Article: Schools slam Metro's late train

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From the Herald Sun click here!

Schools slam Metro's late train

Schools slam Metro's late train

    * John Masanauskas
    * From: Herald Sun
    * May 17, 2010 12:00AM

SCHOOLS are telling students to wake up earlier so they're not late because of Melbourne's public transport chaos.

Camberwell High is so fed up with students blaming the train system that it's encouraging them to seek compensation from Metro for poor services.

The school has also changed its latecomers policy so that kids go straight to class on arrival instead of queueing up to sign a register.

Camberwell's attendance officer Megan Edwards said the school had expected big change when Metro replaced Connex as rail operator, but was disappointed by the large number of late trains.

"The high level of expectation made the failure seem all the more disappointing," she said in a newsletter.

"The late queue is the same size it has always been."

Ms Edwards said that while some students may use the late-train excuse unjustifiably, there was a solution.

"If you do realise it's a problem, one way of fixing it is to get up earlier," she said.

Camberwell VCE student Jessy Brown said that one train that most students caught on the Alamein line was late most of the time and getting the earlier service meant getting to school 40 minutes before the bell.

"Most students don't want to be at school 40 minutes early," she said.

Ms Edwards said Metro had been honest in admitting its problems and students affected by train woes should check if they are eligible for compensation.

New school principal Jill Laughlin has dumped the policy of latecomers signing in at a special window after the school bell sounds at 8.45am.

"I don't want them lining up in the morning. Now they go straight into class and the teacher deals with the reasons later," she said.

An Education Department spokeswoman said students know what time they are expected in class and schools were justified in reminding them of this.

Rohan Brown, deputy head of Kew private school Trinity Grammar, said there was a problem in the morning with crowded trams on Glenferrie Rd, although Yarra Trams had helped with extra services.

"I feel sorry for the children who can't get on the tram and the adults who feel a bit intimidated by the sheer volume of children who are swarming to get on," he said.

Mr Brown said on average about a dozen students were late each day.

"If they woke up a bit earlier that would help," he said.

Metro spokeswoman Leah Waymark said the company's on-time performance had been improving since a low point in March.

"We are investing in infrastructure and we feel comfortable we will see some continuous improvements in the coming months," she said.