The Metro Tunnel brought welcome rail coverage to three new inner area stations: Arden, Parkville and Anzac. However the rerouting of the Sunbury line from North Melbourne and Cranbourne/Pakenham line from Richmond and South Yarra without full compensatory boosts on other lines will reduce the number of trains serving three other key stations.
Will this be an issue from when the new timetable starts on February 1, 2026?
It depends.
North Melbourne isn't much of a destination but it is an interchange point between trains and buses to the east (currently the 401 to Melbourne University). Some of its catchment will be served by Arden which will get Metro Tunnel services.
Richmond is also an interchange point. Mainly between trains but there are trams and buses, including popular Route 246. It's not much of a destination at most times it comes to life during major sporting and other events.
South Yarra is an interchange point to the 58 tram which connects to Anzac Station (and beyond). It's also a rail junction but less than North Melbourne or Richmond, with just two lines (Sandringham and Frankston) connecting there post February 1. Geometry is also poor for connectivity purposes with an acute angle between them and them roughly parallel for a bit. But unlike North Melbourne South Yarra is surrounded by substantial high-rise residential development. Some may use it to reach the northern part of the Chapel St precinct.
Will this be an issue from when the new timetable starts on February 1, 2026?
It depends.
North Melbourne isn't much of a destination but it is an interchange point between trains and buses to the east (currently the 401 to Melbourne University). Some of its catchment will be served by Arden which will get Metro Tunnel services.
Richmond is also an interchange point. Mainly between trains but there are trams and buses, including popular Route 246. It's not much of a destination at most times it comes to life during major sporting and other events.
South Yarra is an interchange point to the 58 tram which connects to Anzac Station (and beyond). It's also a rail junction but less than North Melbourne or Richmond, with just two lines (Sandringham and Frankston) connecting there post February 1. Geometry is also poor for connectivity purposes with an acute angle between them and them roughly parallel for a bit. But unlike North Melbourne South Yarra is surrounded by substantial high-rise residential development. Some may use it to reach the northern part of the Chapel St precinct.
Extent of service reductions
Below are tables showing the effect (in trains per hour) of removing Sunbury line services from North Melbourne and Pakenham/Cranbourne services from Richmond and South Yarra. These are shown for all major off-peak time periods. Peak frequencies are generally good so I've left them out.
The Big Switch column reflects existing service levels. For example Sunbury line trains are currently every 40 min (or 1.5 trains per hour) on Sunday mornings. Removing these from North Melbourne is a reduction of 1.5 trains per hour in this time band.
The Later 2026 timetable reflects upgrades funded in the May 2025 state budget for Craigieburn, Upfield and Sandringham. Returning to the North Melbourne Sunday morning example this timetable will feature Upfield and Craigieburn going from every 40 to every 20 minutes, or 1.5 trains per hour more per line. Adding of 3 trains per hour more than offsets the effect of removing the Sunbury line, giving North Melbourne a Sunday morning service that's better than it's ever been.
The Big Switch column reflects existing service levels. For example Sunbury line trains are currently every 40 min (or 1.5 trains per hour) on Sunday mornings. Removing these from North Melbourne is a reduction of 1.5 trains per hour in this time band.
The Later 2026 timetable reflects upgrades funded in the May 2025 state budget for Craigieburn, Upfield and Sandringham. Returning to the North Melbourne Sunday morning example this timetable will feature Upfield and Craigieburn going from every 40 to every 20 minutes, or 1.5 trains per hour more per line. Adding of 3 trains per hour more than offsets the effect of removing the Sunbury line, giving North Melbourne a Sunday morning service that's better than it's ever been.
Changes in trains per hour arising from Metro Tunnel timetable changes
Sunday mornings at North Melbourne turn out to be the only time slot to get an overall gain. Weekday and weekend evenings at North Melbourne get an initial loss but bounce back thanks to the Craigieburn and Upfield line evening boosts (each adding 1 train per hour, offsetting the 2 trains per hour lost by moving the Sunbury line into the Metro Tunnel).
But in all other cases, including during the day all week at North Melbourne and at all times at Richmond and South Yarra there are substantial service cuts.
South Yarra gets the biggest proportional losses, with it going from 16 to 12 trains per hour midday weekdays and 15 to 9 trains per hour midday weekends. This is still relatively frequent but this is not so on weeknights where service falls from 9 to 6 trains per hour with the latter not necessarily evenly spaced.
A major drop in network functionality and legibility is that while the existing Cross-City group provides a flat 6 trains per hour between South Yarra and Newport with even 10 minute midday spacing, this will fall to just 3 trains per hour on weekends. This is a significant setback; Melbourne needs multiple cross-city lines running frequently all week, not just the Metro Tunnel.
