Parts of metropolitan train timetables that have not had significant frequency changes for 30 years will be heritage listed, the state government quietly let be known today.
Heritage protection means that existing gaps between trains will be preserved, with any headway shortening requiring Heritage Victoria approval. It is understood that a line simply being busy would be insufficient grounds for approval, with parallel buses recommended instead for overflow passengers taking advantage of this month's free travel.
In a note slipped into the little-read private advertisements section of Government Gazette (issued late last night when most lines were running to 30 minute heritage headways) Heritage Victoria Executive Director Dr Ava Long-Waite said that old timetables preserved social, industrial and labour history, notably on Sunday mornings.
"As the West Footscray to Dandenong line through the Metro Tunnel transitioned to all week turn up and go frequency earlier this year, it was increasingly important to preserve remnants of the rail network where people carefully timed their movements according to when the train came".
"Just like bowing and curtsying in past centuries, presenting oneself at a station just before the train came was a social artform that today's youth would be unable to imagine if it wasn't for the preservation of heritage frequencies on the network".
Long headways also conserved energy, something vitally important in these uncertain times. "Regardless of propulsion method, the most energy efficient train was one sitting unused in stabling", Dr Long-Waite observed. Maintenance costs were also reduced while significant non-driving times in each roster could please un-named industrial stakeholders while maintaining industrial peace and the mental health of members.
Lower frequencies would preserve the centrality of "the timetable" in passengers' experience. For younger readers this was a list of train times posted on the wall of stations and available in paper booklet form to take home. These were fast disappearing, especially in the last few months.
40 minute train frequencies were of particularly high heritage value, now being extinct on every Australian rail system bar Melbourne's. Here they remain prevalent at certain times on the Sandringham, Hurstbridge, Mernda, Upfield, Craigieburn and Ballarat lines. They "really give a timetable character", Dr Long-Waite added.
"Just like bowing and curtsying in past centuries, presenting oneself at a station just before the train came was a social artform that today's youth would be unable to imagine if it wasn't for the preservation of heritage frequencies on the network".
Long headways also conserved energy, something vitally important in these uncertain times. "Regardless of propulsion method, the most energy efficient train was one sitting unused in stabling", Dr Long-Waite observed. Maintenance costs were also reduced while significant non-driving times in each roster could please un-named industrial stakeholders while maintaining industrial peace and the mental health of members.
Lower frequencies would preserve the centrality of "the timetable" in passengers' experience. For younger readers this was a list of train times posted on the wall of stations and available in paper booklet form to take home. These were fast disappearing, especially in the last few months.
40 minute train frequencies were of particularly high heritage value, now being extinct on every Australian rail system bar Melbourne's. Here they remain prevalent at certain times on the Sandringham, Hurstbridge, Mernda, Upfield, Craigieburn and Ballarat lines. They "really give a timetable character", Dr Long-Waite added.
Sunbury lost its 40 minute gaps when the the Metro Tunnel started, a move labelled as "regrettable" by Heritage Council Chair Professor Keepit Same. Professor Same said that such timetables encouraged social connections at stations as bored passengers would sometimes talk to one another, grumbling about missed trains. It also provided rare space for personal reflection, though he conceded that "young people today"' were more likely to be doom-scrolling on their phones.
However Prof Same praised the preservation of existing headways on non-Metro Tunnel lines despite 2016 business case threats for the Craigieburn and Upfield lines to run at a "soul-less" 10 minute frequency that broke the peace of surrounding urban villages with noisy train horns.
He also welcomed the spread of 40 minute service in other parts of the state. Just in the past year or two 40 minute service had been instituted on the Gippsland line to Traralgon, most Latrobe Valley bus routes, the Ballarat line and many connecting bus routes in Ballarat and Melton. Although the Sandringham line was due to go to a 10 minute weekday service later this year, the heritage 40 minute Sunday morning headway would remain. While some deride 40 minute headways as "non-clock face" this declined as an issue as clock faces themselves were increasingly rare.
However Prof Same praised the preservation of existing headways on non-Metro Tunnel lines despite 2016 business case threats for the Craigieburn and Upfield lines to run at a "soul-less" 10 minute frequency that broke the peace of surrounding urban villages with noisy train horns.
He also welcomed the spread of 40 minute service in other parts of the state. Just in the past year or two 40 minute service had been instituted on the Gippsland line to Traralgon, most Latrobe Valley bus routes, the Ballarat line and many connecting bus routes in Ballarat and Melton. Although the Sandringham line was due to go to a 10 minute weekday service later this year, the heritage 40 minute Sunday morning headway would remain. While some deride 40 minute headways as "non-clock face" this declined as an issue as clock faces themselves were increasingly rare.
Heritage Victoria describes itself as a regulator within the Department of Transport and Planning. Its placement there "allowed a more integrated approach in preserving disappearing heritage including transport timetables", according to Dr Long-Waite.
Continued public experience of them in day-to-day operations, as opposed to just seeing old timetable posters in rarely visited museums was key to implementing the "Living Heritage" theme in our triennial 2026 - 2029 Corporate Plan, she added, describing the decision as a "fantastic win" after a false start in 2024.
Heritage isn't just about old buildings. It's also about experiences. Waiting 40 minutes for a train was as much a uniquely Victorian heritage experience as visiting Sovereign Hill. "Both should be celebrated", she said from her salary-packaged Tesla.
A spokesperson from the premier's office denied that heritage listing old timetables would have any effect on services for passengers, saying that "We were never going to change them anyway".
They pointed to the government's steadfast record of retaining historic headways on most metropolitan train lines, despite fears they may be lost when level crossings were removed and timetables rewritten.
"We can rebuild infrastructure while preserving historic timetables" they proudly said. "We stand in contrast to the Liberals (who hacked heritage headways by halving gaps, especially on weekends) or the Greens Political Party (who advocated 10 minute frequencies in 2022)." The Belgrave and Lilydale lines, with 30 minute midday heritage headways remaining were cited as examples.
Protected headways are in the appendix below. A media conference has been scheduled for this morning to provide additional clarification. It will start at 11:20am and conclude at noon sharp.
APPENDIX: HERITAGE HEADWAYS TO BE PROTECTED
Every 40 min
M-F interpeak: Hurstbridge
Sunday am: Mernda, Hurstbridge, Sandringham
Weekends: Ballarat line (and connecting buses)
All week: Gippsland line (and connecting buses)
All week: Most buses in Melbourne's west and north
Every 30 min
M-F interpeak: Belgrave, Lilydale
Sunday am: Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein, Glen Waverley
Evenings: Mernda, Hurstbridge (to Eltham), Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein, Glen Waverley
Every 20 min
M-F interpeak: Werribee, Williamstown, Craigieburn, Upfield, Mernda, Hurstbridge (to Eltham)
Every 15 min
M-F interpeak: Ringwood, Glen Waverley
(Above reflect historic headways in force for at least 30 and sometimes 50 years)
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