The myki gates at Richmond station will remain closed after football games at the MCG this year, rather than being opened to let large crowds through.
Public Transport Victoria decided late last year to close the gates at Richmond station, after “new-generation” myki readers and additional gates were installed at the Brunton Avenue and Olympic Boulevard entrances.
Richmond station services Melbourne’s major sporting stadiums, including the MCG, Rod Laver Arena and AAMI Park.
The organisation said the move was made to regulate the flow of people through the gates and curb fare evasion, which costs more than $50 million a year.
“The Richmond station improvements also increased the number of myki readers at each exit and widened the station entrance,” a PTV spokeswoman said.
“The closed gates also reduce overcrowding on platforms as they facilitate a steady stream of customers entering the station, rather than huge crowds all at once.”
Metro staff will open the gates “in circumstances where crowding presents any safety risk to customers”, the spokeswoman said.
But the organisation said there was no need to open the gates for the 83,000 football fans leaving the MCG after last Thursday’s match between Carlton and Richmond.
“There were no safety issues with footy crowds entering the station over the weekend,” the spokeswoman said.
But a caller to radio station 3AW, known only as Tony, said it was “chaos” getting a train after the season opener.
“We stood on Brunton Avenue for probably the best part of 45 minutes,” he said.
Tony said he watched near-empty trains leave the station as fans tried to “worm their way” towards the platforms.
Another punter, who asked to remain anonymous, said the crush of people trying to get from the stadium to the station was “ridiculous”.
“It was disgraceful,” she said.
“There were children there, it was a safety issue. It was really dangerous for kids actually, because people were pushing and shoving. Plus, one of the gates wasn’t working and was closed, and that made it even worse.”
The same issue frustrated punters leaving the MCG after the Hawthorn-Geelong match on Monday.
The new myki readers have also been installed at Springvale and Flagstaff stations.
This story first appeared in The Age
