Newcastle Interchange was a disappointment to me.
Only one shop, a bus stop out the front and that was it.
The bus interchange and light rail when built should make a difference, but there needs to be more development around there… the area used to have 2 pubs (West End Hotel and Cambridge, which used to be a late night institution, but neither are open anymore… 
).
Seems that some locals are not happy with the new station names. According to the Whittlesea Leader, some residents have suggested that Marymede should be renamed South Morang, while the current South Morang station should be renamed Plenty Valley after the shopping centre nearby. A station on the Frankston line named after a local shopping centre (Southland) opened in November 2017, so why not another one?
That wouldn’t be confusing at all 
Two renames in around a couple of years. As if North Melbourne > West Melbourne is already confusing enough already.
They should’ve just kept the new North Melbourne station as Arden Street and leave the current North Melbourne station name as it is.
I can already imagine how much fuss this will cause once the Metro Tunnel is complete. Oldies like me (I’m only 25) will probably still continue calling North Melbourne station, North Melbourne when it officially changes its name to West Melbourne.
They should change it to West Melbourne now to give people enough time to get used to the name change.
This is why I suspect the name change will come with the opening of the new Mernda extension, when PTV will have to reprint all the maps anyway
The Epping to Chatswood line will close on 30 September for seven months so it can be converted into part of the automated Sydney Metro Northwest line. This project has been progressing very well and within budget, unlike the CBD and South East Light Rail which is, according to the builders, about $1.7 billion over budget, and will not be completed on time. The light rail construction subcontractor and the NSW Government are involved in legal action over the increased costs.
That’s hilarious, because it’s the exact opposite to what happened in LA. The LA Subway (heavy rapid rail, similar to Metro) went way over budget while the LA light rail was well under budget.
I came across this photo yesterday from the 1980s and was pretty shocked when I compared it to today.
https://i.imgur.com/9qIwXVs.jpg
…the Newcastle CBD and inner suburbs really need something to happen.
You’re right, some areas of Newcastle’s CBD have gone backwards since the 1980s.
That 1980s photo certainly shows that area of Hunter St west in more vibrant times.
Hunter St Mall is another example.
Since the closure of David Jones, the mall has gone very quiet.
Honeysuckle/Foreshore and Marketown are the only areas of the CBD that look decent.
How about a monorail tram?
Light rail is coming by the end of 2019 (I think).
But it will just be going through lots of nothing for a while (until some development in that corridor kicks in).
The Age reported that almost all train lines in Melbourne have more delays than 20 years ago, based on analysis of data from Public Transport Victoria. The article mentions the Altona Loop, a section of single track in Altona branching from the Werribee line, a common example of delays and trains bypassing. The best way to solve the problem will be to duplicate the Altona Loop, but the problem is most of the railway reserve in the Altona area is narrow and sandwiched between two streets (Railway Street North and Railway Street South). When the railway is duplicated, either by building them in a trench or elevated rail, it means many houses will have to be acquired to make way for the second track and a bigger railway station, forcing residents to move out. This could be become an issue at this November’s Victorian state election.
Simple. make it like the City Loop, city bound in the morning, Weribee bound in the afternoon.
I’m not sure you understand the Altona loop… that means 3 stations wouldn’t have any service.
The Age reports a major new tram route is being planned for Melbourne’s south-east, from Caulfield station to Rowville via Chadstone shopping centre and Monash University Clayton campus. The Victorian Government will commit $3 million in the 2018-19 State Budget next month for planning and design of the future tram route.
Currently bus route 900 runs along Wellington Road and Princes Highway between Caulfield and Rowville, and a rail corridor has existed along Wellington Road since the 1969 Melbourne Transporation Plan. While the tram route should be completed before Melbourne Metro tunnel opens in 2026 (the state government has said a heavy rail line to Rowville cannot be built before then), I am not sure if trams will be more effective than trains. Apart from the cost of acquiring new trams, building a new depot and substations along the way, the tram line has to carry thousands of uni students and staff each day. And if the government is willing to build a new tram line to Rowville, why not extend tram route 3 from Darling Road to East Malvern station, as well as tram route 75 along Burwood Highway to Westfield Knox?
Election year, marginal seats, pork barrels.
I think what @melbournefan means is the line would always have service, but only in one direction at a specified time. I think it would make sense to do it that way, because I reckon the vast majority of Altona loop station users aren’t station hopping between Westona and Altona and Seaholme - they’d all be catching trains to stations outside the loop.
I think duplicating the track is a really bad idea. It would obviously cause huge disruption and cost megabucks to do.
What I think would be a good idea would be to make the Altona loop operate permanently in one direction, clockwise to minimise crossing points, with a new interchange station north-west of Laverton for Altona loop station users to transfer to trains heading south-west towards Werribee (loop trains would head citybound only) The Altona Loop stations are close enough that a local bus service would suffice for passengers wanting to travel against the direction of the loop.
Not necessarily. The proposed tram route will pass through these electorates (from west to east):
Caulfield (Liberal)
Malvern (Liberal)
Oakleigh (Labor)
Mulgrave (Labor - Daniel Andrews is local MP)
Rowville (Liberal)
Paisley could be re opened but at a great cost.
I think what should be done is that the train heads from NPT (Newport) then goes into the loop and terminates at Laverton and heads back via the main express line to NPT so it can start another service.
