As if the different rail gauges, incompatible train radio systems and contradictory high visibility vest standards weren’t enough of an obstacle for interstate rail freight in Australia, turns out there is yet another “break of gauge” – state based rail noise regulations. Welcome to the New South Wales EPA In the state of New South […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
