There is another big Metro tunnel test next weekend, August 16-17.
Like last time, trains will run between Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham, but passengers will be offloaded between Footscray and Caulfield onto other trains.
Leaving aside the faux peaks, similar to last time, the timetables show these daytime (interpeak) and evening frequencies:
- The outer sections from Cranbourne/Pakenham to Dandenong: every 20 minutes
- Dandenong to West Footscray: every 10 minutes
- West Footscray to Watergardens: every 10 minutes in daytime; every 20 minutes in the evening
- Watergardens to Sunbury: every 20 minutes
One key difference this time is some trains terminating at West Footscray in the evening, and heading back towards Dandenong/Cranbourne/Pakenham. I don’t recall them doing that during the last test. In fact it would have helped a lot when a disruption occurred around 10pm.
Again there are some issues with forcing people to change due to the test, with some very poor connections on Sunday morning at both Footscray and Caufield, and problematic connections on both Saturday and Sunday evenings at Footscray.
The trains in general are expected to be busy thanks to multiple AFL games in Melbourne, and university open days and other events.
We still don’t know if the test timetables are truly reflective of the timetable once the tunnel opens properly. But if they are, there are some benefits from many stations getting a frequency boost, including no waits over 20 minutes at any time, and West Footscray to Dandenong having trains every 10 minutes until midnight.
This is good – finally we’ll have a proper Turn-Up-And-Go (at all times until midnight) service on one line.
That said, 10 minutes outside peak is possibly a teensy bit underwhelming through the inner core of the line, given it’s trying to relieve busy (and very frequent) tram services. Let’s hope the final service is a bit better than that.
One curiosity in the online timetables: Craigieburn and Upfield lines are showing a weekday timetable on that weekend. But they don’t show the promised 20 minute evening frequency, so I suspect it may have been loaded in error.
Anyway, hopefully the test goes well!
Updates:
- This post was originally published with the wrong dates! It’ll be on 16-17th August, not 15-16th!
- V/Line’s Gippsland line will be also running what looks like the post-Metro tunnel weekday service announced in May, with trains every 40 minutes instead of hourly. The Bendigo line will also run a weekday service. Timetables here.
My recent short video from Arden station:
18 replies on “Metro tunnel: another big test Aug 16-17”
I think it could be more important to make the Frankston loop line more frequent than every 10 minutes off-peak in the inner section. It covers more stations so I expect more people from the south-east will be transferring onto that line than the metro tunnel line to complete their journeys.
I guess we’ll wait and see what the final timetables look like but it seems the West Footscray turnback sells the Sunbury line completely short if the higher frequencies to the south-east go all the way to Dandenong.
If they did even higher frequencies through the inner core would they be Westall turnbacks in the southeast?
Are there any upgrades to the PIDs at Footscray and Caulfield on the cards once the tunnel is operational? With multiple destinations, short running and higher frequencies I reckon a lot of the time the PIDs will not show what they need to – as they currently don’t when all four upcoming trains are on the green line and the PIDs don’t show a single yellow line train.
At South Yarra Station yesterday, Friday, there was the normal ten minute service to Oakleigh, but so far as I could see the screens were only showing Pakenham trains and its truncated service, and nothing on the main screens about a train to Cranbourne. Maybe there was some fine print. I knew what was happening, but if a stranger wanted a train to Cranbourne, the information wasn’t good.
To deal with the additional passenger load on the Werribee and Williamstown lines, I wish they would run the weekday Werribee timetable during the test, or at least run additional cross-city services from Newport to Caulfield with Limited Express stops.
@Steve and @Andrew, this is a recurring issue with the new PID design. It annoys me no end, and I have put in multiple complaints to PTV to no avail. It happens with Alamein & Williamstown services constantly at Flinders St, as well as Belgrave services when the shuttle is running, the examples that you have mentioned, and no doubt many others.
Whats frustrating is that the fix is (mostly) just a simple logic change – show the first trains on each line rather than the first trains on all lines that the PID serves.
@Arfman, I think that is a good idea, as people on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines would need to change trains at either Footscray (in the case of the Sunbury line) or Caulfield (in the case of Cranbourne and Pakenham lines). So I think PTV (and Transport Victoria) should look at that to solve the problem that could emerge when Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines are on weekday timetable and the other lines on weekend timetable.
I really hope Watergardens to Dandenong is 10 minutes daytime and 20 minutes maximum late evening and early morning is applied when the Metro Tunnel opens.
Service frequency really needs to be 5 minutes maximum between West Footscray and Caulfield from 7am to 10pm for a proper turn up and go service on the Metro Tunnel. Otherwise it will not free up capacity on Swanston Street trams and will be a waste of infrastructure expenditure for poor frequency levels.
Sunbury and Pakenham passenger should also be able to use the increased vline frequency. Gippsland every 40mins and Bendigo running to a standard weekday timetable. This means you won’t have to change trains
@Anonymous, that is easier said than done. While it is true that if people use the Gippsland and Bendigo lines, they won’t have to change trains, that is against the law in regards to the suburban section in which if a train is heading into the city, you can’t board the train at a suburban station, and if you are heading out of the city, you can’t get off until the first station in which it is allowed. So unfortunately, the method you are proposing is not actually possible.
@indigohex3 for Pakenham and Sunbury it is actually legal to board a vline train in the direction of the city. Check the timetables
For Pakenham and Sunbury station passengers they can board vline trains @indigohex3
Last time they didn’t run with High capacity (in cab) signalling in the test. Now I think this was deliberate as they would need to see how it runs without the signalling, but they will need at least one test with the High capacity signalling active before the tunnel opens.
State library looks the most complete of the city stations, with the fire test already being carried out. Just needs a bit of it landscaping to be complete (and probably a few other minor items). Town Hall is probably a good month behind.
If I were to predict and opening, it’s likely to be November or at worst early December.
@Anonymous, I stand corrected.
I’m at one with Anonymous. I wouldn’t really classify “every 10 minutes” as “Turn up and go”. My train journey only lasts (a scheduled) 15 or 18 minutes so an extra 10 minutes is a significant relative increase. (This is not a theoretical whinge; I already benefit from an every-10-minute-ish service for at least some of peak time so I know how tedious that length of wait can be. I know I’m lucky though: I gather that it used to be much worse and I have nothing but sympathy for those still on worse-served lines.)
Agree that 10 min frequency interpeak would be pretty disappointing. SE lines have already had that for years with 10 min frequency to Dandenong, so no upside at all for them, and with a transfer penalty for Sth Yarra and non MC/FSS loop stations there would only be downside (marginal i accept, but still no good news story)
@Paul – on the previous testing day passenger carrying trains were banned from using CBTC (high capacity signalling) due to a known issue, but they did use it through the tunnel as it is CBTC only, so they switched over at Footscray and Caulfield. But that issue was resolved a few weeks ago, so this testing weekend can use it.
@Terry, I would think people off the Dandenong line who want Malvern to South Yarra would change at Caulfield. But if they want Loop stations it’s likely to be quicker to change in the City (though that’ll be a longer walk, especially at Town Hall). Richmond might be 50/50.
@Steve, yes, the SE turnback is at Westall. Previous documents have indicated West Footscray to Westall services to beef up the frequency.
Yes I believe Caulfield will be getting more PIDs and signage. Recently they also added mirrors on the ramps to make it easier to see who is about to come around the corner in the opposite direction!
@Anonymous and MMG… Re: frequency… yeah, what’s good enough depends on context. 10 minutes is a good standard to aspire to for most suburban stations. But the more I think about it, the more I think 10 minutes would be inadequate for the service through the tunnel.