Victorian Government Submission Select Committee on Train Services Preface The Victorian Government is pleased This submission is in four parts: to provide a written submission to assist 1. Setting the scene – the Legislative Council’s Select Committee an overview of policy objectives of Inquiry into the provision of metropolitan and strategies for railways in Victoria and V/Line train services. 2. Delivering train services – The primary focus of this submission is the how the operation of the railways period of time since the franchising of the is changing in response to metropolitan and regional train services in rapid patronage growth 1999, with more detail provided for recent events and issues associated with the 3. Infrastructure and rolling stock – supply of train services for metropolitan how assets are being maintained and V/Line commuters. and better utilised The report also outlines how steps have 4. Next steps – been taken, in conjunction with Connex changes planned for the years ahead Melbourne Pty Ltd (Connex) and V/Line Passenger Pty Ltd (V/Line), to provide more services in response to the rapid growth in train patronage across Victoria. 2 Victorian Government Submission: Select Committee on Train Services Victoria’s rail network involves a complex Summary balance between rolling stock, track capacity, timetabling and operational management. A number of external factors potentially impact on the network each day, such as variable station dwell times, driver availability, minor vandalism and freight movements. Recognising this, the network is designed to operate within an in- built ‘buffer’, which allows services to continue Melbourne’s train system, relatively unimpeded by such challenges. and the rail links between Melbourne and regional Beyond these factors, more infrequent but significant circumstances can arise that centres, are critical parts of exceed the capacity of the buffer to absorb Victoria’s transport system and impacts. Examples include extreme weather are crucial to the economic, events, major vandalism and theft, trespass, environmental and social rolling stock failures, and industrial relations wellbeing of all Victorians. disputes. In such circumstances, temporary service disruptions may be experienced while underlying causes are addressed. In recent years, patronage growth has had a fundamental impact upon rail service delivery. Victoria is experiencing unprecedented patronage growth, with an increase of more than 50 per cent on metropolitan trains and more than 70 per cent on V/Line trains in the last four years alone. Melbourne is now Australia’s public transport capital, carrying more passengers per head of population than any other city. 3 Our networks have expanded in response to Track capacity is also being significantly this growth, primarily through better utilisation increased in line with expected patronage of existing rolling stock and infrastructure. growth. With Commonwealth funding support, More services have been added through new projects such as the Regional Rail Link and regional and metropolitan timetables. Over Melbourne Metro Tunnel complement a larger the past decade, more than 1,500 new weekly shift towards a “metro” system. These initiatives services have been added to the metropolitan will simplify end-to-end operations, remove system, including 290 new and extended weekly bottlenecks, and reduce delays across the rail services being added this month. Nearly 250 network. Strategic growth in the metropolitan new weekly V/Line services have also been network, such as Sunbury and South Morang introduced in the same period. In addition, Rail Extensions, are also extending the reach of temporary increases in services are used to the public transport system to new areas. cater for special events. More trains are also The Victorian Government is committed to in use on both the metropolitan and regional ensuring that Victoria’s rail network continues networks, and the reach of the network has to provide a safe and reliable transport option, been extended, with the Watergardens and meeting the needs of current and future Craigieburn Electrifications. Victorians. As services have increased to accommodate patronage growth, the capacity of the network to absorb disruptions has been affected. Through The Victorian Transport Plan and proposed future franchising arrangements, Government has a strategy to increase the overall capacity of the network to meet current and future demand, and restore the network’s ability to recover from temporary service disruptions. Thirty-eight new X’Trapolis trains and fifty-four new V/Line carriages are currently on order to ease the strain on the current fleet. In addition to this significant investment in rolling stock, maintenance spending is being increased by 50 per cent per annum to ensure an ongoing high level of performance from our trains. Contents Preface 1 Summary 2 Table