Direct running on the Frankston line - it's worth a go

A Herald Sun article reports a 'secret' plan to make Frankston trains run direct to Flinders Street instead of via the City Loop. The Opposition has slammed the idea on the grounds of the forced transfers that will occur at Richmond.

Before rushing to condemn, is it not better to step back and first ask whether the current timetable is the optimum for Frankston line commuters. Or could things be done better, with direct running one of the tools to add extra needed capacity (and frequency)?

Victorian Transport Plan, Page 53

The first thing to remember is that the Frankston line is part of the Caulfield group and shares City Loop access with lines from Pakenham and Cranbourne. The Pakenham and Cranbourne lines are now Melbourne's busiest, serving major outer growth areas. Their patronage now beats Belgrave/Lilydale, both of which have better infrastructure and superior weekday frequencies.

Frankston Station itself has a huge catchment population though the Mordialloc - Seaford portion does not (water to the west, vacant land to the east and limited buses). Patronage growth is somewhat slower than the Cranbourne/Pakenham lines due to fewer new housing estates and the lack of strong mid-line trip generators (eg a university or a major shopping centre). It's still highly patronised, but comes off second best against faster growing lines which get first pickings of any new services added. Also notable is that all three lines form the Caulfield Group, which typically has about twice as much late running than the other groups. Line-by-Line performance comparisons are here.

Then there's service levels. Peak frequency isn't particularly high. Scheduled intervals between peak direction trains on some parts of the line can range up to 17 minutes, ie inferior to the standard 15 minute off-peak service. The actual number of peak trains is little different from 30 years ago, with the major recent improvements being off-peak and Sunday frequencies.

Can passengers benefit from avoiding peak times? They can on other lines, but not on the Frankston line as peak service is only delivered during a narrow period (about 1 hour, both morning and evening). This provides no incentive to alter travel as frequency falls away or express services cease during shoulder periods.

Consistency is another feature passenges value. Since the November 9, 2008 timetable consistency has reduced for Frankston passengers as two key peak services were taken out of the loop and given to Dandenong line passengers. This has caused schedule gaps of up to 24 minutes for loop services serving stations such as Glenhuntly or McKinnon. Hence consistency has reduced and these gaps do not constitute a legible 'turn up and go' service. This is exacerbated where services either side do not run or, as can happen in the afternoon, late-running services avoid the loop and run direct from Flinders Street.

The above demonstrates that while the existing Frankston timetable may have sufficed with lower passenger numbers in the past, it is heavily strained in 2009. Any affordable ideas for improvement, no matter their source, should therefore be considered sympathetically, rather than dismissed as 'too hard' or 'controversial'.

What are the possible improvements that could come from direct running?

The first benefit is for the large proportion of passengers do not use loop stations at all, and get off at Flinders Street or Southern Cross. These passengers will all receive faster service, with the time saving similar to that of making a service run express in the suburbs (but without the problems, such as reduced track capacity and achieveable frequency). Those already using express services would see further travel time reductions.

While the percentage of direct passengers might be about half the total peak loading, it's likely to increase over time. This is because the city's two main growth areas (Southbank and Docklands) are nearest the non-loop stations. The areas nearest the loop stations grew most in the 1980s, but in the 2000s growth is swinging elsewhere.

Secondly, and most importantly, is the possibility of improved service frequency by making train operation more economical by removing 'time spent in loop' and thus increase the number of trips a train can make in a peak period. Better frequency means improved capacity and legibility as timetables become simpler and more consistent. Even customer complaints about delays and cancellations would fall as customers treat the service as 'turn up and go' rather than worrying about precise train arrival times or having to run for a train (due to the fear there won't be another for 20+ minutes).

With some increase in the number of available trains it might be possible to develop a clear two tier service pattern of local and express services operating over a longer span. Currently express services on the Frankston line have gaps that vary between approximately 12 and almost 30 minutes, with about an hour between first and last express. Stoppers in the pm peak are roughly every 12 minutes, with all now running to Frankston.

The train saving by not running via the loop has already been touched on, though not quantified in terms of achieveable frequency increases. However every little bit helps, even if it's (say) two extra trains per peak and improved shoulder peaks.

In the afternoons it may be possible to obtain further economies by running local services terminating at Cheltenham and Mordialloc, as is done in the morning and used to be done in the afternoon. While this may reduce frequency south of Mordialloc it boosts train efficiency by getting it into the city sooner to do another peak trip. Those south of Mordialloc should be content with an express train every 10 minutes (or ideally 8) over a much wider 'window' than at present. Meanwhile, those north of Cheltenham should be glad if their current 8 to 17 minute morning service (12 minute average) was boosted to a flat 10 minutes, and over the moon if 8 minutes (as was provided in the 1970s) could be achieved.

Also gaining will be those who make inner-city trips such as Caulfield to Footscray; they will no longer need to change trains or cope with unharmonised headways as the same train will run through to Laverton/Werribee. Fast cross-suburban travel will help to reduce the perception that trains are only good for CBD or 'same-line' travel. Admittedly this is a much smaller proportion of passenger numbers than CBD passengers, but the vastly improved service direct running would provide should generate extra patronage.

The Frankston line cannot be treated independently of the Cranbourne/Pakenham lines but direct running of the former should free loop 'slots' for additional Cranbourne/Pakenham trains and hence ensure any extra services can be run via the loop (aiding consistency). It is this line that presents the greatest challenges to schedulers due to its high patronage, population growth, limited infrastructure and need to share with country trains, so the additional 'wiggle room' should be welcome.

What about existing users of loop stations, which direct running would make transfer? In the morning this should not be a problem since there will remain frequent services through the loop from Richmond and Flinders Street. Some trips will take longer but improved frequency and more consistent patterns in the suburbs is a major sweetener.

The evening though is a little harder. This is because transferring from a less frequent local service to a frequent loop service imposes less transfer penalty (and milder consequences of a missed connection) than the reverse. Nevertheless if efficiency gains permit frequency increases so unique stopping patterns are consistently 8-10 minutes apart (or better) then even these problems should be mitigated as all parts are 'turn up and go'.

The above is not intended to be a thorough analysis of train scheduling, and there may be difficulties in implementing the service patterns and frquencies suggested. However it is intended to lend support to plans, 'secret' or otherwise, that could improve service on a line that needs it.

If the Frankston line is to be made to run direct, it would be desirable that this apply to all trains (including off-peak and weekend), not just an added few. An 'all or none' policy would assist network legibility, maximises frequency and provides new cross-suburban travel opportunities that current service configurations tend to hinder. The experience with the Werribee line has shown that despite some doomsayers passengers will accept a change provided other benefits such as better service frequencies are provided.