It’ll slowly happen as equipment becomes end-of-life and trains are replaced.
Sydney Trains are in the initial stages of testing ETCS (European Train Control System) Level 2 on the Cronulla Branch Line which will provide in-cab signalling and a ‘Traffic Management System’ mooted to manage things more efficiently than current systems. The Eastern Suburbs line is earmarked next as part of the same ‘stage’ and then the City Circle and North Shore lines planned as stage 2. https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/digital-systems-program
ETCS Level 1 ‘Limited Supervision’ is currently already in use across the Sydney Trains network but not for all trains - freight and sets due for imminent retirement have not been fitted out.
So to quote an old ad, it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen
Also - A bit of light reading I found titled “TERMINOLOGY, DIFFERENCES, AND CHALLENGES OF COMMUNICATIONS-BASED TRAIN CONTROL AND EUROPEAN TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS” (copyright dated 2020 but still good background info)
If they just funded $80m of incremental track improvements instead of another business case we’d have much better outcomes. They literally just cancelled doing it properly, why study it again?
The priority should be the section between Hawkesbury and Gosford, especially the 1km of track south of Wondabyne which is too close to the water and prone to tide changes.
I shudder to think of how much successive governments have wasted on building business cases and feasibility studies for absolutely nothing in return.
In my view, HSR is something that’s going to require a bit of out of the box thinking to ever have even a chance of being implemented, as the costs are simply too high for conventional government funding and it’s politically problematic in places like WA and Tasmania to spend so much on something that is going to primarily benefit the eastern seaboard.
I’m a big fan of the idea put forward by the late, great Simon Crean over a decade ago of using Superannuation to fund a large part of the works. Establishing a super fund that uses it’s funds for the purpose of building a High Speed Rail network would be a good long term investment for both investors and national infrastructure. That way, people (especially those who live in areas that would benefit) could choose to put their super towards something that they can see delivering tangible benefits in the long term. This is especially relevant for younger people who are more conscious about where their money goes from an environmental perspective and who tend to have less trust in the super system (or don’t see the long term benefits).
This country tends to do pretty poorly at planning infrastructure with a long term vision (case in point, the debacle that came of the NBN)- and high speed rail is no exception. While air travel might be more cost effective now which is the primary argument against high speed rail here, air travel is problematic from a climate and sustainability standpoint- as such the business case for high speed rail will only get stronger as time goes on- which makes it an attractive long term investment despite the very high startup costs. Between Brisbane and Melbourne the population density is definitely there to support HSR (given that SYD-MEL is one of the busiest air routes in the world, and SYD-BNE and MEL-BNE are both in the Top 50) and the population is only going to grow over time.
On Platforms 1 and 2a, after the small gate line near luggage check, in there’s an A-frame with an arrow pointing to Platform 1 because the nearest departure board and platform numbers were installed beyond a large column. Like, seriously?
As an outsider, I find Melbourne’s train network a little confusing (but people say that about Sydney’s, and while I don’t use it often, I find it much easier to use) and I think that plays into some of the issues at Southern Cross.
The station feels like it was a railyard first and foremost and a station second.
The actual railyard is just north of Spencer Street/Southern Cross station.
Can the station be improved? Most definitely. In lieu of the historic subway which is now closed because it contains so many utility pipes, I think another set of escalators should be built straight through the platforms so that commuters can easily transfer between trains.
Sydney’s is simple once you realise there’s a large degree of predictability. Trains going to one place generally leave from the same platform. The City Circle is just T2 inner west trains becoming T8 Revesby/Campbelltown services.
Melbourne’s City Loop is all over the shop. Lines reversing direction in the middle of the day. Where is your train going after Flinders Street? Even if it says Hurstbridge, it could be transposed onto the Mernda line!
Another problem is the height of train platforms at stations,too low for the disabled or anyone with mobility issues. Sometimes I struggle boarding a train if platform is too low.
Thankfully the train stations here in SEQ that are having improvements done will include raising the platforms at these stations
Plans to remove eight level crossings on the Upfield railway line in Melbourne’s north are among major transport projects under a cloud, as the Victorian Government tries to arrest its massive growing debt.
Just trying to think where the level crossings on Upfield remain after Skyrail at Coburg, apart from the street after the cemetery towards Gowrie after Fawkner station, the one approaching Batman station and perhaps one before Merlynston (heading Northbound to Upfield) where would the other 4 be located?
