[Vic] Trains to Spencer Street

["John Kerr" <jkerr@gil.com.au>]

As a visitor, I find it annoying when a train say from Dandenong in the
evening goes direct to Flinders Street but terminates there, not to go to
the sheds but to form a service through the loop back the way it came. It
happened to me once and I didn't realise and the train was heading out west
via Flagstaff but bypassing Spencer Street altogether so I decided to walk
from Flagstaff rather risk how long I might have to wait changing trains at
North Melbourne.
    I much prefer the Sydney system where trains behave pretty predictably
goes round the circle the same way and serving all the circle stations. Why
does Melbourne still have Flinders Street terminations when it has a loop. I
wrote and got an answer that seemed to suggest that this kind of thing only
happened when things were dislocated but I thought they were in the
timetable. When you get out at Flinders Street I couldn't see any sign to
indicate which platform would have the next Spencer Street train, I had to
go up to the concourse and wander from platform to platform to find where to
go. Fortunately I found one quickly but in such a process you often miss the
train because you are still find out where to go.
    Any comments?  John Kerr