Bamboozled by all the bus replacements on the Frankston Line this winter? Here's a guest post from Craig Halsall who has sifted through the sometimes complex, incomplete and conflicting published information to tell us what we need to know.
A long winter of discontent awaits passengers on the Frankston Line, with the line closing for 2 months from 9pm Friday 2 June for the "big dig" at Glen Huntly; Metro Tunnel works near Caulfield & South Yarra; and works for level crossing removals in Parkdale.
Unfortunately, this means a fairly complicated series of line shutdowns ahead that vary between weekdays, weekends and evenings with the sections of line closed constantly changing. Certainly many will look to working from home as much as possible.
While the core works are between Caulfield & Moorabbin, at various times replacement buses will extend to Arts Centre, Mordialloc or even Frankston.
For passengers south of Moorabbin, express cross-line buses operate across to Brighton Beach (& Sandringham for one week), which is generally the fastest option into the City.
The Frankston to Stony Point line will close for the entire shutdown as the Sprinter diesel railcars are unable to travel to Southern Cross for their usual servicing and maintenance. Replacement buses operate alongside Routes 782 & 783.
Added to all this, there are various weekend and evening works on the Sandringham, Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines at times, which will leave many looking for a plan C.
Only members of the 1% Club can truly understand the information PTV & Metro Trains is pumping out in various formats & countless works articles, which include a complicated table simply listing some twenty variations in date order.
PTV summary page - https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/disruptions/frankstondisruptions/
PTV brochure for June period https://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Uploads/NSB-disruptions/2023/June/Frankston-and-Stony-Point-lines-disruption-brochure-June-schedule.pdf
A long winter of discontent awaits passengers on the Frankston Line, with the line closing for 2 months from 9pm Friday 2 June for the "big dig" at Glen Huntly; Metro Tunnel works near Caulfield & South Yarra; and works for level crossing removals in Parkdale.
Unfortunately, this means a fairly complicated series of line shutdowns ahead that vary between weekdays, weekends and evenings with the sections of line closed constantly changing. Certainly many will look to working from home as much as possible.
While the core works are between Caulfield & Moorabbin, at various times replacement buses will extend to Arts Centre, Mordialloc or even Frankston.
For passengers south of Moorabbin, express cross-line buses operate across to Brighton Beach (& Sandringham for one week), which is generally the fastest option into the City.
The Frankston to Stony Point line will close for the entire shutdown as the Sprinter diesel railcars are unable to travel to Southern Cross for their usual servicing and maintenance. Replacement buses operate alongside Routes 782 & 783.
Added to all this, there are various weekend and evening works on the Sandringham, Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines at times, which will leave many looking for a plan C.
Only members of the 1% Club can truly understand the information PTV & Metro Trains is pumping out in various formats & countless works articles, which include a complicated table simply listing some twenty variations in date order.
PTV summary page - https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/disruptions/frankstondisruptions/
PTV brochure for June period https://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Uploads/NSB-disruptions/2023/June/Frankston-and-Stony-Point-lines-disruption-brochure-June-schedule.pdf
(Oddly this brochure lacks line maps for two of the weekends in June!)
Metro Trains "planned works" calendar (you need to filter to only show "Frankston Line") & it's hard to differentiate between day & night works - https://www.metrotrains.com.au/planned-works/
I've had a go at summarising the main weekday and weekend works in an alternate dot point form...no guarantees this is 100% correct, but, hey I tried!
WEEKDAYS
MONDAY 5 JUNE to FRIDAY 9 JUNE
TUESDAY 13 JUNE to FRIDAY 16 JUNE
* Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham from Thursday 8 June to Wednesday 21 June. On weekends and selected evenings express buses will operate Glen Waverley to Berwick (see below)
ADDITIONAL WEEKNIGHT WORKS in EARLY JUNE
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 7:20pm on both Monday 5 June & Tuesday 6 June, buses replace trains Caulfield to Pakenham & Cranbourne
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 7:45pm Wednesday 7 June, buses replace trains Westall to Pakenham & Cranbourne
* Frankston Line: After 9pm on both Tuesday 13 June & Wednesday 14 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 9pm on both Tuesday 13 June & Wednesday 14 June buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh and also Dandenong to Pakenham. Express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick after 9pm.
