While waiting for a train, I finally had time to look around the recently-opened new concourse at Epping Station, which is which is currently being upgraded.

It’s nice, spacious and very modern-looking, using plenty of glass of course. For a template mass-produced station design, I think you can do worse than what the is being rolled out across the CityRail network.

I took some photos of the next train indicators on the concourse, including one which is currently unused. I imagine it will will eventually show trains running via the Epping to Chatswood Rail Line.

Also have a look at the close-up of the stopping pattern diagram for “City via Strathfield” services. Notice where it says trains continue to after travelling past North Sydney? Under the taped-over bit is “& Macquarie Park”.

That’s consistent with speculation that once the Epping to Chatswood Rail Line opens, at least some Northern Line trains will travel to/from City via either the ECRL or Strathfield and then continue back to Hornsby via the other path in a loop.

That’s pretty fucking cool… can you imagine travelling just under 160 m every second? This smashes the previous record of 515.3 km/h set by an earlier TGV set in 1990, and they even came somewhat close to the ultimate rail speed record of 581 km/h set by the Japanese experimental MLX01 maglev train. Maglev is very cool technology too, but I still think conventional rail wins out on sheer excitement factor when you’re thinking about hurtling along at those speeds that close to the ground hoping you don’t come off the rails!

The TGV used to be the train system I loved as a kid and always went on about, despite the fact that I have never been to France. Having said that though, since my Japan trip I fell in love with the Shinkansen even more, with it’s incredible punctuality and otherwise sheer perfectness. Even Guillaume Peppy, the CEO of SNCF, the French national railway company that runs the TGV, admitted in the latest issue of International Rail Journal that reliability for a TGV Duplex train is still “60 times worse than Shinkansen reliability”!

SNCF will begin services along part of the new LGV Est Européenne linking Paris and Strasbourg in June this year — even if it’s “only” at 320 km/h!

An official video of the record-breaking is now up as well on the official website (see link below). Click the link on the left in the blue circle on the left to watch the video. Trust me, it’s worth your while (just ignore the bad commentary). It’s amazing how bloody fast that looks when it passes bridges and kicks up a cloud of dust behind it!

Watch the video: French Excellence in Very High Speed Rail: Alstom, RFF, SNCF

Upon the opening of the Westlink M7 Motorway on 16 Dec 2005, we expected Metroad 7 to be re-signed as the first alphanumeric route, A7/M7 and re-routed along the Westlink M7. However, just about no signage updates were done off the M7 itself and it looked like Metroad 7 signage was here to stay along the Cumberland Highway — until now.

Yesterday, I noticed signage along the M2 Motorway had been updated with coverplates! Changes I noticed:

• All references to “[MR7] Pennant Hills Rd” along the M2 have been changed to “[MR6] [MR7] Pennant Hills Rd” with coverplates on all the westbound RD, AD and ID signs
• The M7 route shield has been added alongside the Metroad 2 shield on AD signs west of the Beecroft Rd interchange
• All references to “Liverpool” and “Canberra” at the Pennant Hills Rd interchange heading westbound have had blank coverplates installed to cover them
• Signs on Pennant Hills Rd at the M2 interchange have been replaced, with focal points of “Blacktown” and “Canberra” on the westbound ID signs with the shields “[MR2] M7″ (they used to say “Blacktown” and “Windsor”)
• Signs pointing southbound down Pennant Hills Rd have had “[MR6]” coverplated over “[MR7]” and focal points of “Liverpool” deleted

While I only travelled the M2 between Pennant Hills Rd and Epping Rd today, I’m guessing similar changes have been made all along the M2. Here are some quick and dirty flash photos from the intersection taken on my way home:

IDs at the top of the westbound off-ramp from the M2 — “Liverpool” and the southbound Metroad 7 shield are under coverplates

New ID sign facing southbound Pennant Hills Rd traffic turning right onto the M2 Motorway

