Parramatta Stadium Rebuild and other stuff

[Suitman]

Central station upgrade update. Looks amazing.
Can't wait for the Metro to be up and running from Chatswood to Sydenham next year and then onwards to Bankstown.
It'll prove that not only do trains not need guards, but they don't need drivers as well.
Oh, but the RBTU will tell us it's all about safety. What a load of shit.
The NW Metro is killing it so far and has so much more room for massive passenger capacity increase.
The trains and platforms can take two extra carriages than what they currently are.
Frequency can be increased from the current every 4 mins to every two minutes.
It is called having a modern railway system catering to the demands of a quickly ever increasing major world city population. Not some 1970's antiquated unionised system to protect a few thousand jobs.

 

[Suitman]

Central Station’s grand underground cavern to open to Sydney commuters

ByMatt O'Sullivan
May 28, 2023 — 7.00pm

Central Station’s grand underground cavern to open to Sydney commuters​

A blaze that destroyed a building near Sydney’s Central Station has failed to derail the 4am opening on Monday of a massive new concourse.

www.smh.com.au

A blaze that engulfed a building near Sydney’s Central Station has failed to derail the planned 4am opening on Monday of a massive new concourse at the rail hub, part of a near $1.3 billion project that shifts underground the main point where commuters switch between trains.

While the huge fire has delayed the unveiling of a new eastern entrance to Central Station, transport officials are pushing ahead with the opening of the 140-metre north-south concourse located below existing train lines.

It significantly expands an underground interchange area for commuters and removes a rabbit warren of narrow passages at the station’s northern end.

Escalators link the underground north-south concourse to platforms for the Metro City and Southwest line. CREDIT: WOLTER PEETERS

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said Sydneysiders would be “surprised and impressed” by the underground concourse, which would make Central Station the “jewel in our transport network”.

“Great global cities of the world have central stations that people visit not only when they are going on a journey. Sydney’s Central will become of them,” she said. “People will love the light and space and also that there is a real Sydney feel to it – the sandstone and other historical references.”

Chiselled out of sandstone, the concourse creates an airport terminal-like hub and reorients the central core of Australia’s busiest station underground. Its floor features work by Melbourne artist Rose Nolan that resembles several running tracks.

The 27-metre-wide concourse is sandwiched between new metro train platforms deeper underground, and reinstated platforms 12-14 above. It also links to an 18-metre-wide concourse dubbed Central Walk, which has been opened in stages over the past six months.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen (left) with Transport for NSW acting secretary Howard Collins and Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan on the underground concourse of Central Station.
CREDIT: WOLTER PEETERS

cont. link ^^^

 

[emjaycee]

I'm so glad our new State Labour govt. delivered this wonderful transport solution.

 

[Twizzle]

Nice place for a flashmob

 

[the phantom menace]

Why Sydney will end up with three incompatible metro train lines

Sydney’s new driverless metro trains and stations will have key differences that mean the three lines will have trains that cannot be switched between them.

www.smh.com.au

Transport and planning consultant Alex Gooding said it was highly unusual for metro lines in the same city to be deliberately planned to be as different as the airport line was from both the Northwest and City and Southwest lines.

“We are building a system from the ground up, but the previous government appeared to have deliberately designed a range of incompatible features which makes no sense,” he said.

 

[eel01s]

More fabulous "planning" from the Libs!

 

[Delboy]

More fabulous "planning" from the Libs!

Of course, but then again as Labor never build anything let’s hammer the one that does. Bob Carr, Maurice Iemma annually announced the completion of the Sydney to Queensland dual carriageway and numerous train initiatives and what happened - nothing. But they were announced every budget.

For all the sins of the past govt and there were plenty, now being able to drive to QLD easily on decent freeway, use the completed Metro and the various Toll Roads ( expensive but at least they are available) , which likely would still be being promised is a good thing.

We can wait patiently for the used car salesman Premier to do something other than photo ops and twitter releases, govts are easy to criticise but should be grateful for accomplishments .

 

[Gronk]

 

[Suitman]

Geez, there's some numpties on here, falling for and only posting a headline from the Sydney Moaning Herald. The article actually goes on to explain why the previous govt slected different systems, and is quite damning of the current Sydney trains system, which is why the Libs went ahead and starting commissioning and building Metros.

Firstly, they use this quote -

“We are building a system from the ground up, but the previous government appeared to have deliberately designed a range of incompatible features which makes no sense,”
“Instead of getting one metro, we will end up with three distinct and, to varying degrees, incompatible systems,”

But then go on to explain why -

Sydney Metro said each line was designed to operate independently to ensure the highest reliability with train configurations to suit the customer requirements of the line. “Sydney Metro has a responsibility to procure rolling stock responsibly, driving optimal outcomes on price and safety for the benefit of taxpayers,” it said.

The agency said it ran competitive tender processes for each project to get the best outcome for taxpayers, which created resilience in the broader transport network and ensured passengers had access to the latest train technology and systems.

