Sunbury, Craigieburn commuters fed up with overcrowded services as reliability gets worse
Commuters in Melbourne’s northern growth corridor are feeling the pinch of overcrowded trains and late services. Now, they want to see faster services and more frequent trains.
North West
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Overcrowded trains and trams have created havoc on Melbourne’s railway network as late and cancelled services surge across the city.
Major shutdowns, union disputes and surging passenger numbers all led to a backslide in results for Metro Trains and Yarra Trams in 2019.
More than 12 per cent of trains along the Craigieburn line were late, compared to 11.2 per cent of Sunbury trains and 8.1 per of Upfield line services.
Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston and Craigieburn were the worst performing train lines, while route 70, 86 and 48 trams had the highest percentage of late services.
It comes after a petition calling on the State Government to improve services on the Craigieburn amassed more than 400 signatures.
Sunbury Train Association spokesman Paul Campbell said overcrowding and a lack of frequent, off-peak services was Sunbury’s biggest struggle.
“If we get punctuality right, I think that’ll have good flow on effects,” he said.
“When I catch the train in the evening, it’s pretty packed. If you get on after Melbourne Central (station), you’re going to be squeezing in.”
Commuters have been warned buses will replace trains between Sunshine and North Melbourne between March 6-7 and between North Melbourne and Sunbury until the last service on March 8 as a result of upgrade works.
Select trains on the V/Line Ballarat and Bendigo lines will also be replaced by coaches.
Metro chief executive Raymond O’Flaherty said extreme weather, trespassers and movements around platforms also played a role.
“With Melbourne’s population booming and more people choosing to catch the train, we are experiencing unprecedented demand on our network,” he said.
“We’re operating the network of today, while the Victorian Government builds the network of tomorrow.”
Authorities are still yet to reveal a new timetable that was originally slated to be released last year.
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A Department of Transport spokesman said the Melbourne Metro Tunnel and level crossing removals would help improve reliability.
A spokeswoman for the State Government said tougher penalties and more investment in public transport would improve service reliability.