US private equity firm TPG has bought a 70% stake in Kinetic Group, which operate in several Australian states including Skybus and dozens of public bus lines in Melbourne.
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Today marks 140 years since cable tram began operations in Melbourne.
The ABC’s Iskandar Razak wrote the following article and introduced the report when he presented the Victorian 7pm bulletin last night.
Victoria’s independent expert advisory body, Infrastructure Victoria, is calling on the state government to duplicate, upgrade and extend the (Upfield line between Gowrie and Upfield) by 2030, as part of its broad pitch to government for strategy for the next 30 years.
A state government spokesperson said the government welcomed the strategy from Infrastructure Victoria, and said current works on the Upfield Line were focused on building two new stations.
Meanwhile, the federal government has committed $7 million for the state government to “develop a business case that will provide options to upgrade services on the Craigieburn and Upfield lines”, said Federal Member for Wills, Peter Khalil.
Worth noting the Upfield line was meant to be duplicated, reconnected at Somerton, and running Seymour and Shepp V/line trains by now according to the 2012 Transport Plan…
Criaigieburn still has major level crossings in densely populated Moonee Ponds and Kensington. How many more services can the line take before the boom gates are permanently down during peak hour? Surely they are a priority for removal?
The Moonee Ponds level crossing can easily be removed by putting tracks under road, but the Kensington situation is quite complex. To the north is the notorious Racecourse Road overpass which has a 4m height clearance above road, and has been hit by numerous trucks in the past. To the south is the junction where two tracks become four tracks and on a hill which slopes from west to east. If the Kensington level crossing is to be removed, it will have to be elevated, in conjunction with a new overpass at Racecourse Road with minimum 4.6m clearance.
Both stations would be highly protected buildings. Moonee ponds is just so busy, they need to lower the rail so that multiple new road crossings can be built over it.
at kensington, I think the rail could go under the road, but a new station building would have to be built on the south side of Macaulay road.
Public Transport Users Association has called on the Victorian Government to extend platforms at all regional V/Line stations.
A similar situation in Adelaide. Our two electrified lines use 3-car trains in regular service. But there’s so many stations on those lines that are also too short for the occasional peak 6-car trains.
Sadly, 6-car trains are a rare sight on our underused network.
Between Miami and Burleigh Heads, work continues to progress track installation, pavement works and landscaping. Testing on this section of the new line is scheduled to begin in the first half of next year ahead of passenger services opening along the full line between Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads.
It’s perfectly normal to have stations where not all carriages fit on the platform - there’s even small halts on the regional NSW network where just one door aligns.
If it is well communicated that you need to be in Carriage X to alight at a certain station, and the driver pulls up consistently and locks the doors that aren’t on platforms, then the issue isn’t significant.
Busy stations should be upgraded, but ones that serve hundreds of people at best don’t need the spend.
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Woah! Summer metro tunnel timetables spotted at middle Footscray pic.twitter.com/Fcel3j6Bso
— Chloe! (ShadowStar) (I'm on blusky!) (@Shadowstar582) November 14, 2025
Note: when full services commence on February 1 next year, there will be no direct trains between Footscray and City Loop stations (Flagstaff, Melbourne Central and Parliament), with Werribee and Williamstown line services operating directly to/from Flinders Street. Passengers will have to change at North Melbourne, Melbourne Central, Southern Cross or Flinders Street to access the underground stations.
IIRC that’s been the case since 2011 when they started through-running with the Frankston line?
The Victorian government has been forced to again defend the safety of the West Gate Tunnel as thousands of Melburnians took a first look at the new multi-billion dollar piece of infrastructure.
The government has also revealed major rail project, the Metro Tunnel, will open on November 30, a week earlier than previously announced.
The West Gate Tunnel is due to open to vehicles by the end of the year, but opened today for a “Discovery Day”, allowing more than 50,000 people to walk through.
But the United Firefighters Union (UFU) urged people not to walk through the tunnel and told the government to call off the event due to safety concerns.
Well thank goodness these ‘Big Build ‘projects are finally ready. Get the Airport Line and Melton/Wyndham Vale electrification going please!!!
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The ABC article has been updated with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing more federal funding for Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop, in next year’s budget. He visited the State Library station with Premier Jacinta Allan this morning.
Mr Albanese said the extra money coming from the federal government would be on top of more than $9 billion already pledged towards the project, including $5 billion for the Melbourne Airport Rail section, $2 billion for the Sunshine Station section and $2.2 billion for the early works on Suburban Rail Loop East.
Transcript of this morning’s press conference
Currently, the Sunbury line is the only service that links Footscray and City Loop. When Metro Tunnel is fully operational, Sunbury line trains will travel through that tunnel instead, and it will have been a good opportunity to return Werribee and Williamstown trains to City Loop. Instead, only Craigieburn and Upfield trains will travel through the loop, meaning frequencies at peak times will actually decrease (up to 8 trains per hour on Craigieburn line and up to four trains per hour on Upfield line).