The design of the Metro Northwest and the City and Southwest lines was also influenced by the need to convert existing stretches of track such as the Epping-to-Chatswood rail line which, like the existing suburban rail network, operated on 1500-volt power.

Martin Locke, an adjunct professor at Sydney University’s institute of transport and logistics studies, said one of the rationales for opting for different train builders and consortia was to spark competition in the bidding process for the projects.

“The importance of having standalone metro lines has outweighed the perceived benefit of interoperability. It was designed to provide resilience and avoid the issues that Sydney Trains has had with timetable failures and a system that has been shown to be very fragile,” he said.

But finally -

The rail lines that make up Sydney’s existing suburban rail system are interwoven, which has frequently resulted in major incidents on one line causing significant delays to train services across the entire network.

The 3 Metro lines are independent of each other. They have 4 different stabling yards and the 3 lines will never be joined. That's the whole idea of having a Metro system. If one line goes down, it doesn't affect any of the others. But I'm sure you all knew that. It's impossible to transfer trains from one line to the other and this is intentional for a reason.
Carry on whinging though about the most amazing infrastructure building in this city since Bradfield in the 1920's/30's.

 

[Suitman]

Of course, but then again as Labor never build anything let’s hammer the one that does. Bob Carr, Maurice Iemma annually announced the completion of the Sydney to Queensland dual carriageway and numerous train initiatives and what happened - nothing. But they were announced every budget.

For all the sins of the past govt and there were plenty, now being able to drive to QLD easily on decent freeway, use the completed Metro and the various Toll Roads ( expensive but at least they are available) , which likely would still be being promised is a good thing.

We can wait patiently for the used car salesman Premier to do something other than photo ops and twitter releases, govts are easy to criticise but should be grateful for accomplishments .

The M1/Pacific Hwy has been fully funded by the Federal Govt of both persuasions as it is designated a National Highway.
I agree with all your other points though.

 

[Delboy]

The M1/Pacific Hwy has been fully funded by the Federal Govt of both persuasions as it is designated a National Highway.
I agree with all your other points though.

That may be true, but my point was that nothing was done to complete it under Carr and others despite announcements no matter who funded it, the concern is Minns will do nothing other than sort of virtue signalling and smiling for the adoring media.

Failing to build infrastructure is not going to help the State get ahead, more bureaucrats and red tape is not the answer.

 

[Suitman]

That may be true, but my point was that nothing was done to complete it under Carr and others despite announcements no matter who funded it,

And that's why I said I agree with all your other points.

 

[hindy111]

Central station upgrade update. Looks amazing.
Can't wait for the Metro to be up and running from Chatswood to Sydenham next year and then onwards to Bankstown.
It'll prove that not only do trains not need guards, but they don't need drivers as well.
Oh, but the RBTU will tell us it's all about safety. What a load of shit.
The NW Metro is killing it so far and has so much more room for massive passenger capacity increase.
The trains and platforms can take two extra carriages than what they currently are.
Frequency can be increased from the current every 4 mins to every two minutes.
It is called having a modern railway system catering to the demands of a quickly ever increasing major world city population. Not some 1970's antiquated unionised system to protect a few thousand jobs.

Upgrading train networks are the way to go moving forward. You can move a lot of people and fast. I think the Parramatta light rail opens soon. I'd love to see more of these installed and linked to main stations from housing estates.

 

[Bandwagon]

That may be true, but my point was that nothing was done to complete it under Carr and others despite announcements no matter who funded it,

That's just patently false mate, it's been a work in progress literally for decades, and a good many sections were completed / started under Carr.

TBH i don't think it'll ever be "completed", but rather will continue to be upgraded and evolve, which is probably as it should be.

 

[eel01s]

Suitman resorting to name calling to defend the Libs! In their never-ending quest to privatise every piece of infrastructure that we should own, the Libs made sure each line is a separate entity, not compatible with other sections of rail.

Look how well this system works with toll roads!

 

[emjaycee]

Look how well this system works with toll roads!

Serious question, apart from the cost, what is the issue with toll roads?
I can drive on any toll road on the East Coast of Australia and use my toll pass without think about whether I will get a letter in the mail telling me I owe someone somewhere some money.

 

[Eelogical]

Hey @Suitman

 

[Twizzle]

I used to rock the Family Inn back in the day, played on stage there many nights too

used to be a Wednesday night hang out for us beach bums

 

[Eelogical]

I used to rock the Family Inn back in the day, played on stage there many nights too

used to be a Wednesday night hang out for us beach bums

I'd have taken you as a Bondi Lifesavers or Royal Antler sort of merkin.

 

[Suitman]

Hey @Eelogical

I had beers at The Family Hotel the weekend before last. The first time in about 15 years.
There was a good reason for being there and it's a long story.
In brief, I was there showing a lovely young English girl who's her mum (a friend of myself and my mates) used to drink at while her mum lived here in Oz 20 years ago.
The Family is just a basic, rundown pub nowadays, but it brought back memories for me seeing Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil and The Angels and others, in their heyday.
Crazy nights they were back then.
Pretty sad that the live music scene is fairly lame these days.