In 2025 a new underground railway line in Melbourne will open. We have a station nearby and yesterday was an open day for local residents, although not all were so local. My neighbour H booked us tickets for 10.40 but we were there early and I guess we were on the 10.20 tour.
What we didn't know was that there would be food vans and food and coffee were free. I ate a Bunnings type sausage (in bread with onions and tomato sauce), followed by bahn mi pork belly slider, and ice cream and then coffee. But that was after the tour. We ran into two neighbour couples from our building. One was complaining about a lack of rubbish bins on the station platform and there not being enough seating. Given trains will come through every ten minutes or better, seats aren't such a big deal.
The underground station is all but complete, as is the external area. Now, we just wait for trains.
A few photos from the day, starting with the entrance from Domain Road. There was one escalator coming up, which we used at the end of the tour, but why wasn't there a down one? There was a lift. However, there are multiple stairs, escalators and lifts to down and up from the station.
The main concourse is huge.
These coloured fabrics give people way finding. The are white on the other side. This is repeated at all of the new stations. From what I saw, the signage within the station was good.
To and from the St Kilda Road tram platform stop.
Once on the platform, the colours changed to orange.
Just ahead of Melbourne, Sydney has platform doors where by there are platform doors that open with the train doors.
These glass panels were just stunning.
Food time, and there was plenty. Very satisfying.
A three piece fruit band greeted us. A banana, watermelon and grapes.
We chatted with neighbours for a bit and then wandered home. It was a nice experience. Unfortunately a neighbour of my neighbour was out with her aged dog as we walked home, who my neighbour wanted to avoid. We tried to sneak past her, but failed and H and she had a bit of a chat, while I walked on further and looked back like an impatient and annoyed person. That worked with only a two minute chat between them. H praised me for saving her from a long chat. The woman is loopy.
At 5 Phyllis and Kosov arrived and cooked up a storm. They came and went at times into the living area, they had big laughs and so did I. They are incredibly nice to me, and want to hug me all the time, even though I am not really the hugging type. It is like they are grooming me, but as I will tell them, Uncle Andrew is a nice person, but when he changes to the mean Aunty Andrea, you will need to look out. I should not be so cynical. They are both nice guys.
I bought a punnet of blackberries this week. They tasted nothing like the blackberries we picked in my kiddie years. Phyllis said they tasted of chemicals. They were a little sour but didn't really have a taste. I was so disappointed.
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What is the new underground railway line that is going to open in Melbourne next year? And where does it terminate? I think I should know this but I haven't been on a train since retirement and covid.
ReplyDeleteHels, the East Pakenham and Cranbourne lines which combine at Dandenong will dive underground before South Yarra Station, stop at five new underground stations and emerge into the daylight before Footscray Station, then continue on to Sunbury Station. It is potentially brilliant for so many people, though there will be a few losers.
DeleteThe station looks very nice and you were certainly given the star treatment with free food! Last Tuesday I visited my nieces and used the newly opened East Pakenham station. It was nice but not as flash, I think. Bunyip
ReplyDeleteBunyip, yes I went to look at East Pakenham Station the day the carpet was laid here and travelled to Berwick and back. East Pakenham was fairly typical of new level crossing removal stations.
DeleteI am sure Phyllis and Kosov are just displaying youthful exuberance, a love of life and gratitude to a grumpy old sod who really isn't but has an image to maintain.
ReplyDeleteThe station looks great. A shame people will have to spoil it.
Merlot, that is exactly what they are doing and you've summed it up well. I was impressed, especially by the artwork.
DeleteIt looks good and I agree with you about those glass panels. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt is excellent that your boarder and friend are working out so well.
EC, Phyllis stayed away last night and I realised I will miss him when he leaves next month.
DeleteVery impressive - lets hope that the knife 'loonies" are kept away.
ReplyDeleteGod only knows why these creatures exist.
The Yanks have guns and we have knives. The world has gone mad!
Cheers
Colin
In South Australia the loons are carrying machetes!
DeleteWow! The new underground project looks and sounds both ambitious and costly. How many stations will there be and how much is it all likely to cost in the end?
ReplyDeleteYP, it was both as you've suggested, around AU$15 billion. But it has given much more than just the train line and stations. The landscaping and creation of great public spaces is part of the cost, and possibly the cost of the many new trains to service the station.
