Business Trip to Australia - November 1998
(via Hong Kong)
A map of the Melbourne transport system will be useful for understanding the following.
Business requirements often meant travelling around by car. My local colleague's home is near Blackburn and Nunawading stations, and ALSTOM offices are located at Clayton near Westall station and in Melbourne city centre. Visits were made to the depot at Epping and the workshops at Newport, including time spent on commissioning runs on vehicles such as 322M which has a new prototype traction system fitted. "New track today" is always "none" unless stated.
On this, the author's first visit to Melbourne, spare time was spent travelling on the suburban network and also some of the "main line" network. A full day was spent in Hong Kong on the outward journey.
Special Notes:
Unless otherwise stated, all EMUs are operated by Hillside or Bayside Trains, subsidiaries of Melbourne Passenger Transport Corporation (PTC) and to be privatised in August 1999. Other services are operated as marked.
Platform numbers or tram stop numbers are added to times in [brackets].
Melbourne Area routing codes are listed separately.
Operating Company Abbreviations:
- HKTL - Hong Kong Tramways Limited
- KCRC - Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation (Hong Kong)
- MTRC - Mass Transit Railway Corporation (Hong Kong)
- PBR - Puffing Billy Railway
- WCR - West Coast Railway
| Place | Arrive | Depart | Train | Traction details & notes |
Monday 9th November 1998
| Timperley | 07:48 | Taxi | ||
| Manchester Airport T2 | 08:05 | |||
| Manchester (MAN) | 10:00 | CX270 | Cathay Pacific 747-400 B-HOP | |
| time change: +1 hour | ||||
| Amsterdam (AMS) | 12:20 | 13:30 | time change: +7 hours | |
| Hong Kong (HKG) (Chep Lap Kok) | 08:00 |
Tuesday 10th November 1998
| Satellite | 07:43 | People-mover | rubber-tyred | |
| Main Terminal | 07:44 | |||
| Airport | 08:41 | EMU MTRC Airport Express Line train | ||
| Kowloon | 08:59 | 09:26 | EMU MTRC Tung Chung Line train | |
| Hong Kong | 09:31 | 09:47 | EMU MTRC Tung Chung Line train | |
| Kowloon | 09:50 | 10:00 | Transit bus tour (free) | |
| via Wong Tai Sin temple, Kowloon Walled City Park | ||||
| New World Centre | 11:00 | |||
| walk to site of former terminus of Kowloon Canton Railway near ferry terminal - clock tower is all that remains | ||||
| Hung Hom | 11:54 | EMU KCRC Lo Wu Line train | ||
| Fo Tan | 12:08 | 12:18 | EMU KCRC Lo Wu Line train | |
| Kowloon Tong | 12:28 | 12:37 | EMU MTRC Kwun Tong Line train (photo) | |
| Kowloon Bay | 12:47 | 12:50 | EMU MTRC Kwun Tong Line train | |
| Quarry Bay | 13:00 | 13:26 | HKTL tram 32 | |
| Shau Kei Wan | 13:41 | 14:20 | HKTL tram 37 | |
| Happy Valley | 15:12 | 15:14 | HKTL tram 37 | |
| City Hall | 15:41 | |||
| Garden Road | 16:02 | Peak Tram funicular (altitude 25m) | ||
| Peak Tower | 16:07 | 16:30 | Peak Tram funicular (altitude 398m) | |
| Garden Road | 16:37 | |||
| City Hall | 16:52 | HKTL tram 104 | ||
| Kennedy Town | 17:24 | 17:30 | HKTL tram 104 | |
