Melbourne suburban passenger information displays
17 January 2020
Next train displays at Melbourne suburban railway stations.
V/Line workshops, yards and shunting
17 January 2020
Pictures of V/Line trains and carriages at the West Melbourne Depot and Dudley Street carriage yards next to Southern Cross Station, Melbourne Yard, and South Dynon.
V/Line at Southern Cross Station
16 January 2020
Southern Cross Station is the main hub of V/Line passenger services from around the state
Failing infrastructure at Southern Cross Station
16 January 2020
Southern Cross Station was only finished a decade ago, but the building is already starting to fall apart
Metro Trains Melbourne - Northern group
16 January 2020
Metro Trains Melbourne services on the Werribee, Altona, Williamstown, Sunbury, Craigieburn and Upfield lines that make up the Northern group.
Melbourne rail replacement buses
15 January 2020
When the *%@! hits the fan on Melbourne's rail network, buses have to be called in to operate a replacement service for passengers.
Poor service from V/Line
15 January 2020
Clutching failure from the jaws of success - that's the V/Line way.
TramTracker across Melbourne
15 January 2020
tramTRACKER screens across the Melbourne tram and rail networks provides real time departure and disruption information to passengers.
Metro Trains Melbourne - inner suburban
15 January 2020
Metro Trains Melbourne services in the inner suburban area, covering Flinders Street Station, Southern Cross Station, the City Loop, North Melbourne and Richmond.
V/Line - Regional Rail Link
15 January 2020
V/Line trains using the new Regional Rail Link tracks that have progressively come into use since December 2013.
PTV Hubs
10 January 2020
PTV Hubs were created in 2012 following the merger of the Met Shop at Melbourne Town Hall with the Central Pass Office and Myki Discovery Centre at Southern Cross Station.
Great Southern Rail - The Overland
10 January 2020
Great Southern Rail operates 'The Overland' from Melbourne to Adelaide, via Geelong, Ararat and the Western standard gauge
Melbourne stations and infrastructure
10 January 2020
Photos of railway infrastructure in suburban Melbourne - stations, signals, and such
Metro Tunnel rail replacement buses - Caulfield group
9 January 2020
Works on the Metro Tunnel portal at South Yarra have required Metro Trains services on the Pakenham, Cranbourne, Frankston and Sandringham lines to be replaced by buses between Parliament, Caulfield and Elsternwick, as well as V/Line services to Gippsland.
Metro Trains Melbourne - Caulfield group
9 January 2020
Metro Trains Melbourne services on the Pakenham, Cranbourne, Frankston and Sandringham lines that make up the Caulfield group.
City Loop
6 January 2020
Stations and trains around the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop (Parliament, Melbourne Central, and Flagstaff stations)
Failing rail infrastructure of Melbourne
6 January 2020
Melbourne's railway network is held together with bubblegum and duct tape - here are examples of the way that it is falling apart.
V/Line to Bacchus Marsh
4 January 2020
Photos of the V/Line services that run to Bacchus Marsh, taken between there and the end of the wires back at Sunshine. As well as boring old VLocities and Sprinters, loco hauled trains with A, P and N classes are also used in peak times.
Bikes at Melbourne stations
3 January 2020
Bike parking or lack thereof at Melbourne railway stations
Myki
3 January 2020
Photos of bits and pieces to do with Melbourne's 'Myki' smartcard ticketing system
Pacific National - Melbourne standard gauge freight
2 January 2020
Pacific National standard gauge intermodal services from Adelaide and New South Wales meet at Melbourne, running via the western suburbs into the Melbourne Freight Terminal at South Dynon.
Commercialising commuters
2 January 2020
For Melbourne's privatised public transport operators, they don't make money by moving people - they make money selling their captive audiences to advertisers and other commercial outfits.
Stored trams at Newport Workshops
1 January 2020
With W class trams heritage listed and unable to be scrapped or exported to tram museums overseas, Newport Workshops has become a dumping ground while they wait a final home.
High Capacity Metro Trains at Newport Workshops
1 January 2020
The new High Capacity Metro Train (HCMT) fleet is being assembled by Downer at the Newport Workshops in Melbourne's west, with the body shells assembled by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles in China.
V/Line around Melbourne
30 December 2019
Pictures of V/line trains 'under the wires' around Melbourne and surrounding suburbs. V/line has a mix of loco-hauled and DMU-run services.
Metro Trains Melbourne - Burnley group
25 December 2019
Metro Trains Melbourne services on the Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein and Glen Waverley lines that make up the Burnley group.
Flinders Street Station
24 December 2019
Flinders Street Station is the main suburban train station for Melbourne, Victoria
Crumbling station building at Armadale
24 December 2019
A look at the crumbling citybound station kiosk at Armadale station on the Frankston/Dandenong lines, where everything is falling apart and ready to fall down onto the platform below.
