Here’s something I learnt yesterday: There’s a small town called Eucla, WA, near the SA border. Population: 53. Get this: It has its own timezone, which is halfway between Perth and Adelaide time. The ...

There’s a Wikipedia page “Commuter rail in Australia” which has a quick snapshot of the country’s heavy rail systems. (The term “commuter rail” is problematic. In a North American context it often ...

I’ve been trying to sort out the status of all the level crossings from the various lists. Some are fully funded, others are funded for planning, and some are merely promises/pledges from the ...

Remember a few months ago when I wrote about the next big train timetable change? That was originally expected in December, but got postponed due to delays completing works on the Ballarat line. The ...

As noted previously, Sydney does particularly well with its train network, in part due to better frequencies, and in part thanks to the train network serving the busiest centres – which seems to be ...

Here’s an update on the state of level crossing removals. I’ve done these lists before: 2020, 2018, 2017, 2014. They’re all based on the 2008 ALCAM list, which ranked Victoria’s level crossings by ...

This is the blog of Daniel Bowen. It’s been running on the web since about late-1996. (Posts going back to 1994 were pulled from the Toxic Custard mailing list. More information.) Over time it’s ...

Unlike here in Victoria, Transport For NSW regularly releases detailed patronage data. I was wondering how Sydney’s new light rail line (L2, CBD to Randwick, opened mid-December) is performing, so I ...

I took a quick look around Parkdale station on Saturday morning. It opened on Friday after works to remove two nearby level crossings. From the previous stop, Mentone, the line rises fairly quickly, ...

Some good coverage in The Age today of suburban train frequencies. These are some of the busiest suburban train stations in Melbourne, where travellers face twice the ...

Federal Labor is getting behind a “Trackless Tram” idea for a route from Caulfield via Chadstone and Monash Uni to Rowville, pledging $6 million for a business case if they win power next year. The ...

Remember the talk, almost a year ago now, of a shake-up to train timetables, prompted by the introduction of the new trains? These changes are now expected to take effect in mid-December, following on ...