Metro Trains Melbourne


Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the operator and brand name of train services on the electrified metropolitan rail network serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest urban rail network in Australia, with 17 lines and 227 stations across of railways, and the second busiest network in Australia, with a patronage of 182.5 million as of 2023–2024.
The network is owned by Public Transport Victoria who sublet the infrastructure and rolling stock to Metro Trains Melbourne, a joint venture between Hong Kong–based MTR Corporation, John Holland Group and UGL Rail. The three constituent companies are also partners in the Metro Trains Sydney joint venture, which has operated the Sydney Metro network since 2019. Metro Trains Melbourne took over as operator from Connex in 2009.
Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 269 six-car train sets on of track. There are sixteen regular service rail lines and one special events railway line. Metro Trains Melbourne is also responsible for 222 railway stations and employs a workforce of 7,000 including train drivers, mechanical and electrical engineers, network operations specialists and station officers.
The railway track, infrastructure and rolling stock is owned by VicTrack on behalf of the State Government, and is leased to Public Transport Victoria which then sub-leases them to Metro Trains Melbourne. The State Government now also owns the name 'Metro,' and it will likely stay even if there is a change of operators. Metro Trains has faced criticism in the past and was voted the worst rail system in Australia in 2011. However, the operation, punctuality and consistency of the network has greatly improved since 2014 with level crossing removals, target benchmarks for trains and more frequent trains.

History

Metro Trains Melbourne was selected as the new operator by the Government of Victoria through its relevant agency, the Director of Public Transport, in June 2009 and replaced the previous operator, Connex Melbourne, on 30 November 2009. It was awarded an eight-year contract with the option of being extended for a further seven years. On 2 April 2012, the newly created Public Transport Victoria took over the management of the contract from the Director of Public Transport.
In May 2012, Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union accused Metro Trains of taking shortcuts in safety procedures, including not checking on-board CCTV and intercoms, and allowing trains with cracked inner glass to take passengers. Metro Trains claim safety equipment is regularly checked during routine maintenance. It was reported in 2013 that tens of thousands of passengers were missing out on compensation when Metro failed to meet monthly performance targets, either because they were not aware of their entitlements or didn't want the hassle of going through a complicated claims system.
On 13 July 2017, Metro experienced a computer outage which resulted in 224 services being cancelled, and 378 services running late. Metro was fined a total of $1.2 million and was forced to reimburse $620,000 to the customers affected. Metro Trains chief Mike Haughton said: "A failure in the core train control system had meant operators could not see the trains, so it was shut down for safety reasons."
In September 2017 the state government extended the contract with Metro Trains until November 2024. It was later extended to May 2026, then until November 2027.

Rolling stock

The majority of rolling stock is owned by the Victorian Government business enterprise VicTrack. Metro Trains Melbourne is responsible for maintaining the train fleet. All trains on the Melbourne suburban network are electric, operated by drivers, and fitted with power-operated sliding doors which are closed by the driver, but opened by passengers. While the doors of the newer X'Trapolis, Siemens and HCMT sets are opened by a button, the Comeng sets' doors are manually slid open using a handle but still automatically closed by the driver. The Comeng and X'Trapolis sets also have inter-car doors that separate carriages and reduce cabin noise. All trains are fitted with air conditioning, closed-circuit cameras, and emergency intercom systems. Comeng, Seimens and X'Trapolis trains are fixed into three car units, and may operate alone or in pairs. HCMT trains are fixed into seven car units.
As part of the 2008 Victorian Transport Plan, 38 six-car X'Trapolis EMUs were ordered, with the first of 19 trains built by Alstom in Italy arriving at the Newport Workshops on 24 August 2009. The trains were assembled at United Group's Ballarat North Workshops, under a state government requirement for a minimum of 40% local content. Further orders of X'Trapolis saw the fleet total 212 3-car or 106 6-car sets by the time the final sets entered service in 2020.
In September 2016, Evolution Rail was selected to build 65 new High Capacity Metro Trains for delivery from 2019.
In May 2021, an order of 25 X'Trapolis 2.0 trains was confirmed by the Victorian Government in the lead up to the 2021/22 election. The trains will run first on the Craigieburn, Frankston and Upfield lines and are expected to enter in early to mid 2026. These trains have been ordered to allow the retirement of the 40 year old Comeng Trains. In 2022, scrapping began on the oldest of the Comeng Trains after the withdrawal of a series of Comeng Sets. The Pakenham and Cranbourne line is entirely run by HCMT trains since the end of 2022, which will be followed by the Sunbury line in 2026. With the introduction of X'Trapolis 2.0s expected to occur at that time, all Comeng trains will be retired.

