Well Mike, your testimony certainly highlights the hiring criteria that the executive search firm was given when they found Mr. Pinder...

Sounds like Mr Pinder said Mildura trains never again - a cost of $1 billion and no improvement in travel times?

Makes the experience of one of our drivers earlier this week easier to understand.

His train (evening down) got away 10 minutes late due to the standard "all too hard". He followed a spark to Sydenham (fair enough), then was put away into the centre track at Sunbury, to wait for the following Kyneton (stopping all stations) to overtake. Then to wait for the 19:02 Bendigo to overtake, also all stations. Eventually got underway close to an hour late, got delayed at Gisborne and Woodend waiting line clear, but still had to run via the loop at Ravenswood (to keep the rails clean to assure the track circuits work; apparently those axle counters are troublesome).

And goodness knows what the passengers (sorry, customers) travelling to Gisborne, Woodend and Kyneton thought about watching not just one but two following trains overtake, when they could have gotten home so much earlier if only they had missed their train!

Arrived into Swan Hill 55 late, to now connect with the Mildura bus. Which would have had issues returning to Swan Hill for the morning up departure, as they are close to the mark if all goes well. That bus is always full, by the way; people without bookings regularly get refused as they are full.

Any wonder the boss doesn't want to use the service he is in charge of!

' He also said he knows nothing of V/Line before the RRL which is understandable. '
Disappointing - some knowledge of history could not be other than an advantage.

Sounds like Mr Pinder said Mildura trains never again - a cost of $1 billion and no improvement in travel times?

That's fine...if that was the answer to the question I asked...which it wasn't. Please read what I wrote and asked.

Mike.

Makes the experience of one of our drivers earlier this week easier to understand.

His train (evening down) got away 10 minutes late due to the standard "all too hard". He followed a spark to Sydenham (fair enough), then was put away into the centre track at Sunbury, to wait for the following Kyneton (stopping all stations) to overtake. Then to wait for the 19:02 Bendigo to overtake, also all stations. Eventually got underway close to an hour late, got delayed at Gisborne and Woodend waiting line clear, but still had to run via the loop at Ravenswood (to keep the rails clean to assure the track circuits work; apparently those axle counters are troublesome).

And goodness knows what the passengers (sorry, customers) travelling to Gisborne, Woodend and Kyneton thought about watching not just one but two following trains overtake, when they could have gotten home so much earlier if only they had missed their train!

Arrived into Swan Hill 55 late, to now connect with the Mildura bus. Which would have had issues returning to Swan Hill for the morning up departure, as they are close to the mark if all goes well. That bus is always full, by the way; people without bookings regularly get refused as they are full.

Well done V Line - you couldn't organise blowflies into a country dunny after a picnic race meeting.

Sounds like Mr Pinder said Mildura trains never again - a cost of $1 billion and no improvement in travel times?

That's fine...if that was the answer to the question I asked...which it wasn't. Please read what I wrote and asked.

Mike.

I'm not going to waste precious seconds of my life reading dribble that you've written about Mildura trains.

Here you are yet again pushing this corpse called the Vinelander... a train that's been dead for nearly thirty years and has zero chance of coming back. Any opportunity you have you drag out the mummified corpses of this long gone train as if it has a realistic chance of coming back to life.

Just let it go.

I'm not going to waste precious seconds of my life reading dribble that you've written about Mildura trains.

So you say, but you keep on doing it.

I'm not going to waste precious seconds of my life reading dribble that you've written about Mildura trains.

So you say, but you keep on doing it.

Hey, I've lost count of the number of times you've said you're going to ignore me - and yet here we are. It's alright, I know you're totally enamored with my every word; I'm just so fascinating you can't stay away.

You've got my permission to talk about the Vlinelander too if you like.

Hey, I've lost count of the number of times you've said you're going to ignore me

Well, Don, when you stick your neck out that far, nobody could resist the temptation to reach for the headsman's axe.

Hey, I've lost count of the number of times you've said you're going to ignore me

Well, Don, when you stick your neck out that far, nobody could resist the temptation to reach for the headsman's axe.