This must all have occurred within the past day as it had not been there when I passed by on Wednesday (21 Dec 2005). These changes are significant in that they mark two things:

• Metroad 6 has been extended north from the Pennant Hills Rd/Marsden Rd intersection to the Pennant Hills Rd/M2 interchange
• Presumably, Metroad 7 no longer exists south of the Pennant Hills Rd/M2 interchange (or at least, signage marking that route has started to disappear) and the whole route now exists as just the M7 route number for most of its length

I must say, the coverplating job seems to have been done very well. Sure, the background colours are slightly off, but all the shields seem to be just the right size and it’s been done comprehensively — I didn’t see a single sign they missed out on.

Haha, how exciting! (All this fuss over some signs… I guess I’m really a roadgeek, huh? ;))

[Update 2005-12-24: It seems at the Pennant Hills Rd/M2 interchange it's in fact only those two ID and their backs that have been updated! Just my luck to spot only those...

On a drive down last night I noticed that all the ADs and stack signs further away from the intersection do not have M7 or Metroad 6 listed at all and have not had the westbound focal points updated. Furthermore, between there and the Pennant Hills Rd/Marsden Rd intersection nothing has been coverplated at all.

How disappointing! :cry:]

M2 E-toll Lanes

In other news, I think Transurban have installed and have been testing the actual tolling equipment to be mounted on the new overhead E-toll gantries at the M2 Motorway toll plaza. On Monday (19 Dec 2005) week I noticed signs put up telling motorists that their tags may beep when passing under the gantries, although those signs were nowhere to be seen today.

[For other entries about the new E-toll lanes, try browsing all posts tagged with both M2 Motorway and electronic tolling.]

It was obviously a dumb idea to be out given how hot it was, but especially so since I was driving our old Volvo 240GL, which no longer has working air-conditioning. Oh well, at least I took some photos.

Old Windsor Rd (Metroad 2)

1. Looking north along Old Windsor Rd at Bella Vista — notice the road’s old alignment among the trees on the left (enlarge)

2. Northbound AD on Old Windsor Rd at the intersection with Sunnyholt Rd and Burns Rd — what’s under the covered patch for Burns Rd? (enlarge)

[Update: Sam Laybutt explains what's under the patch -- "It says 'Heavy Vehicle Detour' because until Old Windsor Rd was duplicated between Sunnyholt Rd and Windsor Rd there was a 5t load limit on the bridge over the creek just north of what is now Samantha Riley Dr. Overweight vehicles were detoured via Burns Rd and Windsor Rd."]

Old Windsor Rd has been duplicated in recent years as part of the NSW Government’s ‘All the Way to Windsor’ program for upgrading Old Windsor Rd and Windsor Rd to provide at least four lanes from Parramatta through to McGraths Hill, near Windsor.

It is ironic that between Parramatta and the intersection with Windsor Rd near Kellyville Ridge, Old Windsor Rd now carries the bulk of traffic north from the City and Parramatta — not the newer Windsor Rd. Old Windsor Rd has carried the Metroad 2 designation since the M2 Motorway opened in 1997 and is actually a more direct route than Windsor Rd, which weaves its way through Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill while covering the same distance heading north from Parramatta.

Windsor Rd (State Route 40)

Windsor Rd is now being upgraded too. I got some photos today of the works leading up to the new intersection of Windsor Rd and Old Windsor Rd, where Windsor Rd is no longer the through route.

3. View north-west from Macquarie Ave towards the intersection of Windsor Rd and Old Windsor Rd — work is underway to duplicate Whitehart Bridge over Caddies Ck near the intersection (enlarge)

4. View south-east from Macquarie Ave showing construction work underway to upgrade Windsor Rd towards Castle Hill (enlarge)

Windsor Rd at Rouse Hill (Metroad 2, State Route 40)

Windsor Rd continues north from the intersection with Old Windsor Rd at Kellyville Ridge. It has been upgraded to four lane, dual-carriageway through to beyond Rouse Hill. Here one of the more unusual intersections along that stretch.

