Southeast commuters set for peak hour trains every two minutes at Caulfield Station

A long-awaited turn-up-and-go service at is being promised to Caulfield commuters as part of the $13.7 billion Melbourne Metro project.

City commuters from Melbourne’s southeast are being promised peak hour trains every two minutes from Caulfield station once the Melbourne Metro is built.

The $13.7 billion project, which began in 2017 and is scheduled to open by 2025, will finally enable a proper turn-up-and-go service.

The two-minute services — which have never before been locked in — will run from Caulfield, which will be transformed into a critical new interchange for Pakenham, Cranbourne and Frankston line trains.

Passengers could then journey to the CBD via the Metro tunnel and Anzac Station on Pakenham and Cranbourne line trains, or through the existing City Loop via Richmond on Frankston line trains.

In order to speed up trains along the Frankston line, level crossings are set to be removed at Glen Huntly Rd and at Neerim Rd, through a $507 million package of works, by 2024.
That package has been awarded to a consortium of Acciona, Coleman Rail, WSP and Metro Trains, and will include a rebuilt Glenhuntly station.

Boom gates in that area can be down 58 per cent of peak periods.

Trains to the city could soon depart Caulfield every two minutes. Picture: Eugene Hyland

By the end of the decade, Metro tunnel services will also run through to Tullamarine Airport where a new line will be under construction from next year.

The first tender for that $10bn line, which is backed by a $5bn federal cash injection, has been released for Sunshine station/Albion line improvements.
This will enable airport trains to hook into existing corridors and run through the CBD.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the level crossing removals meant “supporting Victorian jobs and delivering more trains more often”.

“Locals using Caulfield station are set to be big winners from our Big Build works — more choice and more trains to get people where they need to go,” she said.

The government says the Metro Tunnel will allow 36,000 more peak period passengers on the Frankston line every week.

Member for Oakleigh Steve Dimopoulos said the level-crossing removal was “exciting news”.

“Removing these dangerous and congested Glen Huntly crossings and getting rid of the boom gates by 2023 will help locals get home safer and sooner,” Mr Dimopoulos said.

“These crossings are unsafe and outdated, and the faster they go the better.”