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Speed
Chief Commissioner
Joined: Mar 19, 2007
Last Visited: Nov 23, 2008
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:55 pm
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Apparently one of the Bumblebees derailed this morning, presumably leaving the depot.
Yarra trams reports:
| Quote: | Service changes are in place on Route 109 (Box Hill - Port Melbourne) today, Monday 27 October. There are no trams operating in both directions between Clarendon Street and Normanby Road (stop 125) and Montague Street (stop 126).
Yarra Trams Customer Service staff are at each stop to assist passengers. For train, tram and bus information please call 131 638. Yarra Trams apologises for any inconvenience these service changes may cause. |
http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-39/44_read-1604
The Age reports that this is a major disruption.
| Quote: | Yarra Trams spokeswoman Katie Maynes said an out-of-service tram came off the rails about 8am, disrupting the Box Hill to Port Melbourne route.
The tram is part of the Citadis fleet, hired from France in a $10 million deal to help meet booming passenger numbers.
The Southbank depot tram stop has been closed since this morning, with commuters either walking about 10 minutes between the Montague Street and Clarendon Street stops or catching a shuttle bus.
Ms Maynes said it was hoped the route would be cleared in time for peak hour. "It's hard to tell when it will be cleared but we hope it will be soon,'' she said.
Ms Maynes said Yarra Trams would investigate why the tram came off the tracks, but there was not believed to be a particular problem with the French fleet at this stage. |
http://www.theage.com.au/national/major-delays-after-tram-derailment-20081027-59iu.html
I saw at least one Bumblebee running happily along route 96 in the middle of the day but didn't make anything of it at the time so I didn't note its number.
Would this also mean that route 109 Citadis trams went to St Kilda?
PS: The Age's traffic report article advises that the delay was not cleared in time for peak hour.
| Quote: | The Southbank depot tram was expected to remain out of operation until at least 5.30pm while workers continued to try and get the Citadis tram off the tracks. The problem was cleared about 5pm.
Shuttle buses that were ferrying commuters between Montague and Clarendon streets have now finished, with the buses required on their normal services.
A Yarra Trams spokesman said most commuters would have to walk the 10 minutes between the stops but a mini-bus would be on hand for elderly passengers and those with special needs. |
http://www.theage.com.au/national/tram-delays-after-derailment-20081027-59la.html
Last edited by Speed on Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Westernport
Junior Train Controller
Joined: Nov 02, 2006
Last Visited: Nov 22, 2008
Location: wherever Westernport takes me
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:25 pm
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i heard that apparently route 109 was diverted down the 96 and shunted back at St. Kilda Station... but im not exactly sure if that occured..
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S308
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Joined: May 20, 2008
Last Visited: Nov 19, 2008
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:56 pm
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The rear 3 sections of 5123 came off the tracks while heading out of the Port Melbourne side of the depot. It came to rest directly on top of the Montague St bridge, making it hard for both heavy lifting equipment and manual jacks to get under the tram. There appeared to be some scuff marks on the panels where they came in contact with the rails or the bridge itself.
If was towed off the bridge by 3pm.
Have pics will post later.
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Polar Tiger
Deputy Commissioner
Joined: Jan 06, 2004
Last Visited: Nov 23, 2008
Location: Melbourne
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:01 pm
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One wheel on the centre bogie derailed and both on the trailing bogie.
The trailing one was rerailed at 1330, B 2032 then towed 5123 a short distance towards Montague platform to ensure the centre bogie was clear of the bridge girder. Rerailing was complete at 1640 and the tram was driven into the depot, the panel damage appeared to be confined to the right hand side of modules 1 and 2 (facing city), one glass door window also shattered.
During the afternoon route 109's heading to Port Melbourne carried pax only to Port Jnc, they then ran special to the x over at Middle Park to shunt and return to Box Hill. This allowed trams to maintain their running schedules throughout. A couple of trams provided a shuttle between Montague and Port Melbourne and two buses helped ferry pax between Montague and Port Jnc.
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sas85
Deputy Commissioner
Joined: Nov 19, 2006
Last Visited: Nov 23, 2008
Location: 9km 000m in the Mile End to Belair section
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:05 am
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| The Age wrote: | | The Southbank depot tram was expected to remain out of operation until at least 5.30pm while workers continued to try and get the Citadis tram off the tracks |
I thought the aim would have been to get the tram back on the tracks.
