ride along Bourke St, having driven to the city (I know I'm evil but I had a car and I had to go somewhere else on the way) I didn't have a ticket and so attempted to buy a city saver. As it turned out the machine was just spitting out all coins fed in, so I got a free ride. As I was pondering the fare structure on the sticker above the machine it occurred to me that having trams in both zone 1 and 2 is too complicated when considering that by and large the tram network is in zone 1. I'm not saying that the 3 tram lines (or is it 4?) that extend into zone 2 territory should should be curtailed at the zone boundary, but that tram ticketing would be greatly simplified it if they were treated as a zone 1 service no matter where they are.
I think I just like the simplified idea of having a single fare system for trams. Either buy a daily or a 2 hour, adult or concession, no need to worry about zones. I don't think it would or could happen with the current zone system as it would be unfair on people connecting too/from a bus or train in zone 2 .
3. Sunday Saver
On a related issue, I still can't believe they couldn't find a work around for dispensing Sunday savers from ticket machines. Actually IIRC it was never intended if a certain poster to some of the public transport forums is to be believed . On the tram I noticed some people using Sunday Savers and I couldn't help but feel that those buying tickets on the tram (this was on my return along Bourke St on tram that had a working ticket machine) were getting ripped off. The seniors daily button is useless on a Sunday as all seniors can apply and use a free Sunday ticket. Why not program the tram ticket machines to dispense a sunday saver when that button is pressed on a sunday?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Building Bridges Pt 2
Back in December I made a post about the Clifton Hill rail project and the progress to that date. Since then it has come along in leaps and bounds, and in fact if I didn't know better I would say that after this weekend it will be open to trains.
Throughout December finishing touches were made on the bridge, while so far in January all the new track, electrical overhead and signals have been put in place. Two weekends ago a new set of points was installed at Clifton Hill, which allow city bound trains from Westgarth to enter the platform from the new section of track. This weekend it appears that all is left to do is to re-align and connect everything up at the Westgarth end. As a regular traveller on this line I am very impressed with the lack of disruption to regular train services, the only bustitutions occuring over a few late nights and weekends.
As an interested observer of the development of public transport I am amazed at the apparent planning that went into this operation. My opinion is that big projects in this country are always half baked and never realise their full potential. This and the previous Middleboroough Road grade separation of 2007 have somewhat changed this, and give me hope that future improvements to the Victorian rail network (often much needed after years of no funding and little care or maintenance) will be done as professionally. I only hope that our transport planning beaurocrats are able to get more funding to remove the stupid bottlenecks like Clifton Hill as well as implimenting sensible extensions (ie not so much the Eddington tunnels or Tarneit lines).
One thing I will say is that the governments targets for completion (ie the end of 2009 as stated on signs and projects website) are complete rubbish. I beleive they artificially extend the time required so they can make make it look like the project is completed early, when in fact it is on time or only a little early. Judging by the pace of work on this job there was never any question that it would open within the first half of 2009. Then there is the fact that the figure includes landscaping of the public parks and crown land which have been occupied during the construction, which will probably go on for a few months after trains are running.
Throughout December finishing touches were made on the bridge, while so far in January all the new track, electrical overhead and signals have been put in place. Two weekends ago a new set of points was installed at Clifton Hill, which allow city bound trains from Westgarth to enter the platform from the new section of track. This weekend it appears that all is left to do is to re-align and connect everything up at the Westgarth end. As a regular traveller on this line I am very impressed with the lack of disruption to regular train services, the only bustitutions occuring over a few late nights and weekends.
As an interested observer of the development of public transport I am amazed at the apparent planning that went into this operation. My opinion is that big projects in this country are always half baked and never realise their full potential. This and the previous Middleboroough Road grade separation of 2007 have somewhat changed this, and give me hope that future improvements to the Victorian rail network (often much needed after years of no funding and little care or maintenance) will be done as professionally. I only hope that our transport planning beaurocrats are able to get more funding to remove the stupid bottlenecks like Clifton Hill as well as implimenting sensible extensions (ie not so much the Eddington tunnels or Tarneit lines).
One thing I will say is that the governments targets for completion (ie the end of 2009 as stated on signs and projects website) are complete rubbish. I beleive they artificially extend the time required so they can make make it look like the project is completed early, when in fact it is on time or only a little early. Judging by the pace of work on this job there was never any question that it would open within the first half of 2009. Then there is the fact that the figure includes landscaping of the public parks and crown land which have been occupied during the construction, which will probably go on for a few months after trains are running.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Building Bridges
Click to make biggerLast Saturday I went and had a look at the new rail bridge that is being built over the Merri Creek between Westgarth and Clifton Hill. In the photo above you can see the extent of the new bridge so far. They had just installed the second girder the day before, and at time of writting it is expected the third girder should have been put into place. Behind you can see the brick piers of the existing bridge.
