UN 212: Werribee Fast Rail - our second Metro?

In a few months Melbourne's Metro Tunnel should be open.

Service will be frequent. There'll be excitement over the grand new stations and the ability to take one-seat rides under the CBD at good speeds. Travel will also be more predictable - unlike the cantankerous City Loop, there'll be no midday reversals, loop bypasses, transposals or long dwells at Flinders Street. 

 If the Sydney experience is any guide, people will be asking when we are getting a second metro. Not least because efficient cross-city rail transport, unlike in Sydney or Perth, is a novelty here. For many years after the City Loop opened in the 1980s it was not even possible without changing trains. 

In 2010, it became possible when some Frankston weekday trains were run through to the Williamstown and Werribee lines. You could jump on a train at Caulfield or South Yarra and have a cross-city trip to Southern Cross, Footscray, Newport and beyond. This was extended to more trains including weekends.  

This "cross-city group" has not run without trouble. Inconsistent passenger information, inaudible announcements and unexpected terminations at Flinders Street are frequent experiences. Rising from one's seat at Flinders Street to check if you are continuing through or will be turned back is common. 

A freshly painted wall makes your unpainted ceiling look worse than before. Similarly the new Metro Tunnel experience should raise expectations that the "other" cross-city line should get some love. It would serve the same old stations but that matters less than reliable consistent frequent service.

If you can harness the coming Metro Momentum to get two Metros for basically the price of one, then why wouldn't you create what could be called a second Metro? 

Especially if its destinations were useful, such as the fast-growing estates near Werribee and planned housing activity centres along the Sandringham line?

Such a project could include evening and weekend speed improvements, thus earning the more marketable title of: 

Werribee Fast Rail

The first stage of Werribee Fast Rail might include: 

a. Evening and weekend trips via express track with Altona trains starting Laverton. Provides a consistent pattern all week and reduces Werribee to Flinders Street travel time from 45 to 38 min. 

b. 10 minute off-peak frequency 7 days (up from current 20 min service)

c. 10 minute weekend frequency for Sandringham line including Sunday morning upgrade from 40 min

d. Upgrades to the currently dingy Werribee station 

e. Upgrade of Hoppers Crossing to a premium station, staffed first to last train (actually budgeted in 2010 but dumped by the following government and not revived)

f. Improved multimodal passenger information at all stations between Werribee and Sandringham including wayfinding and network maps

The above would build on the 10 minute weekday frequency that is already budgeted for on the Sandringham line as part of Metro Tunnel related timetables. Providing all week consistency between Werribee and Sandringham would be a major part of the timetable design process. 

The second stage of Werribee Fast Rail/Second Metro might include: 

a. New station with bus access at Paisley as supported by Hobsons Bay City Council

b. Extension to a station near Harpley Estate on existing track and/or Black Forest Road

c. Millers Rd Route 411 bus upgrade to SmartBus including extended hours and higher frequency

d. A new Newport - Fishermans Bend bus and other bus network simplification in Altona North
e. Bus network simplification on the Sandringham line including (a) upgrades to Route 606 and simplification of complex 600/922/923 route cluster, (b) A direct Sandringham - Southland bus via Bay Rd and (c) A direct Elsternwick - Southland bus via Nepean Hwy to replace the current 823. The last two are being advocated by the City of Kingston. None of these are dependent on Second Metro so can be done at any time earlier if desired. 

It's already been planned 

The above is not just a crackpot idea from me. This 13 year old PTV video has it, with the Metro Tunnel enabling the creation of four independent Metro lines, including the Werribee/Williamstown - Sandringham 'Cross-city Metro' with increased frequency. The other Metros, also with frequent all day service, would be the Frankston Loop Metro and the Northern Loop Metro involving Craigieburn and Upfield. 

In addition this 2018 Dan Andrews video on the Western Rail Plan described (at 0:15) an animation of a Werribee - Wyndham Vale extension as the 'Western section of the Suburban Rail Loop'. Western Melbourne viewers would also not fail to notice this animation depicted as the Suburban Rail Loop as progressing from west to east (though some others start it from the east, consistent with the Stage 1 announcement).  

Summary

The momentum and enthusiasm of the Metro Tunnel when it opens should not go to waste. It should instead be captured to set in train a second metro to commence as soon as possible after the first.

The most immediate and cost-effective approach to enable this are service and infrastructure upgrades like described above to create a Werribee - Sandringham cross-city Metro. Closely followed by similar for Craigieburn/Upfield's Northern Loop Metro.  

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