1. Ten minute service on the Upfield line possible with existing infrastructure
A creative response by Metro Trains to the weekend's shutdown of the Craigieburn, Werribee and Williamstown lines due to works was an increased frequency on the Upfield line. Instead of every 20 minutes extra short trips from Batman were inserted to enable an even 10 minute headway from Coburg in.
For the inner part of the Upfield line this is a better service than the 16 minute peak headway, limited due to the single track section north of Gowrie. It will be interesting to see how resilient this timetable was against delays in practice.
For the inner part of the Upfield line this is a better service than the 16 minute peak headway, limited due to the single track section north of Gowrie. It will be interesting to see how resilient this timetable was against delays in practice.
2. Strike causes bus replacements due to HCMT fleet shortage
From today until further notice buses will replace trains between Watergardens and Sunbury and Dandenong and Cranbourne due to a shortage of available trains arising from a maintenance dispute. Other lines (which use different trains) are unaffected.
These planned disruptions are Metro's response to the more random cancellations that plagued these lines late last week.
From today until further notice buses will replace trains between Watergardens and Sunbury and Dandenong and Cranbourne due to a shortage of available trains arising from a maintenance dispute. Other lines (which use different trains) are unaffected.
These planned disruptions are Metro's response to the more random cancellations that plagued these lines late last week.
3. New harmonised cross-platform interchange at South Yarra
An example of a nice thing that passengers learn rather than being told about is the August timetable's provision of a cross platform interchange between trains from Frankston and trains to Sandringham at South Yarra.
While this interchange had long been physically possible, the other ingredient, timetable integration, had been absent. This is because the Frankston line ran every 10 min versus 15 min for the Sandringham line weekday interpeak. That resulted in uneven connection times.
In bringing Sandringham up to every 10 minutes the lines are now harmonised with a consistent transfer time. This is a constant three minutes in between the weekday peaks, making the connection very usable. Because the Sandringham line remains at every 20 minutes on weekends a good connection will only be possible with every second Frankston line train during the day.
While this interchange had long been physically possible, the other ingredient, timetable integration, had been absent. This is because the Frankston line ran every 10 min versus 15 min for the Sandringham line weekday interpeak. That resulted in uneven connection times.
In bringing Sandringham up to every 10 minutes the lines are now harmonised with a consistent transfer time. This is a constant three minutes in between the weekday peaks, making the connection very usable. Because the Sandringham line remains at every 20 minutes on weekends a good connection will only be possible with every second Frankston line train during the day.
On a network level the Sandringham line weekday upgrade means that all lines in Melbourne's south-east enjoys midday trains every 10 min on weekdays. In conjunction with frequent trams this makes the inner south-east one of the best transport served parts of Melbourne.
Normally when a Metro or V/Line timetable changes there are complementary changes to bus timetables to retain connections. That has limitations. For example we still have a lot of bus routes that cannot consistently connect with trains due to their odd headways (eg every 22, 25 or 30 minutes in an area where trains are every 20 minutes).
The southern half of the Sandringham line has a mix of east-west and (mostly) poorly used north-south bus routes that (in some cases) parallel train lines. It is also an area that has had little bus network reform. Thus its routes are complex and infrequent with some overlaps. There have also been community calls for upgrades of the 606 route between Fishermans Bend, Port Melbourne and Elsternwick.
The 23 August 2026 timetable change for the Sandringham line was not accompanied by bus timetable changes. That includes routes like 600/922/923 which previously had a timetable coordinated with the train.
For reasons mentioned before it would be desirable if reco-ordination was accompanied by simplified bus routes that better distributed service to where it was needed. I identified scope for this last year but the opportunity to take this up has not yet been taken up.
The southern half of the Sandringham line has a mix of east-west and (mostly) poorly used north-south bus routes that (in some cases) parallel train lines. It is also an area that has had little bus network reform. Thus its routes are complex and infrequent with some overlaps. There have also been community calls for upgrades of the 606 route between Fishermans Bend, Port Melbourne and Elsternwick.
The 23 August 2026 timetable change for the Sandringham line was not accompanied by bus timetable changes. That includes routes like 600/922/923 which previously had a timetable coordinated with the train.
For reasons mentioned before it would be desirable if reco-ordination was accompanied by simplified bus routes that better distributed service to where it was needed. I identified scope for this last year but the opportunity to take this up has not yet been taken up.
