Comments on: Weekend overcrowding on the Geelong line

By: Ok

Ok — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 20:53:52 +0000

“The blame lies at the feet of the State Government”
Never the fact that extra trains = extra crew

By: jw

jw — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:58 +0000

In reply to Marcus Wong. Appreciate that. But, if I may say so, that's just an excuse, and all we hear all the time is a list of excuses. If you have a public transport service then you take the necessary decisions to make it work, not trot out the same excuses time after time.

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 12:28:54 +0000

In reply to jw.

Even when Metro Trains run extra football trains, Richmond and Jolimont stations struggle to handle the crowds.

https://danielbowen.com/2015/05/11/handling-big-events/

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 12:26:51 +0000

In reply to Andrew. Six-car trains are normal on the Geelong line, three-car ones are an occasional pain, and nine-car ones only run on a handful of services to Wyndham Vale.

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 12:25:25 +0000

In reply to Paul Webb. In a way yes, but by increasing the number of kilometres travelled trains will hit their maintenance milestones quicker, which means either more maintenance staff, or more time with trains out of service.

By: jw

jw — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 04:29:50 +0000

Metro trains are just the same whenever there’s footy on, and made worse when we have both footy on at the MCG and soccer on across the road at AAMI Park. On Easter Monday I was at the City vs Wellington match at AAMI, stupidly timed to start at 4.00 pm meaning that spectators at the City match and Geelong vs. Hawthorn at the MCG were streaming on to Richmond station to go home at the same time. The Sandringham-bound train on the Sandy line that we were on was dangerously overloaded. It beggars belief that we cannot run trains more frequently than once every 20 minutes when passenger numbers warrant it. It’s not rocket science.
Part of the problem is that we, the travelling public, put up with inadequate and poor service, year after year. And we have no recourse – politicians and transport management simply don’t care.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 07:50:14 +0000

My sister and her daughter travelled from Geelong to Spencer Street on Monday at about noon…12.06 as I remember. They sensibly boarded the train at South Geelong and had seats but the seats soon filled up as the train progressed, and then there were standees. Many were coming to Melbourne to see an afternoon football match.

Now I did not know that they could run twelve car VLocity but she said it was. I suspect it was maybe 9 car and as a maybe monthly user, she just recognised that it was longer. The train was part express. I noticed on the timetable there was another train from Geelong maybe 10 minutes later, stopping all stations I think, and yet another beginning a Wyndham Vale.

Anyway, you were talking about the adequacy of normal services.

By: Paul Webb

Paul Webb — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 23:34:09 +0000

Am I right in thinking that little maintenance is done on trains over the weekends, so the impact of change to weekend timetables is purely the additional cost of operations staff? Or am I missing something?