of Contents 4 List of Figures 5 List of Tables 5 Part 1: Setting The Scene: Rail Transport Policy 6 1 Introduction 6 2 A Brief History 7 3 Patronage Growth 9 4 Rail Network Capacity Strategy 14 5 Interactions With Rail Freight 18 6 Rolling Stock 18 7 Rail Network Extensions 18 8 Value for Money 19 9 Legislative Reforms 20 Part 2: Delivering Train Services 21 10 Operational Performance 21 10.1 New Services 25 10.2 Availability and Capacity of Rolling Stock 27 10.2.1 Metropolitan Fleet 27 10.2.2 Siemens Trains 28 10.2.3 Regional Fleet 28 10.3 The Availability of Metropolitan Train Drivers 31 10.4 Dwell Times 31 10.5 Impacts of Extreme Weather 33 10.6 Industrial Relations 33 10.7 Impacts of Major Projects 34 10.8 Vandalism 34 10.9 Suicides/Trespassers 34 10.10 Special Events 34 Part 3: Infrastructure And Rolling Stock 36 11 Maintaining and Better Utilising Assets 36 11.1 Rail Infrastructure 36 11.2 Train Stabling and Maintenance 39 11.3 Access for People With Disabilities 39 Part 4: Next Steps 40 12 Our Plan 40 13 The Refranchising Process 40 14 Frontline Staff 40 15 New Trains 41 16 Developing a Metro-Style Train System for the 21st Century 41 List of Figures List of Tables Figure 1.1 Mode Share 6 Table 2.1 Peak Train Services: Metropolitan and V/Line 8 Figure 2.1 Metropolitan Train Travel Table 10.1 New V/Line Rolling Stock 29 (Billions of Passenger Kilometres Per Annum) 8 Table 11.1 Annual Expenditure on Network Maintenance Figure 2.2 Metropolitan Train Kilometres: 1959-2009 9 ($’000) 38 Figure 3.1 Annual Metropolitan Patronage Growth Rates 9 Figure 3.2 Annual V/Line Patronage Growth Rates 10 Figure 3.3 Annual Public Transport Use Per Capita In Australian Cities 10 Figure 3.4 Growth in Use Over Three Financial Years to 2007/08 (%) 12 Figure 3.5 Changing Travel Choices in Melbourne (2006) 12 Figure 3.6 Form of Transport Switched to Instead of Private Vehicle (2006) 13 Figure 3.7 Reasons for Reduced Vehicle Usage (2006-2009) 13 Figure 4.1 Regional Rail Link 15 Figure 4.2 Regional Rail Link: Train Operations 15 Figure 4.3 The Melbourne Metro 16 Figure 4.4 Long Term Operating Strategy 17 Figure 8.1 Capital Investment In Rail ($millions): Metropolitan And V/Line (1999-2009) 19 Figure 10.1 Rolling Hours Above Load Standards 2004 To 2009: Metropolitan Trains 22 Figure 10.2 Cancellations and On-Time Running of Metropolitan And Regional (V/Line) Trains 23 Figure 10.3 Total Metropolitan Network PWMs of Delay and Incidents 24 Figure 10.4 Number of Weekly Metropolitan Train Services 25 Figure 10.5 Number of Weekly Regional Train Services 26 Figure 10.6 Number of Carriages – Metropolitan Trains 26 Figure 10.7 Annual Unit-Kilometres (Metropolitan Trains) 27 Figure 10.8 Number of Carriages – Regional Trains 29 Figure 10.9 Annual Unit Kilometres (Regional Trains) 30 Figure 10.10 Daily Metropolitan Train Performance and Daily Maximum Temperature January 2009 32 Figure 10.11 Average Weekly V/Line Interurban Train Service Weekly Cancellations (3 Jan. 2009-28 Feb. 2009) 33 Figure 10.12 Special Event Passenger Trips on the Metropolitan Network 35 6 Victorian Government Submission: Select Committee on Train Services Part 1: Setting The Scene: Rail Transport Policy Trains have the capacity to move large numbers of people 1 Introduction which shapes urban form and the environment. Individual train lines currently carry up to 18,000 passengers an hour. Railways are therefore particularly critical in delivering large numbers Victoria’s rail system comprises a metropolitan railway, of people into and out of central Melbourne each day and passenger rail links between Melbourne and regional centres therefore, in turn, critical to the wellbeing of Victoria’s economy. and intrastate and national freight links. This submission focuses on the metropolitan and regional passenger train Cities become more and more dependent on their rail services. systems as they grow. As Melbourne moves rapidly beyond a population of 4 million toward 5 million and regional centres Melbourne’s train system, and the rail links between continue to grow, and as we prepare for an even greater Melbourne and regional centres are critical parts of its population in the long term, the capacity and performance of transport network and crucial to the economic, environmental the rail system will become more and more important. and social wellbeing of the city. The Victorian Government has a policy objective of increasing the use of train services and of public transport services more generally. In 2002, the Victorian Government set a target to double the share of motorised trips made in Melbourne by public transport to 20 per cent by 2020. Progress toward this target is exceeding expectations as shown in Figure 1.1. FIGURE 1.1 Mode Share Source: DOT *Note estimate based on VATS, VISTA, public transport and road use data 7 Train services across Melbourne operate as part of an integrated system of train, tram and bus services.