Yes, the city of Ouyen is just waiting to burst forth into economic prosperity if only the VIC government would spend hundreds of millions to return a passenger service that's been gone for 25 years.

Exactly the kind of response I was fishing for... (insert fishing rod emoji here)



You SA guys...as I wrote in another thread just don't get it...so we informed Victorian's just have to make allowances.

Mike.

Yeah hundreds of millions in allowances. Betchya another election will pass in 2022 with still no passenger rail service to Mildura. Unless it's a tourist operation - I think that's your best chance of a restored passenger service to Mildura, rail excursion type things.

With Dan Andrews having started his second term, I started to think about what this government had achieved in the area of public transport in four years and when I started to put it all together it is quite impressive what has been achieved.

I have probably missed some things; suggestions / additions are welcome

I haven’t included promises that haven’t had anything concrete done on them yet; e.g. Suburban Rail Loop, Fast rail to Geelong, etc.



Metro Tunnel:

Design finalised, contracts signed, work begun.

Western decline: piling underway for decline and TBM retrieval box, ground improvement work near Lloyd St, High Voltage transmission towers relocated/replaced

North Melbourne station: station box excavation underway

Parkville station: station box excavation has just begun

State Library station: A’Becket St shaft complete and road header at work (two more due to arrive in 2019), piling underway or about to begin at most other sites

Town Hall Station: piling underway at City Square, Federation Square Visitors Centre demolition complete, demolition continuing around Young and Jacksons

ANZAC station: station box nearly ready for excavation to begin

Eastern decline: piling to begin in January for decline and TBM retrieval box

Archaeological digs continuing

TBMs being assembled - (scheduled for delivery in early 2019)

Tunnel lining factory under construction and connection to rail network being prepared



High Capacity Metro Trains:

Designed and contract signed for 65 trains

Newport site modified and now assembling trains

East Pakenham depot designed and construction nearing completion, rail connection to network installed

First train set assembled and being fitted out at East Pakenham

At least four more trains worth of cars delivered to Newport for assembly with deliveries on going

New substations, renewal of overhead, signalling and track well underway on Dandenong corridor
Platform extensions begun where needed; e.g. South Yarra



Level Crossing Removal Authority:

Mernda line extension built and opened

29 crossings removed in 4 years including elevated rail on Dandenong line

4 more currently have construction underway

Contracts for 7 more removals awarded

Planning for 30 more underway

New stations built at Frankston, Rosanna and the Dandenong elevated rail ones

Duplication between Heidelberg and Rosanna completed

New substation at Eaglemont and 3 others upgraded on Hurstbridge line

Planning underway for replacement of Greensborough station and further duplication towards Eltham and between Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen

Preparation begun for stabling sidings at Kananook and Wyndham Vale



Regional Rail Revival (Rail Projects Victoria):

Ballarat line duplication from Caroline Springs to Melton nearing completion

Duplication through Ballan underway

Work started on passing loop at Millbrook

Rockbank being rebuilt, Cobblebank under construction, Bacchus Marsh work beginning, Ballan modifications underway

Stabling sidings at Maddingley nearing completion including duplicated track being constructed to Bacchus Marsh

Shepparton stabling siding complete

Donnybrook and Wallan station upgrades under preparation

Replacement Avon River bridge preparation begun

Geelong and Warrnambool upgrades planned, site investigations begun, Expressions of Interest opened (planned to begin by 2020)

Site investigations begun for Echuca line speed improvement, Bendigo ‘Metro 2’ planning and design underway



Other:

Southland station built and opened

Business case for Baxter electrification funded

Melbourne Airport Rail Link Registration of Interest open, business case underway, funding committed, technical and commercial advisors appointed

Murray Basin standardisation underway (still many issues due to project management failures)
Many tram stops upgraded to accessible ones in and near CBD



Rolling Stock:

18 V’Locity’s delivered and 11 more under construction, standard gauge bogies and buffet unit being designed for additional orders (not yet placed), refurbishment of existing fleet of 75