| Western Market | 17:49 | |||
| Sheung Wan | 17:56 | EMU MTRC Island Line train | ||
| Chai Wan | 18:20 | 18:25 | EMU MTRC Island Line train | |
| Quarry Bay | 18:34 | 19:02 | EMU MTRC Kwun Tong Line train | |
| Yau Ma Tei | 19:04 | 19:13 | EMU MTRC Tsuen Wan Line train | |
| Central | 19:04 | |||
| Hong Kong | 19:30 | EMU MTRC Tung Chung Line train | ||
| Tsing Yi | 19:40 | 19:53 | EMU MTRC Airport Express Line train | |
| Airport | 20:05 | |||
| Hong Kong (HKG) | 22:50 | CX105 | Cathay Pacific B-HUA 747-400 | |
| Adelaide | 09:20 | through working HKG - MEL | ||
| New track today: Airport - Kowloon - Hong Kong/Central, Hung Hom - Fo Tan, Yau Ma Tei - Quarry Bay, Yau Ma Tei - Central, Sheung Wan - Chai Wan | ||||
Wednesday 11th November 1998
| Adelaide | 10:40 | CX104 | time: +2.5 hours | |
| Melbourne (MEL) | 12:25 | time: +0.5 hour | ||
| Flinders St | 18:10[9] | TS | EMU 311M+?T+400M | |
| Williamstown | 18:37 | 18:46 | TS | EMU 400M+?T+311M |
| Flinders St | 19:12[7] | |||
| New track today: Flinders St - Williamstown | ||||
Thursday 12th November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:19[1] | direct | EMU 611M+?T+662M+310M+?T+302M | |
| Epping | 08:02 | work at Epping depot on 322M | ||
| 17:13 | PU - PV | EMU ?M+?T+150M+58M+?T+?M | ||
| Flinders St | 18:03 [1] | |||
| Flinders St/Elizabeth St | 20:40 | '00' | City Circle tram 1020 (anti-clockwise) | |
| Spencer St/Collins St | 21:13[121] | |||
| Spencer St | 21:31[11] | NV - NU | EMU 540M+?T+?M | |
| Melbourne Central | 21:41[3] | |||
| Elizabeth St/La Trobe St | 21:49 | '19' | tram 2118 | |
| Elizabeth St/Flinders St | 21:54 | |||
| New track today: Flinders St - Epping, Jolimont - Melbourne Central - Spencer St | ||||
Friday 13th November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:19[1] | direct | EMU 653M+?T+654M+413M+?T+414M | |
| Epping | 08:02 | work at Epping depot on 322M | ||
| Epping Depot sidings | 12:55[9] | special | EMU 425M+?T+322M | |
| Epping Depot sidings | 12:57[12] | |||
| 322M etc. was supposed to go to Newport workshops today but there was no driver, so it went Saturday. | ||||
| by car to ALSTOM office at Clayton, then colleague's house at Blackburn | ||||
| Nunawading | 21:45 | direct | EMU 325M+?T+?M | |
| Flinders St | 22:17 | |||
| New track today: Nunawading - Flinders St | ||||
Saturday 14th November 1998
| by car to photograph 3 x R-class SL on special at Footscray and Westall | ||||
| Westall | 09:56 | EMU 512M+?T+511M+502M+?T+501M | ||
| Cranbourne | 10:22 | 10:38 | EMU same set | |
| Dandenong | 10:50 | 11:00 | EMU 532M+?T+531M+545M+?T+546M | |
| Caulfield | 11:37 | 11:49 | EMU 73M+?T+14M+206M+?T+120M | |
| Frankston | 12:34 | 13:00 | V/Line DL A70+3 coaches | |
| Stony Point | 13:40 | 14:00 | V/Line DL A70+3 coaches | |
| Frankston | 14:40 | 14:49 | CL - CU - CV | EMU 104M+?T+?M+?M+?T+?M |
| Flinders St | 15:57[7] | 16:52[8] | S | EMU 611M+?T+662M |
| Sandringham | 17:21 | 17:34 | EMU same set | |
| Elsternwick | 17:46 | |||
| Elsternwick Station [44] | 17:50 | '67' | tram 44 | |
