Pakenham line: ‘one of the worst’

The Pakenham line is one of the worst performing lines in the state. 196128_02

By Mitchell Clarke

The Pakenham line continues to fare as one of Metro’s worst performing lines, with trains failing to meet targets every month of 2019.

Statistics from December’s performance review, released by the Department of Transport (DOT) in late January, revealed Metro Trains recorded 90.8 percent punctuality and 98.2 percent delivery during the last month of the decade.

The Pakenham line’s punctuality averaged 86.25 percent between January and December 2019, with the second half of the year recording an increased punctuality of 1.5 percent.

That’s despite December marking the beginning of a new schedule for the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Dandenong lines, which meant commuters were faced with delays of between one to five minutes during a number of weekday services.

Metro blamed “an increased number” of illegal trespassers during December as a contributing factor to the failure in reaching targets but the Department’s head of transport Jeroen Weimar said it was crucial operators continued to meet targets, even during months of “significant external challenges”.

“Metro Trains was faced with many challenges in December but we’re still looking for them to improve their performance to ensure our passengers get the reliable service they deserve,” Mr Weimar said.

The opposition wasted no time taking aim at the State Government, with Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne and Premier Daniel Andrews being flung into the firing line.

“Despite the billions spent on rail infrastructure projects and endless empty promises, all Daniel Andrews and Labor have delivered to Metro rail commuters is a serious and sustained punctuality decline,” shadow Transport Minister David Davis said.

Locally, Liberal Gembrook MP Brad Battin said residents within Cardinia and Casey, who rely on the Pakenham line daily, were faced with “unacceptable punctuality” on about 15 of every 20 days.

“The Labor Member for Bass Jordan Crugnale is always happy to get a photo at Pakenham or Cardinia Station boasting the Government’s grand plans,” Mr Battin said.

“But when it comes to Labor’s action on train punctuality she is nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe if the member spent more time catching a train rather than getting her photo taken at the boom gates, she might start calling on her Labor colleagues to fix the system.”

But Ms Crugnale said Metro had established a “dedicated response team” in 2019 to improve the reliability and punctuality of services on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines.

“Passengers on the Pakenham line absolutely deserve a better performance on their train line,” Ms Crugnale said.

“This is why we’ve implemented tough contracts and are undertaking the biggest ever investment in major transport projects.”

Meanwhile, regional passengers were also affected, as V/Line fell short of reliability and punctuality targets.

“December saw our regional passengers significantly impacted by speed restrictions as a result of the extreme heat and protected industrial action by staff affecting all lines,” Mr Weimar added.