New modelling released in early June 2018 shows travel times on every metropolitan and regional train line Melbourne will be greatly reducing following completion of the $11 billion Metro Tunnel project.
The modelling shows travel times to the St Kilda Road employment and residential precinct and the Shrine of Remembrance will be slashed by up to 25 minutes in each direction, or 50 minutes a day, once the new Anzac Station is built.
Access to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne and other key destinations in Parkville will be slashed by up to 20 minutes in each direction, or 40 minutes a day.
Passengers on the Cranbourne/Pakenham and Sunbury Lines will benefit significantly once these lines start running through the Metro Tunnel and they swap a combination of train and tram travel for a direct rail connection.
People travelling on these lines each work day will save more than four hours a week to and from St Kilda Road, and up to three and a half hours a week to and from Parkville.
Passengers across Melbourne will also benefit as the Metro Tunnel is set to deliver quicker, more convenient journeys and hassle-free connections for tens of thousands of people each day.
Frankston Line passengers will save up to 15 minutes in each direction travelling to both Parkville and Domain. Passengers on other lines such as Werribee, Williamstown and Belgrave/Lilydale will no longer need to hop on a crowded tram or bus when heading to Parkville.
Instead they’ll make connections to Metro Tunnel services that will take them to their destination by train, saving them up to 10 minutes in each direction, or 20 minutes a day. Regional passengers will also experience travel time savings of up to 15 minutes.
Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, said, “We’re getting on with building the Metro Tunnel so more trains can run, more often between Melbourne’s growing suburbs and the city’s key employment, education, health, and tourism hubs.”
This comes as the Victorian Government announced an additional 190 new metropolitan services every week.
Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan, announced details of the new metropolitan train timetable, which will deliver new weekday services across the Mernda, South Morang, Werribee, Hurstbridge lines and the Dandenong Corridor from late 2018.
South Morang passengers will be able to choose from 115 new and extended services every week to improve travel choice, especially during peak times, while the new Mernda Station will give passengers access to 982 services every week when the $600 million Mernda Rail Extension opens in late 2018.
Dandenong Corridor passengers will benefit from up to 80 new and extended services each week and a longer turn-up-and-go service frequency in the evenings, meaning trains every 10 minutes until 10pm on weeknights.
Thirty-five new weekday services will also be added on the Werribee Line, and passengers at South Kensington, Seddon, Yarraville and Spotswood can catch a turn-up-and-go service until 8.20pm on weekdays.
Hurstbridge Line passengers living between Eltham and the city will have more options to get to work, school or leisure activities with 35 new and extended services each week.
The new timetable will help make public transport a convenient and attractive transport option in the lead up to the opening of the Metro Tunnel, which will create space to run more trains, more often, right across Melbourne.
The Victorian Government is also making space for more passengers with 14 of its order of 24 Ballarat-made X’Trapolis trains now in service and the first new High Capacity Metro Trains rolling out on the Cranbourne and Pakenham Lines in mid-2019.
