Melbourne Metro Tunnel 'Big Switch' Opening Day Soured by Train Delays and Confused Commuters
Melbourne's biggest public transport upgrade for 40 years is off to a predictably rocky start.
Adapting to a new public transport arrangement is almost always an uphill struggle, but things were especially confusing in Melbourne this morning with the full timetable opening of the Metro Tunnel causing more than usual chaos for the Monday morning peak hour and its commuters.
The Metro Tunnel, a nine-kilometre twin tunnel that circumnavigates the City Loop for passengers on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, opened to a mix of cheers and groans to passengers on a limited timetable in November, marking the largest upgrade (an upgrade completed to the tune of $10.9 billion) to Melbourne's train lines since the City Loop itself opened in 1981.
This morning marked its first run on the full timetable, and saw passengers scramble to adapt to the new routes that they've been commuting on for decades, with little forewarning, but plenty of support from station staff on the day, explaining to flustered passengers and helping control the crowd crushes that piled up at ticket gates.
Passengers on the aforementioned lines who disembark at Southern Cross, Parliament and Flagstaff will now have to interchange to reach their destinations, with The Age reporting from the platforms that passengers were scrambling to make up for commutes suddenly extending as long as 25 minutes (in the case of one unfortunate soul trying to get to Collingwood from Cranbourne, now facing a three-train trip).
For some, though, the changes are for the better, with The Age speaking to a student who has seen 15 minutes shaved off her commute to UOM just in time for the first day of classes. Despite Monday typically being a quieter day in terms of train patronage, Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said today was the tunnels first trial by commuter-fanned fire.
Bowen said, "I get the feeling there's some people that are well aware of the change and there's others who may be a bit surprised come Monday morning that they don't end up at Parliament station or wherever".
For more information on the Metro Tunnel and how it affects your commute, visit the Transport VIC website.
Images: Chris Putnam for Getty Images
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