Article: Trains bursting at the seams

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From the Melbourne Age click here!

Trains bursting at the seams

Trains bursting at the seams
REID SEXTON
September 20, 2009

MELBOURNE'S busiest rail lines have hit record levels of overcrowding as operator Connex struggles to cope with unprecedented patronage.

The high numbers of people squeezing on to trains were revealed in an internal Department of Transport report in May, obtained by the The Sunday Age under freedom-of-information laws. It shows the Sydenham and Pakenham lines carry more passengers than ever, with most peak-hour services breaching the ''maximum capacity'' of 798.

While the average Melbourne train can seat about 530 people, both lines regularly run services loaded with more than 1000 people during peak periods.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said just one extra service on such lines during peak times would make a huge difference.

But in a rare bit of good news for Melbourne commuters, overall overcrowding on the network has declined.

A May 2008 survey had recorded the highest network-wide levels of overcrowding breaches in the system's history.

The department's report shows recent timetable changes and ''small changes'' to peak period loads were responsible for the fall.

But, it said, additional services on the Sydenham line had failed to reduce overcrowding because of a 10 per cent rise in patronage in the past year.

The biggest fall in the past year was on the Werribee line, which has benefited from extra services and rerouting so that peak morning services no longer go through the city loop.

Connex spokesman John Rees welcomed the overall drop in overcrowding but said some lines, including Sydenham, could barely fit more trains on the tracks at peak times.

He said capacity would increase only after projects outlined in the State Government's $38 billion transport plan were under way.