Commuters’ tight squeeze on trains

By Lia Bichel
MANY commuters from the City of Dandenong are facing a tight squeeze on their train journeys into the city.
According to the latest Department of Transport survey, the Pakenham line is one of the most overcrowded railway lines in the state.
And, says the Liberal MLC for South-Eastern Metropolitan Inga Peulich, trains are most congested between Hallam and Pakenham and were often overcrowded as late as 10pm.
A 26-year-old Pakenham resident, who prefers not to be named, told the Star he commuted by train every day into the city and was frustrated at 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 train hits Narre Warren,” he said.
He said for his journey home, 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.”
A train is considered overcrowded when carrying more than 798 people, but Department of Transport spokesman Chris Veraa said that number is desired, but 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.”
Over-crowding poses a safety risk to other commuters, Ms Peulich said.
“If they are lucky enough to get on a train,” she said, “they are stuffed in like sardines.”
The survey recorded commuters’ satisfaction with regional trains increased slightly while the 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 trains have recently been put on order for Melbourne’s metropolitan train network in addition to 18 trains already on their 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.”