Posts Tagged ‘rail operations’

Incompatible high vis vests – another example of rail dysfunction

As if a mess of different rail gauges and incompatible train radio systems across Australia weren’t enough, there is yet another incompatibility – different standards for high visibility vests! I’m not joking – head off to a workwear supplier, and they’ll list ‘Victoria’ and ‘NSW’ specification high visibility vests. The NSW version has the reflective […]

Google Street View drives down the tracks

For the past decade Google has sent their Street View cars all over Melbourne, but a mate of mine recently spotted on in an odd place – going for a drive down the tracks on the Lilydale line. This doesn’t look like a road, does it? But in September 2019 whoever was driving the Google […]

How many train drivers does it take to drive a train across Australia?

Australia is a big country, with a transcontinental rail journey taking days – far long than an human can possibly stay awake. So how do these train keep running? Asking why I went down this rabbit hole after Philip Mallis asked on Twitter why The Overland stopped at Dimboola for a crew changeover, partway through […]

Australia’s train radio “break of gauge”

It’s pretty common knowledge that Australia’s rail network is a mess of different rail gauges, preventing freight and passengers from travelling across Australia without changing trains. But did you know that’s not the only incompatibility holding back rail in Australia – there is also a mess of different train radio systems. How we got there […]