MONDAY 19 JUNE to THURSDAY 22 JUNE
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
* After 9pm nightly Monday 19 June to Wednesday 21 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston
* After 9pm Thursday 22 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
FRIDAY 23 JUNE
MONDAY 25 JUNE to THURSDAY 29 JUNE
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Mordialloc
* Express buses Mordialloc to Sandringham, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Limited express buses Mordialloc stopping all stations to Moorabbin then to Brighton Beach, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
* After 9pm nightly Monday 26 June to Wednesday 28 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston
FRIDAY 30 JUNE to FRIDAY 21 JULY (WEEKDAYS)
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
MONDAY 24 JULY to "EARLY AUGUST" (WEEKDAYS)
* Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
Metro Trains "planned works" calendar (you need to filter to only show "Frankston Line") & it's hard to differentiate between day & night works - https://www.metrotrains.com.au/planned-works/
I've had a go at summarising the main weekday and weekend works in an alternate dot point form...no guarantees this is 100% correct, but, hey I tried!
WEEKDAYS
MONDAY 5 JUNE to FRIDAY 9 JUNE
TUESDAY 13 JUNE to FRIDAY 16 JUNE
* Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham from Thursday 8 June to Wednesday 21 June. On weekends and selected evenings express buses will operate Glen Waverley to Berwick (see below)
ADDITIONAL WEEKNIGHT WORKS in EARLY JUNE
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 7:20pm on both Monday 5 June & Tuesday 6 June, buses replace trains Caulfield to Pakenham & Cranbourne
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 7:45pm Wednesday 7 June, buses replace trains Westall to Pakenham & Cranbourne
* Frankston Line: After 9pm on both Tuesday 13 June & Wednesday 14 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines: After 9pm on both Tuesday 13 June & Wednesday 14 June buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh and also Dandenong to Pakenham. Express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick after 9pm.
MONDAY 19 JUNE to THURSDAY 22 JUNE
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
* After 9pm nightly Monday 19 June to Wednesday 21 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston
* After 9pm Thursday 22 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
FRIDAY 23 JUNE
MONDAY 25 JUNE to THURSDAY 29 JUNE
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Mordialloc
* Express buses Mordialloc to Sandringham, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Limited express buses Mordialloc stopping all stations to Moorabbin then to Brighton Beach, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
* After 9pm nightly Monday 26 June to Wednesday 28 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston
FRIDAY 30 JUNE to FRIDAY 21 JULY (WEEKDAYS)
* Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* (L4) limited express buses run express Glen Huntly to Arts Centre - take (S4) stopping all stations bus to travel Moorabbin to Caulfield
* Weekday Pakenham/Cranbourne express trains still operate between City & Caulfield
MONDAY 24 JULY to "EARLY AUGUST" (WEEKDAYS)
* Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
AFTER 8:30PM THURSDAY 27 JULY
* Buses South Yarra to Moorabbin
* Buses South Yarra to Moorabbin
WEEKENDS IN JUNE (subject to change)
9PM FRIDAY 2 JUNE to SUNDAY 4 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Friday night & Saturday night - buses replace trains Caulfield to Mordialloc
* Frankston Line: Saturday before 8:30pm & all day Sunday - buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin
* No Brighton Beach express buses due Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: Buses replace trains South Yarra to Sandringham (not from Parliament). Connect with Caulfield trains from City
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Caulfield to Dandenong & Pakenham
9PM FRIDAY 9 JUNE & SATURDAY 10 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains Flinders St (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* No Brighton Beach express buses due Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: Buses replace trains Parliament to Sandringham
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham, with express buses from Glen Waverley to Berwick
SUNDAY 11 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains Flinders St (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* No Brighton Beach express buses due Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: Buses replace trains Parliament to Sandringham
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Caulfield (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Until 9pm Sun buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham, with express buses from Glen Waverley to Berwick
* Pakenham Line: After 9pm Sun buses also replace trains Dandenong to Pakenham, with express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick
MONDAY 12 JUNE (KING'S BIRTHDAY) - UNTIL 9PM
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin until 9pm
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day
* Trains operating on Pakenham & Cranbourne Lines until 9pm
* Pakenham Line: Buses replace trains Berwick to Pakenham. No express buses to/from Glen Waverley until after 9pm Mon
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day
MONDAY 12 JUNE (KING'S BIRTHDAY) - AFTER 9PM
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin after 9pm
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Dandenong to Pakenham, with express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick after 9pm
AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 16 JUNE to SUNDAY 18 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* After 9pm Sunday 18 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston. No buses from Brighton Beach due to Sandringham Line works
* Sandringham Line: After 9pm Friday 16 June & After 9pm Sunday 18 June buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Elsternwick, trains Elsternwick to Sandringham. Sandringham trains operating at other times.