The aim of the project is to duplicate the rail line between Clifton Hill and Westgarth, which means building a new single track bridge next to the existing one. Progress is going well so far, so much so that Government is claiming that it will open 1 year early (I read a quote of Kosky saying this the other day but can''t find an article or press release at the minute). The cynic in me says that they (the government) add generous padding to projects like this on purpose just so they can make such claims to look good. But yes, after nothing happening for the first 8 months of the year work is now speeding along fine.
This machine was running up and down the trackwith the old bits of rail and putting them in a neat pile.
On Saturday the Epping and Hurstbridge lines were shut down to allow some track work to take place at Clifton Hill and Westgarth. At the Westgarth end they installed a new set of points, while at Clifton Hill they removed the centre track, which ran between the 2 platforms, as it was not used very often. Also they appeared to connect the overhead to the new stanchions, which have been getting installed lately.
New points being installed at the end of the new bridge at Westgarth.
Bits and pieces at Westgarth.During the shutdown they also took the opportunity to install some news sleepers on the curve leading from Dennis station to Westgarth station.
Workers installing new sleepers.
Dumping the old sleepers into a truck.While this was happening buses were replacing trains on the Epping line between Epping and Victoria Park, and between Heidelberg and Victoria park on the Hurstbridge line. From my experience the train-bus and bus-train transfers were quite smooth, there was an over abundance of staff at loading points and they even created a temporary bus station at Victoria Park. For the Heidelberg run there was the option of an all stations or an express bus. It is amazing that they can plan for special occasions like this so well, and yet day to day operations are ordinary at best.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
New modus opperandi: City Loop
As most people will be aware by now 2 or 3 weeks ago changes were made to the way the Epping/Hurstbridge and Werribee lines use the city loop. In peak times the Werribee line has been removed completely running direct to and from Flinders Street via Spencer Street. At non peak times and on weekends and public holidays it operates as normal.
The Epping and Hurstbridge lines have been altered to run in a clockwise direction during the week, direct to Flinders Street before going around the full loop, and anti clockwise around the loop direct to Parliament on weekends.
I for one am in favour as it makes my life for about half the week much easier. I no longer have to travel to Parliament, change to a Northern loop train to get to Flinders Street and then get my Belgrave/Lilydale train from there. The alternative was to travel the whole way around the loop which could take nearly 20 minutes if you got halted a few times on the viaduct between Southern Cross and Flinders Street. Often changing at Parliament was the difference between catching a train and not...
Now I go direct, sure there is sometimes a bit of a crawl between Jolimont and Flinders Street, but that is to be expected when there are only 2 platforms that my train can use, plus conflicting moves with trains on the Burnley Group going the other way. Actually that last part is probably the most contentious issue, as both the Burnley Group and Clifton Hill groups now vie for one piece of track from opposite directions if platform 14 at Flinders Street is occupied. That part really sucks. In general my connections are much smoother than they used to be.
I don't really like the arrangement on weekends though, as I used to like getting off at Flinders Street on a Saturday morning and walking up through the city to where ever I needed to go. I guess I will learn to live with it. From my understanding it is run this way to keep the outbound track from Flinders Street to Jolimont in working order and to keep train drivers knowledge of this track up to date. On the first weekend of this operation I recall the confused expressions of other people on the train as it went into the city loop.
It all seems to have bedded down rather well now, although I understand the Werribee line pax are still having issues with transfers to loop trains at North Melbourne and Southern Cross.
The Epping and Hurstbridge lines have been altered to run in a clockwise direction during the week, direct to Flinders Street before going around the full loop, and anti clockwise around the loop direct to Parliament on weekends.
I for one am in favour as it makes my life for about half the week much easier. I no longer have to travel to Parliament, change to a Northern loop train to get to Flinders Street and then get my Belgrave/Lilydale train from there. The alternative was to travel the whole way around the loop which could take nearly 20 minutes if you got halted a few times on the viaduct between Southern Cross and Flinders Street. Often changing at Parliament was the difference between catching a train and not...
Now I go direct, sure there is sometimes a bit of a crawl between Jolimont and Flinders Street, but that is to be expected when there are only 2 platforms that my train can use, plus conflicting moves with trains on the Burnley Group going the other way. Actually that last part is probably the most contentious issue, as both the Burnley Group and Clifton Hill groups now vie for one piece of track from opposite directions if platform 14 at Flinders Street is occupied. That part really sucks. In general my connections are much smoother than they used to be.
I don't really like the arrangement on weekends though, as I used to like getting off at Flinders Street on a Saturday morning and walking up through the city to where ever I needed to go. I guess I will learn to live with it. From my understanding it is run this way to keep the outbound track from Flinders Street to Jolimont in working order and to keep train drivers knowledge of this track up to date. On the first weekend of this operation I recall the confused expressions of other people on the train as it went into the city loop.
It all seems to have bedded down rather well now, although I understand the Werribee line pax are still having issues with transfers to loop trains at North Melbourne and Southern Cross.
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