Commuting by Train

I've been doing the commute to work by train so far and have had varied experiences. One day it can be as smooth as possible with a short walk to the nearest station arriving just in time to get on an express train that has be downtown in a matter of minutes. Other times it can be a nightmare of waiting 45 minutes for a train due to a broken train getting stuck right in front of the station, or more routinely hitting the station after work at peak times where the people are packed in so tight you can't even move your arms !

Anyway, for the most part it's pretty convenient. I buy a pass that is good for 10 trips of up to 3 hours each. As we live within Zone 1 I only need a Zone 1 ticket. This particular pass costs 28.00 so its a pretty good bargain compared with driving and paying for gas...I mean petrol...and parking.

As the daylight starts to last longer and the days start to get warmer I am hoping to abandon the trains in favour of riding my bike in very soon. I'm just trying to work out where I will shower and leave my bike. I could ride to the Accenture office which has a shower, but I don't know where I could leave my bike at that building, and it's a good 10 minute walk from there to the project office. My other option would be to get a gym membership at the gym around the corner from the project offce and just bring my bike into the office with me.

Anyway, before I start riding I figured I would give everyone an idea of what my daily commute looks like.

Exiting house onto Wilmot street and turn left...

At end of Wilmot turn left again this time on Howard...
Turn right onto Repton Street...
All the houses on Repton are tiny Victorian bungalows.
At the end of Repton turn left onto Ardrie. Can't wait to see this street in the summer.

Turn right and then left from Ardrie and arrive on Waverly. Lots of shops and restaurants along here...
Most popular gas station here is BP. Notice how green they are !
Waverly ends at the Princes Highway. Also known as Dandenong Road.

Monash University has a campus right at the junction of Waverly and Dandenong. They have a lot of very modern buildings on this site.

Cross the highway and cut through the University's parking garage...

and you arrive at Caulfield Station. It take about 20 minutes to walk here or 5 minutes on the Tram that runs down Waverly. This is a major station as 3 train lines split after this station. That means I have 3 times as many train options from this station compared to a normal station.

This is the board listing all the incoming trains. In the mornings everyone is trying to catch the City Loop - Limited Express. No one wants the City Loop - Stops all stations. Express makes 2 stops before the city. All stations is probably closer to 10. The hard part is that as the trains approach the station they can suddenly change platforms. So all the people standing on platform 1 will be told with 1 minute to go that the train is now departing from Platform 3. There is then a mad and futile dash out of the platform terminal and down into the tunnel under the station then up the stairs to platform 3, through the turnstyles only to see the train leaving. These people are usually cursing and throwing thier hats or papers just as the announcer lets everyone know that the next limited express is due back on platform 1 in 1 minute...I've learned my lesson and now when I am in a hurry I wait in the tunnel and watch the board until the last possible minute rather than waiting on the platform.

You can see the Caulfield Race Track ( horse racing ) off in the distance. This shot was taken from the train platform.
Waiting for the train...
A train...an older one actually...
Arriving at Parliament Station. It's actually one of the uglier stations on the city loop. Flinder's Street Station, Souther Cross Station and Melbourne Central are all worthy tourist attractions. Parliament is all business ! no sight seeing here. Once you get out of this tunnel you ride up about 3 stories on one of the steepest escalators I have ever seen. After that you still have to climb up three flights of stairs to get to street level.
View up Albert street after exiting from Parliament Station in the CBD. I work in the third building on the left. On the right side of the street is a park that connects to the Treasury Gardens. That is pretty much it. Door to door it's anwhere from 35 minutes to an hour depending on what train you catch and how long you wait for it.

I hope to go for a walk at lunch this week and start gathering some pics of the landmarks in the CBD.