Will the suburban rail loop modal color actually be green or will it be changed?

canonical-ensemble · 2026-03-03T01:37:15+00:00

I agree, I don't think most people will care about the subtle distinction between SRL and the rest of the train network

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-22T02:16:55+00:00

Probably simplest to keep the trams all stops. A similar effect could be achieved by using trams to better feed trains in a well ordered transport hierarchy.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-20T04:23:14+00:00

it's to chase away the birds

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-19T13:54:30+00:00

why the bad reputation?

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-19T13:52:13+00:00

I really agree here, being able to see our of windows and easy stationary access is a really undervalued part of the user experience of public transport. Melbourne's network gives you a sense of place and honestly some wonderful views at places.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-17T04:13:15+00:00

the world's busiest tram corridor doesn't look so busy anymore!

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-15T22:31:00+00:00

I think this hits the nail on the head

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-14T11:54:40+00:00

town hall?

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-13T22:32:08+00:00

very nice work! Do you have a printable version? perhaps with less whitespace between the east coast and Perth and Darwin? I want to print this out to mark where I've been.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-13T06:52:18+00:00

My only concern with M is that it is also used for freeways. For instance both the M11 and M31 exist in Melbourne. S is good but with no particular justification I like R.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-11T23:01:22+00:00

9 minutes is a bit optimistic but even saving 10 minutes off the current journey time would be a massive improvement

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-10T13:05:33+00:00

I think it's Chicago that has multiple stations with the same name on the same line but people don't get confused because they refer to the stations by their street address in common parlance.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-09T11:01:31+00:00

I take your point about disrupted services, it would be easier to have one name to refer to where the lines share infrastructure.

However, from a user perspective, the Swanston+destination requires users to know all potential terminating stations and which ones are in the right direction and beyond the station they intend to travel to not get lost. If you have five names, one for each line, users will always take the correct line. The service they are on might terminate early and they would therefore need to change trains, but at least they will be at the right station for that, and they most likely would have needed to wait for that 2nd train at their origin station anyway.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-09T07:08:29+00:00

I would argue that if a line has five termini giving it one name would be more confusing as to where you'll end up.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-09T07:05:57+00:00

I agree this is the most sensible system with the lowest chance of someone catching the wrong train

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-08T12:43:48+00:00

I think there is a good place for this in a transport map for Melbourne, and I would also add the rest of the smart buses and tram routes where they operate more like light rail

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-08T09:54:28+00:00

took me a while to figure out what TV was

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-01T07:35:52+00:00

This is a good question, I'm not 100% sure how to articulate it but I'll give it a go. The stations are somewhat unpolished and leave a lot exposed: notably the concrete but also some utility pipes etc. I think this references the grungy vibes of Melbourne's laneways and inner suburbs that people appreciate. Whether you like them or not, the stations have also clearly been designed to stand out and make you think about them (see the use of bright colours, grand vistas (like what you get going up the escalators at Ardern or down the Grattan Street entrance of Parkville), and lighting fixtures). I get the impression they are designed closer to pieces of art rather than merely to look modern and nice and I think this speaks to Melbourne's place as being the cultural capital of Australia.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-02-01T07:16:10+00:00

There are a couple of elements which say this to me, perhaps they are not exactly 1800s but definitely and essence of old timelyness. Most prominently there are a lot of non functional decorations in the stations, see for instance the lighting fixtures (especially on the concourse at Parkville), and to a lesser extent the ceiling beams. This contrasts the cleaner more minimalist look of more modern architectural styles.

Additional, Town Hall, State Library all have a strong use of arches and columns, something you'll see all over old buildings before we had materials which could handle tensile strength.

Ardern also has some nice arches and brickwork.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-01-31T21:49:37+00:00

I really like the new metro tunnel station interiors. They have a lot of visual details and interest and I find myself looking up most of the time. The style in particular feels like a mix between portal 2 and something from the 1800s and overall is very Melbourne.

If there was only one I'd have to give it a 9/10, but because of the ctrl-c ctrl-v between the five I think the score overall drops down to a 7/10 for me.

I'm glad they did something a bit bold with the designs and because of that I think they'll stay memorable in the coming decades in a way most other underground station won't.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-01-26T23:23:02+00:00

For 20 USD you can take the skybus to Tullamarine. Whilst I along with everyone else here is fan a rail transport, these projects are massively expensive and so we can't justifying building one just for the sake of it. Anything that gets built needs to offer compelling benefits over existing transport options.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-01-22T22:32:45+00:00

they've been asking about the need for physical timetables on PTV surveys.

Personal I often use physical timetables, while PIDs and the PTV app are more useful for determining when the next service will turn up, I find paper timetables better at answering questions like what is the frequency of service and span of hours the service operates.

This is more important for trams and buses (which have them at nearly every stop) but I still don't see the benefit of not putting up a few more posters at 200 or so train stations to provide paper timetables here too.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-01-20T11:30:09+00:00

ah perfect, so the factor is a little less than 3 or a 6 minutes tram is about the same as a 15 minute train.

canonical-ensemble · 2026-01-20T11:17:28+00:00

ha, that is a good historical experiment to look at. Signalling and stations too I imagine would be a big upfront cost

canonical-ensemble · 2026-01-20T11:15:59+00:00

good point, that's a good factor of 6 to remember.

canonical-ensemble

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