| Carnegie [68] | 18:02 | 18:02 | '67' | tram 44 |
| Glenhuntly [61] | 18:06 | 18:24 | '67' | tram 43 |
| Lonsdale St [9] | 19:05 | |||
| Melbourne Central | 19:37 [3] | NU - TS | EMU 368M+?T+367M | |
| Footscray | 19:48 | 20:03 | TS - NV | EMU 324M+?T+342M |
| Flinders St | 20:13 [5] | |||
| New track today: Richmond - Dandenong - Cranbourne, Caulfield - Frankston - Stony Point, Richmond - Parliament, Flinders St - Sandringham, Flagstaff - North Melbourne | ||||
Sunday 15th November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:34 | BV - BU - BL | EMU 670M+?T+669M (via loop) | |
| Lilydale | 08:40 | 08:55 | EMU same set | |
| Ringwood | 09:11 | 09:27 | EMU same set | |
| Belgrave | 09:51 | 10:30 | PBR SL 7A+8 coaches (760mm gauge) | |
| Gembrook | 12:15 | 13:15 | PBR SL 7A+8 coaches | |
| Belgrave | 15:05 | 15:23 | EMU 651M+?T+652M | |
| Camberwell | 16:12 | 16:34 | EMU 625M+?T+626M | |
| Alamein | 16:45 | 16:49 | EMU same set | |
| Camberwell | 17:00 | 17:12 | EMU 658M+?T+657M | |
| Burnley | 17:20 | 17:24 | BL | EMU 638M+?T+637M |
| Richmond | 17:29 | 17:40 | EMU 657M+?T+658M | |
| Glen Waverley | 18:12 | 18:28 | BL | EMU same set |
| Flinders St | 19:02[3] | 19:09[5] | NU - NV - MS | EMU 318M+?T+317M |
| St Albans | 19:38 | 19:59 | MS - NV | EMU same set |
| Flinders St | 20:27[8] | |||
| New track today: Nunawading - Ringwood - Lilydale, Ringwood - Belgrave - Gembrook, Camberwell - Alamein, Burnley - Glen Waverley | ||||
Monday 16th November 1998
| Newport workshops No.1 siding | 06:00 | special | EMU 322M+?T+425M | |
| No.3 siding | 06:10 | |||
| by car to ALSTOM office at Clayton | ||||
| East Burwood | 15:50[70] | '75' | tram 2011 | |
| Flinders St/Swanston St | 17:00 | |||
| Flinders St | 17:19[5] | NU - TS - direct | EMU 1M+?T+232M+210M+?T+205M | |
| Werribee | 18:03 | 18:07 | Altona - TS | same set |
| Spencer St | 18:54[13] | |||
| Spencer St/Collins St | 19:17[121] | '75' | tram 2061 | |
| Flinders St/Swanston St | 19:28 | |||
| Flinders St | 19:40[6] | NV | EMU 408M+?T+407M | |
| Spencer St | 19:43[12] | 19:47[11] | NV | EMU 471M+?T+472M+539M+?T+540M |
| Flinders St | 19:50[9] | |||
| New track today: Newport - Werribee direct, Laverton - Newport via Altona | ||||
Tuesday 17th November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:10[5] | NV - TS | EMU 514M+?T+513M+328M+?T+464M | |
| Newport | 07:27 | |||
| Newport workshops No.3 siding | 08:46 | special | EMU 322M+?T+425M test train | |
| via shunt to No.1 siding - Newport (rev) (09:32/09:35) - Werribee (rev) (10:00/10:11) - Newport (rev) (10:36/10:39) - workshops No. 8 siding - shunt to No.1 siding | ||||
| Newport workshops | 10:55 | |||
| by car to Epping depot | ||||
| Epping | 18:14 | PU - PV | EMU 165M+?T+91M+228M+?T+17M | |
| Flinders St | 19:00[1] | |||
| Elizabeth St/La Trobe St | 21:32[5] | '19' | tram 2017 | |
| Elizabeth St/Flinders St | 21:38[1] | |||
Wednesday 18th November 1998
| Newport workshops No.5 siding | 06:30 | special | EMU 322M+?T+425M | |
