Major disruptions plague Metro Tunnel’s landmark Sunbury to Cranbourne, Pakenham test run

Commuters have faced major delays and been left stuck at platforms after a series of incidents marred the Metro Tunnel’s landmark end-to-end trial on Saturday.

A landmark end-to-end test run of the Metro Tunnel Project has been overshadowed by four separate incidents across Melbourne’s rail network, sparking major delays and leaving commuters stranded at platforms.

The disruption has sparked calls from a key public transport advocate for the state's metro trains operator to be better prepared to cope with similar incidents when the $15.5bn tunnel project opens to the public.

Trains travelled the entire length of the new line from Sunbury, running through the Metro Tunnel and out to East Pakeham and Cranbourne, for the first time on Saturday last week.

The trial marked a major milestone for the Metro Tunnel, with the new high capacity trains completing 265 trips and travelling more than 3400km throughout the day.

It allowed the team to check travel times across the line before the project officially opens at the end of this year, and to make sure the tunnel trains could integrate with the wider network.

Commuters were not allowed to travel through the tunnel during the trial and were instead directed to switch to Frankston or Werribee/Williamstown services while heading to and from the city.

But hours into the test run, the trial was hit with back-to-back emergency incidents and a track fault — all unrelated to the Metro Tunnel — which caused significant delays at key interchange stations.

The test was first marred by an emergency incident at Keilor Plain shortly after midday, which left commuters at that station stuck with bus replacements and 15 minute delays until around 3.30pm.

On the other side of Melbourne, trains had to be stopped and overhead power de-energised at Toorak shortly after 5.30pm due to trespassers, causing delays of around 45 minutes for all commuters on the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston lines.

Then, a track fault at Dandenong sparked further delays on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, leaving operators to call on buses to shuttle passengers to and from Berwick and Cranbourne.

âš  Cranbourne/Pakenham/Frankston lines: Major delays due to a @VictoriaPolice request in the Hawksburn area.

Check info displays and listen for announcements as services may be altered at short notice. pic.twitter.com/uCXvEtLvTn

— Metro Trains (@metrotrains) June 21, 2025

The Metro Tunnel Project team said it had extra crews and buses on standby and “worked quickly” to keep passengers moving.

But commuters in Dandenong faced hour-long waits for buses to arrive before additional delays to their commutes.

“Buses have been ordered but may take over 60min to arrive,” Metro Trains posted online at the time.

“Allow extra travel time.”

On top of that, another equipment fault at Sunshine shortly after 9pm also caused more delays and pileups at platforms.

The Department of Transport did not confirm how long these commuters were delayed.

â›” Cranbourne line: Buses replace trains Dandenong - Cranbourne due to a track fault at Dandenong.

Buses have been ordered but may take over 60min to arrive.

Allow extra travel time
Check info displays and listen for announcements. pic.twitter.com/8FJ5Zv90Ok

— Metro Trains (@metrotrains) June 21, 2025

The Metro Tunnel Project was designed to take the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines out of the City Loop to reduce the impact of unplanned disruptions and improve reliability across the network.

Victoria Police said requests for trains to stop were not uncommon “due to the frequency of self-harm incidents, trespassers, or issues with boom gates.”

The disruption during the trial has raised concerns about how future disruptions on lines that share the Metro Tunnel — which will home three of the state’s most frequently used lines — will be mitigated.

Crowds of commuters wait for trains as disruptions mar the Metro Tunnel test day. Picture: Daniel Bowen

Public Transport Union Association spokesperson Daniel Bowen said operators needed to plan how to better respond, adapt and recover from similar disruptions in future.

“The question is, once they open the tunnel, are they prepared for those types of disruptions where they may have to turn back trains to keep some sections of the line running while there are disruptions?” he said.

Mr Bowen said the team also needed to improve communications with passengers, saying information on Public Transport Victoria apps and announcements “can be quite contradictory”.

“There might be a disruption notice, but the timetable data and the journey planners don’t know about those disruptions, or make it very hard to find those disruptions,” he said.

The first end-to-end Metro Tunnel trial has raised concerns on how disruptions will be managed when the new line opens. Picture: Metro Tunnel Project

Mr Bowen said transport officials also need to think about what they call new link when it opens, being it connects three existing lines.

“The Sunbury/Cranbourne/Pakenham line is pretty wordy, and then later on there will be branches out to the airport and maybe Melton,” he said.

“So does it become the Sunbury/Airport/Melton/Cranbourne/Pakenham line? They need to get the communications right so passengers can easily understand what’s going on.”

The trial gave commuters the first glimpse at the possible Metro Tunnel timetable, with operators running “as many trains as possible” on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines throughout Saturday.

An analysis by Mr Bowen revealed significant improvements for those on the Sunbury line, with wait time between services halved at interpeak times.

But those on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines saw no improvement to time between services outside of peak hours, still waiting 20 minutes for a train in the evenings.

Public Transport Users Association’s Daniel Bowen says the state needs to invest in services to get the most out of the Metro Tunnel Project. Picture: Rob Baird

“I really hope that the actual Metro Tunnel timetable is a bit more ambitious in providing a frequent service, particularly through the centre of town,” Mr Bowen said.

“They build this major infrastructure, they need to make the most out of it by ensuring that they invest in the services as well.”

A Metro Tunnel Project spokesperson said the testing marked a crucial step toward getting ready to open the tunnel later this year.

“We would like to thank everyone taking part in the largest trial of Metro Tunnel services yet,” the spokesperson said.

“The Metro Tunnel will be the biggest transformation of Melbourne’s rail network in 40 years, including five new state-of-the-art stations connecting passengers to jobs, healthcare and education.”

Originally published as Major disruptions plague Metro Tunnel’s landmark Sunbury to Cranbourne, Pakenham test run