Well Valvegear we all know that I'm only jealous of your superior intellect and verve. While we're here do you have any comment about the Vinelander train as per the title of the thread? I think it's a delightful feature of my time here on Railpage how some people drag its corpse around flopping it out at every opportunity... its like the hilarious cinematic romp Weekend at Bernie's... remember that one? Very classy film, I'm sure you would have seen it.

Vinelander doesn't care that the mummified corpse has long since past it, he makes sure that it still makes regular appearances here at Railpage to frighten children and show them in an educational sense what a relatively recently extinct uneconomical train looked like.

The Vinelander (train; not contributor) is dead, buried, and decomposing.

The Vinelander (train; not contributor) is dead, buried, and decomposing.

Don't worry, in the next few months there'll be an article on the Sunraysia Daily about bringing it back and once again the mummified corpse of the Vinelander will be sprayed with Febreeze and paraded around.

The Vinelander (train; not contributor) is dead, buried, and decomposing.

Don't worry, in the next few months there'll be an article on the Sunraysia Daily about bringing it back and once again the mummified corpse of the Vinelander will be sprayed with Febreeze and paraded around.

Yes...I'll be only too happy to share that story in here.

Naturally, you are not obligated to read it.

Mike.

The Vinelander (train; not contributor) is dead, buried, and decomposing.

Don't worry, in the next few months there'll be an article on the Sunraysia Daily about bringing it back and once again the mummified corpse of the Vinelander will be sprayed with Febreeze and paraded around.

Yes...I'll be only too happy to share that story in here.

Naturally, you are not obligated to read it.

Mike.

I don't have to read it to be able to smell it.

Where do you get an $80 flight to Mildura; one-way or otherwise?

Where do you get an $80 flight to Mildura; one-way or otherwise?

I've been look at flights to Kingscote (Kangaroo Island) to visit an old friend but they're consistently the same price - around $148 each way but peak times are more expensive, up to $220 each way. Admittedly there's not a lot of competition on those routes and the cost of taking the car on the ferry plus me not wanting to drive those rubbish K.I. roads means that being picked up from the airport is my only option.

With the Overland  due to depart it's time to ramp up tourism in Western Victoria. Between Geelong and St Arnaud there are 16 FL crossings 38 BB crossings and 3 Hwy crossings. $500,000 for BB? with 3 flyovers  that is not alot of money. Extend to Mildura gradually opening up tourism along the ways. This Pinder bloke why always English first language expert's and not Dutch!!

What is a BB & FL crossings?
Whatever,  it is a lot of money for 1 train a day and there is no and will not be a passenger train on the Mildura line for all your tourists.

What is a BB & FL crossings?
Whatever,  it is a lot of money for 1 train a day and there is no and will not be a passenger train on the Mildura line for all your tourists.

Big Boobs.....ahh I mean  Bell & Booms, possibly......

BigShunter.

What is a BB & FL crossings?
Whatever,  it is a lot of money for 1 train a day and there is no and will not be a passenger train on the Mildura line for all your tourists.

Big Boobs.....ahh I mean  Bell & Booms, possibly......

BigShunter.

I think he's talking about protected and unprotected railway crossings - at a guess.

What is a BB & FL crossings?

Boom Barriers and Flashing Lights, presumably.

yawn (again)

Can't see the yawn when Libs want to return  the  Donald pass as  stated last year in September.They promise 32 million should do all the level crossings then overpasses on hwys are  more coin. The 2016 census  has Donald FT 302 PT 207 UN 25. St Anaurd FT 459 PT 358 UN 58. Maryborough FT 1361 PT 1061 UN 223 then regions. A two hour service to Ballarat making it a location for work , leisure ,tourism,school, sport and Music. There where 1.1 million Chinese tourists in Victoria's bush during 2017. They like pink maybe Donald and Daisy Duck Disney Land in ....Donald..eg FT full-time PT part-time UN notime and some people work off country too.

Can someone please translate the above post for me. The liberal party , chinese tourists in the bush and Daisy Duck in Donald all in one post?