| via Spencer St (06:55) - Richmond - Westall (07:33) - Pakenham yard (08:15/08:52) - Bunyip (rev) - Pakenham yard (rev) (09:54/10:00) - Bunyip (rev) (10:15/10:20) - Pakenham yard (rev) (10:45/10:50) - Bunyip (rev, pie stop) (11:08/11:44) - Pakenham yard (12:02) - Richmond - Spencer St - Newport workshops No.5 siding - shunt to No.1 siding | ||||
| Newport workshops | 13:30 | |||
| work at Newport workshops then by car to Melbourne | ||||
| Spencer St/La Trobe St | 16:35 | '00' | City circle tram (anti-clockwise) | |
| Flinders St/Queen St | 16:45 | |||
| Flinders St | 17:16[5] | NU | EMU 405M+?T+406M | |
| Upfield | 17:59 | 18:00 | same set | |
| North Melbourne | 18:29[1] | 18:42[2] | EMU 545M+?T+546M+309M+?T+310M | |
| Broadmeadows | 19:08 | 19:32 | NV | EMU 310M+?T+309M |
| Flinders St | 20:03 [5] | |||
| Flinders St/Queen St | 20:27 | '48' | tram 279 | |
| Spencer St/Collins St | 20:33 | |||
| Swanston St/La Trobe St | 21:22[8] | '67' | tram 67 | |
| Swanston St/Flinders St | 21:27 | |||
| New track today: Dandenong - Pakenham - Bunyip, North Melbourne - Upfield, North Melbourne - Broadmeadows | ||||
Thursday 19th November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:35 | CL | EMU 554M+?T+553M+310M+?T+302M | |
| Westall | 08:00 | |||
| by car to and from ALSTOM office at Clayton | ||||
| Glen Waverley | 17:06 | BL - BT | EMU 32M+?T+33M+98M+?T+78M | |
| Flinders St | 17:41[2] | 18:09[1] | direct | EMU 635M+?T+636M+465M+?T+466M |
| Hurstbridge | 19:05 | 19:11 | EMU 466M+?T+465M | |
| Eltham | 19:25 | 20:06 | PU - PV | EMU 403M+?T+404M |
| Flinders St | 20:58[1] | |||
| New track today: Clifton Hill - Hurstbridge | ||||
Friday 20th November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:19 | direct | EMU 611M+?T+?M+?M+?T+?M | |
| Epping | 08:02 | |||
| Epping depot sidings | 13:44[6] | special | EMU 697M+?T+?M | |
| via No.20 siding (rev) - Epping platform 2 (rev) - Lalor (rev) - Epping depot No.17 siding (wash road) | ||||
| Epping depot sidings | 14:08[6] | |||
| Epping | 16:32 [2] | PU - PV | EMU 572M+?T+571M+374M+?T+373M | |
| Flinders St | 17:24[1] | 17:58[7] | CV | EMU 333M+?T+?M |
| Spencer St | 18:03 [12] | 18:18 | CU - CT - C | EMU 554M+?T+553M+301M+?T+302M |
| Glenhuntly | 18:40 | 18:54 | CT | EMU 365M+?T+?M |
| Flinders St | 19:20[7] | |||
| Flinders St/Elizabeth St | 20:05 | '75' | tram 2108 | |
| Spencer St/Collins St | 20:10 | 20:36 | '75' | tram 2026 |
| Flinders St/Swanston St | 20:41 | |||
Saturday 21st November 1998
| Flinders St | 08:09[4] | BV | EMU 663M+?T+664M | |
| Spencer St | 08:12 | 08:43[7] | WCR SL R711+ DL B76+9 coaches | |
| Warrnambool | 11:53 | arr 47 late (first day of steam operation) | ||
| 13:05 | WCR DL S311+5 coaches 21 late | |||
| Spencer St | 16:10[7] | arr 10 late | ||
| 16:26[11] | NV | EMU 343M+?T+384M | ||
| Flinders St | 16:31[4] | 16:49[3] | BV - BU - BL | EMU ?M+?T+637M |
| Nunawading | 17:30 | |||
| to colleague's house at Blackburn | ||||
| Nunawading | 22:45 | BL | EMU ?M+?T+?M | |
| Flinders St | 23:21[3] | |||
| New track today: Werribee - Geelong - Warrnambool | ||||
