An extra 10 trains will run on the Sunbury line each week when a new timetable comes into effect in August.
The new Metro timetable’s additional services on the Sunbury line will run on week days, one during the morning peak and one during the evening peak. The services will go through the city loop, while the Werribee and Craigieburn lines will also get extra services.
Announcing the new services last week, Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the new timetable, which will come into effect on August 27, would change stopping patterns for some existing services to allow four morning trains to run direct from Sunbury to Flinders Street through Southern Cross station.
Sydenham MP Natalie Hutchins said the extra train services would reduce waiting, crowding and congestion.
“More services when trains are at their busiest – that’s what the new timetable will deliver for local passengers,” she said.
“We’re removing dangerous local level crossings and adding more train services in peak hour to make it quicker and easier for people to get where they need to go – whether they’re in the car or on the train.”
The Sunbury line is one of the worst in Melbourne for peak-hour overcrowding, with multiple trains each day breaching Public Transport Victoria’s load standard of 900 passengers a train.
The latest PTV train load survey, conducted over two weeks in May last year, revealed almost half of all morning commuters were heading to work on overcrowded trains.
Patronage on the Sunbury and Craigieburn lines is expected to reach capacity in four years, and by 2031 demand is expected to exceed capacity by 20 to 30 per cent, according to the business case for Melbourne Metro rail.
The new timetable will be available from July on ptv.vic.gov.au.
