Hundreds of new train services added as Melbourne lines switch to new Metro Tunnel

Melbourne’s $15 billion Metro Tunnel is fully operational today with new timetables and more than 1,200 additional weekly services, a change the government is calling “the big switch.” The tunnel, first announced in 2015, opened to limited services last November but is now operating at full capacity with the rollout of new schedules.

What is changing today?

Several lines on the Melbourne train network will operate on new timetables starting today. Changes will also be implemented for bus routes in regional Victoria and inner-city Melbourne. A full list of changes can be found on Transport Victoria’s website. head to Transport Victoria’s website.

Frankston

Beginning February 1, all Frankston Line trains will run through the City Loop, traveling via Parliament, Melbourne Central, Flagstaff, Southern Cross, and Flinders Street. This means Frankston line trains will no longer continue to Werribee or Williamstown, and will have their own dedicated City Loop tunnel. A new timetable will also be in effect to provide more reliable services, with an additional 12 weekly services planned once level crossing removal is completed later this year.

Cranbourne and Pakenham

From February 1, the new timetable will connect the Cranbourne, Pakenham, and Sunbury lines through the Metro Tunnel. Services will run through the tunnel every 10 minutes on weekdays, including 100 new weekly services and trains every four and a half minutes during peak hours. Services will not stop at Armadale, Toorak, Hawksburn, South Yarra, Richmond, or the City Loop.

Werribee and Williamstown

Starting February 1, Werribee and Williamstown line trains will begin and end at Flinders Street Station. Services will no longer continue to Frankston and will operate on a new timetable. The Department of Transport says the Werribee and Williamstown lines will connect with the Sandringham line later this year to form a new cross-city service. A temporary timetable remains in place as level crossing removal works continue until late April. Additional peak services are also planned for later this year, increasing the number of Werribee trains.

Sunbury

A new timetable will be introduced on February 1, connecting the Cranbourne, Pakenham, and Sunbury lines through the Metro Tunnel. Transport Victoria says the changes will mean 1,000 new weekly services on the Sunbury Line, including trains every 5–10 minutes during peak hours. As part of the changes, the Sunbury Line will no longer stop at North Melbourne, requiring passengers to change to a Werribee or Williamstown service at Footscray. Passengers needing City Loop services should change using the new pedestrian link between Melbourne Central and State Library stations or Flinders Street and Town Hall stations. The government anticipates those at the ends of the corridor, such as Sunbury, will benefit the most, with wait times potentially cut in half.

V/Line and buses

New timetables for coaches and buses in regional Victoria will roll out on February 1, aimed at reducing wait times and improving journeys. More than 270 bus and coach timetables will be updated to connect with the new train services. This includes 18 additional weekly Traralgon services, 10 more weekly services on the Seymour line, and four more weekend Echuca services. Bus timetables will also be updated in Melbourne’s inner-north, with further changes planned for outer and middle suburbs later this year.

Craigieburn and Upfield

A new timetable will be introduced in February to smooth out the frequency of trains on the loop. The Craigieburn and Upfield lines will no longer share the City Loop with the Sunbury line, which Transport Victoria says will improve reliability and decrease delays.

What isn’t changing today?

While some train lines are promised hundreds more services each week, many commuters will experience little change. Transport Users Association spokesperson Daniel Bowen said there was still work to be done to bring all of Melbourne’s train lines up to standard. “They have really pitched it as ‘the big switch’. It is for some lines, but for other lines there’s actually no change at all,” Mr Bowen said. “There’s clearly more work for the government to do in terms of bringing the whole train network up to scratch.” Residents living in Melbourne’s east and north-eastern suburbs will not immediately benefit from the Metro Tunnel upgrades. “For passengers beyond Ringwood, you’re often waiting 30 minutes for a train,” he said. “Some of the lines to the north-east, Mernda and Hurstbridge, will have 40-minute gaps on Sunday mornings.” Town Hall will be the only Metro Tunnel Station open during night network hours, while Parkville Station will be closed overnight. Mr Bowen expressed hope that this “big switch” is just the beginning of upgrades.

How were the new train timetables developed?

The Metro Tunnel has been a decade in the making, and extensive work has also been done to develop the new timetables. The Department of Transport’s executive director of modal planning, Stuart Johns, said his team had gone through “literally hundreds if not thousands of iterations” to get the new timetables right. The revamped timetables have been in the works for more than three years, using modelling that predicts demand and population growth for the coming decades. “We’re looking right out to the 2050s at the moment to look at how Melbourne and Victoria will grow,” Mr Johns said. “What we’ve got an eye on is: ‘what does the future look like?’ so we can scale up in the future.” Mr Johns said humanising the timetables was important, and said the very first train put onto the timetable was a train on the Gippsland line servicing students getting to school each day. “You’ve got to take the algorithm and the data it puts out, then you’ve got to apply a bit of a common-sense test to it,” he said. After years of preparation, Mr Johns said his team could not wait for the rollout of the timetables on Sunday. “You only get one go at something like this in your entire career, so for us … it’s a massive, massive day,” he said. “It’s been years of effort, it’s been years of excitement.”