Article: Sydenham line to be extended to Sunbury, but infrastructure cannot cope

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Sydenham line to be extended to Sunbury, but infrastructure cannot cope

Sydenham line to be extended to Sunbury, but infrastructure cannot cope

    * Ashley Gardiner
    * From: Herald Sun
    * June 03, 2010 12:00AM

PASSENGERS on Melbourne's most crowded train line need to brace themselves for the worst, as the track can cope with no extra services at the busiest time.

The already crowded Sydenham line is about to be extended to Sunbury, but the ageing infrastructure on the line can't cope.

The warning is revealed in the Initial Strategic Operations Plan, the same document that said passengers were happy to stand for 45 minutes. Following the proposed electrification of the line from Sunbury, it is expected that it will not be possible to operate another metropolitan or V/Line train reliably on the line during the busiest hour.

Patronage on the line is soaring amid booming population growth in Melbourne's outer west. Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula distanced himself from the plan, revealed by the Herald Sun yesterday.

Mr Pakula said the document was prepared by bureaucrats for bidders vying to run Melbourne's train system.

"It doesn't reflect my view, it doesn't reflect Government policy," Mr Pakula said.

"The author of the statement was expressing a view about some work that's being done.

"Here in Victoria, the expectations have not been that people stand for the duration of their journey.

"That is not my expectation and it's not the experience of the vast majority of train travellers."

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said he was surprised by the document.

Some level of standing was "probably inevitable" but standing for long periods of time on trains was unacceptable, he said.

"Perhaps it shows they're out of touch with what passengers think," Mr Bowen said.

"Some people do stand for 45 minutes on trains but that doesn't mean they're happy about it."