Richmond loses the same number of trains per hour in absolute terms as South Yarra but it's less in relative terms due to also being served by Belgrave, Lilydale and Glen Waverley trains. However Richmond also has high surge demand due to major events at and around the MCG. Many events finish at night when train frequencies thin out.
But in all other cases, including during the day all week at North Melbourne and at all times at Richmond and South Yarra there are substantial service cuts.
South Yarra gets the biggest proportional losses, with it going from 16 to 12 trains per hour midday weekdays and 15 to 9 trains per hour midday weekends. This is still relatively frequent but this is not so on weeknights where service falls from 9 to 6 trains per hour with the latter not necessarily evenly spaced.
A major drop in network functionality and legibility is that while the existing Cross-City group provides a flat 6 trains per hour between South Yarra and Newport with even 10 minute midday spacing, this will fall to just 3 trains per hour on weekends. This is a significant setback; Melbourne needs multiple cross-city lines running frequently all week, not just the Metro Tunnel.
Richmond loses the same number of trains per hour in absolute terms as South Yarra but it's less in relative terms due to also being served by Belgrave, Lilydale and Glen Waverley trains. However Richmond also has high surge demand due to major events at and around the MCG. Many events finish at night when train frequencies thin out.
Ways to restore frequency
How should service levels at North Melbourne, Richmond and South Yarra stations best be restored in a way that maximises network benefits?
Given how busy it is relative to service levels, a further Craigieburn line service boost would have to be top priority out of all lines going through North Melbourne. With evenings and Sunday morning already dealt with the top priority would have to be a daytime upgrade from 20 to 10 minutes. This adds 3 trains per hour, neatly offsetting the reductions due to the Sunbury line's rerouting (table below).
Not insignificantly the 2016 Metro Tunnel Business Case Day 1 service plan recommended 10 minute service for both Craigieburn and Upfield but this is not reflected in either what's happening on February 1 nor later known funded upgrades.
Given how busy it is relative to service levels, a further Craigieburn line service boost would have to be top priority out of all lines going through North Melbourne. With evenings and Sunday morning already dealt with the top priority would have to be a daytime upgrade from 20 to 10 minutes. This adds 3 trains per hour, neatly offsetting the reductions due to the Sunbury line's rerouting (table below).
Not insignificantly the 2016 Metro Tunnel Business Case Day 1 service plan recommended 10 minute service for both Craigieburn and Upfield but this is not reflected in either what's happening on February 1 nor later known funded upgrades.
Doing a similar 3 to 6 trains per hour upgrade for either Werribee or Upfield would not just restore but increase North Melbourne's off-peak train frequency relative to now.
Boosting the Craigieburn line from every 20 minutes to every 10 minutes seven days
is necessary to restore service at North Melbourne (click for better view)
The above Sandringham line upgrade is good but not enough, especially at night and especially for Richmond. Shifting the Pakenham/Cranbourne line from there to the Metro Tunnel makes the Belgrave/Lilydale line the busiest. Unfortunately its basic service levels haven't changed for years and it has a very complex weekday timetable. This makes it, rather than the other lines that go through Richmond the best candidate for a service upgrade. Touching the peak timetable involves complexities but the off-peak upgrade aspect is again relatively cheap in terms of annual train kilometres added.
Such an upgrade might entail boosting interpeak weekdays from every 15 to every 10 minutes to add an extra two trains per hour. This has benefits going all the way out to Belgrave and Lilydale with their weekday frequency boosted from 30 to 20 minutes (which matches existing weekend service levels).
Evenings also need an upgrade to provide a robust dependable timetable suitable for all events in the area - not just the biggest that get extra trains operated. Possibly the best way to do this is to replicate the Cranbourne/Pakenham/Dandenong Metro Tunnel arrangement for Belgrave/Lilydale/Ringwood. That would give Ringwood a train every 10 minutes or better from early morning to late at night with an end to forced transfers. As an option that could be carried through to Night Network with Belgrave and Lilydale each getting hourly trains and Ringwood a 30 minute service.
The effects of this are shown below. Richmond gets a good (though still slightly reduced) midday service with 10 minute service to Sandringham, Frankston and Ringwood. Evening service is improved on both weekdays and weekends with a 10 minute service to Ringwood in conjunction with the existing 20 minute services to Frankston and Sandringham. South Yarra still doesn't get all its service restored but gets some better consistency, especially on weekend evenings and Sunday mornings.
Boosting the Sandringham line on weekends and Sunday mornings along with more weekday midday and evening Ringwood trains can help restore service at Richmond and South Yarra. (click table for better view)
Station entrances
Despite being busy urban stations all three stations have their walking catchments severely reduced by having just a single full time entrance.