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route14
Chief Commissioner
Joined: Dec 28, 2006
Last Visited: Nov 23, 2008
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:16 am
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Well, onto the tracks and off the mainline.
Not the black cat
nor the white cat
but the right cat
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bramt
Chief Train Controller
Joined: Aug 30, 2006
Last Visited: Nov 23, 2008
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:25 am
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Apparently the union doesn't like the Bumblebees:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/union-slams-new-trams-20081027-59ta.html
Don't see what they are complaining about, its not as though any significant money has been spent, they are hiring them till 2011, not buying them.
Why should there be any problem with curves? Each module is shorter than a Z or half a B, so shouldnt it be able to actually make tighter turns than Z/A/Bs? The only problem I can think of is wheel profile, but that would have been lathed already if necessary.
Seems like a silly argument anyway, it didnt derail on a curve!
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xtrap_heaven
Chief Train Controller
Joined: Aug 19, 2007
Last Visited: Nov 23, 2008
Location: Melbourne's Train Network
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:35 am
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Heaps of other trams derail... and they don't get taken out of service... I don't really understand what they are on about by saying that the trams should never have come. 
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Polar Tiger
Deputy Commissioner
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Location: Melbourne
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:17 am
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It did derail on a curve, the one connecting Southbank depot's west gate to the mainline.
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route14
Chief Commissioner
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:43 am
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| bramt wrote: | Why should there be any problem with curves? Each module is shorter than a Z or half a B, so shouldnt it be able to actually make tighter turns than Z/A/Bs? The only problem I can think of is wheel profile, but that would have been lathed already if necessary.
Seems like a silly argument anyway, it didnt derail on a curve! |
For bogie trams you've only got to negotiate the length of curve that the length of a bogie covers.
Not the black cat
nor the white cat
but the right cat
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Natronomonas
Train Controller
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:24 am
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| Quote: | "They are trying to blame the driver for this stupid tram they have brought from overseas," Mr Di Gregorio said.
When it derailed, the tram was meant to be in shunting mode, meaning it could only travel at 7 km/h. |
Judging by those two comments in the article, the tram was not in shunting mode, and they are blaming the driver. So the union protests... perhaps rightly, if the trams really are that difficult, perhaps not, sometimes people do make mistakes.
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bramt
Chief Train Controller
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:17 am
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So it was running out bang road from the depot?
Is this because trams can only enter/exit the SW end of the depot from the up track?
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Polar Tiger
Deputy Commissioner
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Location: Melbourne
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:23 am
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Yes.
| bramt wrote: | So it was running out bang road from the depot?
Is this because trams can only enter/exit the SW end of the depot from the up track? |
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Speed
Chief Commissioner
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:29 pm
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The Age quotes the union as saying that a Bumblebee couldn't negotiate the corners to get to Coburg.
Is this a non-sequitur because the trams were hired expressly for route 96?
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Speed
Chief Commissioner
Joined: Mar 19, 2007
Last Visited: Nov 23, 2008
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:55 pm
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Let's have a letter from today's Age.
| Quote: | Sting in the tale of the bumblebees
YOUR story ("Union slams new trams", The Age, 28/10) on the millions wasted on the "bumblebee" trams gives yet another ridiculous example of the State Government's lack of political will when it comes to public transport. Road projects are funded at will and built ahead of schedule, but anything to do with public transport has years of delay, technical hitches, cost over-runs and just plain old incompetence.
Privatising the system has been a failure, except that it allows the Government to hide behind the operators and avoid responsibility. Incredibly, this Government is retendering the contracts with lower performance targets and softer penalties. This is an irresponsible waste of public money, yet the Opposition is silent. Only the Greens are standing up for the public interest and demanding the return of the system to public control.
Melbourne faces a huge challenge in adapting to climate change and oil scarcity. We should be building new railways to service the outer suburbs. This is achievable and is not beyond our means, but the political will has gone missing.
Instead we have a lazy Government content to deliver a third-rate service to commuters but a first-class pay cheque to the operators.
John Cox, Fitzroy |
This seems analogous to blaming Connex for the Oakleigh derailment except that Yarra Trams had a say in hiring the Bumblebees.
I can understand that the public will be dissatisfied by the reductions in punctuality incentives but I can understand also that you need to place incentives in areas that are achievable. Blaming privatisation for capacity problems distracts from the issue of making improvements that could solve those problems.
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