the bushfires - Letter from Melbourne

21 FEBRUARY TO 6 APRIL 2009
Account Ability
Lucy MacIntyre
0413 155 115
Bookkeeping for
smaller firms from
wise owl who has
worked for large
accounting practices
reported that the train was not faulty. Sources said
a junior train driver was uncertain about whether
his train had a fault about 9am that day and he had
sought advice from his supervisor. The supervisor,
instead of the driver, reported the matter to train
controllers, but this was contrary to Connex policy
and the controllers refused to accept the report.
And yet they are winning
Despite an average of 20 cancelled trains a day,
Connex earned $175m in payments from the
Government for services provided and in ticket sales
in the last three months of last year. The results
also showed that $6.34m had been deducted from
Connex’s payments, for the operators disappointing
performance in the final three months of the year.
Hmmm
The Herald Sun reported that the typical number of
daily train faults last December was about 155. But
that number rose to 328 when Connex refused to
pay employees a Christmas bonus. Reports of faults
fell back to normal levels as soon as Connex caved
in and said it would pay the bonus.
Off the rails
The faction riven Rail, Tram and Bus Union met rail
operator Connex at the Australian Industrial Relations
Commission in an attempt to stop the wildcat
shutdowns that played havoc with Melbourne’s rail
system in January and February. The disagreement
between drivers and train controllers over who gets
to decide what happens to a train once a fault has
been identified lead to at least three trains in a week
in mid-February being parked at platforms during
rush hour, The Age reported.
Rail against the dying of the light
Melbourne’s existing suburban rail network could
run more than double the present number of trains
if it was operated as designed, Connex’s own
documents show. Public Transport Minister Lynne
Kosky said that few extra trains could be running
to central Melbourne during rush hour. But internal
Connex rail maps, produced in 2006, show that far
more trains were designed to be run on the city’s
railway lines, including through the loop, The Age
reported.
Now autumn is a problem
Connex management has sent a notice to train
drivers warning them that trains should approach
station platforms at 30 kilometres an hour, instead
of the usual 50 kilometres an hour due to the onset
of the autumn climatic conditions that may affect
the normal braking performance of the trains, The
Age reported.
Feeling the squeeze
Connex expects more than 5,000 passengers to
be squeezed out every morning peak by 2011.
The projections were made in confidential Connex
documents submitted to the Government. Connex,
though, may not be around in 2011, with the
Government soon to announce who will be operating
metropolitan trains from the end of this year. Hong
Kong’s MTR is competing against Connex and
another French company Keolis, the Herald Sun
reported.
Connex is testing three new carriages which have
44 seats removed to make way for an extra 79
standing passengers on city lines. Passengers
had a mixed response when the new design was
unveiled, the Herald Sun reported.
Rail rats
All trains on the Melbourne-Ballarat line were
cancelled for about eight hours on the evening of
Sunday, March 16 after rats climbed under the
tracks near Ballan and chewed up fibre-optic
cables in attempt to shelter themselves from rain,
the Herald Sun reported.
Rail renewal
The Essential Services Commission commenced
an approval process for the renewal of VicTrack’s
rail access arrangement within Victoria, and
an approval process for the renewal of Pacific
National’s rail access arrangement in Victoria, www.
esc.vic.gov.au.
Next gen
The Parliament of Victoria Education and Training
Committee is conducting an inquiry into skills
shortages in the rail industry, etc@parliament.vic.
gov.au.
road
Swanston Street caprice
Swanston Street could become a one kilometre
pedestrian mall with footpaths extending to tram
tracks and a ban on all cars – and potentially
bicycles – under plans to be considered by the
Melbourne City Council. The council has released
seven options for the road, ranging from a return to
all cars to the removal of all vehicles except trams,
The Age reported.
Bypass bypassed
The future of the $750m, 25 kilometre Frankston
Bypass from Carrum Downs to Mt Martha, a key
plank of John Brumby’s transport plan in Melbourne,
is in doubt, with funding from the Federal
Government now unlikely. Sir Rod Eddington’s
board finalised its list of priority projects under the
Building Australia Fund, but with the global financial
crisis whittling money from the fund from $20b
to $12.6b, fewer projects than anticipated will get
backing, The Age reported. STOP PRESS. Full speed
ahead, even without federal $$$$$$$$$$$$...
Didn’t really want to listen
New 3pm clearway times will be introduced but
they will apply only within 100 metres of main
intersections. Most other afternoon clearways
in the inner city will be changed to start at 4pm,
rather than earlier. Existing clearways that already
started earlier than 4pm, on arterial roads such as
Punt Road in Richmond or Bell Street in Preston,
will start at 3pm. Morning clearway hours will run
from 6:30am to 10am, as originally envisaged in
the Government’s plan. Roads Minister Tim Pallas
said having listened to the community and concerns
of local traders that the Government had acted
appropriately. But he felt the road network would
work better if the policy had been left unchanged.
The backdown followed a threat from traders and
councils – particularly Stonnington – to sue over
clearway time changes. They argued that reducing
the amount of front street parking would damage
businesses, The Age reported.
Taxi?
A proposal to ban hailing taxis off the street
and increase fares in inner Melbourne has been
dismissed as impractical and potentially dangerous.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, who proposed
the ban in a bid to improve safety in the city, won
support for his call for four airport style taxi ‘super
stops’ with increased security on weekends, The
Age reported. The Victorian Taxi Association said
while more ranks – and safer ranks – were needed,
preventing the hailing of taxis would require a huge
cultural shift for drivers and passengers.
More than B-double trouble
Freight trucks measuring 30 metres long – 4 metres
longer than standard B-doubles – will be allowed
on major Melbourne roads including the Westgate
Freeway, Westgate Bridge, Metropolitan Ring Road
and around the Port of Melbourne precinct under a
trial later this year. The loads they are allowed to
carry will also be increased from 68 tonnes to 77.5
tonnes during the trial. The trucks are expected to
be given permanent access to routes stretching
from Melbourne to Geelong, Hastings, Mildura,
Wodonga, Bendigo and Shepparton if the trial is
successful, the Herald Sun reported.
Good job
VicRoads seeks an executive director-regional
services, www.vicroads.vic.gov.au.
air
Second coming
Avalon is set to become Melbourne’s second
international airport, with the federal and state
governments to sign off on a $50m terminal.
18