DeleteThat looks very exciting! I'm usually disappointed with any fruits or berries that I buy in the grocery stores here. I believe it's all picked too soon and doesn't ripen properly. When I was growing up the fruit was much better. There used to be fruit orchards in Missouri and my grandmas would buy peaches by the bushel to can. So yummy.
ReplyDeleteDeb, I think it is because fruits are bred to stay fresh and be firm to be transported. Flavour is not a consideration. We all remember how much fruit was better when we were young and I don't think it is a false memory. Europe and Asia do it so much better.
DeleteI love that etched glass. Why were the Fruit of the Loom guys there?
ReplyDeleteDebby, they were a welcome band, occasionally playing their instruments, and amusing children.
DeleteThose blackberries don't taste like blackberries at all even when bought from a farm when grown commercially.
ReplyDeleteWell you were ever so lucky to get to view the new building, and those glass panels certainly do look wonderful.
Did you get a sausage with the onion on the top or bottom?
You are having a lovely time mostly with Phyllis and K which is good.
Margaret, so we have to do the hard yards and pick blackberries from wild vines, as we did as children, and make sure they haven't been sprayed with DDT.
DeleteI actually don't remember where the onion was. I think it was on the top, but it doesn't matter. I always spill some, in this case just one piece which I picked up with my serviette after I'd finished eating.
Love the three piece Fruit Band. The whole station looks very spiffy. Does the train run underground the whole journey or is it just the station which is the underground part like in Adelaide? Even here it isn't truly underground, just underneath the huge casino building. I have a loopy very chatty neighbour too, she is currently in Sydney, said she was going for three weeks, left last April. Am I worried that she hasn't returned? NOT ONE BIT. I'm enjoing the quiet.
ReplyDeleteRiver, there are five underground stations and this is the first of them. The tunnels run under the city and inner city areas. That's a bit strange about your neighbour. Maybe something happened to her in Sydney, like a health issue.
DeleteSeems a bit early for blackberries. No wonder they weren't great.
ReplyDeleteI have gone off blackberries since I left my Olympus OM10 camera behind on a blackberrying expedition in the pine forests outside Canberra in about January 1984. When we went back it was not to be found. I'm pretty sure I somewhere still have a couple of extra lenses and other accessories for it. Hoarder alert!
We had a deluge of publicity in Sydney about our own recently opened metro stations (between Chatswood and Sydenham). I don't think they are as pretty as yours - no glass etching that I'm aware of. I met a mother and her rather mild-mannered artistic-looking teenage son on the metro the other day. They had ridden all the way from the far end of the line (Tallawong) to check out the new stations, I guess drawn by all the publicity, and they were distinctly overwhelmed.
On the other hand I overheard one boy, aged about 15 enthusiastically saying to his similarly aged mate "Imagine if they had trains like this in the Shire!" (Maybe you need to be from Sydney to get why that amused me as much as it did.)
MC, that probably explains why I could not see any at the market today. I bought strawberries instead.
DeleteOh yes, the Canberra incident. I remember it well...well kind of well.
I think there are a disproportionate number of gay men interested in public transport, and trams and trains. I can't imagine why. The artistic looking son may well fit that category.
Yes, I know about The Shire.
Correction: they were distinctly UNDERWHELMED. They had come to check out the public art.
DeleteOk. I also meant to say, I think your new stations look stunning and I look forward to seeing them in person.
DeleteThe new stations looks clean and fresh and people-friendly. The glass panels are spectacular.
ReplyDeleteJB, I thought the panels were just beautiful, and while I knew about the large mural, I did not know about the glass panels. Bins can always be installed later if the need arises, but maybe it won't.
DeleteIt all looks grand and will soon be crowded with commuters who may not even notice those wonderful glass panels. Sounds like a fun day, Andrew.
ReplyDeletePat, it will be very very interesting to see how dramatically travel patterns will change, mine included.
Deletewhen will the trains begin to run? What a beautiful public works effort so far. Since they are renters, better keep Auntie Andrea a little bit visible, just so they know she's there. I don't like storebought berries at all. They don't taste good to me. Especially strawberries. I only pick blackberries, would never think of buying them, because they're everywhere and free.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, some time next year. Other stations aren't quite as advanced but test trains have been running for months. I always hull and chop strawberries in half and sprinkle them with caster sugar and let them sit for a day or so, and you get a lovely syrup. Otherwise, they aren't very good.
Delete