Tue 31 May - Rail infrastructure...
"The ticket validator is working again now."
"No, it's not."
"Yes, they've just been out and fixed it."
"Well it just gave me a 'retry', while the other one worked fine."
That scene is probably being played many other times around Melbourne and it is a good illustration of one of the major problems faced by Connex and the state government - the infrastructure is getting old and they seem unwilling to spend the money required to upgrade it.
Flimsy cards with magnetic stripes on them were not a great option in the first place, now they seem dated and unreliable. Maybe they're hooked up to the PDP-11s too? Anyway, I'm sure Batchelor has a plan to fix this problem along with all his other upgrade plans for the ailing rail network. Or is all that not his responsibility either?
Oh and the 07:14 is a few minutes late.
We seem to be in slightly behind mode this week. Again the 17:49 is not there at 17:49 but arrives shortly thereafter and again it leaves a few minutes late.
"No, it's not."
"Yes, they've just been out and fixed it."
"Well it just gave me a 'retry', while the other one worked fine."
That scene is probably being played many other times around Melbourne and it is a good illustration of one of the major problems faced by Connex and the state government - the infrastructure is getting old and they seem unwilling to spend the money required to upgrade it.
Flimsy cards with magnetic stripes on them were not a great option in the first place, now they seem dated and unreliable. Maybe they're hooked up to the PDP-11s too? Anyway, I'm sure Batchelor has a plan to fix this problem along with all his other upgrade plans for the ailing rail network. Or is all that not his responsibility either?
Oh and the 07:14 is a few minutes late.
We seem to be in slightly behind mode this week. Again the 17:49 is not there at 17:49 but arrives shortly thereafter and again it leaves a few minutes late.
posted by Connex Whinger at 7:45 pm
4 Comments:
Actually, Batchelor - or, more accurately, the Department of Infrastructure - *does* have a plan to fix this problem. I'm surprised you missed it - it's been in the papers on and off for years and there was a bloody great big display at Flinders Street a year or two back :-)
http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/Internet/planningprojects.nsf/AllDocs/3B3484F49BFF94164A256F3300069890?OpenDocument
Your site is gona get a whole lot of hits...
But im here to offer you my support too...Connex screws me up big time most days too...
Fair call Anthony - I hadn't realised it was an actual plan. I always assumed that it was a vague notion that one day they might do something better. Thanks for the info.
Phil
i can see issues with those smartcards too...
also, the Japanese rail network uses magnetic tickets (though the ticket itself is much smaller & the entire back is a magnetic strip) and they push millions of people through their system daily.
nothing's perfect, but my first-hand experience with it tells me it works a hell of a lot better than Sydney's trains - or in your experience, Melbourne's.
cheers.
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