Melbourne suburban bits and pieces
24 December 2019
Photos of bits and pieces on and around Melbourne's suburban trains
Stony Point line
24 December 2019
The Stony Point line is an orphan on the Melbourne suburban network, being an isolated shuttle service without electrification. A class diesel locomotives hauling MTH carriages were the usual consist for a decade, until replaced by Sprinter railcars in 2008. Trains running the service run empty cars between Frankston and Southern Cross for maintenance
Long Island steel train
24 December 2019
The Long Island steel train serves the BHP mill at Hastings, south of Frankston. The steel is transferred from broad to standard gauge trains at the Melbourne Freight Terminal at South Dynon. In 2015 this facility replaced the Melbourne Steel Terminal, just west of North Melbourne station.
Myki failures and breakdowns
24 December 2019
A galley of the many ways that Melbourne's 'Myki' smartcard ticketing system can let passengers down.
Qube Logistics Apex quarry train
19 December 2019
The Apex train carries gravel and other quarry products from Kilmore East on the North East line, to Westall in south-eastern Melbourne, Brooklyn in western Melbourne, and North Shore in Geelong. Originally operated by Freight Australia then Pacific National, in 2016 Qube Logistics won the contract.
Metro Trains Melbourne works trains
15 December 2019
Trackwork on the Melbourne suburban rail network. Since taking over the contract to operate and maintain the system, Metro Trains Melbourne have hired wagons and locomotives from CFCLA to operate works trains. Three types of train operate: open top containers mounted to miscellaneous flat wagons for the carriage of spoil, CHOY hoppers to carry ballast, and flat wagons fitted with stanchions to carry rail or concrete sleepers.
High Capacity Corridor Upgrade project
14 December 2019
The High Capacity Corridor Upgrade project (previously the Cranbourne Pakenham Line Upgrade project) is being delivered by the Level Crossing Removal Authority to support the new High Capacity Metro Train (HCMT) fleet. The work includes track duplication on the Cranbourne line at Dandenong South, minor platform extensions, and the replacement of signalling, overhead wires and traction substations along the Cranbourne and Pakenham railway lines.
Southern Cross Station
12 December 2019
Southern Cross Station is the main interstate and regional station for Melbourne. The full set of photos is at my other site, Rail Geelong.
Metro Trains Melbourne - Clifton Hill group
9 December 2019
Metro Trains Melbourne services on the South Morang and Hurstbridge lines that make up the Clifton Hill group.
TPWS in suburban Melbourne
9 December 2019
Commencing in 2010 Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) has been retrofitted to signals across suburban Melbourne.
Pacific National Tocumwal freight
8 December 2019
Pacific National (formerly Patrick PortLink) operate a container service between Appleton Dock in Melbourne and Tocumwal, loading also being attached / removed at Mooroopna (Shepparton).
Furlong Main level crossing removal project
8 December 2019
In 2015 work commenced on the grade separation of the Main Road level crossing at St Albans station, with the Ginifer Road level crossing at Ginifer station later being added to the project scope.
Melbourne suburban Digital Train Radio System
8 December 2019
The GSM-R based Digital Train Radio System (DTRS) replaced the analogue Urban Train Radio System (UTRS) used for communication on the Melbourne suburban rail network. Approximately 100 base stations make up the system with more than 70 new towers added to cover the network. Work stated in September 2009 and was completed in 2011, with trials of the on train equipment starting in 2012.
Stuck brakes on a Comeng train
17 November 2019
On 17 November 2019 Comeng carriage 641M was in the middle of a down Sunbury service when the brakes got stuck on, leaving a trail of smoke from North Melbourne to Middle Footscray, before the train finally came to a halt, shutting down rail services on the line for an hour.
Craigieburn electrification project
17 November 2019
Photos of the Craigieburn electrification works completed in 2007, as well the new station at Roxburgh Park and later upgrades to Craigieburn station
Coolaroo station construction and opening day
17 November 2019
Located between Broadmeadows and Roxburgh Park, the railway station at Coolaroo was constructed separately from the rest of the Craigieburn electrification project that was completed in 2007. As a result it did not opening to passengers until June 06, 2010.
Broadmeadows standard gauge platform construction
17 November 2019
Former terminus of the suburban electric services, in 2010 it was upgraded to have a third platform on the parallel standard gauge line.
Melbourne broad gauge freight
17 November 2019
Miscellaneous broad gauge freight traffic through Melbourne - there isn't much these days...
Spencer Street Station pedestrian subways
17 November 2019
Until the 2005 redevelopment as Southern Cross Station, passengers at Spencer Street Station used a pedestrian subway to access the platforms, as well as to pass under Spencer Street.
Steamrail - whY not Suburban Tour
17 November 2019
On 17 November 2019 T356 led the 'whY not Suburban Tour' from Southern Cross Station to Somerton and Werribee via Sunshine, Essendon and the Bunbury Street Tunnel. Originally intended to be hauled by Y class steam locomotive Y112, it was a late scratching due to mechanical problems. The train was made up of carriages 600BK, 14BRS, 67BW, 64AW, 7ABE, and 1BCE.