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Westall (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Pakenham Line: Buses also replace trains Berwick to Pakenham, with express buses Glen Waverley to Berwick
AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 23 JUNE to SUNDAY 25 JUNE
* Frankston Line: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Frankston
* Limited express buses from Frankston stopping all stations to Mordialloc then express to Sandringham, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Limited express buses Mordialloc stopping all stations to Moorabbin then to Brighton Beach, connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Pakenham & Cranbourne Line: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* Trains operating on Sandringham Line all day
JUST ADDED: ARRANGEMENTS FROM 30 JUNE 2023
AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 30 JUNE to SUNDAY 2 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE trains as normal
AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 7 JULY to SUNDAY 9 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: Buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal
AFTER 10:30PM FRIDAY 14 JULY to SUNDAY 16 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains SOUTH YARRA to Moorabbin due to Run Melbourne road closures on Sunday 16 July. Catch a Sandringham Line train from Flinders St to South Yarra to connect.
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: From 12:15am Saturday, buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal
AFTER 10:30PM FRIDAY 21 JULY to SUNDAY 23 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains City (Arts Centre) to Moorabbin
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: From 12:15am Saturday, buses replace trains Burnley to Oakleigh (connect with Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley Line trains to/from City)
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal
AFTER 9PM FRIDAY 28 JULY to SUNDAY 31 JULY
* FRANKSTON LINE: Buses replace trains Caulfield to Moorabbin (same as weekdays from Monday 24 July)
* Express buses Moorabbin to Brighton Beach connecting with Sandringham Line trains
* Weekend trains stopping all stations Flinders St to Caulfield
* 11:10pm Fri 28/7 to 1:10am Sat 29/7: Buses South Yarra to Moorabbin
* 11:10pm Sat 29/7 to 1:10am Sun 29/7: Buses South Yarra to Moorabbin
* 1:10am Sun 29/7 to 4:45am Sun 30/7: Buses South Yarra to Mordialloc
* Weekend daytime buses are Caulfield to Moorabbin
* PAKENHAM & CRANBOURNE LINES: No works advised as yet
* SANDRINGHAM LINE: trains as normal
OTHER THINGS TO NOTE
* Frankston Line passengers travelling to City, Richmond & South Yarra can use the cross-line express bus from Moorabbin to Brighton Beach (or Sandringham in late June) to connect with Sandringham Line trains
* Similarly, trains from Burnley during Pakenham & Cranbourne Line disruptions stop at Richmond
* Buses replacing Route 67 trams from Glen Huntly Depot to Carnegie until mid-July. These divert via Caulfield Station due to the closure of level crossings in Glen Huntly for the "Big Dig" - https://yarratrams.com.au/service-changes/glenhuntly-level-crossing-removal-works
* 67 tram replacement buses can be used as a Community Shuttle to get across the closed railway line at Glen Huntly (free of charge)
* Frankston Line passengers travelling to City, Richmond & South Yarra can use the cross-line express bus from Moorabbin to Brighton Beach (or Sandringham in late June) to connect with Sandringham Line trains
* Similarly, trains from Burnley during Pakenham & Cranbourne Line disruptions stop at Richmond
* Buses replacing Route 67 trams from Glen Huntly Depot to Carnegie until mid-July. These divert via Caulfield Station due to the closure of level crossings in Glen Huntly for the "Big Dig" - https://yarratrams.com.au/service-changes/glenhuntly-level-crossing-removal-works
* 67 tram replacement buses can be used as a Community Shuttle to get across the closed railway line at Glen Huntly (free of charge)
* MALVERN: Pakenham & Cranbourne Line trains stop at Malvern between 10am & 3pm on weekdays. At other times between 17 June and 23 July catch replacement buses. Rail replacement bus stops are located on Dandenong Rd.
