Half as many trains on the Sunbury line are overcrowded during peak times as they were a year ago, a new survey shows.
Public Transport Victoria’s (PTV) latest Metropolitan Train Load Standards May 2016 survey was conducted over 14 weekdays and showed three trains were above the load standard during peak hours, compared to the equivalent May 2015 survey showing six overcrowding breaches.
PTV’s passenger threshold for Comeng and Siemen’s trains is 798 passengers and 900 passengers for X’Trapolis trains.
The survey is conduced each May to monitor the average number of passengers on metropolitan trains and trams. The findings are used to determine where and when extra capacity is needed to reduce overcrowding.
The survey reveals 12.5 per cent of Sunbury line trains were overcrowded during the evening peak in May, compared to one in every four services in May, 2015. However, the survey paints a different picture for the morning rush, where eight trains exceeded PTV’s passenger load standard, compared to seven last year.
A PTV spokesman did not want to “speculate” on the survey results.
He said PTV was working with the state government and Metro to develop timetable changes that would help reduce overcrowding at peak times. “The government is ordering 84 new trains, removing 50 dangerous and congested level crossings, installing smarter signalling and building the Metro tunnel, which will create space for tens of thousands of extra passengers in peak hour.
“These projects will allow more trains to and from Sunbury and right across Melbourne, reducing waiting, crowding and delays.”
On Tuesday, buses will begin replacing trains between Sunbury and Sunshine stations as work ramps up to remove two level crossings in St Albans. The disruption will add about 40 minutes to the commute.
Metro spokesman Marcus Williams says 70 replacement buses will be deployed during peak travel times every day to minimise delays.
Buses will run every 10 minutes during peak times. Each bus can carry about 76 people.
Normal train services on the Sunbury line will resume on October 31.
