Metro Tunnel: How new train stations performed in first week

Almost 120,000 people visited the new Metro Tunnel stations within the first five days of opening. Here’s how they performed.

Almost 120,000 people visited new Metro Tunnel stations during the $15.5 billion project’s first five days, with the soft opening so far hailed a success.

Trains on a limited timetable for the tunnel’s off-peak launch have run to time – despite some minor disruptions caused by platform screen doors failing to open properly.

Rail operators say that the soft opening, which began on November 30 and restricts trains to running from 10am to 3pm on weekdays as well as limited services on weekends, will help iron out bugs in the new system.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan takes the first train in the new Metro Tunnel from Sunbury to ANZAC Station. Picture: Josie Hayden

But they have reported only minor teething problems, such as an adjustment required to escalators and occasional platform screen door glitches.

Passengers will have to wait until February to get the full benefits of the tunnel, when an overhaul of timetables across the rail network will add thousands of new services, due to the Allan Government choosing a two-phase launch for its signature rail project.

From February, peak hour trains will run every three or four minutes through the tunnel, which connects the Sunbury line in the northwest to the booming Pakenham and Cranbourne lines in the southeast.

Passengers who caught the train in the Metro Tunnel’s inaugural week said they thought the $15.5bn project cost, which includes $13.5bn in taxpayer funds, would pay off.

Jess and Mitch Reeves, from Brighton, pointed to the extra services that would run across the board.

“Logistically to free up the City Loop, that’s worth it,” they said.

Reservoir residents Justine Crane and Hannah Do, who came to see the new Town Hall station with their three-year-old, also backed the price tag because people would “actually get places now” and it lifted up the CBD.

“It gives people in the city something to be excited about, which we haven’t really had in a while,” Ms Do said.

Greg and Lynn Asquith, from Mill Park, said the “gargantuan” new State Library station was impressive.

“I’m just bowled over by the size of it and the beauty of it,” Mr Asquith said.

State Library was by far the most visited station during the first few days of operations, with almost 42,000 people through over five days.

The State Library was the most visited station in Metro’s opening week. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake.

The next busiest was Town Hall, with 26,340, while Arden – which is in an underdeveloped precinct – was the least visited at 11,558 people.

Michael Demissie, from Thornbury, commuted to Town Hall last week and said the station was easy to use.

A Government spokesman said: “Victorians are loving the new Metro Tunnel” and the first few days had a 100 per cent punctuality and reliability rate despite some minor snags with platform screen doors and escalators.

“With free travel across the network on weekends in December and January, it is the perfect time to visit the five new Metro Tunnel stations,” he said.

Originally published as Metro Tunnel: How new train stations performed in first week