Archive for January, 2014

Polishing a turd – PTV is rebranding Myki

If you know anything about public transport in Melbourne, you know the go to solution for ‘fixing’ any issue is spending big dollars on a rebranding – a classic case of fire and motion, or to put it less poetically – polishing a turd. We are currently 18 months into the replacement of ‘Metlink’ logos with brand new ‘Public Transport Victoria’ ones all across the network, yet those in charge have decided to fiddle with something even more pointless – the brand identity of Melbourne’s biggest dog – myki.

Condescending advertising from Metro Trains

Advertising is a hit and miss game, and Metro Trains Melbourne’s results are no different – sometimes they win, like back in 2013 with their ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ rail safety campaign, but other times they come up flat. A recent campaign in the local edition of mX is an example of the latter.

Inane advertisement from Metro trains for their 'Metro Notify' smartphone app

Regenerative braking and Melbourne’s trains

This week Melbourne newspaper The Age ran an article about Melbourne’s aging railway infrastructure – in particular the power supply system. So how much truth is there to it?

Comeng passes the Campbellfield substation on an up Upfield service

Precursor plans for Regional Rail Link

At the moment the biggest rail project in Melbourne is the 47.5 km long Regional Rail Link. Intended to provide extra track capacity to the western suburbs of Melbourne, and due for completion in early 2016 after five years of construction, how long has the idea for a railway along this route existed?

Station building completed, but with the tracks still to come

News Limited’s content recycle-o-matic

Last Saturday I was flicking through the weekend newspapers, when part way through the Geelong Advertiser I found a vaguely familiar looking photo. After picking up the Herald Sun, I found where I had seen it before…

Same article appearing in the 'Geelong Advertiser' and 'Herald Sun'