* Rail replacement bus stops from Glen Huntly to Patterson are located on Grange Rd and Jasper Rd, up to 10 mins walk from the stations
* PARKDALE: City-bound rail replacement bus stop has moved to Como Parade West, near Birdwood St (near BurgerLab) due to works. Route 708 buses towards Southland and Hampton also stop here.
-
* Rail replacement bus stops from Glen Huntly to Patterson are located on Grange Rd and Jasper Rd, up to 10 mins walk from the stations
* PARKDALE: City-bound rail replacement bus stop has moved to Como Parade West, near Birdwood St (near BurgerLab) due to works. Route 708 buses towards Southland and Hampton also stop here.
-
So that's it. Good luck to anyone trying to travel on the Frankston (and some other lines) this winter. The comments below are open if you wish to share your experiences.
11 comments:
In the past they used to run express buses directly from moorabbin to arts centre via elsternwick. This was generally quicker than a bus to Brighton Beach and then train especially off peak.
This time it sends you on a very slow congested route via Caulfield more than doubling the journey time. The result of this is a significantly increased cost of travel for me to access the city much of the time with ubers and taxis now required to get to the city!
Absolute joke for anyone trying to get to or from the city, coming from someone who only goes there for the football. Is especially bad when there’s a big crowd and very limited buses. Can’t imagine how annoying this would be for someone who works in the city.
It would be handy to have an actual street address for the bus points along the Frankston line between Caulfield and Frankston which is where the train replacement buses leave from. Also the actual physical addresses of the opposite direction between Moorabbin and the arts centre where the train replacement buses are leaving from, at each particular station point.
What an amazing effort to explain the very confusing closures and replacements! In 2023 one would think there would,be an app where you could put in the date and places travelling from and to and get a clear readout of the situation, and a map. Or a Web site with those features.
On the one hand I commend you for compiling this. On the other I wish you hadn't and I wish I never read it and continued taking the commuting adventure 1 day at a time. "Ignorance is bliss"
Metro are extremely disoriented and disorganised…. Tonight had to wait for bus at Caulfield took us to Moorabbin (terminated as bus driver was done) Moorabbin to Mordialloc (where they said trains would run) there was no trains and so had to wait for 3rd bus …. No wonder I refused to take my myki with me and will refuse to deal with any fines
Thanks so much for this...I like to think I have at least some reasonable intelligence and I couldn't figure out the metro releases for the life of me.
Great overview. Perhaps the people in the west should stop complaining about a 2 week shut down.
On the weekends when buses replace trains on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, can you still take a train from Cranbourne to Oakleigh?
What do you do if you want to go towards the city from Cranbourne Station? Are there buses?
Thank you :)
On Weekends trains are running from Cranbourne to Oakleigh, from there you connect with a train to Burnley and another train into the City (Belgrave/Lilydale or Glen Waverley Lines)
Repeat in reverse to come home
Try doing it in a wheelchair, they just don't care, did my shoulder 5 months ago getting up Moorabbin ramp still having trouble pushing chair, 7 emails to politician. Governments catch cry deny, deny, deny
Post a Comment