Trains pack a bunch

By Lia Bichel
IT’S official: The Pakenham line is one of the most overcrowded railway lines in the state, according to the latest Department of Transport survey.
And, says the Liberal MLC for South Eastern Metropolitan, Inga Peulich, the trains are most congested between Pakenham and Hallam and often are overcrowded as late as 10pm.
A 26-year-old Pakenham resident, who preferred not to be named, told the News he commuted by train every day into the city, and was frustrated by the lack of seating.
“It is OK when I travel into the city because Pakenham is the first stop, but seating starts to run out once the trains reaches Narre Warren,” he said.
He said for his home journey, finding a seat on the crowded train from Melbourne to Pakenham was difficult, but he was also irritated at the lack of reliable service.
“At the end of the day, it’s really frustrating when your train has been delayed or cancelled,” he said.
A train is considered to be overcrowded when carrying more than 798 people, but Department of Transport spokesman Chris Veraa said that number was desired, not the maximum capacity.
“An average of 798 persons, for all six-carriage trains running over a one-hour period is the desired average passenger load for the Melbourne metropolitan train network,” he said.
“This number is primarily based on passenger comfort and allows for 1.5 square metres of space per passenger; it is not a measure of the maximum capacity of a train.”
But Ms Peulich said overcrowding posed a safety risk to commuters.
“If they are lucky enough to get on a train, they are stuffed in like sardines,” she said.
The survey found commuter satisfaction with regional trains increased slightly but contentment with coaches decreased.
For failing to meet the target performance last year, Connex was fined $6.34 million and V/line was fined $128,000.
Mr Veraa said he hoped additional trains would improve service across the state.
Twenty more trains have been ordered for Melbourne’s metropolitan train network on top of 18 trains already on the way.
The project will cost $4.2 billion dollars and is aimed to provide extra capacity for more than 30,000 passengers at peak times.
“The introduction of the 38 new Xtrapolis trains from this year will result in increased services across the entire train network,” Mr Veraa said. “All 38 trains are expected to be in service by 2014.”