30 November was a momentous day in Melbourne's railway history, as the public opening of the Metro Tunnel made for the most significant project since 1981.
11月30日是墨爾本新鐵路隧道Metro Tunnel首次正式營運，據說是1981年以來最重要的鐵路工程，我家自然想見證歷史。The first east- and west-bound passenger services through the tunnel departed at rather friendly times. My wife and I took out little one on the first west-bound service which was scheduled at 09:48 at our local station. (Until 1 February next year, the train services on our line will be a mix of existing routeing and through the Metro Tunnel. Then from 2 February all services will switch to the Metro Tunnel.)
不論東西行的頭班車，時間都很親民，我們乘搭第一班西行入隧道的列車，在我家附近那站是09:48出發，可當當火車迷趁熱鬧。 （由當天至2月1日，行經隧道的班次安排於指定時間在行駛現有路線的班次之間運行，到2月2日全面改行隧道。）
I was already touched when I saw the new information display at the entrance of our local station. There were more new displays aboard the train.
在火車站但見全新路線資訊顯示，那刻已經有點感動，上車後，車廂也有新的顯示。
Obviously we were not the only ones who wanted to witness history in the making. Standing room was already scarce when we boarded. Our little one initially cried for a seat but quickly settled into looking at the views en route. The train steadily became Hong Kong peak hour kind of packed in the later stations.
貪新鮮的豈止我們，之前幾個站的人已把車廂擠得挺滿的，寶寶嚷着要坐但我也沒法，幸好她讓爸爸抱着看風景，很快也不再嚷了。後來的情況跟香港繁忙時間沒大分別。
The moment when the train entered the tunnel was greeted with excitement as it was a truly historic moment.
列車進隧道的一刻，是令大家興奮的一刻，也是歷史性一刻。
At first we planned to alight at Middle Footscray, the second stop after the train exited the Tunnel, to explore a part of town new to us, but a quick shower made us change plan and immediately turn back to State Library, one of the new stations in the tunnel. The first thing that caught my attention at the State Library Station was the orange arches that reminded me of Marienplatz underground station in Munich. When I took the escalator towards the concourse and looked back to the platform, the complete view from platform to ceiling was indeed similar to the layout of some Munich underground stations too.
我們一直坐到西面的Middle Footscray站下車，本想在該站附近走走，但一陣急雨令我們打消念頭，趕急搭「回頭車」往隧道沿線的State Library站。在該站下車時，首先進入視線的是橙色的拱柱，馬上令我想起慕尼黑Marienplatz地鐵站的橙色（跟香港的北角站很相似），後來搭扶手電梯離開月台，在梯的頂部回望月台，那種從天花到月台地面一目了然的格局，的確像好些慕尼黑地鐵站的。
The State Library Station is actually adjoint to Melbourne Central Station and has an escalator that connects the concourse directly with street level. This conveniently makes up for the somewhat convoluted access to Melbourne Central Station through the Melbourne Central shopping centre since the modification more than 20 years ago.
State Library站其實與Melbourne Central站相連，出閘後有扶手電梯直達路面，很是方便，亦補足了Melbourne Central站二十多年前改造後，地面至該站大堂要穿越兩層商場的進出方式。
We spent a couple of hours in the CBD then boarded the train home at another new station called Town Hall. One of the entrances (and the only one open at present) is located in a central part of the CBD (the location of Melbourne Central is also central to the nearby activity region, but other City Loop stations are somewhat on the fringe), so Town Hall Station has opened up another access to the CBD.
我們在市區逛了約兩小時後，便前往另一個車站Town Hall坐車回府。Town Hall站其中一個出口，位置在市中心的心臟地點之一（Melbourne Central位置也算正中，其他是有點邊緣的），令往返中心地帶更方便。
However, regarding the platforms, both Town Hall and the next station Anzac utilised the same scheme of concrete and orange beams/struts. It was getting too repetitive to my liking.
不過Town Hall站和下一站Anzac，月台都是鄰似的混凝土為主輔以橙色線條，很快便讓人覺得沉悶，欠缺特色。
The most useful aspect of the Metro Tunnel at present, in my opinion, is the direct access to The University of Melbourne and surrounding hospitals through the new Parkville station. Those who need to travel cross-town will also benefit from the saves time. But what I look forward to most is the direct access to Melbourne Airport through the Metro Tunnel. The real transformation to Melbourne:s public transport will then eventuate!
這條新隧道，現階段最受惠的是前往墨爾本大學及那一帶的醫院時可直接前往Parkville站，免卻轉一程車的時間，東西跨城搭車也可省時，但我最期待的是幾年後行經Metro Tunnel的列車可直達墨爾本機場，屆時這隧道對墨爾本公共交通的貢獻便會全面彰顯。
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