5. Looking east along Rouse Rd towards the intersection with Windsor Rd — note the huge left turn deviation, which ends at a traffic light (not a ‘Turn left at any time with care’ setup)… kind of like channelisation from the 1960s? (enlarge)

North-West Bus Transitway (T-way)

The North-West Transitway is a rapid bus-only road network being built connecting Parramatta and Blacktown to Rouse Hill. It will run along the eastern side of Windsor Rd between Rouse Hill and Kellyville, after which it will continue to Parramatta along Old Windsor Rd and to Blacktown via Sunnyholt Rd.

Construction is underway along much of the corridor, and land can be seen reserved for the T-way on sections where construction is yet to commence. Bus services are expected to start running in Dec 2007.

6. The North-West T-way will run along the eastern side of Windsor Rd, seen here just south of Commercial Rd, Rouse Hill (view facing south) (enlarge)

7. Empty land leading away from the T-way corridor (enlarge)

A shared pedestrian and cycle path will run alongside the North-West T-way and eventually maybe even an above-ground section of the seemingly forever-delayed North-West Rail Link (NWRL). Is all that vacant land reserved is for this? Or is it just luck that it happens to be empty at present? (It’s been widely reported that the NSW Government has failed to acquire land for the NWRL and parts of the proposed corridor have already been built on.)

Westlink M7 interchange with Old Windsor Rd

Lastly, in the sweltering heat I trekked through the grass near the Westlink M7 interchange with Old Windsor Rd to take a few photos. It was obviously stupid to do it in this weather, but I knew I probably wouldn’t be here again for a while.

The Westlink M7 will link to the M2 Motorway to the east of Old Windsor Rd, but the M2 already terminates at Old Windsor Road just south of this interchange. Will motorists pay $0.51 (due to increase every quarter) to the travel 1.71 km along the M7 to its first exit? How much time will really be saved by bypassing the single set of traffic lights at Seven Hills Rd?

8. Southbound AD on Old Windsor Rd near the Westlink M7, partially covered up — although the covering’s falling off and the E-toll symbols can now be seen (enlarge)

9. Closeup of the AD — under the coverplate for Metroad 2 is actually route number A40 (as photographed by Sam Laybutt before it was coverplated)… note that State Route 40 currently runs via Windsor Rd, not Old Windsor Rd (enlarge)

10. View south towards the M7 — and endless temporary lane markings (enlarge)

11. Notice what’s displayed on the VMS: “Use Public Transport” — pretty ironic, huh? (it’s actually talking about the upcoming FIFA World Cup play-offs) (enlarge)

12. The Commonwealth Government wouldn’t fully fund this National Highway corridor (this was pre-Auslink), but they still erected signs gloating about partially funding it (enlarge this photo; closeup of just the sign)

13. Work underway on the eastbound viaduct — notice the two panels missing from the noise barriers… I hope they didn’t fall down over Old Windsor Rd! (enlarge)

14. Onramp to the M7 eastbound from Old Windsor Rd, looking wide enough to carry two lanes — no markings or signs are here yet though (enlarge)

15. Do these ducks know they’re swimming in the shadow of Australia’s largest urban infrastructure project? (enlarge)

16. This tiny banner’s impossible to see from Old Windsor Rd — so I can only assume it’s really meant for the ducks! (enlarge)

Bonus photo!

17. Look! A burnt out car among the grass by the side of Old Windsor Rd (enlarge)

That’s all folks! I’ll have an update in the next few days with both day and night photos of the work at the intersection of Old Windsor Rd and Norwest Bvd, which is being grade separated, and also the Westlink M7 connection at the end of Norwest Bvd.

Originally 4 m wide and 8-10 m deep, the hole has now grown beyond 10 m wide and continues to widen. The cause is yet to be verified, but there is a ventilation shaft for the under-construction Lane Cove Tunnel 25 m below the building. A Sydney Water main at the location burst at the same time, but it is thought the hole caused the water main to burst, not the other way round.

