I think that Trestle Bridge and Wattle Glen is heritage listed and can not be demolished
The Victorian Government has announced it will provide $50 million in next weekās State Budget for a planning study in a high speed rail line between Melbourne and Geelong. So it basically concedes the Regional Rail Link, which was only built in the last decade, has reached capacity and a separate rail line to Geelong is now needed. Given the limited land available in both cities, I reckon most of the new line will have to be built as tunnels or in trenches.
The existing line is basically dead straight. Why not just add another track pair? Iām sure high speed trains could easily run along there for not a great deal of expenditure.
I would imagine the biggest issue would be getting the trains into the Melbourne CBD, which will probably be solved with a tunnel from near Newport to Flinders Street or something.
Thatās no easy feat, nor can high speed rail lines just ābe builtā next to existing track. There are obvious alignment issues and slope grade standards, plus you have to accommodate for allowing both existing network and the future HSR to bypass each other at times.
Itās not a simple procedure and could end up being just as costly as installing a second alignment. Plus a second alignment might provide a new growth corridor for development.
Another issue is lack of platforms in Melbourne CBD. Southern Cross has 10 platforms for country and interstate trains (1-8 and 15-16). Will the Geelong high speed trains forced to share platforms with normal slower trains or will new platforms have to be built?
Perhaps the trains on 15-16 could be integrated into 1-8 in order to accommodate the high speed trainsā¦or could they even terminate in the new metro tunnel system somewhere?
Platform 15-16 are needed for V/Line trains on the Gippsland line as platform 1-7 are dead-end platforms for trains to northern and western Victoria.
I can not see diesel trains allowed in a new metro tunnel that has underground stations.
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There is talk of any high speed rail to Geelong being electric. That said, V/Line diesel trains have run through the city loop after being misdirected so ventilation isnāt an issue there. Works trains are also diesel hauled.
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Okay didnāt read the full story I was assuming it was also diesel, so whats happening with the current Vline services that goes past Geelong heading towards Warrnambool
The V/Line service to Warrnambool is run by a diesel locomotive and will continue to be the case.
The future Melbourne Airport rail link will almost certainly be electric. And if the line goes even further north to Clarkefield to join the Bendigo line as I previously suggested, then the Bendigo trains running through the tunnel will either have to be electric trains or new generation diesel-electric railcars like those running in the UK.
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Todayās Victorian State Budget reveals the government will allocate $572 million for the duplication of Cranbourne line. The move is well overdue. Since the line was electrified in 1995, population in the region has boomed and the existing peak services to Melbourne (4 trains between 7am and 8am and 3 trains between 8am and 9am) canāt cope with demand. Metro canāt add more trains because of the single track section between Dandenong South and Cranbourne.
I hope the future duplication of the Cranbourne line will include removals of remaining level crossings on the line, namely Greens Road in Dandenong and Camms Road in Cranbourne. If the line is extended to Cranbourne East, then the crossings at High Street and Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road will need to be removed as well.
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Well the Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road(Cameron St) Cranbourne Raillway will be removed. That is the worse railway crossing to go over as your car bottoms out on the end of the crossing .
This weekās Federal Budget will allocate $225 million for the electrification and duplication of the rail line between Frankston and Baxter in Melbourneās outer south east, and it will (and should) mean major changes for the Stony Point line. At present it is a single track line between Frankston, Baxter, Hastings and Stony Point, run by V/Line diesel railcars leased by Metro. Because there is no maintenance facility at Frankston, at the end of each dayās service the railcars have to travel all the way along the Frankston line back to North Melbourne for maintenance and cleaning. So if the Frankston line is interrupted by any reason (like major works such as level crossing removals and the reconstruction of Frankston station) buses will have to replace trains on the Stony Point line. If and when the section between Frankston and Baxter is electrified and duplicated, the Victorian Government should consider building a small maintenance facility for the railcars next to Metro Trains depot at either Seaford or Baxter, so Stony Point services can continue while there are any interruptions on the Frankston/Baxter line. The frequency of Stony Point line needs to be increased too, from an average one train per hour to one every 30 minutes.
So they donāt keep them down there like the old mth cars and A class loco?
Iād be surprised if Baxter to Stony Point continued as a diesel service. May as well just put the wires up to Hastings and call it a day.
I feel the Victorian Government will have to decide the future of the rest of Stony Point line when the electrification to Baxter goes ahead.
Iāll be very interested in the detail of the Geelong to Warun Ponds duplication. Iāve seen it floated previously as just being South Geelong to Warun Ponds - because of how narrow the corridor is between Geelong and South Geelong.
If it is to be duplicated from Geelong to Waurn Ponds, it will have to involve building a second tunnel next to the existing one, as well as removal of at least three level crossings, at McKillop Street just outside the tunnel and at Kilgour Street and Yarra Street.
Thereās no longer dedicated stock for the Stony Point run since about 2008, with Sprinters being run down from North Melbourne/Southern Cross each day as @JohnsonTV explained
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Iām aware of that, surprised they canāt or arenāt stabled at Frankston.