Melbourne is not in the Top 11! *shock* *gasp* *horror*
A particular story has been, in the last two weeks, heavily discussed among several Metroblogging cities with great enthusiasm. I have been following it with a keen amount of interest, as some of the cities involved (and uninvolved) are places I’ve actually visited and lived in. Melbourne has not gotten wind of it – perhaps with good reason – but I’ll like to bring this conversation down to the Antipodes. Besides, Melbourne is too big a city to be left out of this conversation!
Virgin Vacations has, rather audaciously, ranked the world’s top 11 (strange number, but a ranking nonetheless) train systems with their own set of unpublished guidelines.
Almost everyone in the Melbourne team has had at least a post on how Melbourne’s CONNEX stacks up in against a population of four million people, so I won’t get into rhetoric. But my resentment for CONNEX is affectionate and strong, so here I go.
Having lived extensively in both Bangkok (BTS and Skytrain) and Singapore (SMRT), I can genuinely attest to the truly world class standards of both systems. They’re extremely clean, easy to use, hassle-free, fast and always on time.
Melbourne’s CONNEX has just done away with the Zone 3 areas and are about to implement the Myki card that might just be the answer the Melbourne’s rampant problem of fare-evasion. Melbourne’s ticketing system is relatively easy to master – all you need is an abundance of coins and you’re set to go. CONNEX’s train lines are easy to read, and nowhere as extensive as New York’s or London’s. Some of her stations, particularly the ones in the inner city and CBD, are extremely old and are historical monuments and a testament to Melbourne’s enduring train system.
However, what CONNEX doesn’t have going for her is her extremely dirty and often smelly train carriages. Benches are often stained with something unpleasant and there’re often used newspapers everywhere. Graffiti, though not common, are still a mainstay in the carriages.
Melbourne’s train stations are also famously unsafe. Melburnians would be lying if they have not noticed that 90% of the CONNEX stations are prime targets for terrorism by now. Dim lights, no camera [sic] and unattended stations are the least of CONNEX’s problems should a murder or rape occur.
Trains may run on a schedule, but many times they do not stop at a designated stop as depicted on the flickering station screen. It’s extremely frustrating when you’ve to wait 40 minutes for your express train in the middle of winter, ride in it for 20 minutes, only to find that it would not stop at your station as the station system had displayed the wrong schedule. You alight at the first available station, and you now find yourself in a dangerous, dark and smelly train station. (see above)
I could go on, but it’s clear that Melbourne does not figure anywhere in the Top 30 systems. I reckon it may even have difficulties pushing the Top 40.
But what do you guys think about the ranking?
Here’s a list (there may be more) of other cities with their own ideas about the ranking – Bangkok, Berlin, Los Angeles, Manila, New York City, Pittsburgh, Tokyo and Singapore.
Hmmm … well, the story you linked is about *underground* transit systems. Our three underground stations are hardly going to rate a mention in a list of the world’s best undergrounds!
Fair enough, but it’s a good guide to what Melbourne is hitting and missing compared to the rest of the world.
GO the city loop!, the best of what Melbourne has to offer :P
Whenever you go overseas and take public transport, you just wonder if Melbourne has been left out of the dark. Just imagine if we had a transport system like Singapore or Tokyo… i wouldn’t mind a bullet train from Melbourne to Sydney ^^
“Melburnians would be lying if they have not noticed that 90% of the CONNEX stations are prime targets for terrorism by now.”
I think you mean crime, not terrorism.
Actually, i meant terrorism.
How difficult can it be to leave a home-made bomb in an outlying station when it’s completely unguarded and unsupervised?
Train pulls up with people in it…bomb goes off…makes Burnley Tunnel tragedy seems like a ripple in the ocean…
An outlying station makes no sense as a terrorist target as the number of casualties and panic you could inflict is minimal compared to say Flinders Street station.
Is terrorism really your biggest concern with the train network? I’m more worried about getting mugged.
The Burnley Tunnel accident was just that, an accident, so likening the carnage to a terrorist attack is just cheap fear-mongering.
You’re afraid of getting mugged as Melbourne has not been put into or forced into a situation where terrorism is incredibly real.
Wasn’t it just a a year-and-a-half ago when a certain faction leader mouthed the words ‘Melbourne’ as a potential terrorist target? It sent shockwaves throughout Australia.
There’s no denying the threat of mugging, assault or bullying is just as real, but as citizens living in a city as prominent as Melbourne, we cannot be complacent.
Of course Melbourne could be a target, but you have to realise that no matter how much security is in place, it’ll never totally eliminate the threat. I’m not going to live in fear of something that might never happen, and I resent that fear being used as a political tool as it so often is these days.
As for the faction leader mentioning Melbourne, it didn’t send shockwaves though Australia, it sent shockwaves through the Australian media. There IS a difference.
If we really want to secure ourselves against terrorism, we should maybe, oh i don’t know, stop invading other countries.
Hey, at least there is a public transport system here in Melbourne, even if it is shitty. I’m saddened Hamburg didn’t make the list, but I suppose since it seemed to really focus on trains that are all underground…
They really ought to introduce a new ranking that includes ‘overground’ train systems. It’ll be interesting to see where Melbourne stands.