Train pain for Pakenham

The Pakenham line''s performance slipped in March.

By Rowan Forster

 New transport data has exposed Pakenham’s train line as the least reliable in Melbourne.
The figures for March 2018, released by Public Transport Victoria on Friday, revealed 617 services were late and 39 were cancelled.
Pakenham received the lowest punctuality rate of all lines, sitting at 84.8 per cent.
The result was substantially short of Metro Trains’ performance benchmark of 92 per cent.
Commuters have been quick to vent their frustrations at the “horrid” service – which has been further impacted by level crossing removals.
“I think a lot of people who travel to the city for work are just giving up and driving in,” Officer’s Brad Atkinson said.
“At one point I was running late three days in a row, and I couldn’t keep doing it.”
It comes after years of furore over the controversial sky rail installation, first being carried out on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said passengers deserve better and they should not be satisfied with these results.
He said overcrowding and poor infrastructure contributed to delays.
“The Pakenham line continues to do poorly, with crowding being an issue that contributes to delays, both at peak hour and at other times of day,” he said.
“The rail line is a vital link to fast growing suburbs in the south-east, and it’s vital that train services are upgraded to make them more reliable.”
Mr Bowen also said the single track on sections of the Cranbourne line meant any little delay snowballed dramatically.
“Single track on the Cranbourne line is also contributing, meaning that any little delay can quickly snowball and affect both lines. Duplicating the line from Dandenong to Cranbourne is critical to fix these issues, but as yet there has been no government commitment to do so,” he said.
Acting PTV chief executive officer Alan Fedda put the reduced punctuality down to the abundance of infrastructure projects.
“March saw the start of a six-week construction blitz across Melbourne to remove four more level crossings, duplicate the Hurstbridge Line, prepare for new high capacity metro trains and progress work on the Metro Tunnel,” he said.
“These major infrastructure works will increase the capacity of the network, drive longer term punctuality improvements and enable us to run more trains more often.”