Allan govt celebrates “successful” Metro Tunnel opening as FRV investigates trespassing incident
More than 70,000 passengers boarded Metro Tunnel services on its opening day — and one station in particular had more visitors than any other.
More than 70,000 passengers boarded Metro Tunnel services on its opening day, with one station attracting over 22,000 passengers.
In what has been described as a “very successful day one”, almost 75,000 people jumped on the brand new underground train line on Sunday, with transport enthusiasts piling on to mark the historic moment.
Out of the five new stations, State Library was the most popular, with more than 22,000 passengers, followed by Town Hall, 16,000, Anzac Station, 13,000, Parkville 12,000 and Arden Station, 8,000.
The inaugural day was not without its “glitches”, with Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) investigating a trespassing incident that caused a major delay.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on Monday slammed the “deadly and dangerous behaviour” of at least one trespasser who caused a 25 minute delay.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that anyone who trespassed into a live operating environment is undertaking a potentially deadly set of actions,” she said.
“I want to thank the operation staff for dealing with this quickly.”
It is still unknown whether the trespasser was a member of the public, a Metro Tunnel worker or a firefighter.
It comes after United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall warned that firefighters did not have the equipment, knowledge or training to protect members of the public in the new Metro Tunnel.
Firefighters elected safety representatives at eight stations had issued safety notices to Fire Rescue Victoria saying they could be “at increased risk of injury or death during fire or incident in the tunnel”.
Ms Allan has rubbished the claims saying they’re incorrect and that proper safety measures are in place.
Metro Trains Chief Executive Raymond O’Flaherty said a few expected “glitches” caused delays following the trespassing incident.
“We fully expect to see these glitches along the way as we build our confidence and get ready for the first of February” Mr O’Flaherty said.
He said the reason the train doors did not line up properly at one of the stations was due to the trespassing incident.
“Because we have to go under caution and make sure that all trespassers are out of the tunnel we actually switch from automatic mode and into manual mode and during that 25 minute period one of our services didn’t birth correctly at the station,” he said.
Metro Trains will run 240 weekly services on the new line, before the “big switch” skyrockets that number to 1000 weekly services on February 1.
From February, the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines will run exclusively on the Metro Tunnel, not the City Loop.
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Originally published as Allan govt celebrates “successful” Metro Tunnel opening as FRV investigates trespassing incident
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