This is unlike Metro Tunnel stations like Parkville, State Library and Town Hall where significant effort and expense was made to provide multiple entrances. And some relatively quiet LXRP-rebuilt stations such as on the Frankston line got multiple entrances.
North Melbourne has a potential convenient (though not DDA compliant due to steep ramps) northern entry point that is currently closed despite allowing a more direct walk to Arden. It is likely (though not confirmed) that Route 241 bus will provide this connection though for such short trips buses won't necessarily save time compared to if a direct walk was possible.
Richmond has an events only entrance at its northern end. This improves access to Route 246 bus - one of just a handful of Melbourne bus routes that runs every 10-15 minutes seven days a week. However this entrance cannot be relied on with there being times (even when there are major events) when it is closed.
South Yarra has a single southern entrance. While convenient to the tram it has a high density residential catchment whose residents need to backtrack considerably to reach its platforms due to a lack of a northern entrance.
Having consistently open or adding entrances at busy single-entrance stations surrounded by dense land uses increases increases the rail network's walking catchment for a much lower cost (and speed penalty) than adding new intermediate stations on existing lines.
Conclusion
North Melbourne, Richmond and South Yarra will get significant service cuts on the day of the Big Switch for the Metro Tunnel (February 1, 2026). The timetable improvements slated for later in 2026 will reverse a few.
However a further timetable boost, involving further off-peak frequency upgrades for at least Craigieburn, Sandringham and Belgrave/Lilydale, will be needed to restore service levels at these key stations. This would benefit not just the stations mentioned but deliver 10 minute all week frequency on 6 rather than 3 main corridors.
Keeping Richmond's northern entrance open at all times, reopening North Melbourne's northern entrance and investigating a northern entrance for South Yarra would also greatly improve access and connectivity.
Index to Useful Network items here
This is unlike Metro Tunnel stations like Parkville, State Library and Town Hall where significant effort and expense was made to provide multiple entrances. And some relatively quiet LXRP-rebuilt stations such as on the Frankston line got multiple entrances.
North Melbourne has a potential convenient (though not DDA compliant due to steep ramps) northern entry point that is currently closed despite allowing a more direct walk to Arden. It is likely (though not confirmed) that Route 241 bus will provide this connection though for such short trips buses won't necessarily save time compared to if a direct walk was possible.
Richmond has an events only entrance at its northern end. This improves access to Route 246 bus - one of just a handful of Melbourne bus routes that runs every 10-15 minutes seven days a week. However this entrance cannot be relied on with there being times (even when there are major events) when it is closed.
South Yarra has a single southern entrance. While convenient to the tram it has a high density residential catchment whose residents need to backtrack considerably to reach its platforms due to a lack of a northern entrance.
Having consistently open or adding entrances at busy single-entrance stations surrounded by dense land uses increases increases the rail network's walking catchment for a much lower cost (and speed penalty) than adding new intermediate stations on existing lines.
North Melbourne, Richmond and South Yarra will get significant service cuts on the day of the Big Switch for the Metro Tunnel (February 1, 2026). The timetable improvements slated for later in 2026 will reverse a few.
However a further timetable boost, involving further off-peak frequency upgrades for at least Craigieburn, Sandringham and Belgrave/Lilydale, will be needed to restore service levels at these key stations. This would benefit not just the stations mentioned but deliver 10 minute all week frequency on 6 rather than 3 main corridors.
Keeping Richmond's northern entrance open at all times, reopening North Melbourne's northern entrance and investigating a northern entrance for South Yarra would also greatly improve access and connectivity.
Index to Useful Network items here
2 comments:
I said to myself "open up the other end of Richmond station already" before I even read anything below the title. And yes, South Yarra and North Melbourne should have entrances at both ends too, even if it means requiring more barrier drones standing around for eight hours a day.
The 246 needs way more evening services, it drops to half-hourly as early as 8PM making it useless if you're coming in from the north and want to get to Richmond station, or vice versa. Something also not mentioned - due to Richmond's second exit being closed it forces pedestrians wanting a 246 to Clifton Hill to cross both Swan St and Punt Rd at grade, the latter of which takes forever and a day due to the government's eternal focus on absolute car priority, often resulting in watching the bus sail past on the other side of the road, or worse still, watching it stop, pick up a few passengers and drive off while an endless stream of cars stop you from even crossing illegally (now picture it at night with the aforementioned 30-minute gaps, and yes, even at 11PM the stream of cars is still turned up to 11).
All good points. Richmond's Western entrance should be open all the time. South Yarra needs a second entrance urgently. Caulfield needs a major overhaul. A second connection between all the platforms (inside the paid area) would be ideal. Probably an elevated structure at the east end of the station, with escalators, lifts and stairs, to complement the pedestrian subway at the western end.
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