38 Xtrapolis 100’s (3 car units) delivered and 10 more on order. Alstom contracted to redesign Xtrapolis for future orders, refurbishment of existing sets has begun

Life extension of Comeng sets underway with at least 40 completed
22 E2 trams delivered, 8 under construction and 10 more ordered
Life extension of B2 class underway (A class to follow after B2s)
Mid-life overhaul of C and D classes begun




Possible items that could have been included but I considered tenuous enough to leave out:

Metro Tunnel: West Footscray turnback work intended  to commence in first 3 months of 2019


Regional Rail Revival: ARTC to contract upgrade works for NE line beginning in 2019

Other: Cranbourne line duplication with case study for Clyde extension commitment

Neil

Neil...are you certain you are not a part of the Daniel Andrews Glee club

Well done, Neil, you've have given an extensive summary of my short paragraph, in the Shep thread.

It really shows what Govt can do, These Days, IF they put their nose to the grind stone, something that hasn't happened on such a scale for a long time I reckon.

With another 4 years at the wheel, lets hope Dan and his team of troopers, out in the field, keep the Pedal to the Metal, which I reckon, that's what their display this term, was all about, because they have seem, that the people who vote for them, will throw them out on their Ar$e, these days, if they don't perform.

Well I'm off to blow the Froth of a couple ( 10 or 12 ) stir the grand kids up and then sneak outside.

BigShunter.

Well I'm off to blow the Froth of a couple ( 10 or 12 ) stir the grand kids up and then sneak outside.

BigShunter.

Onya Shun'er, have a good one!

BG

Neil...are you certain you are not a part of the Daniel Andrews Glee club

Not one to normally support his team but Guy had no idea and, really, apart from RRA, who's going to knock the progress being made irrespective of who is achieving it?

Neil

quote Neil garnerI haven’t included promises that haven’t had anything concrete done on them yet; e.g. Suburban Rail Loop, Fast rail to Geelong, etc
Sound just like a practising politician to me ,when the word promises is bantered about ,
better have the polygraph ready to catch all the pollywaffall  I hope Dan is getting as much done
because if he loses the next election all this public infrastructure spending will stop over night
and the road lobby will have there turn

Jokes aside WHAT a super effort in compiling those rail tit bits, Well done Neil
Dave

I think self proclaimed socialist and bane of the Herald-Sun, Dan knows which side his bread is buttered on...

Mike.

V/Line Annual report finally got released.  Some real nuggets in here. Such as fewer train drivers this year but more trains...

https://corporate.vline.com.au/getattachment/affab6c5-4be8-4a24-9a29-cd331ccec900/Annual-Report-2017-18

V/Line Annual report finally got released.  Some real nuggets in here. Such as fewer train drivers this year but more trains...

https://corporate.vline.com.au/getattachment/affab6c5-4be8-4a24-9a29-cd331ccec900/Annual-Report-2017-18

Also the big problem of too many services available for the number of drivers to run the services.

M.

V/Line Annual report finally got released.  Some real nuggets in here. Such as fewer train drivers this year but more trains...

https://corporate.vline.com.au/getattachment/affab6c5-4be8-4a24-9a29-cd331ccec900/Annual-Report-2017-18

Also the big problem of too many services available for the number of drivers to run the services.

M.

Other stats show the age profile of their workforce , and IIRC they have added some 70 plus new drivers in the last financial year  .  (The 11/2017 tt change added 150 plus extra trips a week .)
Now one would think that given the lead time taken to train new drivers that the Management could predict retirements etc based on age profile, defections to PN & Metro and  new arrivals from Metro & PN leaves number of drivers required to run the proposed timetable at X point in the future - is just a role of management and NOT rocket science .  So how come a drop of some 40  full time equivalent driver positions between June 17 & June 18 and most importantly what is being done to restore driver numbers to a level that can reliably operate the current tt and potential new Ballarat tt to be introduced later in 2019 with completion of the Ballarat line upgrade .  (Two extra peak trips each way , 40 minute off peak services etc as announced  ?)  
Conductor numbers go up to run more timetabled services, but driver numbers go down - non sensical .

