A newly announced timetable change will mean 93 trains a day will run slower, on two overcrowded Melbourne lines, to make way for other faster services.
Cranbourne and Pakenham lines will see services delayed between one to up to five minutesfor the 160,000 people who rely on those line services on weekdays, when a new Metro timetable is released on Friday.
The timetable will come into effect in December on nine routes along the two lines, and are designed to account for the extra time trains spend stopped at stations while people get on and off.
Public Transport Victoria boss Jeroen Weimar explained that trains were spending longer at each station because more people were now using the rail network.
Due to the 93 slower trains, nine services will get Cranbourne and Pakenham commuters there two minutes quicker, while 10 services will run a minute faster.
Further changes will include Southern Cross Station opening earlier on Sunday mornings allowing people to transfer more easily between Night Network, metro and regional services to get home sooner.
The Geelong line will also have an extra Saturday morning service added to the timetable. To make room for this, the existing Warrnambool service will run express from Geelong to Footscray. Craigieburn and Upfield lines will use the station, where previously they ran express through to Flinders St early on Sunday mornings.
“Many Victorians work shift work to keep our city and state running while most of us sleep – we’re making it easier for them to get home by opening Southern Cross Station earlier,” said Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne.