This Month
Meet the train fanatic making global rail travel a whole lot easier
The founder of the online guide seat61.com, Mark Smith has turned his singular passion for train travel into a worldwide resource.
‘Not going to happen’: Dutton accuses Allan of SRL obsession
The opposition leader promised to stop funding Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop, making it a defining issue in the federal election in Victoria.
March
Dutton to scrap SRL funding, pledges $1.5b to Melbourne airport link
The funds being announced by Peter Dutton on Tuesday will be matched by the state opposition leader Brad Battin, lifting airport rail funding to $13 billion.
Building giant says low bids from global rivals put projects at risk
The managing director of CPB Contractors says multi-billion dollar infrastructure work is coming unstuck because some big rivals don’t understand local cost.
PM won’t rule out more Suburban Rail Loop funding despite warnings
Anthony Albanese says he believes it’s a viable project – “When you have an infrastructure project, quite often in the early stages, there’s some criticism of it.”
Allan told she needs an exit strategy for SRL
Infrastructure Australia has cast doubt on the Victorian government’s ability to fund a third of SRL East through value capture and warns of more cost blowouts.
Hidden under Central Station lies a clock collector’s paradise
A secure chamber in the catacombs of the Sydney rail hub holds a decade-old collection of timepieces. It’s worth thousands – but rail bosses are unsure what to do with it.
February
PM heaps praise on SRL East but promises money elsewhere
Anthony Albanese has called the controversial Suburban Rail Loop Melbourne’s “missing link” amid tensions between the state and federal governments over the project.
Vic Labor acting like it’s ‘above reproach’ after $12b blowout
Victoria’s former integrity watchdog has slammed Labor’s attack on the state auditor-general after it detailed nearly $12 billion in major project cost blowouts over the past year.
Aurizon revisits splitting rail network from haulage business
The group hasn’t previously accepted banker pitches to separate its rail business. But a share price and earnings slump has put the idea back on the table.
Meet Perceval, the robot dog who could inspect Metro tracks in Sydney
Sydney’s new Western Sydney Airport metro line could use a robot to inspect the cleanliness of trains and check rail tracks for faults.
Suburban Rail Loop is an intergenerational endowment to Melbourne
If incrementalism was allowed to paralyse previous Victorian governments, the city and state we know today would be a backwater.
Victoria’s value capture claims a hurdle to further SRL money: King
Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said she had approved the release of federal Labor’s $2.2 billion pledge for the first phase of the rail loop, known as SRL East.
January
No bull, this developer just got a 33pc discount on an office tower
A local developer has ambitious plans – including a famous statue – for the Melbourne fringe office tower he says will be transformed by the Metro Rail opening.
December 2024
John Holland overhauls executive team as projects struggle
John Holland is searching for a new CEO and its major projects boss will leave in January.
November 2024
The mantra that keeps this CEO ahead of the game
Former Virgin CEO Paul Scurrah reveals how he avoids distractions, what he has learnt from the collapse of two airlines and why he doesn’t eat until midday.
Sydney Metro’s boss learnt from London’s ‘failed experiment’
Peter Regan found out the hard way how to strike a good public-private partnership for transport.
October 2024
Suburban Rail Loop’s 100 executives paid an average $332,000 a year
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto has described the Surburban Rail Loop as a “gravy train” after its annual report revealed the salaries bill.
Aurizon suspends Sanjeev Gupta’s iron ore rail service
Unpaid bills have forced the freight transportation provider to temporarily cut off the embattled Whyalla steelworks owner.
No trains or passengers yet, but Melbourne’s new Metro Rail has shops
Passengers travelling through the twin 9-kilometre tunnels, opening next year, will create a whole new market of shoppers for retailers.