V/Line Annual report finally got released.  Some real nuggets in here. Such as fewer train drivers this year but more trains...

https://corporate.vline.com.au/getattachment/affab6c5-4be8-4a24-9a29-cd331ccec900/Annual-Report-2017-18

Also the big problem of too many services available for the number of drivers to run the services.

M.

Other stats show the age profile of their workforce , and IIRC they have added some 70 plus new drivers in the last financial year  .  (The 11/2017 tt change added 150 plus extra trips a week .)
Now one would think that given the lead time taken to train new drivers that the Management could predict retirements etc based on age profile, defections to PN & Metro and  new arrivals from Metro & PN leaves number of drivers required to run the proposed timetable at X point in the future - is just a role of management and NOT rocket science .  So how come a drop of some 40  full time equivalent driver positions between June 17 & June 18 and most importantly what is being done to restore driver numbers to a level that can reliably operate the current tt and potential new Ballarat tt to be introduced later in 2019 with completion of the Ballarat line upgrade .  (Two extra peak trips each way , 40 minute off peak services etc as announced  ?)  
Conductor numbers go up to run more timetabled services, but driver numbers go down - non sensical .

On the last sentence...............Its VERY likely drivers have a much older age profile than the conductors so more drivers per year are retiring.

woodford

Well the Election has been and gone and the spoils go to the victor and to those in 2nd place who will be waiting in the wings or yaping at the heels for the next 4 years it will be their job to ridicule, bad mouth, and give the obverse answer to what the other party is spooking or basically call them cheats and fraudsters.



I'm not carry a beacon here for the Lib/nats ,Labor,Greens, Rainbow, Independent ,etc the party line is to follow the party line and to main job of a polly is to unseat the opposition ,not to represent the constituents . So the liberals want to abolish   50 road intersections they all have  one common theme, Yes you r correct they are all in Melbourne, apparently the country does’nt have any dangerous intersections.

After the horrific level cross smash between the Swan Hill Pass and a semi trailer on the Murry Valley Hwy near Kerang in 2007, I would have thought that this level crossing would have been abolished and replaced with a road over bridge, but no all it got was a set of boom gates . Now if the 11 people had of lost their lives at a level crossing in Melbourne in would have been an over pass by now. It was a Bracks ,Labour govnment at the time of this incident. I ask myself Is the Level crossing authority there to remove the level crossing for the benefit of the trains or is there removal there to benefit the road lobby . Whatever way you look at it, it's a How do you say it in political spin talk" a Win Win Situation"  

  This Labour Govt has done a mighty job  for public infrastructure more than I have ever scene. There is a huge hole in the ground at South Yarra for the start of the underground rail. The regional  rail (RFR)is fantastic with an Hourly service to ballarat, Traralgon Seymour ,Geelong. Remember these rail services could of all been buses.

OH sorry they are most of the time . don’t know how the system is going to cope with  a 40 minute service.

 

After the horrific level cross smash between the Swan Hill Pass and a semi trailer on the Murray Valley Hwy near Kerang in 2007, I would have thought that this level crossing would have been abolished and replaced with a road over bridge, but no all it got was a set of boom gates . Now if the 11 people had of lost their lives at a level crossing in Melbourne in would have been an over pass by now. It was a Bracks ,Labour government at the time of this incident. I ask myself Is the Level crossing authority there to remove the level crossing for the benefit of the trains or is there removal there to benefit the road lobby . Whatever way you look at it, it's a How do you say it in political spin talk" a Win Win Situation"  
 

The Murray Valley highway crossing just out of Kerang has 80 Km/h speed restriction signs with flashing yellow lights when a train is coming, rumble strips and standard lights/booms when activated.

All vegetation is gone so there's no line of sight obstructions.