Overhead view of the 10 m x 10 m hole (source: ABC News)

Epping Rd citybound has been closed east of Centennial Ave and chaos has ensued this morning, with all traffic diverted via Centennial Ave and Mowbray Rd to the Pacific Hwy. I’d recommend travelling via Marsden Rd or Lane Cove Rd to get to Victoria Rd instead, bypassing the affected area entirely.

Buses services have been reported running over a hour late into the City. Some Hillsbus M2 services have ran via Burns Bay Rd and Victoria Rd to the City, while others have taken the Mowbray Rd detour along with Sydney Buses services.

Luckily the westbound lanes on Epping Rd are still open for the afternoon peak, but there are concerns the hole could spread across all of Longueville Rd… this doesn’t look good for commuters from the north-west and Hills district at all!

The Lane Cove Tunnel toll road will eventually run under Longueville Rd and this building connecting the M2 Motorway and the Gore Hill Fwy. The tunnel operators issued a statement this morning blaming the collapse on “rock slippage”.

Block of units damaged by the hole (credit: Nick Moir; source: SMH)

There has been an incentive for all the toll road projects recent completed or under construction in Sydney to be completed early, and to start collecting tolls ahead of schedule, increasing revenues. I wonder if safety has been compromised in an attempt to speed up construction? Or maybe the LCT operators have simply been negligent in assessing the area’s geological stability?

Thos more cynical might have wished it was the controversial Cross City Tunnel that collapsed… or maybe just comment that Lane Cove has always been a hole anyway. Look, even a resident agrees, according to ABC News!

One local resident, Grant Phillip, says he is not particularly concerned about the possibility of his apartment falling into the hole.

“I’m actually fairly happy, it’s been a bit of a nightmare since bought the place, so it’s probably the best thing that could happen if it falls into a hole,” he said.

The funniest comment I’ve yet heard, posted on the SMH website by “jason”, sums up Sydney’s latest toll road debacle nicely:

If the units fall into the hole without an e-tag, will they be fined?

SMH: Gridlock as highway ramp collapses
SMH: Crews battle to stop units collapsing
ABC News: Tunnel builder reassures Sydney residents over hole
ABC News: Iemma flags compensation to unit block residents
RTA Sydney North Traffic Reports
Sydney Buses Breaking News
Discussion at the Australian Transport Discussion Board

Well the MTR metro in Hong Kong is going to take it one step further. In between timetabled passenger train services they’re going to be running locomotive-hauled advertising trains through the network!

Artist’s impression of a ‘Spectacular Mobile Showcase’ (source: MTR)

Trains run to small headways on most lines already, so I wonder how they’re going to be able to squeeze these advertising trains into the timetable. But if it is possible, then why not run more passenger trains instead? For much of the day, the network is already too crowded! Granted, these advertising trains (presumably) won’t stop and thus won’t require precious dwell time, but I wonder what commuters are going to think of this seemingly perverse use of network capacity.

These advertising trains will be run with engineering trains that are normally idle during operating hours and will be able to display large 3D objects such as cars. So… they’re going to run spam trains which carry cars around the rail network? The mind boggles!

The press release (PDF) says:

The MTR Corporation is the first to bring to passengers a brand new and innovative form of advertising — the Spectacular Mobile Showcase [...] to enhance passengers’ enjoyment during their MTR journeys.

I’ve always had great respect for the MTR. They run one of the world’s most efficient railway operations, offering value and great customer service. They have a great corporate image too! But this is ridiculous… a “Spectacular Mobile Showcase” to “enhance passengers’ enjoyment”?!?! Now they’re just on crack! (And who comes up with these names, anyway?!)

It’s a train. It’s an ad. It’s an advertising train.

It’s a menace!

