2 months of disrupted trains on the Frankston Line after severe disruptions in 2019 sounds like a lot for customers to deal with.  Could these crossings have been removed during works for the Metro Tunnel or other crossing works at the same time?  

The piecemeal approach may not be the best way to work through the closures?

Construction blitz planned for Melbourne’s Frankston line

If they handled the the lengthy disruption in 2016, then a month less should be nothing more than a minor annoyance.

If they handled the the lengthy disruption in 2016, then a month less should be nothing more than a minor annoyance.

Do you think however this work should be bunched up into a single downtime window for each line?

Multiple closures for every line is going to be a problem no matter what because of how many crossings there are to be done.

The Auditor General did make a point about efficiencies in grouping works to minimise closures which is why we now see more than one crossing being done at a time for lines.

Do you think however this work should be bunched up into a single downtime window for each line?

Ideally yes. I'm currently stuck with a longer Sandringham line commute instead of my usual route.

I'll take what I can get though. Shutdowns aren't as annoying when they're planned and the end result is good.

If they handled the the lengthy disruption in 2016, then a month less should be nothing more than a minor annoyance.

Do you think however this work should be bunched up into a single downtime window for each line?

No.

It would take too many buses and drivers to be practicable.

Notice even in this shut how they did the long distance portion first, when loadings and road traffic were relatively light, allowing them to concentrate the buses on the shorter distance when loadings are heavier and journey times are longer due to increased road congestion.

8 weeks without a steel train for BHP that is a long time.

With Frankston And both Dandenong lines out of action, where are the extra services on the Sandringham Line. Had to migrate over there and it's the usual 15 minute off peak with no extra services at all including weekends. Trains are very packed in peak times and in off peak they are unusually packed as well.

Pretty ludicrous given the fact that last couple of summer's prior to this one, Metro bumped off peak nd weekend services to every 10 mins and peak hour to every 6 minutes. Same applied for the Glen Waverley Line although nothing seems to have been done.

Disappointing

With Frankston And both Dandenong lines out of action, where are the extra services on the Sandringham Line. Had to migrate over there and it's the usual 15 minute off peak with no extra services at all including weekends. Trains are very packed in peak times and in off peak they are unusually packed as well.

Pretty ludicrous given the fact that last couple of summer's prior to this one, Metro bumped off peak nd weekend services to every 10 mins and peak hour to every 6 minutes. Same applied for the Glen Waverley Line although nothing seems to have been done.

Disappointing

Is anyone surprised given the track record of both Metro & PTV in these matters. As more people start going back to work overcrowding on the Sandringham line will get worse & the rail replacement buses will get slower & more crowded. The last week of January will be the worst when schools start returning.

They could & should do better.

Absolutely.
Unfortunately, it sounds like you have 2 choices;
- use the car if you have one, or
- bend over and take it. It which case, by all the other works going on concurrently - you won’t be asked to cough.

Surprised they didn’t find something to do work on the Sandringham line at the same time????.

Regards

8 weeks without a steel train for BHP that is a long time.

Who bears the extra costs of road haulage on the BG leg during this shutdown?

• BHP (whatever they are called today)?
• Pacific National?

Or is this just good practice for road haulage on the BG section forever?

Suppose that depends on the siding space to pre load the plant and store the required in coming stuff to last the 8wks, and whatever’s processed awaiting departure for the same time?

Perhaps it’s coincidental with a maintenance shutdown of the plant at the same time?? Doubt it thou..

Regards

Coil is being delivered to Bluescope by ship during the Frankston line shutdown.

Coil is being delivered to Bluescope by ship during the Frankston line shutdown.

Bluescope must sometimes wish that they had never switched from ship to rail for the transport of coils from Port Kembla to Hastings. The logistics of using the line from Melbourne have been a nightmare with constant closures in recent years.

Even when all of the level crossing works at the southern end of the line have been completed in 2021 there are still the two crossings in Glenhuntly to come after that which will cause more extended closures.

Coil is being delivered to Bluescope by ship during the Frankston line shutdown.

Bluescope must sometimes wish that they had never switched from ship to rail for the transport of coils from Port Kembla to Hastings. The logistics of using the line from Melbourne have been a nightmare with constant closures in recent years.

Even when all of the level crossing works at the southern end of the line have been completed in 2021 there are still the two crossings in Glenhuntly to come after that which will cause more extended closures.

If that were the case Bluescope could quite easily switch back to sea - like they have for this closure. It's not like these closure events come as a surprise.

I can't remember when the coil traffic switched from sea to rail but I doubt whether they would have foreseen the years of endless disruption when they did. Ormond/McKinnon/Bentleigh was done by the Liberal government but none of the other projects were planned until after Labor came to power at the end of 2014.

I can't remember when the coil traffic switched from sea to rail but I doubt whether they would have foreseen the years of endless disruption when they did. Ormond/McKinnon/Bentleigh was done by the Liberal government but none of the other projects were planned until after Labor came to power at the end of 2014.

You can't claim Ormond/Mckinnon/Bentleigh done by Liberal government entirely. This goes into detail what Liberal's had done prior and what happened when the LXRA grade separation program by Labor started.

This is the situation the Liberal government left in 2014
Funding/Early planning
-> North Road Ormond
-> Blackburn Road Blackburn
-> Heatherdale Road Heatherdale
-> Main Road St Albans
-> Burke Road Gardiner

Very early preliminary studies
-> The 2 in Bayswater

PPP Arrangement
-> Dandenong upgrade which included 4 crossings and 5 potential

This is the situation in 2015 with Labor government and formation of LXRA (now LXRP)
First Package and tendered
-> Blackburn Road Blackburn
-> Heatherdale Road Heatherdale
-> Main Road St Albans
-> Furlong Road St Albans (Added on by Labor)

Second Package and tendered
-> Burke Road Gardiner
-> North Road Ormond
-> Centre Road Bentleigh (Added on by Labor)
-> Mckinnon road Mckinnon (Added on by Labor)

Bayswater Package
-> The 2 in Bayswater

Third Package
Scrapping the PPP arrangement and doing 9 crossings instead with elevated rail
Essentially this was entirely planned and constructed by Labor as they started from scrap.

Obviously after those early planned ones were done, the rest of the level crossing removals were entirely planned and constructed by Labor.

Is anyone surprised given the track record of both Metro & PTV in these matters. As more people start going back to work overcrowding on the Sandringham line will get worse & the rail replacement buses will get slower & more crowded. The last week of January will be the worst when schools start returning. ………………………….

The Moorabbin – Brighton Beach replacement buses (in addition to Arts Centre - limited express - Moorabbin) were only running on weekdays of last week, whilst the Frankston line was closed between Flinders Street and Moorabbin (in the fine print of the notification). Since it is now only closed between Flinders Street and Caulfield, the buses are only between the City and Caulfield. The Sandringham line itself is closed south of Elsternwick at times. A Route 67 tram between Elsternwick and Glenhuntly (10 – 15 mins) might be an alternative.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Uploads/NSB-disruptions/2020/01-January/451f5ffb22/Frankston-line-brochure-January.pdf