Sometimes a grade crossing is simply not needed, particularly in regional areas despite the Kerang tragedy which, when it happened had standard level crossing red lights without booms.

My view is spend the overpass $$ where it will be best bang for the $.

The sole reason for the level crossing removal programme in Melbourne is so we can increase the frequency of trains without choking the road network near railway lines.

Mike.

Well the Election has been and gone and the spoils go to the victor and to those in 2nd place who will be waiting in the wings or yaping at the heels for the next 4 years it will be their job to ridicule, bad mouth, and give the obverse answer to what the other party is spooking or basically call them cheats and fraudsters.



I'm not carry a beacon here for the Lib/nats ,Labor,Greens, Rainbow, Independent ,etc the party line is to follow the party line and to main job of a polly is to unseat the opposition ,not to represent the constituents . So the liberals want to abolish   50 road intersections they all have  one common theme, Yes you r correct they are all in Melbourne, apparently the country does’nt have any dangerous intersections.

After the horrific level cross smash between the Swan Hill Pass and a semi trailer on the Murry Valley Hwy near Kerang in 2007, I would have thought that this level crossing would have been abolished and replaced with a road over bridge, but no all it got was a set of boom gates . Now if the 11 people had of lost their lives at a level crossing in Melbourne in would have been an over pass by now. It was a Bracks ,Labour govnment at the time of this incident. I ask myself Is the Level crossing authority there to remove the level crossing for the benefit of the trains or is there removal there to benefit the road lobby . Whatever way you look at it, it's a How do you say it in political spin talk" a Win Win Situation"  

  This Labour Govt has done a mighty job  for public infrastructure more than I have ever scene. There is a huge hole in the ground at South Yarra for the start of the underground rail. The regional  rail (RFR)is fantastic with an Hourly service to ballarat, Traralgon Seymour ,Geelong. Remember these rail services could of all been buses.

OH sorry they are most of the time . don’t know how the system is going to cope with  a 40 minute service.

 

Corrections of fact .  Opposition plan to grade separate 50 major road intersections did include 2 in the Southern suburbs of Geelong, strangely in the marginal seat of South Barwon, now safely in Labor hands after the Danslide .

Geelong frequency is Weekdays Off peak every 20 mins, Weekends & evenings every 40 mins, peak ave every 12 minutes.
Late 2019 Ballarat goes to Weekdays Off Peak every 40 minutes, peak ave every 20 mins .
Next 40 min Off Peak cab off the rank is to be Bendigo .

After the horrific level cross smash between the Swan Hill Pass and a semi trailer on the Murray Valley Hwy near Kerang in 2007, I would have thought that this level crossing would have been abolished and replaced with a road over bridge, but no all it got was a set of boom gates . Now if the 11 people had of lost their lives at a level crossing in Melbourne in would have been an over pass by now. It was a Bracks ,Labour government at the time of this incident. I ask myself Is the Level crossing authority there to remove the level crossing for the benefit of the trains or is there removal there to benefit the road lobby . Whatever way you look at it, it's a How do you say it in political spin talk" a Win Win Situation"  
 

The Murray Valley highway crossing just out of Kerang has 80 Km/h speed restriction signs with flashing yellow lights when a train is coming, rumble strips and standard lights/booms when activated.

All vegetation is gone so there's no line of sight obstructions.

Sometimes a grade crossing is simply not needed, particularly in regional areas despite the Kerang tragedy which, when it happened had standard level crossing red lights without booms.

My view is spend the overpass $$ where it will be best bang for the $.

The sole reason for the level crossing removal programme in Melbourne is so we can increase the frequency of trains without choking the road network near railway lines.

Mike.

There is a very detailed criteria applied to prioritizing the order of level crossing grade separations, taking into account both road and rail factors, safety and accident records etc .