Sunday 22nd November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:59[3 ] | BV | EMU 625M+?T+626M | |
| Spencer St | 08:02[10] | 08:30[1] | SG | Countrylink XPT 2005+7 coaches +2017 (standard gauge) |
| Albury | 11:36 | 14:40 | ES | V/Line DL N358+3 coaches (broad gauge) |
| Spencer St | 18:07[8] | should have run via Essendon line flyover (BS), but didn't due to re-platforming due to engineering works | ||
| Spencer St/Collins St | 18:14 | '75' | tram 2065 | |
| Flinders St/Queen St | 18:19 | |||
| Flinders St/Swanston St | 18:53 | '1' | tram 147 | |
| South Melbourne Beach | 19:08 | 19:14 | '1' | tram 147 |
| South Melbourne | 19:18 | |||
| Albert Park | 19:37 | '96' | tram 2107 | |
| St Kilda Beach Terminus | 19:55 | 20:08 | '96' | tram 2107 |
| Bourke St/Queen St | 20:34 | |||
| New track today: Standard gauge Spencer St - Albury; broad gauge Albury - Broadmeadows | ||||
Monday 23rd November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:19[1] | direct | EMU 376M+?T+362M+697M+?T+529M | |
| Epping | 08:02 | |||
| Flinders St/Queen St | 17:57 | '48' | tram 281 | |
| Spencer St/Collins St | 18:01 | |||
| Collins St/Spencer St | 18:08 | '109' | tram 293 | |
| Port Melbourne | 18:19 | 18:30 | '109' | tram 274 |
| Collins St/Queen St | 18:45 |
Tuesday 24th November 1998
| to ALSTOM office in Melbourne, then to Epping to work on 322M | ||||
| Epping | 15:42 | PU - PV | EMU 674M+?T+641M+680M+?T+679M | |
| Flinders St | 16:32[1] | 17:08[5] | NU - ES | EMU 371M+?T+372M+403M+?T+404M |
| Kensington | 17:21 | 17:46 | BS - NV | EMU 380M+?T+379M+451M+?T+452M |
| via Essendon line flyover (only 4 passenger workings) | ||||
| Flinders St | 17:54[7] | 18:14[4] | BL | EMU 145M+?T+224M+34M+?T+82M |
| via flyover to Richmond then flyover at Camberwell | ||||
| Riversdale | 18:34 | |||
| Wardin Road | 18:39[45] | '70' | tram 252 | |
| Wattle Park | 18:51[61] | 18:53[61] | '00' | tram 252 |
| Camberwell depot | 19:03[40] | tram continued into depot | ||
| 19:04[40] | '70' | tram 271 | ||
| Princes Bridge | 19:27 | |||
| Collins St/Swanston St | 19:53[6] | '11' | tram 170 | |
| Collins St/Spencer St | 19:58[1] | 20:03[1] | '75' | tram 2093 |
| Flinders St/Queen St | 20:08[122] | |||
| New track today: Kensington - North Melbourne via flyover | ||||
Wednesday 25th November 1998
| Flinders St | 07:35[6] | CL | EMU 40M+?T+11M+208M+?T+109M | |
| Westall | 08:00 | |||
| to ALSTOM office at Clayton, then colleague's house at Blackburn | ||||
| Blackburn | 18:16 | BT | EMU 122M+?T+?M+?M+?T+?M | |
| Flinders St | 18:42[2] | |||
Thursday 26th November 1998
| Melbourne (MEL) | 13:40 | CX104 | Cathay Pacific A340 B-GXI | |
| Hong Kong (HKG) | 19:40 | time change: -3 hours | ||
| Satellite | 19:51 | rubber-tyred people-mover | ||
| Main Terminal | 19:52 |
Friday 27th November 1998
| Hong Kong (HKG) | 0040 | CX271 | Cathay Pacific 747-400 B-HOU | |
| Amsterdam (AMS) | 06:30 | 07:30 | time change: -7 hours | |
| Manchester (MAN) | 07:30 | time change: -1 hour | ||
| Manchester Airport T2 | 08:00 | Taxi | ||
| Timperley | 08:20 |