Press Release: Innovative 3D advertising to liven up MTR tracks (PDF)

These gantries will hold tag readers and cameras for the new dedicated e-toll only lanes that are being constructed. Last time I reported that the citybound gantries was likely erected sometime on Friday (21 Oct 2005) night. I didn’t use the M2 again until yesterday (Tue 25 Oct 2005), when I saw the westbound gantries, though I imagine they were installed on one of the nights since Friday.

Unfortunately I had my camera, an otherwise great Casio Exilim EX-Z750, set to its anti-shake “BEST SHOT” mode, which makes for terrible low-resolution photos that look like they were taken with a mobile phone. Next time I’m passing through there, I’ll have to try and take better photos once again.

Westbound view from the current toll booths (enlarge)

Close-up of one of the new e-toll gantries (enlarge)

[For other entries in this series, try browsing all posts tagged with both M2 Motorway and electronic tolling.]

Tonight, I saw for the first time that a pair of overhead gantries had been erected on the western side of the toll plaza for citybound traffic. They span two lanes and look quite similar to the gantries being used on the Westlink M7. I would guess they were put up last night (Friday night), as they weren’t there when I passed through yesterday afternoon. I don’t know if the tag readers have been installed on the gantry, but our tag didn’t activate until we reached the existing toll plaza.

When I next pass through there during the day on a bus (or if I’m in the car but not driving), I’ll try and take some photos.

In other news, for the past week or two there have been three E-toll only booths in operation during peak hour in a tidal flow manner, an increase from the maximum of two we have had over the years.

This man is a legend, not to mention getting famous.

Marc Tacchi, from British Columbia, Canada is planning to earn one million Aeroplan frequent flyer points flying Air Canada — enough to net him ten executive class return flights down here (to Australia). If you’re thinking that’s a lot of miles to fly, it gets better. He’s planning on doing it in just 60 days.

Marc, already a frequent flyer, took advantage of an Air Canada promotion that offered a two-month pass for unlimited flights within North American for just under CAD $7 000. He spends the day flying back and forth between Vancouver and Victoria or Nanaimo, short flights that earn 500 points each. In the evening he travels across the continent, usually getting some sleep in business class (with upgrades, thanks to his Aeroplan status), before flying straight back to start the next day’s trips!

Luckily, it’s not all about braving cramped seats and airline food, as he still makes it home three nights a week. Oh, and he manages to work his normal job too — still in a plane! Marc is a pilot and continues to fly a B747 cargo plane to Asia once a week, taking 36 hours out of his other flying schedule!

According to Marc, he’s going to end up about CAD $70 000 worth of points, enough to last him “at least the next 3 years”. Follow his adventure on his blog, The Great Canadian Mileage Run 2005, or follow the discussion at FlyerTalk where another member, tracon, is apparently attempting a similar feat.

Just amazing! You’re a genius, Marc — my hat’s off to you. Good luck!

This was first reported yesterday by been_around -too_long on the Australian Transport Discussion Board (AUTB).

Previously, Hillsbus only accepted their own concession cards for which students needed to apply directly to Hillsbus. In addition, they were limited to travel to/from classes only — a right royal pain. It’s also confusing because our university/TAFE concession cards allow us half-fare travel on government-run CityRail and Sydney Buses services seven days a week.

I believe this change has come about because the Ministry of Transport has specified in the new Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts that the government-issued student concession cards must be accepted for half-fare travel, along with other concession entitlements , to bring private bus companies into line with government bus services. The Westbus Group, which includes Hillsbus, signed new contracts for Region 4 earlier this year.

Stormmm raised this on the AUTB last week and I was about to contact Hillsbus and ask for an explanation.

This ends years of inequity between those living in areas served by private bus services and those living in areas served by Sydney Buses services. In addition, under the old system those aged over 30 were not eligible for concession fares at any time, even if they were full-time students. I’ve always been surprised this has existed as I would’ve thought it was blatant age discrimination. Glad to see this has changed!

No word as to whether this is now in effect on Westbus services too. If anyone uses them, try it out and let me know!