However this criteria has to be applied in reality in that it is often smarter and cheaper to grade separate packages of adjacent crossings albeit their rankings may be significantly different .  The 75 crossings announced so far in Melbourne are now moving to extend also to grade separations of level crossings in the Geelong area at Wood St (South Geelong) and Torquay Rd (Grovedale) in conjunction with South Geelong - Waurn Ponds duplication, and Barwon Heads Rd (Marshall) in conjunction with duplication of Barwon Heads Rd from Settlement Rd (Belmont) to Reserve Rd (Marshall .)

Realistically level crossings with booms and bells in regional areas do not create the sort of traffic gridlock that is created in Melbourne with sparks & VLP operating on the same corridors at very high frequencies, plus Melbourne traffic volumes on the key roads are much higher too .  (For example there are three bb lx in the South Geelong - Geelong single track section traversed by over 130 trains on Weekdays and yet there is no screamingly urgent need to grade separate any of these crossings .

Dear Corrections of Fact ,Well Done you were first to spot my error that there were 2 level crossing in the county area  in the Opposition plan for road projects . That's if you can call Geelong country these days ,well that would mean its just 4% of the road intersection to be abolished were in country Victoria  . I am a regular Vline traveller and was pretty broadly speaking when I said that "I dont know how the system is going to cope with a 40 minute service " I could have named any number or minute service and been wrong ,but as you gladly pointed out the correct frequency of the trains that run would run . Its quite an effort to run a timetable when there is  defect trains, drivers off sick, no staff, conductors sick ,Defective signals, Hot weather wolo restrictions, etc .Every day the PTC is running buses to supplement the services  ,I see it with my own eyes so how are they going to run a service a 20 min service ,if there is not a bus supplemented 40 minute service. There is going to have to be a large amount of staff come from somewhere to run these extra trains.  dave

Excited for announcements on many projects this year

- Baxter Electrification
- Caulfield to Rowville Proposal
- Level Crossing Removal Methods
- Airport Rail
- Melton and WV Electrification
- Geelong/ Ballarat High Speed Rail
- Doncaster Busway
- Cranbourne Line Duplication
- Waurn Ponds Duplication
- High Capacity Trains coming into service
- Suburban Rail Loop
- Hurstbridge Line Duplication

Excited for announcements on many projects this year

- Baxter Electrification
- Caulfield to Rowville Proposal
- Level Crossing Removal Methods
- Airport Rail
- Melton and WV Electrification
- Geelong/ Ballarat High Speed Rail
- Doncaster Busway
- Cranbourne Line Duplication
- Waurn Ponds Duplication
- High Capacity Trains coming into service
- Suburban Rail Loop
- Hurstbridge Line Duplication

Hope you are good at holding your breathe.

@ptvcommuter

Just remember Dan has won government for the next four years and most likely the four after. I wouldn't expect everything to be rolled out in the first year. There are 8 budgets to deliver, plenty of time for the projects you've listed and more that haven't even surfaced yet.

- Baxter Electrification - 2020 - 2022
- Caulfield to Rowville Proposal - 2019 Budget
- Level Crossing Removal Methods - Ongoing, wouldn't be surprised if another 25 get added at the 2022 election
- Airport Rail - Business case 2020, construction to START in 2022
- Melton and WV Electrification - Planing and business case through to 2021, construction after that.
- Geelong/ Ballarat High Speed Rail - Same as above, planing and business case through to 2021, construction after that
- Doncaster Busway - Early works 2019, major construction pushing into the 2020's
- Cranbourne Line Duplication - Needs to be completed before all HCMT's are rolled out, easily 2020
- Waurn Ponds Duplication - Hopefully 2019, this has been on the table for ages.
- High Capacity Trains coming into service - First train later this year and one every month thereafter
- Suburban Rail Loop - Detailed planning and business case, Construction to begin in 2022
- Hurstbridge Line Duplication - 2020 or later, again not fully required until MM1 comes online

- Airport Rail
- Melton and WV Electrification
- Geelong/ Ballarat High Speed Rail
- Waurn Ponds Duplication
- Suburban Rail Loop

I could see these things being combined into one big project.
- Extra capacity to the west with electrification to the suburbs, and passing lanes or quadding to get the Geelong and Ballarat trains out of the way, with the Airport rail to be used part of the Suburban Loop when it reaches the west.

