It doesn’t, the express trains take about 2.5 hours and even the stopping services only take about 3 hours.
Driving takes about 2 hours without traffic and could easily be 3 hours during peak (using $10 worth of toll roads).
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Yeah but generally when I’m driving back from Hornsby there’s bugger all traffic on the road there and it’s not far from the start of the M1.
In my experience there are no express trains running that late at night. If they aren’t all stops then they’re pretty close to it
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I only had short waits for trains at both Olympic Park and Strathfield, and a short wait for a taxi at Broadmeadow station in Newcastle, and it was 3.5 hours door to door. Excluding the waits, it was just over 3 hours, which is really too long for a distance of only 160 kms.
Infrastructure Australia has announced that Brisbane Metro (bi-artic buses and an upgraded Busway) is a high priority for federal funding, while the North Coast Connect upgrade to the Sunshine Coast line is also being recommended for federal rail funding. Both projects could be ready by 2021-2023, which would be one year earlier than Cross River Rail.
The Queensland Government will fund Cross River Rail alone apparently (at least until Labor is in power federally), since problems with the business case seem to have spooked IA. Nevertheless, it’s an important piece of infrastructure since new lines can’t be built on the network without increased capacity across the Brisbane River. The low capacity at present is being made very clear by the terrible state of the network during the Comm Games.
Personally I’m chuffed. The mid-2020s will be fantastic for South East Queensland’s public transport network if it all gets done. Next priority after that should be the Flagstone and Sunshine Coast branch lines.
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Horrible racist attack in Melbourne. Face to face seating has to be a contributing factor.
Honestly, the face to face seating still boggles my mind. Reminds me of the Sydney Monorail. No wonder that thing closed down.
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I don’t think the face to face seating is a contributing factor. Unfortunately these kind of things happen all the time on the streets, public space, buses, trams, everywhere.
This is a result of poor closed minded uneducated people who have nothing better to do in their lives than racially attack others. I get every culture has some good and some bad ones. Those good ones shouldn’t have to pay the price for the bad lot.
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Wot
I think shitty human beings are a bigger contributing factor.
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what garbage
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This take has gotta be an April Fools
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Nonsense.
More like the first generation of baby bonus recipients born to people who probably shouldn’t breed are now in their mid teens.
Yes it’s the biggest contributing factor I agree.
Seems to happen a lot more in Melbourne.
I don’t really get that. We should be able to sit ‘face to face ‘ and remain decent humans. I can think of dozens of commuter cities with face to face or longitudinal seating. Heck, on country trains in Victoria until the mid 80’s not only were we face to face, but shared 8 seat compartments with strangers, as still is the case on many European trains.
The Victorian Government this morning revealed the final names of the three new stations on the Mernda line extension in Melbourne’s north: Middle Gorge (previously Marymede), Hawkstowe and Mernda. Marymede Station has been renamed after the Middle Gorge Park which is about 2km from the station.
Construction is six months ahead of schedule and train testing should begin in September.
Good. Prefer stations to be named after geographical points of interest (Sydenham over Watergardens, Spencer Street over Southern Cross et.al.)
Yes, the naming of some Melbourne train lines/stations has always thrown me a bit.
I used to think that Alamein and Upfield were suburbs, but not so, but I still don’t know what those names actually represent.
The whole Melbourne train network appears very confusing on a map. Sydney is confusing as well, but at least the stations are named after their location.
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The good thing is if you are confused by the train you can get off and get confused by the tram network. For bonus points try and board a bus.
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Upfield station is located in Coolaroo, but there is already a Coolaroo station on the Craigieburn line. Upfield station was named after the local area where the Ford factory was located.
Alamein station is in Ashburton but there is already an Ashburton station. Alamein station was named after the nearby housing estate built after World War 2.
Although North Melbourne station is actually located in West Melbourne but it is to be renamed as part of the Metro Tunnel project
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We call them students. 
Mind you, some of them can also be referred to as executive, but then they were born well before the baby bonus was introduced. Probably responsible for a good number of those brats too.
Went to Newcastle Interchange for the first time, did that instead of lugging suitcases up and down Hamilton station. Not bad. The Foodary was woefully staffed and hardly had anything hot.
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Upfield was known as North Campbellfield, that section of line was closed and later reopened. The original Campbelfield station didn’t reopen, so Upfield was created. I guess a North Campbellfield would be confusing without a Campbellfield. There is also a post office and wad a high school but no separate post code or official suburb.
Alamein was the name of the Housing Commission estate in Ashburton, named after the battle at El Alamein in WWII.
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