I had a dream the other night that the Melbourne to Sydney train-line was fully functioning again. (Now I know, I must be going mad). I was on the first vline train, packed with people heading back to Melbourne, and there was applause in the air. A sense of great excitement. The motion was smooth, and I was watching the track as though I was in the cabin with the driver. The track was streaming out with blurred edges in front of me.
The train had to stop, however, because people were placing rusty old toy trucks, toy dumptrucks, in a line along the track. The train had to brake severely to avoid a tragic end, and I woke up. The symbolism is fairly obvious. Even in my dreams the darn train can’t get through.
The reason for the delay in re-opening the line above Seymour (just over an hour from Melbourne, heading north) is that apparently the contractors did not place enough ballast under the new tracks, and so they are unstable. Can you almost hear the quiet swearing from the old railway workers; the navvies must be spinning in their graves. The loss of knowledge and skill, so quickly, is quite terrifying, me thinks.
As many would know, the XPT train service still runs through to Sydney, once each way, always late in my experience, but the Devonshire tea helps to make up for that. Flash flooding at Wandong stopped the XPT too, in the big rain event we had almost a month ago. The computers were also down at Spencer St Southern Cross, due to leaking water, the ticket man said, and my ticket had to be written out manually. A gesture to the past. It took twice as long to get to my destination that day, via two buses, but under the circumstances the organised chaos was understandable.
Obviously, I really enjoy my vline train trips, with the engines named after different country towns. I remember ‘The city of Ballaarat’, with the lovely old spelling, being one of my escorts. Now the vline train stops and returns to Melbourne from Seymour, and a bus is needed to carry on North.
Originally, it was only going to take 18 months to replace the tracks. Recently, I overheard an elderly woman speculating on just how long it might all take now. “Another 8 months, a year? Who knows?”
I had a poignant train ride back from Seymour on the 7th of Feb, the 2 year anniversary of the Black Saturday fires. How different a summer this has been. Many of the dead and blackened trees are surrounded by the greenest grass, or draped in lush, climbing vines, but they have not recovered. They stand in brutal memory.
The train is still not running? Third world. Loss of technical knowledge is a real problem. I read the other day that part of the problem of maintaining Melbourne’s old W trams, is that there isn’t the knowledge or experience left within the maintenance staff. Sack the engineers and employ more accountants and this is what happens, but I am sure I don’t need to preach to you.
Hi Andrew, yep, the Vline service is still not running above Seymour. I agree with you whole-heartedly. It is Third World, and no doubt has been caused by the desire to save money to make more money. It is a worry regarding the W class trams. I hope they can come up with a positive solution, and not just retire them because it is all too much effort.
Saint John has a Station Street, but the Harbour Station was converted to an arena for hockey games and concerts years ago. The intercity bus routes have been reduced, as have the in-town routes. These days, the best way to arrive in Saint John without a car seems to be via a cruise ship, but only if you start your journey from New York City. Sigh.
Hi lavenderbay,
I wouldn’t mind arriving on a cruise-liner in grand style but really, how sad that so much of your public transport has been reduced. Well planned public transport makes so much sense. In Australia they have closed down many regional lines over the years too. Jayne has posted about that issue quite a bit. I imagine the Harbour Station must have been a lovely place to disembark.
We have the same problem in the U.S. — forced to use the highway in cars to reach destinations that used to be serviced by trains — barbara
Hi barbara,
Well, that is very sad too. The problem of closing down railroads is so widespread! Such a lack of foresight from different governments over the years, and a cynical promotion of oil consumption. Once the lines have gone, it seems no-one wants to pay to put them back.