- Airport Rail
- Melton and WV Electrification
- Geelong/ Ballarat High Speed Rail
- Waurn Ponds Duplication
- Suburban Rail Loop

I could see these things being combined into one big project.
- Extra capacity to the west with electrification to the suburbs, and passing lanes or quadding to get the Geelong and Ballarat trains out of the way, with the Airport rail to be used part of the Suburban Loop when it reaches the west.

They are almost certainly going to have to be coordinated one way or another. I suspect the reason the government has not released the Airport Rail business case is that the bureaucrats have begged for more time to consider how all of this can be combined into some coherent whole.

My guess is that they will recommend the following:

• 2020: Waurn Ponds duplication begins.
• 2022: Construction starts on SRL South-East - a standalone metro/automated line from Cheltenham to Box Hill. At the same time, construction begins on a new high-speed capable route between Sunshine and the City, partly in a tunnel and partly using existing reservations. It will be BG heavy rail. At the same time, work begins to construct an additional BG track pair to the Airport. Quadruplication of the Ballarat and Geelong corridors begins; the "suburban" pairs are electrified to Melton and WV. Bi-modal commuter sets ordered for Geelong/Ballarat corridor. Waurn Ponds duplication complete.
• 2024: Bi-modal commuter sets enter operation.
• 2027: Airport Rail and suburban electrification is complete. Airport, WV and Melton trains move to the new Sunshine route. Work begins on high-voltage electrification of the express pairs to Ballarat and Geelong. Suburban electrification of RRL pair commences.
• 2030: SRL South-East complete. TBMs are shipped to the Airport to begin working in other direction on SRL North-East, which will eventually function as a end-to-end metro from Airport to Cheltenham. HV sparking complete; Geelong and Ballarat trains move to high-speed Sunshine route and WV/Melton return to RRL surface corridor. Construction begins on Werribee line extension to WV.
• 2032: Werribee extension complete.
• 2038: SRL North-East complete.

One final prediction: around 2026, Victoria proudly announces that it has taken the lead on constructing a high-speed Melbourne-Sydney route by making provision for future extension of the Airport tunnel route. Sydney responds that they have been making this provision for the last 10 years. Of course, Victoria has built its airport link on the mighty Broad Gauge...

Well - without wanting to sound like my account has been taken over by @don_dunstan, the wheels on the Dan Train have certainly started to wobble, if not yet fall off. Pallas was sent out as the sacrificial offering to the papers yesterday, and said that Treasury is anxiously watching the auction clearance rates.

He's started to use the language of "hard choices" to talk about a smaller pay rise for public servants than was originally planned, offering a 2% rise (which of course is a real pay cut). However, he insists that the property market fall is an "adjustment" and that the infrastructure program is "sacrosanct", both of which words he may well have to eat in the coming months.

No doubt Andrews will be doing everything in his power to have a Shorten government elected in May, because that is the only way his infrastructure program and (expensive) social reforms will survive the coming few years.

Property slump clobbers state budget
More revenue write-downs possible and few assets left to sell, Treasurer says.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/hard-choices-loom-as-property-slump-clobbers-state-budget-20190305-p511yd.html?btis


Housing downturn cruels Labor's ambitions
Drop in stamp duty revenue means Labor's political honeymoon could be over.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/if-people-don-t-start-buying-houses-labor-s-party-could-well-be-over-20190305-p511y4.html?btis

These things are up and down like the proverbial toilet seat.

Yes state revenues are heading downwards at this time, but it's WAY too early to be mentioning the 'R' word.

Mike.

Mike, I didn't mention the R word. But one of the most bullish Treasurers in recent memory has said he has concerns and told the public service to cut back their wage demands. I think that it's a pretty reasonable thing to have concerns.