A man holding a knife was arrested “within minutes” on a Melbourne train, thanks to the presence of a police officer in the rail network’s control room.
Raymond O’Flaherty, Chief Executive Officer of Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM), said the man in question wasn’t threatening any of the other passengers, but he was showing the knife to them.
“Having a permanent police officer in our control room, we were able to mobilise security to go to that service and arrest that person, virtually within minutes,” O’Flaherty added.
MTM has over 14,000 cameras across its network, which send a live feed back to the control room.
In the control room, there is a full-time team of four people, including a police officer, keeping watch for incidents.
Speaking at the recent PTAANZ Public Transport Policy Symposium 2026 at Metropolis in Melbourne, O’Flaherty said there was an increase in anti-social behaviour across the city’s rail network in 2024, following the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, he said these incidents are now on the decline, thanks in part to MTM’s partnership with Victoria Police.
MTM has 1463 Protective Service Officers deployed at stations across its network, as well as 50 of its own dedicated security officers and 455 authorised officers.
At some of MTM’s “more difficult” network locations, it has rolled out a “Community Connectors” program.
“We have trained case officers on the ground every day, engaging with people in our community who would otherwise create issues on the transport network.
“Having those case officers on platforms speaking to them is diffusing a lot of potential situations, and helping the people who need help the most.”