Passenger trains

Future fleet

Maintenance trains

Former fleet

Classification and configuration

Since shortly after the introduction of suburban electric trains in Melbourne, their carriages have been classified as follows. All fleet types have used these classifications, with different fleet types using different number ranges for the carriages.
  • M indicates a motorised carriage, with a driving compartment.
  • T indicates a trailer carriage.
  • D indicated a trailer carriage with a driving compartment. Only Swing-door, Tait, and Hitachi trains had these.
  • G indicated a trailer carriage fitted with both electric and gas lighting, for use on both suburban and country services. Only Tait trains had these.
  • BT indicated a second class trailer carriage. Only Swing-door and Harris trains had these. Prior to the abolition of first class suburban travel in 1958, motor carriages were second class and trailer carriages were first class.
An exception to the above classifications was the trial double-deck train, which used T to indicate a trailer carriage with a driving compartment, and M to indicate a motorised carriage without a driving compartment.
Currently, all trains except for the HCMT stock are assembled into a symmetrical M-T-M arrangement. Trains comprise either one or two such units. All peak period services and some off-peak services comprise two units. The Hitachi trains, retired in 2014, operated in fixed two-unit sets.

Services and lines

Melbourne uses "clock-face" timetables in off-peak periods, but generally not in peak periods, due to operating near to the capacity of the infrastructure and having to accommodate single-line sections, flat junctions, and regional diesel-hauled trains. Even in off-peak periods, however, frequencies vary according to time of day and day of week, and by line. In some places, services on two lines combine to provide more frequent services on common sections of tracks. Saturday and Sunday services are identical during the day, but differ during the evening on some lines. Sunday morning services however start later than on Saturdays, and run less frequently until around 10am.
Metro Trains Melbourne operates several passenger rail lines and one special events railway line, under operating groups as follows.

Burnley Group

  • ,, & lines
Belgrave and Lilydale trains operate through the City Loop, running anticlockwise on weekday mornings, and clockwise on weekday afternoons and weekends. Most trains run express during peak hours, with increased frequency in both directions, but more frequent in the direction of peak. Using the triple track from Box Hill to Burnley, express trains can overtake local trains in the direction of the peak.
Glen Waverley trains run direct to and from Flinders Street on weekday mornings. On weekday afternoons and weekends, Glen Waverley trains operate clockwise via the Loop, with Belgrave and Lilydale services.
Alamein trains operate anticlockwise via the Loop during the weekday morning peak, anticlockwise during weekday afternoon peak and weekends, and operate as 3 carriage shuttles to and from Camberwell during weekday off-peak.

Caulfield Group

All trains operate through the City Loop in an anti-clockwise direction from Richmond Station.
The Caufield Group previously consisted of the Cranbourne & Pakenham lines, until the full opening of the Metro Tunnel and their removal from the City Loop on 1 February 2026. The Frankston line had been part of the Caulfield Group until 2011 when it joined the Cross-City Group, with limited City Loop services continuing until 2021.
Stony Point line services operate as shuttles from Frankston station with passengers to and from Flinders Street required to change trains as there is no electrification beyond Frankston. It is the only non-electrified line operated by Metro Trains, with services being operated using Sprinter diesel multiple units leased from V/Line.

Clifton Hill Group

  • & lines
All trains operate through the City Loop. On most occasions in peak hour, Hurstbridge line trains operate express between Jolimont and Victoria Park, with the Mernda trains serving the intermediate stations.